The following article by Dr. Alex Berezow is reprinted by permission of the American Council on Science and Health. In it, he points out fallacies of an Atlantic anti-alcohol article. Completely banning alcohol would only prevent about 3.5% of cancer deaths. That, of course, means the other 96.5% of fatal cancers are caused by things other …
It was the eve of the 20th century. The temperance movement had morphed into the prohibition movement. The history of prohibition in the US can be traced back to the Colonial period. But it began largely as a temperance movement. It called for temperance or moderation. Only later did it begin to call for complete …
The U.S. Civil War (1861-1865) and its immediate aftermath diverted attention to more pressing matters. This disrupted the growth of temperance work. And the work was essentially destroyed in the South. The massive rebuilding needed there inhibited growth of the movement for years. However, by 1870, concerns about temperance again largely returned. The successes and …
The temperance movement began as a smoldering fire. Then it became a bonfire. During the 20th century it grew into a rageing forest fire. It finally led to Prohibition in America. At first, local areas and a few states voted for their own prohibition. But the pace quickened early in the 20th century. By the …
The emergence of temperance was slow. As time passed, temperance activists became frustrated. Drinkers were not cutting back enough. Nor were enough becoming teetotalers. Persuasion had its limits. Increasingly, temperance activists came to believe that people should be prohibited from drinking. That the police power of the state should be used to stop them. That …
The beginnings of temperance in America started very slowly. They began modestly. Temperance meant drinking temperately or moderately. Temperance proponents might urge people not to drink too much. They might urge them to reduce how much and how often they drank. But most often, they would encourage them to drink beer or wine instead of …
Eliza Thompson became active in leading groups of women to saloons to close them down. It occurred in 1873 after she and others heard a lecture by Dr. Dio Lewis. Eliza Thompson’s Method “Dr. Lewis had suggested that women should organize to protest against saloons and to pray for the bars’ closing. Thompson took Lewis’s …
P.T. Barnum, of Barnum & Bailey Circus fame, wrote that he was a drinking person until about the age of 40. “Then, I saw so much intoxication among men of wealth, filling the highest positions in society, that I began to ask myself the question ‘What guarantee is there that I may not become a …
The women leaders of temperance and prohibition worked hard to promote their vision of a better world. They believed that temperance would lead to better family life, stronger morals, improved behaviors, and greater prosperity. I. Background: Women Leaders The temperance movement began before women the right to vote. But it gave opportunities to develop leadership …
