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Founding and Early Goals
The WCTU was founded in 1874 in Cleveland, Ohio following the Women's Crusade, lasting from 1873-1874, which was a series of peaceful protests against alcohol lead by women. The organization was founded by Annie Turner Wittenmyer, though the most influential leader was Frances Willard who expanded the organization to other social issues regarding women at the time.
Motto and Methods
The organization operated under the use of protests, moral persuasion, and political lobbying. Using the motto "For god and home and every land," they sought to spread and put into affect their message. They often protested by gathering into "pray-ins" at saloons and often saw disproportionate reactions where firefighters would hose them down with fire hoses and in one case a bar owner wheeled out a cannon and threatened to kill them all.Â
Expansion
Overtime the WCTU expanded their focuses using a different "do everything" policy focusing on women's suffrage, labor reforms, prison reforms, and educational reforms. The WCTU also successfully expanded chapters into Canada, New Zealand, and Australia further spreading their messages across the world.
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