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Social Reform --Temperance -- Grade 08 -- Internet Resources
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Drinking water neither makes a man sick, nor in debt, nor his wife a widow.

- John Neal

OVERVIEW

Temperance means to refrain from drinking alcohol. The goal of the Temperance Movement was to reduce the number of people drinking alcohol or even make it illegal. In 1830, alcohol drinking in the United States was the highest it had ever been. Temperance reformers believed that alcohol was responsible for most of the bad things in society. They blamed alcohol for destroying families, child abuse, crime, poverty, and poor job performance. Groups such as the American Society for the Promotion of Temperance led campaigns to convince people of the evils of alcohol. Women and religious leaders played a large part in these organizations. They printed and distributed pamphlets, put on popular plays, held conventions and parades, and printed children’s books. They wanted to teach adults and children how alcohol could hurt a family or cause poverty and crime. Many groups encouraged people to sign pledges to stay away from alcohol. By 1835, two million Americans had taken these pledges, including many members of Congress. By 1845, the rate of alcohol consumption had dropped more than two-thirds. In 1851, Maine passed the first state law making it illegal to sell alcohol. Temperance remained a political issue into the 1920s, when the Constitution was amended to prohibit the sale of alcohol throughout the nation. This amendment was later repealed, or canceled. Today, states have laws that prohibit drinking alcohol for people under a certain age. In Maryland, it is illegal to drink until you are twenty-one.

That One Glass More

URL: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html

1) Type “That One Glass More” in the SEARCH box.

2) Choose ITEM TITLE (1) – That one glass more/.

3) View pages 1- 4 of the sheet music by clicking NEXT PAGE.

Although this is the original document of sheet music for this song, you may find it difficult to follow in order to gain meaning from the lyrics. The American Tract Society, a religious organization (1826 – 1848) that promoted temperance, published an excerpt from this song in the form of a poem (below). Use it to identify the beliefs of the temperance reformers, as well as one method they used to bring about reform.

“One Glass More”

Stay, mortal, stay! Nor heedless thus

Thy sure destruction seal;

Within that cup there lurks a curse,

Which all who drink shall feel.

Disease and death, for ever nigh,

Stand ready at the door,

And eager wait to hear the cry

Of – “Give me one glass more.”

Go, view the prisoners’ gloomy cells;

Their sin and misery scan/

Gaze, gaze upon these earthly hells—

In drink their woes began.

Of yonder children, bathed in tears,

Ask, “Why is mother poor?”

They’ll whisper in thy startled ears

“‘T was father’s One glass more.”

The document below outlines the events at a convention held in 1841 to promote temperance. Use the information in the document to identify methods used by temperance reformers to bring about change.

Programme of the Temperance Convention (1841)

URL: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html

1) Type “Temperance Convention 1841” in the SEARCH box.

2) Choose ITEM TITLE (1) – Programme of the Temperance convention, Middletown, Oct. 26, 27, 1841.

3) Double click on the first image to enlarge it.

Last updated 03.13.2007. Created by Michael Warner, Library Media Specialist