In the early 1800’s to around 1919 the people of America were fighting for an alcohol free America, this was referred to as the Temperance Movement. The Temperance Movement became one of the largest social movements of the 19th century. The movement began as a religious movement, then many business leaders joined saying there reason for joining was that drinking interfered with the workers’ productivity. Woman also joined after that saying that drunken husbands were more likely to lose their jobs putting their family at risk but also that by drinking alcohol they were more likely to physically abuse their families once coming home. All in all, I believe The Temperance Movement was a good movement for families in need for a restriction on
Questions for Days 131-150: 1. Charles Grandison Finney was an evangelist who was a preacher who helped in religiously reviving Americans. He was the first of the professional evangelists. 2. Dorothea Dix was a crusader who supported mentally impaired people.
During the late 19th century, people were starting to look for reasons to blame the society’s issues on. Many people, particularly women, began to blame alcohol. With the idea of making society better, groups and organizations were formed in order to advocate against the consumption of alcohol. In the beginning of the 20th century, many states, particularly in the Bible belt, already had laws that banned the creation of alcohol. These groups petitioned Congress to pass the 18th Amendment to our Constitution.
The Prohibition movement simply came out of fear of Puritans and “decision – makers” of this time period towards the immigrants and their influence on American society, directly pertaining to alcohol and its effects on society. These activists for prohibition feared that the immigrants would take their power to make decision in the American society and that their culture and ways of life would affect their own. Many of these Prohibition activists were Christians or actively involved in the churches of that time. They viewed the drinking habits of many American citizens as “ungodly” and lead to evil behavior. They also viewed that “liquor…was only fit for slaves” (Behr 17) and that you morality and reputation was more important, leading to their belief that the act of drinking was immoral and wrong of Christians to do.
Second Great Awakening: The Second Great Awakening was an Evangelical Protestant revivals that swept over America in the early 19th century. The movement began around 1790 and gained momentum by 1800 and after 1820 membership rose rapidly among the Baptist and Methodist congregation whose preacher led the movement Fugitive Slave Law 1850: The Fugitive Slave Law was passed in 1850. this federal law made it easier for slave owners to recapture runaway slaves; it also made it easier for kidnapper to take free blacks.
In Interpretation A, Krout states that the power of the evangelical Protestantism was the greatest factor in the temperance movement. While there is validity in this statement as through congregationalism, evangelical Protestantism had a large following and therefore can get a large group of people to support prohibition. However Krout also mentions that an economical factor was often the reason why people became supporters of prohibition. Krout also mentions that the economical factors included increased taxation and reduced production. Around this time big business men like John Rockefeller put large amounts of money into the temperance movement as they felt it would benefit them as they would have more efficient workers.
In 1919, Congress passed the 18th Amendment which banned the sale and consumption of alcohol in America (Doc B). Prohibitionists overlooked the tenacious American tradition of strong drink and of weak control by the central government. Thus, there was tension between the modernists and the traditionalists. Although the amendment was passed, alcohol was still distributed illegally. Actually, prohibition spawned many crimes, such as illegal sale of alcohol and gang wars.
The amount of consequences and repercussions of drinking can itself be described in lengthy novels: ranging from minor things such as short terms effects that entail impaired motor movement and impaired judgement, to more dangerous things such as alcohol poisoning and liver cancer. With that being said, on the other side of the spectrum, the prohibition of alcohol also had numerous cons to it, to be stated next. The agenda of temperance often can be examined and perceived as something that will benefit all citizens. Sadly, the prohibition had numerous consequences as well. At first, the temperance movement seemed to have worked, crimes dramatically reduced across the board.
The “Progressive Movement was an early-20th century reform movement seeking to return control of the government to the people, to restore economic opportunity, and to correct injustices in American life.” (Danzer R54). The Progressive Era marked the end of the “Gilded Ages” and a start of a new era. The Progressive Era started in 1901 in the United States (Fagnilli 26). There were many major reforms in the Progressive Era that altered and advanced American society.
During the 1920’s alcohol was beginning to be viewed as a problem. Many groups complained about the various effects it had on culture. Women complained that their husbands would get drunk and beat their wife or children. In the business world managers and company owners complained that alcohol was the cause of men coming in late and coming in drunk or hungover which directly affected
The Temperance Movement, starting in 1808, was the first significant attempt to outlaw alcohol. Members of the movement believed alcohol was unconstitutional and caused family violence and crime. In 1900, Carry Nation, who believed saloons were associated with gambling, prostitution, and violence, organized the destruction of many saloons and was arrested. Later in twentieth century came the Prohibition Movement. Supporters thought the poor were wasting their limited money at saloons, and industrial leaders believed a ban on alcohol would increase productivity of workers.
It all started with the best of intentions. Everyone was worried about the effects of alcohol on American families. Mothers and civic leaders started a movement
For example, people’s salary was spent on alcohol, led to physical abuse, sickness, and the hatred effects of drinking on families. Alcohol consumption would hurt workers’ efficiency, which some employers believed would happen. There were this movement which advocated the moderation or elimination of alcohol that were emerging from concerns it was called, “The Temperance Movement.” This movement were mainly led by women where two groups were created one in the year 1874 while the other in the year 1893 there names were the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League. This movement was supposed to only work out to cut alcohol consumption, but was later pressed for prohibition laws banning the manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcohol.
In the early 1800’s, Americans were beginning to reform and revolutionize the world they lived in. At this time, America was recovering from the aftermath of the financial and emotional effects of the War of 1812 and the Bank Wars. Considering the cleanliness of drinking water was not high, many people resorted to drinking distilled liquids. The amount of economical stress placed on men in the time lead them to overuse these distilled drinks, also known as alcohol, leading to issues within the home, such as abuse and women’s control of the household. Two main reforms that took place to correct these issues were the Cult of Domesticity and the Temperance movement.
Prohibition was an amendment that caused the ban of alcohol and anything related to it. America was suffering because of alcohol, so prohibition was enforced. Little did the country know, prohibition would cause America to suffer far more. America was facing various problems due to alcohol such as death, crime, and loss of money. America expected to solve these problems by banning alcohol; never did the country expect the problems to worsen.
Around the time of these protests Americans were beginning to realize their rights as citizens and what their ideal government looked like. Settlers of the backcountry were rebelling against the federalists, attempting to acquire more representation in the government. The people of the backcountry were becoming more oppressed as Alexander Hamilton began to attempt to improve America’s economy with manufacturing and revenue taxes. The backcountry settlers organized violent protests, three of these rebellions being Shays’ Rebellion, Whiskey Rebellion, and March of the Paxton Boys.