In US
history, temperance usually refers to moderation in, or abstaining from, the consumption of
alcoholic beverages. The temperance movement, supported by many religious denominations, was a
prime mover in achieving the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution,
prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors, which became law in 1919. The ensuing era is
generally referred to Prohibition, and the amendment remained in force until it was reversed
with the passage of the Twenty-First Amendment in 1933.
One of the most
important organizations that was active on behalf of temperance and prohibition was the Womens
Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), established in 1874. While the organization advocated for a
number of social issues through applied Christianity, it became increasingly associated with
encouraging prohibition on a national level. The WCTUs second president, Frances Willard,
dedicated herself to increasing its membership and promoting its mission, including establishing
international chapters; by 1890, it was the largest womens organization in the world. Other bad
habits and negative behaviors that it opposed included tobacco use. Promoting womens and family
welfare, the union took the position that drinking eroded family stability and caused financial
harm. The WCTU was also associated with anti-immigrant policies, labeling certain nationalities
as more prone to drinking.
The Union included some radical proponents of
temperance, such as Carry Nation, who took a physically aggressive approach. Nations first
husband, Charles Gloyd, was an alcoholic who died young; his death inspired her anti-drinking
activism. After marrying David Nation, she joined the WCTU in Kansas. Within a few years, Nation
had expanded her campaign into violence. She and her followers conducted what she called
hatchetations, entering bars and saloons and physically damaging the establishments with
hatchet blows.
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