Temperance

“I smashed five saloons with rocks before I ever took a hatchet.”
– Carry Nation

America’s temperance movement dates back to its Colonial settlements, which frowned upon excessive drinking and employed strict social controls to prevent the vice. As the nation’s population moved from rural farms and towns into cities, traditional social controls no longer kept pace with urban culture and population growth. This transformation of social infrastructure helped fuel the emergence of several reform movements, which took aim at such issues as child labor, women’s rights, educational reform, abolition, temperance, prohibition, and family planning.

Hoping to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed across the nation, and thus to diminish cases of domestic abuse, by the late 19th century women began joining the American temperance movement in large numbers. Although they had begun by crusading for moderation, temperance leaders soon went further, advocating for total abstinence from all alcoholic beverages. Particularly active were the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), founded in 1874, and the Anti-Saloon League, founded in 1895 (now known as the American Council on Alcohol Problems). With the support of church groups and some industrialists, temperance organizations helped to bring about the passage of many liquor laws, culminating in federal prohibition (1919-1933).

The Drunkards Progress: From the First Glass to the Grave. New York: Currier & Ives, 1846.
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T.S. Arthur. The Sons of Temperance Offering for 1850. New York: Nafis & Cornish [etc.], 1850.
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A fraternal organization promoting abstinence from alcohol, the Sons of Temperance grew as its cause spread across the nation in the 1840s. A very selective group, it accepted nominations for membership based upon the recommendation of existing members. Women were eventually permitted to join.

Royal Templars of Temperance Membership Papers. November 12, 1880.
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Issued by another fraternal organization promoting abstinence, this certificate states that Charles D. Johnson is entitled to receive $2000 for disability compensation, provided he maintains an active membership and stays true to his pledge of total abstinence.

Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. Banner. “W.C.T.U.. Cambria.” Cambria, [PA], ca. 1910.
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Founded in November of 1874 in Cleveland, Ohio, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union was designed to combat the negative influence of alcohol on families and society. Early groups in Fredonia, New York and Hillsboro and Washington Court House, Ohio engaged in non-violent protest against the dangers of alcohol. Under the guidance of Frances Willard and Anna Howard Shaw, the W.C.T.U. fought to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages across the nation, and aimed to provide temperance education to school age children. The Temperance Crusade swept over 23 states, and resulted in the closing of thousands of bars and other establishments that sold liquor across the nation. The W.C.T.U. also supported prison reform, woman suffrage, and the abolition of prostitution.

This temperance banner was probably used during meetings and carried in marches. The temperance movement was especially active in Pennsylvania, where this banner was made and used, as the Quaker founders of the state’s W.C.T.U. were sympathetic.

The Voice of Song. Evanston, IL: National W.C.T.U. Publishing House, [n.d.].
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During the women’s temperance crusade, church members went into saloons seeking out inebriates, sang hymns, prayed, and asked saloon keepers to stop selling liquor.

Carry Amelia Nation. The Use and Need of the Life of Carry A. Nation, Written by Herself. [Topeka, KS]: F.M. Steves & Sons, 1909.
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An advocate and early member of the Temperance movement, Carry A. Nation was known for her extreme approach to activism, which did not flinch at vandalism and violence. Often stating, “Men are nicotine-soaked, beer-besmirched, whiskey-greased, red-eyed devils,” Ms. Nation regularly entered drinking establishments with a hatchet in hand to attack the bars.

Clara M. Selkreg Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. Petition. [Ithaca, NY], 1908.
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Dated June 18, 1908, this petition from Ithaca’s local temperance union was put forth by Mary B. Wood to protest student drunkenness at senior banquets. First to sign was Liberty Hyde Bailey, then Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

National American Women Suffrage Association. Women Suffrage and the Liquor Interests. New York: National Woman Suffrage Publishing Co., Inc., 1916.
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The Temperance movement and the Suffrage movement often worked together during the 1880s and 1890s. Members of the Temperance movement believed that by supporting a woman’s right to vote, they would be gaining votes for temperance and prohibition related legislation. This pamphlet draws attention to the influence of the liquor interests over political elections.

Gift of Jon A. and Virginia Lindseth ’56.

Woman Suffrage and the Liquor Question. Facts Show Women’s Votes Have NOT Aided Prohibition. New York: Women’s Anti-Suffrage Association, 1915.
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In direct opposition to the previous pamphlet, this pamphlet demonstrates how the Temperance and Suffrage movements clashed over purpose and goals. The anti-suffragists urged women to vote NO on woman suffrage, concluding that women’s votes would not solve the liquor problem.

Gift of Jon A. and Virginia Lindseth ’56.

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