Temperance

Temperance Movement 

• While mixed results were common for reform efforts, the temperance movement achieved its goal 

  • WCTU 

  • Want prohibition 

  • Led by frances willard until 1898 

    • Under her not uncommon to form alliances with other organizations to promote prohibition 

    • Also would support other reform movements 

  • Replaced by lilian Stevens 

    • Wanted to use legislative means to achieve some of the goals 

    • By 1901 every public school legally required to teach temperance 

    • By 1910 WCTU is distributing 15-16 millions of paper trying to bring people over to their cause 

• Carrie Nation: took the barrels of alcohol and hit them with her hatchet 

  • Ensured that prohibition laws in kansas were followed 

  • She referred to her followers as home defenders 

    • Arrested more than 30 times 

  • Got a house in kansas city kansas provides a haven for women and children here for spouses or parents with substance abuse problems 

  • Also a big fan of dress reform 

    • Hated corsets and refused to wear one thought they’d damage internal organs 

    • Advised men not to marry women who wear corsets 

    • Crusaded against tobacco would march up to men grab the cigar out of their mouths and step on them

    • Supported women's suffrage 

• Temperance Movement makes steady progress 

  • 1916 21 states banned saloons

    • 1916 elections led to a congress where the majority supported an amendment for prohibition

  • 1917: 18th amendment passed 

    • 1919 18th amendment ratified 

• Volstead Act: purpose was to provide some support to enforce 18th Amendment 

To many, a new century demanded a new woman 

• Might be educated, confident, athletic, flirtatious, and adventurous 

• May have gone to college or even graduate school 

• Might have run her own business or worked in one 

• Someone who valued caring for herself- economically and socially 

• Wore a shirtwaist and a skirt -something that allowed her to move easily 

• Would've considered the cult of domesticity outdated 

  • Take some of the virtues but combine them with more modern traits 

• Increasing number of women were receiving an education in the early 1900s 

  • Number of coed schools and women’s colleges expand from 1890-1920 

• Most women went into teaching permanently or in many cases until they got married 

  • Smaller numbers of women went into fields that were male dominated 

    • Medicine, law, academia, 

    • By 1920 1.4% of all lawyers were women who would practice with their husbands or fathers 

    • If they couldn't find work at a law firm then they would use it for other pursuits 

      • Florence kelley - used her education to fight for legislation in illinois 

• Women went into secretarial services, nurses, performing arts, social work, librarians, journalism 

• Ida Tarbell: only woman in her graduating class 

  • Claim to fame is that she became one of the most famous investigative journalists of her day 

    • muckrakers - tried exposing corruption, scandal

    • Focused on the corruption of Standard Oil 

• She had a difficult time with her career 

• Wrote articles advising women to stay out of the workplace 

• One of the versions of the new woman was the Gibson Girl 

  • Named for a professional illustrator- charles dana gibson 

  • Wore her hair “up swept”

  • Rocked a shirt waist with the skirt 

  • Ready to play golf, tennis, or even ride a bike 

  • Representation of her is EVERYWHERE 

    • Magazines, books, songs, wallpaper, china 

    • Represents the modern woman 

The Suffrage Movement Continued:

• 1890 women’s suffrage became more of a mainstream issue

•  Rejoining of the movement caused this NAWSA 

  • Some women needed to be convinced just as much as men 

  • There's an anti-suffrage movement as well

• 1914, WW1, movement is interrupted 

  • This time the war helps women obtain the right to vote 

  • Looks at women like oh they were really helpful maybe women can handle voting