Lena Savoie
The crusade against alcohol, also known as the Temperance movement, gained momentum in the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly in English-speaking, Scandinavian, and majority Protestant countries. The movement advocated for moderation or complete abstinence from alcohol, with organizations like the Prohibition Party and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) at the forefront. The WCTU, founded in 1874, became a powerful force with over 32,000 women protesting against alcohol and its negative impact on families and communities. The Anti-Saloon League (ASL), founded in 1893, also played a significant role in the crusade, employing propaganda, religion, and political coercion to influence elections and pass legislation restricting alcohol sales and consumption. These organizations and their supporters believed that alcohol consumption led to social issues, family disintegration, and criminal activities. The movement's influence culminated in national prohibitions in several countries, including the United States from 1920 to 1933.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) |
| Year of Formation | 1873-1874 |
| Place of Formation | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Founder | Frances Willard |
| Membership | 32,000 women |
| Methods | Lobbying, education, social reform |
| Achievements | Local laws restricting alcohol, anti-alcohol education campaigns in schools |
| Name | Anti-Saloon League (ASL) |
| Year of Formation | 1893 |
| Founder | Howard Hyde Russell |
| Leader | Wayne Wheeler |
| Membership | Various Protestant denominations, American Catholic Church |
| Methods | Propaganda, religion, political coercion |
| Achievements | Passed state and local legislation to restrict the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages |
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What You'll Learn
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)
The WCTU became one of the largest and most influential women's groups of the 19th century, with Frances Willard, the organization's second president, at the helm. Willard expanded the organization's platform to include issues such as labour laws, prison reform, and women's suffrage, in addition to their anti-alcohol stance. The group also campaigned for protective purity legislation, better working conditions, anti-polygamy laws, and Americanization, among other reforms. The WCTU trained women in public speaking, leadership, and political thinking, empowering them to achieve a higher quality of life.
The WCTU's influence extended beyond the United States, with international chapters established in countries such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, and Finland. The World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union, founded in 1883, served as the international arm of the organization. The WCTU's efforts to promote temperance included the construction of public drinking fountains as alternatives to alcohol and educational campaigns in schools.
Despite its successes, the WCTU faced challenges, particularly from the alcohol industry, which opposed the women's suffrage movement. With the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment (Prohibition) in 1919, the WCTU's membership declined, but the organization continued to operate, focusing primarily on prohibition and opposition to tobacco and illegal drugs. Today, the WCTU remains active in schools and runs a publishing house, carrying on its legacy of social reform and empowerment.
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![Annual convention [program] of national Woman's Christian Temperance Union](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61sEjgyggpL._AC_UY218_.jpg)
The Anti-Saloon League (ASL)
The ASL's primary goal was to lobby for prohibition in the United States, advocating for legislation to prohibit the manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. They believed that alcohol consumption led to various social issues, such as corruption, prostitution, spousal abuse, and other criminal activities. The ASL's motto, "the Church in action against the saloon," reflected its religious coalition. Under the leadership of Wayne Wheeler, the ASL became a powerful lobbying force, known for its use of pressure politics and propaganda. They cared more about how legislators voted rather than their personal drinking habits.
The ASL was particularly successful in rural and Southern states, but struggled to gain traction in larger cities and among liturgical church members, such as Catholics, Jews, Episcopalians, and German Lutherans. Despite these challenges, the ASL played a crucial role in the passage of the Eighteenth (Prohibition) Amendment in 1919, which banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors in the United States.
To achieve its goals, the ASL employed various tactics, including lobbying at all levels of government, using emotion and patriotism, and inventing modern techniques of public relations. They also worked with other organizations, such as the Ku Klux Klan in Alabama, and joined forces with the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) during the May 1928 primary in Alabama. The ASL's success in influencing legislation and public opinion made it the most powerful prohibition lobby in America, overshadowing older groups like the WCTU and the Prohibition Party.
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The Washingtonian Movement
The Washingtonians attracted adherents from the middle and working classes, and their message was not explicitly religious. This contrasted with existing temperance societies, which were dominated by clergymen and wealthy Christian laymen. The Washingtonian Movement also differed from older temperance circles in that it was committed to getting drinkers to give up drinking, rather than simply preventing people from taking up the habit.
The movement soon became fragmented and involved in controversial social reforms, including prohibition, sectarian religion, politics, and the abolition of slavery. Disagreements and controversies over prohibition eventually destroyed the group, and it almost disappeared within a few years. The Washingtonian Movement is believed to have influenced Alcoholics Anonymous, with comparisons drawn between the two organizations.
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The American Temperance Society
The ATS grew out of a reform sentiment in much of the country promoting the abolition of slavery, expanding women's rights, temperance, and the improvement of society. Its success was particularly notable in the northern states, possibly due to its association with the abolitionist movement. The society's members viewed alcohol as the underlying source of various social issues, including corruption, prostitution, spousal abuse, and other criminal activities.
By 1839, the ATS had over 8,000 local groups and more than 1,250,000 members. The movement split along two lines in the late 1830s: between those who allowed some drinking and those who demanded total abstinence, and between those who relied on moral suasion and those who promoted laws to restrict or ban alcohol. The radicals and prohibitionists dominated many of the largest temperance organizations after the 1830s, and temperance eventually became synonymous with prohibition.
The temperance movement in the United States had a significant influence on American politics and society in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, culminating in the prohibition of alcohol through the Eighteenth Amendment from 1920 to 1933. The movement promoted alcohol education and demanded the passage of laws against the sale of alcohol, either through regulations on its availability or outright prohibition.
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The Church of England Temperance Society
The early temperance movement was inspired by the actions of Irish Presbyterian Church minister John Edgar, who poured his stock of whiskey out of the window in 1829 and wrote a letter in the Belfast Telegraph advocating for temperance. The first organization that promoted temperance was the Glasgow and West of Scotland Temperance Society, founded in 1829 by John Dunlop and his aunt, Lilias Graham of Gairbraid.
The temperance movement was characterized by the organized cooperation of women, and one of the most prominent organizations was the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), founded in 1874. The WCTU grew out of a spontaneous crusade against saloons and liquor stores that began in Ohio and spread throughout the Midwestern United States during the winter of 1873-1874. The organization was led by Frances Willard and became the largest women's religious organization in the 19th century. The WCTU trained women in skills such as public speaking, leadership, and political thinking, and lobbied for local laws restricting alcohol sales.
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Frequently asked questions
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and the Anti-Saloon League (ASL) were two prominent organizations that led the crusade against alcohol in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The WCTU was formed in 1873 or 1874 in Cleveland, Ohio, by a group of women who protested against the abuse of alcohol and its negative impact on families. It grew out of a spontaneous crusade against saloons and liquor stores that began in Ohio and spread across the Midwestern United States.
The WCTU employed educational, social, and political means to promote legislation and create anti-alcohol campaigns. They also trained women in leadership, public speaking, and political thinking, using temperance as a platform to empower women and improve their quality of life.
The ASL was founded in 1893 by Howard Hyde Russell. The organization stressed political results and pressure politics, successfully forming alliances with various constituencies to achieve its sole goal of banning the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages.
The efforts of the WCTU and ASL, along with other temperance organizations, contributed to the national prohibition of alcohol in the United States from 1920 to 1933. The movement also influenced the passage of similar laws in other countries, including Canada, Norway, Finland, and India. However, the prohibition era also gave rise to organized crime, bootlegging, and the dangerous practice of homemade alcohol production.
