Study On American Woman's Christian Temperance Union(Late 19th Century-1930s)

The Temperance Movement in the United States began in the 1820 s,and the pass of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919 marked the peak of the prohibition movement,which swept the country.However,due to various social disadvantages caused by prohibition,the Eighteenth amendment to the constitution was abolished in 1933,bringing to an end of the vigorous prohibition movement.Although the Prohibition Movement ended in failure,it resulted to be an excellent experiment for women who were actively fighting for social status.Especially after the 1870 s,women became independent temperance forces and formed the Women's Christian Temperance Union(WCTU),which was led and controlled completely by women.While the WCTU was founded as a single-aimed organization that advocated to stop drinking alcohol by moral exhortation,Frances Willard expanded the reforms to combine temperance with social reform and fight for women's suffrage.It proposed to integrate women's alcohol prohibition reform into mainstream politics,thereby enhancing women's social influence.This research studies the most influential women's alcohol prohibition organization in the late 19 th century: Women's Christian temperance union.It focuses to analyze the main objectives of each stage of the movement by time sequence so that the comprehensive undertanding can be achieved.It also explores how the WCTU successfully fought for the women's right to vote with the promoting other social reforms during the Prohibition Movement.When men 's alcohol abuse endangers the safety of women and families,women had the responsibility and obligation to protect themselves and their families.As a result,women began to try to close the tavern,and women should have the right to vote to decide where the tavern should be located.Consequently,women started to pursue the right to vote to complete the mission of prohibiting alcohol.In conclusion,it analyzes the contribution and historical limits of WCTU.