What was the Temperance Movement?
The Temperance Movement was an event that occurred in the 19th century and continued into the beginning of the 20th century. This Movement was the effort mainly made by the women of the times to eliminate the use of alcohol.
Women were more involved in this movement; however, there were several men involved as well. After women achieved the right to vote in 1920, their contributions and efforts were more recognized than they formally were.
Through women taking action in their family lives and helping their husbands cut back and eliminate alcohol, the women of the 19th and early 20th centuries significantly impacted the Temperance Movement.
1. Carry A. Nation
The first and most well-known woman who partook in the Temperance Movement was Carrie A. Nation. She was one of the main women of this movement, and she was normally seen with her signature — her hatchet.
Nation was strong in her beliefs that a person should not partake in drinking alcohol or smoking. She was arrested several times for smashing in counters at saloons and establishments that sold alcohol. She stood her ground all the way to the end of her life at the time of her death in 1911.
Carrie Amelia Moore was born in Garrard County, Kentucky, on November 25, 1846. Carrie was born to a plantation owner, but she was a weak child and was unable to be much help in the working of the fields; however, this gave her ample time to study and discover all of the knowledge of the Bible.
Carrie’s life was fast-paced and quick to start, with one of her first memories occurring on the plantation at the age of three concerning a harsh incident. Her Aunt Judy was shot, and Carrie Nation witnessed the event. Aunt Judy did survive the gunshot; however, the injury left her with one eye.
This event is one of the many reasons why Carrie got into the line of work she was in during her lifetime. Carrie’s father, George, was a heavy drinker and he died of drinking himself to death, which left Carrie with an even more negative view of alcohol.
In 1867, Carrie fell in love quickly and married Charles Gloyd, who was a physician, and she later went on to discover that she was pregnant with his child.
Carrie thought she was going to have a happy life with Gloyd; however, she discovered that he had a heavy drinking problem like her father, and once her son, Charlien, was born, Carrie found him to be a very sickly child, which she blamed on Gloyd due to his heavy drinking. Carrie left Gloyd, and within six months after Charlien was born, Gloyd died.
In 1874, Carrie was married for a second time to David Nation, which is when her name changed to Carrie A. Nation. David Nation had children from his previous marriage due to his wife’s death, and he was a lawyer, journalist, and preacher.
The newlyweds lived in Texas, and Carrie ran a hotel while her husband was a practicing lawyer. This is the crucial time when she started seeing “visions and dreams." Carrie was a religious person, and she believed she was getting divine revelation from God.
When her husband was a preacher, Carrie headed up the Sunday school, helped the poor, and she was crucial in establishing a local sector of the Women’s Christian Temperance Movement. This was a perfect opportunity for Carrie because she was genuinely against alcohol.
The Women’s Christian Temperance Movement to Carrie was more than just alcohol, and she also spoke out about tobacco. Carrie helped the WCTU immensely by first helping to pass the law against selling alcohol in Kansas.
Carrie did not cease there, and she kept on marching to her vision of a nonalcoholic world. She left to go to Kiowa, Kansas, because she felt God was divinely calling her to go there and shut down bars in that area; however, what was once started as singing peaceful hymns outside the bars, she turned to more abusive and violent tactics by throwing bricks in at the bar, and then when that was not enough, she pulled out her hatchet.
She was an impressive woman with a six-foot structure — a mighty threat even to grown men, who would normally flee as soon as they saw her approaching. Carrie was sent to jail multiple times for her conduct and was fined with penalties for disrupting the peace.
Furthermore, this did not disenchant her from the idea of forcing her charge against alcoholics, as she believed alcohol was the problem of society.
She was so famous that she got her own magazine, called “The Hatchet,” where she would talk about “the evils of liquor,” how women should be able to vote, how to run a happy home, and how to raise children.
Changing of names came again for Carrie in 1903 after her divorce from her second husband; however, not in the way a person would think. Carrie changed the spelling of her name to “Carry” as she said it meant “Carry A Nation for Prohibition."
Carry changed her name at the time of her autobiography, The Use and Need of the Life of Carry A. Nation. This was to symbolize her feeling called to carry a nation.
The death of Carry came rather quickly upon her at the age of 64 on June 2, 1911, after she had fallen to the floor while giving a lecture. Even though Carry died fairly prematurely, she left a lasting legacy, and she shook the earth all around America.
Carry A. Nation was a dynamic woman, and she changed the course of American History by pushing through and persevering. She overcame prejudices against women and helped pass the women’s right to vote, though she never got to see the day.
She also was the main reason why Prohibition was instituted in 1919; however, Prohibition ended in 1933 l. Many thought Carry was insane, and she knew their thoughts; however, she saw she was on a mission from God.
2. Frances Williard
The second woman who was a strong leader in the Women’s Temperance Movement was Frances Willard. Frances was a strong and captivating woman in her endeavors.
She was on the road to success when she graduated from Northwest Female College in 1859, and then she went on to become a teacher until 1868.
Later, she went on a world tour with her friend in 1868, then returned to be the leader of Northwestern Female College, and after a merger with another college, Frances became the Dean of Women of the Women’s College.
Frances accepted to be the president of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union in 1874 after leaving the university due to differences with Charles Fowler, the university’s president, and her former fiancé.
She was very passionate about her work as she worked for the Women’s Christian Temperance Union without payment. Becoming involved with the WCTU’s publications committee, she met with Dwight Moody, although she was disappointed because he only wanted her to speak to women — not men.
Throughout Willard’s years as part of the WCTU, she remained the president until her death. During the time of her reign in the WCTU, she encouraged women to do everything they could for Temperance, woman suffrage, and social purity.
Despite being faced with many difficulties, she never gave up in her entire life and always stuck to her right morals through God. By Williard working in the WCTU, she caused it to become one of the largest organizations of women during her time.
Through Williard's perseverance, she also worked in helping to usher in Prohibition with the 18th Amendment and the 19th Amendment.
She passed away on February 17, 1898, to be with the Lord. Her death was due to influenza, but she was not forgotten because on the day of her death, the United States honored her with national mourning.
3. Fanny Crosby
The final woman who made a major contribution to the Women's Temperance Movement was Fanny Crosby.
Fanny Crosby was born in a town in southeast New York on March 24, 1820. Within two months of Fanny’s birth, she had a life-changing event — she was stricken with blindness due to an illegitimate doctor.
He was pretending to be a doctor and used hot mustard poultices to put on her eyes as treatment. This man was not a certified doctor, and his treatment is what made Fanny blind. Fanny: however, was a strong woman, and she did not let blindness get in her way of serving the Lord.
Furthermore, Crosby was such a remarkable woman, and her contribution to the gospel hymns was astounding.
Crosby was most influenced by her grandmother as her grandmother acted as Crosby's eyes and would tell her what the world looked like. Her grandmother and mother raised Fanny in a Christian home, and the Bible was read daily.
By the age of 10, she had memorized the entire Bible. Crosby went on to write over 9,000 hymns, of which many are popular within most Christian churches. She started writing poems and hymns at an early age, and by the age of 23, she was talking with Congress.
In fact, she knew all the chief executives of her lifetime, especially Grover Cleveland, who served as secretary for the Institute of the Blind before his election. Crosby was married to Alexander van Alstine in 1858, who was a blind organist, and he sometimes played the organ behind her hymns.
She was associated with the Women's Temperance Movement in an indirect way. After the death of her daughter, Fanny tended to isolate herself which ultimately ended in the separation of her and her husband’s marriage, but God brought her back to a place of endurance.
In 1880, she recommitted her life to Christ and started serving in other organizations that supported the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.
Some of Fanny’s hymns were used for the Women’s Christian Temperance Union as Frances E. Willard found Fanny’s hymn, “Rescue the Perishing,” quite helpful in the Temperance Movement. “Rescue the Perishing” is about saving lost people by means of the gospel. Crosby wrote this hymn after a moving experience while on a mission in New York.
She affected the Temperance Movement in an indirect way; however, her gospel hymns provided people with peace and hope during these hard times of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Fanny continued on in her missionary work and evangelism up to her very last days as. Sadly, Crosby passed away on February 12, 1915, due to atherosclerosis. Although she has passed away, her legacy continues, as well as the impact she left on the Temperance Movement.
Each of these women was a mountain mover in their faith and in the work they completed. The impact on America by Carry A. Nation, Frances Willard, and Fanny Crosby will be remembered in history forever.
These three Christian women left their mark on America, and they ultimately made a lasting difference in the United States through the Women's Temperance Movement.
For further reading:
Is it a Sin to Drink? Should Christians Be Drinking Alcohol?
Did Jesus Drink Alcohol? Should Christians Drink Alcohol?
5 Things Christians Label as ‘Sin’ That Aren’t Actually Sinful
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