The Temperance Movement was a mass movement in the early 19th century that encouraged the general public to cut back on alcohol consumption or stop consumption completely. This movement started in Europe and then by the 1820s made its way to the newly independent United States where it had enormous effects on the population.
This movement was backed mainly by clergymen and protestant churches although, for some of the first times in American history, women started to become part of the involvement. More women were involved in the fight to abstain from alcohol than any other movement the United States had ever seen. Many women felt urged to be involved because they were being so directly affected by this deep-rooted issue of alcoholism. Men's alcohol abuse greatly harmed women at the time and even harmed their children.
Women in the movement quickly moved on to take more of a leadership role and step up into positions usually only reserved for men. The most prominent example of this was when the “Women's Christian Temperance Union” was established in 1874. This was a major step forward in women's leadership. The temperance movement soon became very rooted in women's leadership and also became a strong political force. This was one of the first times in American history that women had been able to take part in politics and have a say over the issues affecting their lives. The movement continued strong through the 20th century and lead to the eventual outlaw of alcohol in 1920, which was then later removed due to public outrage in 1933. Overall the Temperance movement had enormous effects on the fight for women's suffrage and helped to display how women can take on leadership roles. It also jumpstarted female involvement in politics. Without this incredibly important historical movement, women's rights would not be anywhere close to they are today.
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It is really fascinating to see how all the different reform movements during this time intertwined with each other (women's rights, temperance, abolition, etc). The WCTU specifically campaigned for women's suffrage as well as temperance, which highlights the interconnectedness. Additionally, I wanted to add that I think it would be interesting to see how religion played a role in the temperance movement because mostly protestant Americans supported reforms. According to the textbooks, Catholic immigrants tended to oppose temperance and other reforms.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.pbs.org/kenburns/not-for-ourselves-alone/temperance-suffrage
This is a super interesting topic! It's really cool how women used the movement as an opportunity for leadership, even if they initially just got involved to avoid abuse and physical harm from their husbands. The temperance movement in America began around the 1820s and within less than 30 years, women's rights conventions were forming throughout the nation. For example, there was the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 and the annual National Women's Rights Conventions beginning in 1850. Women might have first experienced political power through the temperance movement and demanded more of their rights in these conventions as a result.
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