Temperance Movement In The 1800s

The Temperance movement was organized and created to solve the growing problem of drinking in the 1800s. This paper will provide a brief overview of how the movement got started and the impact it had on American history. The drinking mainly arose in the period after the American Revolution when people drank due to the economic and social problems that occurred after the war. It then became an important part of nearly every kind of social function. Widespread drinking was just a way of life. Alcohol was blamed for many of society’s problems such as health issues, and crime. Estimates believe that between 1800 and 1830 the annual consumption of alcohol was between 6.6 to 7.1 gallons per person.
The Temperance movement started in the early 1800s, and it was part of the renewed interests in religion called the Second Great Awakening. Because of Temperance many people took a pledge to refrain from drinking alcohol. Those who took the pledge to stop drinking
Beecher’s preaching soon gained more men who supported his cause. The word quickly spread of temperance, and missionaries were sent to preach this gospel. Shortly thereafter, American Temperance Society (ATS) was formed and claimed national attention. By 1831 the ATS reported over 2,200 known societies within the states. Efforts of the ATS were aimed primarily at the moderate drinker and the middle class. The main method the temperance reformers used to get people to join the movement was moral suasion. This moral suasion tactic was later changed to a legal suasion as temperance workers would petition asking for state legislatures to change laws that regulated liquor. Another group that rose from the Temperance movement was the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). This group embraced a wide variety of reforms and became the largest temperance and women’s organization prior to