Teacher Resources
Introduction for Students
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Introduction for Students
Have you ever tried alcohol? Has anyone ever asked you to try it? Has
anyone ever asked you not to drink? Well, in the 1800s many people took a
pledge never to drink alcohol. They were part of a movement called
Temperance that was to have an enormous impact on our country.
In the period following the American Revolution many Americans drank to
excess. This was due in part to economic and social problems that occurred
as a result of rapid inflation following the war for independence. But
widespread drinking was also a way of life. People accustomed to hard
physical labor often drank when working—indeed it was often customary
to
pay workers with drink as well as money. Alcohol was an important part of
all kinds of social functions from marriage ceremonies to elections to
militia musters. In many parts of the country few drinks existed that did
not contain alcohol, and it was often considered healthier to drink
fermented and distilled beverages than water, which was often
contaminated.
The Temperance Movement began to solve this growing problem. Beginning in
the early 1800s the movement first tried to make people temperate in their
drinking—that is to make them drink less. But by the 1820s the
movement
started to advocate for the total abstinence of all alcohol—that is
to
urge people to stop drinking completely. The movement was also
influential in passing laws that prohibited the sale of liquor in several
states. When people took the pledge to stop drinking they joined what was
called the "Cold Water Army."
Temperance was also important because it connected to many other reform
movements that sprang up in the country between the American Revolution
and the Civil War. Many of these movements were motivated by a renewed
interest in religion called the Second Great Awakening. The ministers of
the Second Great Awakening preached in an energetic and emotional manner
that appealed to the heart as well as the mind. These intense religious
experiences occurred not just in churches but also in tents and in
open-air meetings called "revivals." The Second Great Awakening inspired
people to try to change the world and make it better. A wide variety of
reform movements developed to improve all aspects of society including
diet, fashion, the care for the mentally ill, the treatment of prisoners,
world peace, the rights of women, and the end to slavery. Temperance was
at the center of most of these reform movements. Many reformers believed
in abstinence and it was through their early association with temperance
societies that they met other reformers and began to seek ways to improve
other aspects of society.
The temperance movement was also important because it was fundamental to
the concept of individual choice and responsibility. Taking the pledge
was a conscious act that one person did in an effort to make himself or
herself a better human being. Temperance also embodied one of the great
historical trends of the nineteenth century—the rising power and
influence of the individual in politics, philosophy, and economics. Over
the course of the 1800s voting laws changed to allow all free white males
to vote regardless of their ownership of land; uniquely American religions
such as Unitarianism and philosophies such as Transcendentalism placed a
greater emphasis on individual thought and perception than on scripture
and dogma; an emerging consumer economy gave greater authority and power
to individual purchasing power; and the nation faced its greatest
crisis—the Civil War—over individual freedom. Central to all of
these
trends
and events were the questions: "How should individual human beings
behave?" and "How does that behavior influence others?" That behavior
included making promises—like taking the pledge—and sticking to
them.
These are questions we continue to ask today and we continue to answer
them in our decisions and attitudes about the use of alcohol.
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