The Temperance Movement: Overview Handout
By Kenny Anderson and Jenna Mulligan
Overall Goal of the Temperance Movement:
The stoppage of all consumption, production, and sale of alcoholic products
*NB: the broad nature of this goal leads to a variety of organizations employing different tactics to
achieve it
Key People:
Early Movement (1800-1865)
Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906)- member of the Daughters of Temperance and founder of the Woman’s New York
State Temperance Society (WNYSTS), her participation in the Temperance movement helped push her into the
woman’s rights movement
Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902)- the first president of WNYSTS, later thrown out of office for advocating a
woman’s right to divorce and equality with men and became a key member of the woman’s rights movement
Amelia Bloomer (1818-1894)- leading member of the WNYSTS and founder of The Lily, a temperance ladies’
magazine that became a hub for the women’s rights movement
Later Movement (1865-1920)
Annie Turner Wittenmyre (1827-1900)-First President and founder of Women’s Christian Temperance Union,
active lecturer
Frances Willard (1839-1898)- Second President of the WCTU, active leader and founding member of the WCTU,
supporter of suffrage and drove the WCTU to support suffrage, led the WCTU to become the biggest women’s
rights movement in the world with over 200,000 members (see biography for more details!)
Judith Ellen Foster (1840-1910)- Led a splinter faction of the WCTU, supported non-partisan politics, supported
whichever party suited their current needs , served as inspiration for the Anti-Saloon League
Carrie Nation (1846-1911)- One of the most infamous members of the WCTU, wife of an alcoholic preacher, served
as a “jail evangelist” reforming drunks, imposing figure at 6ft 180lbs, became infamous for her saloon smashing
campaign in 1900, changed her name to Carrie A. Nation so she could use the slogan “Carrie A. Nation” into
prohibition
Wayne Wheeler (1869-1927)- Attorney from Ohio, worked for and effectively led the Anti-Saloon League,
developed “pressure politics” which pressured politicians to vote a certain way using propaganda to influence
voters, meticulously crafted a campaign focused ONLY on gaining prohibition, succeeded… for 10 years.
Key Organizations:
Early Movement
The Sons of Temperance: founded in 1842, it was one of the largest temperance groups in the early movement,
allowed women into its ranks but sometimes only as “visitors”, barred women from participating in its 1852
convention, prompting a split in the movement
The Daughters of Temperance: an offshoot of the Sons of Temperance that served as an auxiliary unit to the main
organization, it was one of the first major all-women’s temperance organizations, and Susan B. Anthony was a
member
The Washingtonian Society: founded by 6 former Baltimore drunks, focused on reforming drunks, a very popular
organization for the lower classes, first secular temperance society, welcomed women into its ranks
The Martha Washingtonian Society: the female off-shot of the Washington Society, the Martha Washingtonians
were some of the first temperance women to advocate women’s rights within the domestic sphere
Key Organizations (cont’d):
The Woman’s New York State Temperance Society: an offshoot of the Daughters of Temperance, broke from the
main organization in 1852 when the Sons of Temperance refused to allow women to participate as full members at
their annual convention, founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Amelia Bloomer, and Mary
Vaughn, first women’s temperance organization to actively pursue an agenda for women’s rights
Later Movement
Women’s Crusades: (1873-1874) founded by Eliza Thompson, prayed and sang in saloons to try and convince the
owners to stop selling alcohol, motived by religion and moral purity, shut down numerous saloons and started the
temperance movement anew
Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU): (1874-present) founded and led by Annie Turner Wittenmyre
(1874-1879), Frances Willard (1879-1898), and Judith Ellen Foster (splinter faction: 1889-1910), petitions to
congress, education about the harms of alcohol, built public water fountains, picketed saloons, campaigned for
suffrage, used women’s supposed “moral superiority” as a frame to further the cause of temperance, motivated by
religion, moral purity, women’s rights, and eventually suffrage, won victories by getting a hearing in congress to ban
liquor, passing federal laws requiring schools to teach children about the dangers of alcohol, building public
fountains (alcohol often served as a substitute for unclean drinking water), and shutting down saloons.
-Mottos: “Do Everything”, “Smash, Ladies Smash!”, the latter was used by Carrie A. Nation in her
infamous saloon smashing campaign
Anti-Saloon League (ASL): led by Wayne Wheeler (1893-1927), used “pressure politics” and non-partisanship to
influence public opinion to sway Congressmen to vote for temperance laws, a more male-centered organization
because of its political nature (only men could vote), motivated by religion and passing prohibition as a law; won
victories by securing “dry towns” across multiple states, turning public opinion against alcohol, and finally passing
the Prohibition amendment to the Constitution (the 18th Amendment)
-Mottos: “The Church in Action Against the Saloon”
Influential Events:
Early Movement:
The Depression of 1837-48: unemployment, and thus, alcoholism peaked, women were especially concerned
because they had no right to wages or property within marriage (husband could spend all of her money on drink)
and no right to divorce, especially in cases of abuse, garnered increased concern from women about the state of
women’s rights within the home, led temperance women to become more active participants in the movement
The Passage of the “Maine Law”: passed in 1851 in Maine, forbade the sale of alcohol, it galvanized the
movement to try to gain passage of similar laws in other states, also propelled more radical members like Carrie
Nation to make sure that the laws were being enforced by authorities and occasionally attacking providers of
alcohol themselves, made women realize how little political power they had to make sure changes like this
happened
The 1852 Convention of the Sons of Temperance: The Sons of Temperance refused to let women participate as
full members in their annual convention in New York, led several leaders of the Daughters of Temperance to break
off their own society, the Women’s New York State Temperance Society, WNYSTS was the first female temperance
society to formally align itself with the beginnings of the women’s rights and women’s suffrage movements
Later Movement:
(Other key aspects of the later movement are mentioned in Key Organizations and People sections)
The Eighteenth Amendment: marks the high point and the end of the Temperance Movement, outlawed the sale,
manufacture, and transport of alcohol, but not buying it or drinking it, repealed by the 21st amendment in 1933 after
it caused a massive rise in crime due to the bootlegging and smuggling of liquor, considered a massive failure
Works Cited
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