"Here we pledge perpetual hate to all things that can intoxicate."
--From badges that children wore during temperance rallies (Blumenthal, 21)
The Temperance Movement
Although Prohibition didn't become a federal law until 1919, there were many movements against alcohol long before that era. One of the most famous of them was the Temperance Movement.
What Was The Temperance Movement?The Temperance Movement was a large group of Christian women and a smaller group of men who wanted to make the selling, buying, and consuming of alcohol illegal. Starting as early as 1830, the Temperance movement started out as small groups of women scattered throughout the United States, and quickly became a large-scale protest against the use of liquor.
"The country's first serious anti-alcohol movement grew out of a fervor for reform that swept the nation..." (pbs.org) Origins of the Temperance Movement:Many women in the Temperance movement believed that if they didn't abolish the use of liquor, they're society would become uncivilized and family life would be nonexistent. The women of the Temperance movement expressed this through music, pictures, and protests.
" In the years between 1800 and 1830, Americans drank more hard liquor than at any other time in their history." (Blumenthal, 18) "Apples, ripe apples, we'll pick from the trees, |
Temperance and Patriotism:"Like many other evils, prohibition was adopted under the cloak of the great World War."
--Clarence Darrow, a well known lawyer (Clarence Darrow Digital Collection) Patriotism was very important to the success of the Temperance Movement. "It was World War I that made possible the passage of national Prohibition. The strong anti-German prejudice made brewers (who were generally of German origin) popular targets of hostility..." (potsam.edu) By linking temperance to patriotism, many citizens were motivated to stop buying liquor from German sellers. "I shall oppose it [alcohol] because its abolition will mean a new stability for the Republic, a new radiance for the flag." --Morris Sheppard (Blumenthal, 9) |