Temperance Project by Alice Schaefer

INTRODUCTION

ekennedy4204 — 2024-03-01 16:05:53 UTC

WELCOME TO THE TEMPERANCE MUSEUM!

By Alice Schaefer, Emily Kennedy, Sami Calica

PERSPECTIVES AND REACTION

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IMPACT

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SIGNIFICANCE

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The Drunkards Progress from The first Glass to the Grave

aschaefer3113 — 2024-03-01 16:07:53 UTC

This was a lithograph drawn by Nathaniel Currier which shows the dangers of alcohol, and the negative outcomes that come from drinking to establish fear and guilt in current alcohol drinkers.

Family Temperance Pledge

aschaefer3113 — 2024-03-01 16:10:00 UTC

This pledge was meant to be signed by families to pledge their allegiance to the non-indulgence of alcohol and was a guide that was trying to get entire families to agree to temperance and live a more Christian life. Introduced by women and brought to the entire family.

Led by Women and Religion

aschaefer3113 — 2024-03-01 16:13:52 UTC

The Temperance movement elicited a multitude of perspectives and reactions from individuals in various places within society. Most prevalently, the leadership in the Temperance movement was comprised of women and religious groups. Women were drawn to Temperance because they noticed how alcohol caused the men in their lives to commit acts of domestic violence and abandon their families. Additionally, religious groups joined the cause because they wanted to promote a sin-free life. This intersectionality of perspectives within the movement is seen through the drawing " The Ohio Whiskey War" (Morton). In this image, women are seen praying and singing hymns towards men drinking in a bar. They are urging them to go home to their families by reciting religious texts. This demonstrates how the perspectives of leadership in this movement come from the intersectionality of female and religious leaders. Without the combination of leadership within this movement; it would not have been as impactful on American society.

What was the Temperance movement?

scalica5005 — 2024-03-01 16:16:14 UTC

The Temperance Movement was a social movement that lasted from 1800-1933. Led by organizations of women; namely the WTCU (an influential group of Christian women). These groups of women strived to promote abstinence from alcohol and an overall holy lifestyle. The goals of this movement were to ban the sale of alcohol on a federal level, as well as spread education on the effects of alcohol. These goals were achieved through the utilization of visual propaganda, the promotion of its ideals by influential people within society, and petitions. These tactics were extremely efficient as over 100,000 people joined Temperance within the first three years of its creation. During the Jacksonian Era, The United States went through a religious rebirth, and from that, more conservative values were implemented in American Society at that time. The United States began to pass laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol in the 1850's. Less than a hundred years later, the 18th Amendment passed which prohibited drinking and selling intoxicating liquids.

Men Targeted

aschaefer3113 — 2024-03-01 16:16:37 UTC

The propaganda and messages of this movement were directed towards men who most commonly fell victim to alcoholism. Many men joined the movement through the family temperance pledge and from societal pressures as drinking became denormalized. They were mainly responsible for the violence and abuse within their familys, which is why they were the main targets of this movement. This is seen through the "Family Temperance Pledge" a pledge handed out at Temperance meetings where signers agreed to stop drinking (Unknown). Temperance was easily accepted by women but was more difficult for most men to accept since alcohol was an integral part of their lives. By framing abstaining from drinking as a family activity men were more likely to participate.

Ohio Whiskey War

ekennedy4204 — 2024-03-01 16:21:38 UTC

This helps to prove that alcohol consumption got to a point where it was ruining people's connections and causing the women to get mad at the men. The temperance movement helped to stop this and cut down the anger and overconsumption which ultimately helped the future of America.

Temperance Petition to New York Legislators

aschaefer3113 — 2024-03-01 16:24:20 UTC

This petition was for legislators and women to sign. The top was where women would sign and the bottom was where legislators would sign. This increased the power of women in society and allowed their opinions to be heard.

What Aspects of the Jacksonian Era Affected Temperance?

aschaefer3113 — 2024-03-01 16:26:26 UTC

Temperance was heavily influenced by the ideals of the Second Great Awakening as seen through the religious themes used to guilt people into joining. The Second Great Awakening was a movement that swept the US in the 19th century and brought strong religious connections back to America. It also ended the idea of predestination which was that an individual was pre-destined for heaven or hell the moment they were born. Now, people believed that their actions were the determinant of going to heaven or hell and therefore were more focused on living a life without sin. Temperance utilized the increasingly religious values of society to guilt people into joining. The Lithograph titled "The Drunkards Progress" drawn in 1846 highlights this idea as it shows the effects of alcoholism on an individual and more importantly; the effects their addiction has on their family (Currier). Temperance leaders knew that since society began to understand that their actions affected their placement in the afterlife guilt could be used to push people into living a more holy life which involved joining temperance. Guilt was used as a tactic to convert men to temperance because after the second great awakening people believed that their actions determined whether they went to heaven or hell. This was extremely efficient as by the end of the movement it had gained over a million followers.

ekennedy4204 — 2024-03-01 16:27:05 UTC

The Temperance movement marked an important increase in women's power within society at that time. Before Temperance, women held no political power within American society. As the movement progressed and acquired a significant portion of the US as members, women began to introduce legislation for their cause. The Document "Temperance Petition to New York Legislators" contains two divided sections; one for women to sign and one for the legislators to sign (Unknown). This demonstrates how women began to gain some political power since they were allowed to sign the petition; showing that they were against the sale of alcohol and the opinion that they held mattered when legislators voted. The impacts of the Temperance Movement go much beyond just the ban of alcohol, it provided a social change for the primarily unheard gender.

Before the Temperance Movement was introduced, Americans, specifically the men of the household, were overindulging alcohol causing violence and anger within families. On average, a normal American citizen could drink about 3 gallons of alcohol per year. But, due to the Temperance Movement, alcohol consumption was cut down by half. During and after the Temperance Movement, many temperance societies and organizations were formed to spread awareness. After the laws and acts from the Temperance Movement were put in place, abuse and anger in families were cut down and in return, many families were able to rekindle. Women were constantly affected by the consumption of alcohol by their partners and would constantly become angry at their partners for not stopping.

D.A.R.E

scalica5005 — 2024-03-05 16:10:52 UTC

Temperance has had an everlasting effect on our society, and today there remain numerous organizations that contribute to the widespread of temperance. One prominent organization that carries the ideals of the temperance movement is D.A.R.E. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education organization is a program that seeks to teach school-aged children about the risks of alcohol and drug abuse. It uses comparable tactics to the ones utilized during the Temperance such as visual propaganda and pledges against the use of alcohol. When a D.A.R.E group presents to a school; they warn against the overuse of drugs and alcohol; just like Temperance. Then they finish their presentations by handing out a pledge that encourages signers to "dare" to resist drugs and alcohol. The effects of the Temperance movement are still seen today since its tactics are used on today's youth.

Important Figure: Carrie Nation

ekennedy4204 — 2024-03-05 16:25:54 UTC

Carrie Nation was an activist, organizer, and leader of the Temperance Movement. Carrie Nation was born on November 25, 1846, in Garrard County, Kentucky. She died on June 9, 1911, in Leavenworth, Kansas.

As a kid, Carrie experienced poverty, a mentally unstable mother, and ill health. She was married two times but became divorced in 1901 to her 2nd husband.

Carrie Nation entered the Temperance Movement when a U.S. Supreme Court decision favored the importation and the sale of liquor in their "original packages." She believed that anyone could destroy the saloons with freedom. Carrie Nation would march in the saloon to "sing, pray, hurl biblical-sounding vituperations, and smash the bar fixtures and stock with a hatchet." She survived multiple physical assaults but ultimately wrote newsletters explaining her experience. She was an advocate of women's suffrage and rallied against numerous tobacco, foreign foods, corsets, skirts of improper length, and multiple other orders.

Works Cited

aschaefer3113 — 2024-03-05 22:45:20 UTC

Dry January

aschaefer3113 — 2024-03-07 02:40:34 UTC

Another example of the prevalence of the Temperance movement in today's society is the Dry January movement. Dry January is a New Year resolution that swept the internet by storm; it challenges participants to abstain from alcohol for the entire month of January. Dry January is similar to the Temperance movement as it utilizes the same tactics to get people to join. For example, many influencers who have power within our society participated in Dry January and encouraged others to join. Similarly, during Temperance prominent figures with influence in their societies promoted the ideals of the movement. In both of these movements, individuals with high societal influence used their power to encourage others to join the movements. The effects of temperance are still seen through the tactics used to promote sobriety in modern-day society.

Significance on United States Identity

scalica5005 — 2024-03-07 02:53:04 UTC

Temperance has created an everlasting effect on the identity of the United States. It bandaged the wounds of the broken country and created a sense of unity and Nationalism in the country through the fact that a majority of men were pursuing a sober life and this joy brought the country back together. This was a big step for the country as it showed the strength of the country and its ability to persevere from issues. In the United States at this time, sectionalism increased since issues such as slavery and Western expansion were heavily debated. Despite these fundamental differences in how citizens of the US wanted the country to be run; Temperance was a uniting cause for people of all genders and social classes to unite on.