Social Reform Movements from the 1820s to the 1850s Social Reform Movements from the 1820s to the 1850s Social Reforms & Redefining the Ideal of Equality Temperance Women’s Rights Abolitionism Antebellum Reform Movements

Demon Rum: The “Old Deluder” Custom combined with a hard & monotonous life led to excessive drinking of hard liquor among: –Men & Women –Clergymen –Members of Congress Weddings & Funerals became disgraceful brawls & occasional mourner would fall into open grave of corpse Heavy drinking led to many social problems including: –Decreased efficiency of labor –On the job accidents increased: injuries occurred by laborers working on machines while intoxicated Drunkenness: –fouled sanctity of the family, threatened spiritual welfare & physical safety of women & children

Annual Consumption of Alcohol

The Negative Effects of Alcohol Consumption Timothy Shay Arthur. Temperance Tales, or, Six Nights with the Washingtonians. Philadelphia: W.A. Leary, [c1848]. Special Collections & Archives, Wesleyan University. This sensationalist temperance tale includes illustrations of the rapid decline of a man who takes to drink. Two of the seven scenes are reproduced here.

“The Drunkard’s Progress” From the first glass to the grave, 1846

Temperance Movement Frances Willard The Beecher Family American Temperance Society “Demon Rum”!

The Early Temperance Movement The temperance movement of the 19 th and early 20 th centuries was an organized because consumption of alcohol significantly increased & caused social problems. –Goal: To encourage moderation in the consumption of intoxicating liquors or press for complete abstinence. The movement's ranks were mostly filled by women who, with their children, had endured the effects of unbridled drinking by many of their menfolk. Church groups of all denominations were involved in the temperance movement. –In fact, alcohol was blamed for many of society's demerits, among them severe health problems, destitution and crime. At first, they used moral suasion to address the problem.

The Early Temperance Movement The spirit of reform that was so strong in the 1820s and 1830s extended beyond racial issues. The temperance movement promoted abstinence from alcohol American Temperance Society –Formed in Boston in 1826 –Within 5 years, there were 2,220 temperance societies in the U. S., with 170,000 members who had taken a pledge of abstinence.

Among the many evils of alcohol, reformers fulminated especially against its corrupting effects on family life. Here a young man is torn between a drink-bearing temptress & a maiden who exemplifies the virtues of womanly purity. Temperance Banner Lithograph by Kellogg & Comstock, c

A. Woman's holy war. Grand charge on the enemy's works SUMMARY: –The "Holy War" was the 19th- century crusade for temperance and prohibition, whose advocates were predominantly clergymen and women. –Here a young woman in armor on a black horse leads a group of similarly garbed women on foot and on horseback. With large battle-axes they shatter barrels of beer, whiskey, gin, rum and "Wine & Liquors.“ –The leg of a fleeing man is just visible at lower right. –In the background are two banners: "In the Name of God and Humanity" and "Temperance League."]

Woman's Christian Temperance Union (1874) Organized in 1874 by women who were concerned about the problems alcohol was causing their families and society. The members chose total abstinence from all alcohol as their life style and protection of the home as their watchword.

Anti-Saloon League (1893) From 1893 to 1933, the Anti- Saloon League was a major force in American politics. –Influenced the United States through the printed word and lobbying, it turned a moral crusade into a Constitutional amendment The prohibition of alcohol with the18 th Amendment. It suffered a crushing defeat when prohibition repealed in 1933 (21 st Amendment)

Notable Figures & Achievements in the Temperance Movement Some of the most notable figures associated with the U.S. temperance movement were Susan B. Anthony, Frances E. Willard and Carry A. Nation (the latter worked on her own). The effects of their efforts and thousands of other advocates included: –Government regulation –Instruction on alcoholism in schools –Energized study of alcoholism. –18 th Amendment ( ) which led to Prohibition: (ban on manufacture, consumption, distribution & sale of alcohol

Carrie A. Nation: ( ) Religious upbringing influenced her role in the temperance movement & she was dedicated to taking on illegal saloons in technically dry Kansas –She was once married to a minister (David Nation) & taught Sunday school. –Early temperance work: she was a member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union & spoke out not only about the evils of drink, but tobacco and women's immodest dress as well.

Carrie A. Nation: ( ) In1880, Kansas residents had voted for prohibition, but the law was largely ignored by saloonkeepers. –Saloons operated openly, but Nation would change all that. –First she prayed in front of an establishment in –She struck at her first saloon on June 1, –Initially, she used rocks, bricks and other objects for these attacks, then turned to the hatchet. "I felt invincible. My strength was that of a giant. God was certainly standing by me. I smashed five saloons with rocks before I ever took a hatchet." – Carrie Nation

The End of the First Temperance Movement The onset of the Civil War stalled efforts by reformers to advance temperance views and was later revisited during the Progressive Era. The lifespan of the temperance movement reached a second reform era, Progressivism. –This period was characterized by maturing social and governmental efforts to reform society, whose roots lay in the 19 th century. These reforms included women's suffrage and equal pay, birth control, child labor reform, the eight-hour day and environmental conservation, among others.