Background
Women led a resurgence of the temperance movement in the 1870s. The movement had started in the 1820s, led by Protestant churches and their female volunteers. Temperance activists were concerned about the effects of liquor on men’s behavior and society in general. The concern over a rise in alcohol consumption in the decades following the Civil War was fueled in part by large waves of immigrants from Europe, who brought a strong drinking culture with them. Temperance activists often reflected the anti-immigration language of nativists, describing the immigrants’ drinking culture as immoral and un-American. Industrialization and immigration also led to the growth of cities, which temperance activists viewed as hotbeds of immorality. They believed that urban drinking establishments encouraged drunkenness, which would result in other immoral behavior.
Temperance activists initially attempted to discourage the consumption of alcohol among individuals, with a particular focus on men. When the number of immigrants increased, they shifted their focus to a total ban on liquor sales. They then used the growing women’s club movement to organize on a national level. Women’s clubs were organizations formed by women that provided members with educational and community service opportunities. Activists encouraged existing women’s clubs to take on the issue and established new organizations that focused on temperance. The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), established in 1874, led the efforts to ban alcohol consumption. By 1890, the WCTU was the largest organization of women in the world.
Images
Eugene S. Bisbee, The Genius of Temperance, ca. 1868-1875. The Jay T. Last Collection of Graphic Arts and Social History, Huntington Digital Library.
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