The temperance movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries was an organized effort to encourage moderation in the consumption of intoxicating liquors or press for complete abstinence. The movement's ranks were mostly filled by women who, with their children, had endured the effects of unbridled drinking by many of their menfolk. In fact, alcohol was blamed for many of society's demerits, among them severe health problems, destitution and crime. At first, they used moral suasion to address the problem.

Temperance efforts existed in antiquity, but the movement really came into its own as a reaction to the pervasive use of distilled beverages in modern times. The earliest organizations in Europe came into being in Ireland in the 1820s, then swept to Scotland and Britain. Norway and Sweden saw movements rise in the 1830s. In the United

States, a pledge of abstinence from drinking had been taken by various preachers at the beginning of the 1800s. Thanks largely to the lead from the pulpit, some 6,000 local temperance groups in many states were up and running by the 1830s.

The movement existed in a matrix of unrest and intellectual ferment in which such other social ills as slavery, neglect and ill-treatment of marginalized people, were addressed by liberals and conservatives alike. Sometimes called the First Reform Era, running through the 1830s and '40s, it was a period of inclusive humanitarian reform.

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League quickly gained followers in the late 1800’s. As these groups gathered political power, their strategy changed from moral suasion to agitation for government control of liquor, using social, educational and political tactics. In fact, they succeeded in getting many liquor laws passed nationwide, partly thanks to backing from churches as well as industrialists who faced poor worker productivity and absenteeism. 

Some of the most notable figures associated with the U.S. temperance movement were Susan B. Anthony, Frances E. Willard and Carry A. Nation. The effects of their efforts and thousands of other advocates included:

The temperance movement crested when the 18th Amendment to the Constitution (Prohibition, 1919-33) was passed and ratified. The frank failure of Prohibition (repealed by the 21st Amendment) sealed the movement's fate as it lost steam.

The most well-known temperance effort since the movement's heyday has been Alcoholics Anonymous. This widespread and venerable organization advocates total abstinence, but treats alcoholism as a disease and does not seek governmental control of the liquor industry.

Now read the primary source ―Youth's Temperance Lecture‖ by Charles Jewett and think about the following questions:

1. What is temperance?

2. What type of people led the temperance movement? Why?

3. What effect did the temperance crusaders have on the issue?

4. The primary source Youth's Temperance Lecture by Charles Jewett is from a children’s book. What do you think was its purpose?