Temperance Movement Research Paper

Most major social reform movements bring substantial and lasting changes in the way people live, think, and behave. The temperance movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was an exception in many ways: "Temperance" refers to the moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages. However, in the context of the temperance movement, the term usually indicated complete abstinence, which means drinking no alcohol at all. The goal of the temperance movement in the United States was to make the production and sale of alcohol illegal. Supporters believed that prohibiting alcohol would solve a number of society's problems, making people safer, healthier, and more productive.

The movement succeeded in its goal in 1919 with the passage …show more content…
Many people believed it had medicinal value and, when consumed in moderation, could ward off a variety of illnesses. During the colonial era, some religious and community leaders expressed concern about the problems of drunkenness. But in general, the consumption of alcohol was widely accepted.

The seeds of the temperance movement were planted in large measure by religious denominations that strictly opposed all alcoholic beverages. Toward the end of the 1700s and into the 1800s, more and more religious leaders began expressing the view that drinking alcoholic beverages led to sin and would prevent salvation, being saved from one's sins and allowed to enter heaven after death. During the early decades of the 1800s, a religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening took root in the United States. The revival had an impact on the temperance movement in two significant ways. First, it preached against all alcohol consumption. Second, it taught that salvation was possible through good works, inspiring many people to become involved in social reform. Throughout the nation, temperance societies formed to spread the word about the dangers of

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