Temperance movement

The temperance movement is a social movement against the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote complete abstinence from alcohol (teetotalism), and its leaders emphasize alcohol's negative effects on people's health, personalities and family lives. Typically the movement promotes alcohol education and it also demands the passage of new laws against the sale of alcohol, either regulations on the availability of alcohol, or the complete prohibition of it. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the temperance movement became prominent in many countries, particularly in English-speaking and Scandinavian ones, and it eventually led to Prohibition in the United States which lasted from 1920 to 1933. In the late 17th century, alcohol was a vital part of colonial life as a beverage, medicine, and commodity for men, women, and children. Drinking was widely accepted and completely integrated into society; but drunkenness was not. However, most supporters of the movement were heavy drinkers themselves, according to a study done by an insider.:5 Attitudes towards alcohol began to change in the late 18th century. One of the reasons for this was the need for sober laborers to operate heavy machinery developed in the Industrial Revolution. Anthony Benezet suggested abstinence from alcohol in 1775.:4:36–37 As early as the 1790s, physician Benjamin Rush researched the danger that drinking alcohol could lead to disease that leads to a lack of self-control and he cited abstinence as the only treatment option.:109 Rush saw benefits in fermented drinks, but condemned the use of distilled spirits.:37 As well as addiction, Rush noticed the correlation that drunkenness had with disease, death, suicide, and crime. According to 'Pompili, Maurizio et al', there is increasing evidence that, aside from the volume of alcohol consumed, the pattern of the drinking is relevant for health outcomes. Overall, there is a causal relationship between alcohol consumption and more than 60 types of diseases and injuries. Alcohol is estimated to cause about 20–30% of cases of esophageal cancer, liver cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, homicide, epilepsy and motor vehicle accidents. After the American Revolution, Rush called upon ministers of various churches to act in preaching the messages of temperance.:23 However, abstinence messages were largely ignored by Americans until the 1820s.:37 During the 18th century, Native American cultures and societies were severely affected by alcohol, which was often given in trade for furs, leading to poverty and social disintegration. As early as 1737, Native Americans began to campaign against alcohol and for legislation to restrict the sale and distribution of alcoholic drinks in indigenous communities. The Pequot writer and minister William Apess (1798–1839) established the first formal Native American temperance society among the Maspee Indians on 11 October 1833. In the 18th century, there was a 'gin craze' in Great Britain. The bourgeoisie became increasingly critical of the widespread drunkenness among the lower classes. Motivated by the bourgeoisie's desire for order, and amplified by the population growth in the cities, the drinking of gin became the subject of critical national debate. In 1743, John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Churches, proclaimed 'that buying, selling, and drinking of liquor, unless absolutely necessary, were evils to be avoided'. In the early 19th-century United States, alcohol was still regarded as a necessary part of the American diet for both practical and social reasons. On one hand, water supplies were often polluted, milk was not always available, and coffee and tea were expensive. On the other hand, social constructs of the time made it impolite for people (particularly men) to refuse alcohol.:37 Drunkenness was not a problem, because people would only drink small amounts of alcohol throughout the day, but at the turn of the 19th century, overindulgence and subsequent intoxication became problems that often led to the disintegration of the family.:37 Early temperance societies, often associated with churches, were located in upstate New York and New England, but only lasted a few years. These early temperance societies called for moderate drinking, but had little influence outside of their geographical areas. In 1810, Calvinist ministers met with a seminary in Massachusetts to write articles about abstinence from alcohol to use in preaching to their congregations.:38 The Massachusetts Society for the Suppression of Intemperance (MSSI) was formed in 1813. The organization only accepted men of high social standing and encouraged moderation in alcohol consumption. Its peak of influence was in 1818, and it ended in 1820 ahaving made no significant mark on the future of the temperance movement.:38 Other small temperance societies appear in the 1810s, but had little impact outside their immediate regions and they disbanded soon after. Their methods had little effect in implementing temperance, and drinking actually increased until after 1830; however, their methods of public pledges and meetings, as well as handing out pamphlets, were implemented by more lasting temperance societies such as the American Temperance Society.:38 The temperance movement in the United States began at a national level in the 1820s, having been popularized by evangelical temperance reformers and among the middle classes.:109:38 There was a concentration on advice against hard spirits rather than on abstinence from all alcohol, and on moral reform rather than legal measures against alcohol. An earlier temperance movement had begun during the American Revolution in Connecticut, Virginia and New York state, with farmers forming associations to ban whiskey distilling. The movement spread to eight states, advocating temperance rather than abstinence and taking positions on religious issues such as observance of the Sabbath. After the American Revolution there was a new emphasis on good citizenship for the new republic. With the Evangelical Protestant religious revival of the 1820s and 1830s, called the Second Great Awakening, social movements began aiming for a perfect society. This included abolitionism and temperance.:23 The Awakening brought with it an optimism about moral reform, achieved through volunteer organizations.:6 Although the temperance movement was nonsectarian in principle, the movement consisted mostly of church-goers.