Even the term temperance in America has a strange history. It began with the clear meaning of temperate or moderate. So temperance activists called for not drinking excessively. Among other things, that meant not drinking distilled spirits or liquor.
That view was based on a myth. They thought spirits were “stronger” than beer and wine. But standard drinks of beer, wine and spirits all contain the same amount of alcohol. It’s 0.6 ounce of pure alcohol.
But then temperance activists began to call for people to quit drinking beer and wine as well. They used logical, religious, emotional and other means to persuade drinkers to quit. They tried education. They tried being role models. They finally became frustrated. Not enough people were being convinced.
Temperance in America
Past
Future
This led to the next turn in the road. Temperance activists began to change their ideas. If people couldn’t be persuaded to give up alcohol, they should be forced to do so. And what better means than to use the power of government?
Thus, over time, temperance in America changed its meaning. It began by persuading people to drink in what it considered moderation. It ended up demanding that the government prohibit people from drinking any alcohol.
A camel – symbol of “dry.”Along the way, some Protestant churches began to believe that drinking was a sin. But there was a problem. The Bible says that Jesus both made and drank wine. So how could drinking it be sinful? The answer was the ‘two wine’ doctrine. It held that when Jesus made or drank wine, it was really only grape juice. But when wine was seen as causing problems, it was fermented grape juice. Problem solved.
Web
Readings
- Cherrington, E. The Evolution of Prohib. (1920)
- Kobler, J. Ardent Spirits. The Rise and Fall of Prohib. Very good for history of temperance in America.
- Sinclair, A. Prohib. The Era of Excess.
- Blocker, Jr., J., et al. (Eds.) Alcohol and Temp in Modern Life.