The Temperance Movement in the
United States
One of the goals of the Progressives was improved
American morality. Working in city neighborhoods,
reformers were often struck by the degree to which alcohol
affected the lives of the people they were trying to help.
Reformers saw workers drinking away their wages, and many
men spent more time at the saloon than at home. Drunkenness
caused violence and problems on the job;
Reformers launched a crusade to remove the evils of alcohol
from American life.
Heading the temperance crusade was the Women’s Christian
Temperance Union (WCTU) founded in 1870. By 1911, the
WCTU had nearly a quarter of a million members. In 1893, it
was joined by the Anti-Saloon League to push for prohibition.
One of the leaders of the temperance movement
was Carrie Nation, who stood over six feet and
led women into saloons with axes to break bottles
of alcohol. She was arrested 30 times for her
escapades.
Another leader was Frances Willard who believed women could
gain political power by leading the temperance movement. She
was the founder and president of the Women’s Christian
Temperance Movement and helped found the Prohibition Party.
The temperance groups used many
forms of propaganda to get their
message across: songs, cartoons,
speeches, posters, etc.
By 1916, the women’s groups had succeeded with prohibiting
alcohol in sixteen states. In 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment
was passed, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation
of intoxicating liquors. Congress passed the Volstead Act to
enforce the Eighteenth Amendment
The Amendment would be repealed
in 1933, with the passage of the
st
21 Amendment.