Temperance Movement

By Edward Cheng & Karen ChuAP U.S. History Period 8

TemperanceDef: Total abstinence from alcoholic beverages

or the moderation in its use

Causes: Increase of alcoholism was caused by the spread of the population across the

Appalachians (which in turn allowed an increase of production and consumption)

Background Info● During the 1800s the brewing industry was

the most prosperous ● Due to competitive nature, brewing industries

built saloons for every 150-200 Americans● These saloons introduced gambling and

prostitution

Examples of Life During pre-prohibition

TimeLine• 1800s [1800-1840]

o Beginning of Second Great Awakeningo Revival of religiono Spark up the beginnings of the Temperance Movement

• 1805-o Benjamin Rush (physician from Philadelphia)o Wrote an essay about the changing attitudes toward distilled

alcoholo Found the dangers of consumption (leads to health problems

and causes a decline in morals)

TimeLine Cont.

• 1820s (nearing the time of Jackson’s second term)-o Temperance reformers during Jackson’s presidencyo Many were Whigs who wanted to improve the American

society by ending sale of liquor and slavery o Advocated for government intervention on suppressing liquor

trade

● 1825-○ Connecticut revivalist Lyman Beecher ushered an anti-

alcoholism movement

● 1826-○ Created by evangelical Protestants○ First national temperance organization○ One-third to one-half of their members were women

Timeline Cont.• Late 1830s-

o Workers begin to show interest in temperanceo Developed the Washington Temperance Societieso Initiated a big interest after the Panic of 1837o Believed that sobriety and frugality would allow them to

control their problems

• 1838-o Massachusetts prohibited sale of distilled spirits in amounts

less than fifteen gallons (limit small purchase by individuals)

Timeline Cont.

● 1851-○ Maine banned the manufacture and sale of

intoxicating beverages ● 1873-

○ Women’s Christian Temperance Union● 1893-

○ Formation of the Anti-Saloon League (Strengthen movement)

Timeline Cont.

● 1916-○ Anti-Saloon League it oversaw the two-

thirds majority to initiate the 18th Amendment

● 1919- ○ Ratification of the 18th Amendment○ Allowed national prohibition through a

constitutional amendment○ Volstead Act clarified and implemented the

18th Amendment

Timeline Cont.

● 1920-1933-○ Numerous speakeasies arise, gangster power

increases, more conflicts (ex. 1929 St. Valentine Massacre)

○ 21st Amendment ratified, repealed 18th Amendment, decline of Temperance Movement

Temperance Reformers● Address the growing problems of health problems from

alcohol● Believe that males who indulge themselves in alcohol

leads to bitter consequences to women and children (would spend wages on liquor rather than food)

● Denounce alcohol as and evil and urged for churches to expel those who were not abstinent

● Gain manufacturers’ support (due to manufacturers strict production schedules)

● Viewed drinking as sinful act (Washingtons)● Save lost souls who were under the influence of alcohol

Prominent Figures

• Frances Willard- She was an American temperance reformer and women’s suffragist, and played a key in the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment.

• Mary Hunt- As the Superintendent of a branch of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (the Scientific Temperance Instruction), she was a key part of the Temperance Movement and promoting Prohibition.

• Howard Hyde Russell- He was the founder of the Anti-Saloon League, and was a prominent figure in the Prohibition movement.

Prominent Figures Cont.

• Lyman Beecher- He was a co-founder of the American Temperance Society, and is also known as a founder of the Second Great Awakening.

• Organization of the Good Templars- They are an international organization that works in the field of Temperance, originating in the United States during the early 1850’s.

• Wayne Wheeler- He was a founding member of the Anti-Saloon League, and was influential in the Volstead Act.

Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

• Political organization

• Led by Frances Willard

• Alliances with o Susan B. Anthonyo Elizabeth Cady Stantono Other women battling for voting rights

• 19th century it lobbied for local laws restricting alcohol

WCTU

• Created an anti-alcohol educational campaign (nearly reached in every schoolroom in the nation)

• Viewed as a source of social ills

• Attempted to have a prohibition amendment that was not reached until the creation of the ASL (which it had alliances with)

Anti-Saloon League (ASL) • Leader: Wayne Wheeler

• State organization

• Succeeded in local prohibition laws

• Made it a national effort

• After 1895 it gained in strength (powerful national organization)

• Supported prohibition and worked with churches

ASL

• Supported by o Democrats and Republicanso Progressiveso Populistso Suffragistso The Ku Klux Klan and the NAACPo The International Workers of the Worldo Many of America's most powerful industrialists

including Henry Ford John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Andrew Carnegie

ASL

• Branched across US and worked to achieve national prohibition through a constitutional amendment

• 1916 it oversaw the two-thirds majority to initiate the 18th Amendment

Quotes !

“Temperance is moderation in the things that are good and total abstinence from the things that are foul.” -Frances Willard

“I believe, if we take habitual drunkards as a class, their heads and their hearts will bear an advantageous comparison with those of any other class. There seems ever to have been a proneness in the brilliant and warm-blooded to fall into this vice.” - Abraham Lincoln, Address to the Springfield Washingtonian Temperance Society, 1842

QUESTIONS 1) Who is Benjamin Rush and why is he important to the Temperance Movement?

2) Define the term “Temperance” and name two important figures and their contributions.

3) What were the issues with alcohol?

4) Which group aided in the ratification of prohibition? What was this amendment?

Citations• Berk, Leah R. "Alcohol, Temperance and Prohibition." Alcohol, Temperance and

Prohibition. Brown University Library Center for Digital Scholarship, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.

• Boyer, Paul S. The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004. Print.

• "Table of Contents | Temperance & Prohibition." Table of Contents | Temperance & Prohibition. The Ohio State University, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.

• A Bio. of America: The Reform Impulse - Transcript." A Bio. of America: The Reform Impulse - Transcript. WGBH Educational Foundation, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.

• Erback, Jennifer. "Illinois During the Gilded Age, Lesson Plans: Temperance in the 19th Century." Illinois During the Gilded Age, Lesson Plans: Temperance in the 19th Century . Teaching Future Historians, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.

• "Index." Index. Clash of Cultures in the 1910s and 1920s, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.

• "The Temperance Movement." The Temperance Movement. United States History, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.

• "Prohibition." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.