" Wowser " is an Australian and New Zealand term that refers to someone who seeks to deprive others of allegedly immoral and sinful behaviour, such as drinking, smoking and gambling. Critics of wowsers typically describe them as prudish and self-righteous.
100-559: The term originated in Australia, at first carrying a similar meaning to "lout" (an annoying or disruptive person, or even a prostitute). Around 1900 it shifted to its present meaning: one whose sense of morality drives them to deprive others of their sinful pleasures, especially liquor. The term was particularly applied to members of temperance groups such as the antipodean branches of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union . John Norton , editor of
200-489: A treaty of friendship and permission at Logstown with the main tribes in the region in 1752 . A rival group of land speculators from Virginia, the Loyal Company of Virginia , was organized about the same time, and included influential Virginians such as Thomas Walker , William Cabell and Peter Jefferson (father of Thomas Jefferson ). In 1752 George Mason , later to become a major founding father, became treasurer of
300-668: A "despoiled traders" (frontiersmen who had been aggrieved by the various Indian raids during and after the French and Indian Wars) land grant in 1768. In order to get approved by the British Crown , they joined with a number of other land speculators to form the Walpole Company, named for Thomas Walpole, a British lawyer involved in the endeavor. The company wanted to acquire 2.5 million acres of Ohio Country land. Pennsylvanian Benjamin Franklin
400-709: A SW point not determined until after the Mason Dixon survey). Moreover, France also claimed land in North America, including everything drained by the Mississippi River (the Ohio River being one of the great river's tributaries). Not only did French traders compete with those of the Ohio Company and agents of other British-chartered entities, France had also sent soldiers, who were fighting for their kingdom's right to occupy
500-519: A book "The Simplicity of Health", which strongly condemned the use of alcohol and tobacco, and the untempered consumption of meat, similar to the provisions in the Word of Wisdom revealed three years later. This gave publicity to the movement and Temperance Societies began to form. On February 1, 1833, a few weeks before the Word of Wisdom was published, all distilleries in the Kirtland area were shut down. During
600-618: A fortified storehouse at what became Ridgeley, Virginia across the Potomac River from the Will's Creek trading post. That year the Ohio Company also hired Christopher Gist , a skillful woodsman and surveyor, to explore the Ohio Valley in order to identify lands for potential settlement. He surveyed and estimated the area drained by the Kanawha River as well as that drained by other tributaries of
700-455: A land title was officially granted. For example, The Ohio Company required settlers to plant not less than fifty apple trees and twenty peach trees within three years. These plantings guaranteed land titles. In 1767, the average New England family was consuming seven barrels of hard cider annually, which equates to about 35-gallons per person. Around the mid-1800s, newly arrived immigrants from Germany and elsewhere increased beer's popularity, and
800-544: A loss of 11 billion dollars for the US. Furthermore, enforcement of the alcohol ban was an expensive undertaking for the government. Because the Eighteenth Amendment did not prohibit consumption, but only manufacture, distribution and sale, illegal consumption became commonplace. Illegal production of alcohol rose, and a thousand people per year died of alcohol that was illegally produced with little quality control. Bootlegging
900-467: A penitentiary and himself for a warder'. Historian Stuart Macintyre argues: the achievements of the wowsers were impressive; they passed laws that restricted obscenity and juvenile smoking, raised the age of consent, limited gambling, closed down many pubs, and in 1915–16 established a 6 pm closing hour for pubs, which lasted for decades. "Wowser" was frequently used by artist and author Norman Lindsay , who fought many battles with "wowsers" over
1000-544: A preacher, James Springer White , who did not use alcohol or tobacco. Ellen preached healthful living to her followers, without specifying abstinence from alcohol, as most of her followers were temperance followers, and abstinence would have been implied. As a response to rising social problems in urbanized areas, a stricter form of temperance emerged called teetotalism , which promoted the complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages, this time including wine and beer, not just ardent spirits. The term teetotaler came from
1100-466: A requirement for the Latter Day Saints to comply would cause division in the church. In Harry M. Beardsley's book Joseph Smith and his Mormon Empire , Beardsley argues that some Mormon historians attempted to portray Smith as a teetotaler, but according to the testimonies of his contemporaries, he often drank alcohol in his own home or the homes of his friends in Kirtland. In Nauvoo, Illinois, Smith
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#17331232046781200-456: A safe place to reform and learn to practice total abstinence while receiving food and shelter. These movements emphasized sympathy over coercion, yet unlike the Washingtonian movements, emphasized helplessness as well with relief from their addictions as a result from seeking the grace of God. As an expression of moralism , the membership of the temperance movement overlapped with that of
1300-522: A seminary in Massachusetts to write articles about abstinence from alcohol to use in preaching to their congregations. The Massachusetts Society for the Suppression of Intemperance (MSSI) was formed in 1813. The organization only accepted men of high social standing and encouraged moderation in alcohol consumption. Its peak of influence was in 1818, and it ended in 1820, having made no significant mark on
1400-419: A virtue. In late 17th-century North America, alcohol was a vital part of colonial life as a beverage, medicine, and commodity for men, women, and children. Drinking was widely accepted and completely integrated into society; however, drunkenness was not tolerated. In the colonial period of America from around 1623, when a Plymouth minister named William Blackstone began distributing apples and flowers, up until
1500-536: Is generally less politically influential than it was in the early 20th century. Its efforts today include disseminating research regarding alcohol and health, in addition to its effects on society and the family unit. Ohio Company The Ohio Company , formally known as the Ohio Company of Virginia , was a land speculation company organized for the settlement by Virginians of the Ohio Country (approximately
1600-415: Is increasing evidence that, aside from the volume of alcohol consumed, the pattern of the drinking is relevant for health outcomes. Overall, there is a causal relationship between alcohol consumption and more than 60 types of diseases and injuries. Alcohol is estimated to cause about 20–30% of cases of esophageal cancer, liver cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, homicide, epilepsy and motor vehicle accidents. After
1700-590: The American Revolution , Rush called upon ministers of various churches to act in preaching the messages of temperance. However, abstinence messages were largely ignored by Americans until the 1820s. Temperance is one of the cardinal virtues listed in Aristotle's tractate the Nicomachean Ethics . During the 18th century, Native American cultures and societies were severely affected by alcohol, which
1800-585: The Appalachian Mountains to the Monongahela River , and then to start widening this road into a wagon road. Though not known at the time, that route was one of only three mid-mountain-range crossings of the Appalachian Ridge and Valley system between the northern Hudson-Great Lakes route, and the southern Georgia-Mississippi-Western Tennessee plains route. In 1750, the Ohio Company established
1900-578: The Irish priest Theobald Mathew established the Teetotal Abstinence Society in 1838. In 1838, the mass working class movement for universal suffrage for men, Chartism , included a current called "temperance chartism". Faced with the refusal of the Parliament of the time to give the right to vote to working people, the temperance chartists saw the campaign against alcohol as a way of proving to
2000-537: The Kanawha River and the Monongahela . The grant was in two parts: the first 200,000 acres were promised, and the following 300,000 acres were to be granted if the Ohio Company successfully settled one hundred families within seven years. Furthermore, the Ohio Company was required to construct a fort and provide a garrison to protect the settlement at their own expense. But the land grant was rent and tax free for ten years to facilitate settlement. The organizers signed
2100-671: The Maspee Indians on 11 October 1833. Out of the religious revival and reform appeared the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Seventh-day Adventism , new Christian denominations that established criteria for healthy living as a part of their religious teachings, namely temperance. The Word of Wisdom is a health code followed by the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Latter Day Saint denominations which advises how to maintain good health: what one should do and what one should abstain from. One of
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#17331232046782200-654: The National Prohibition Act , which stipulated how the federal government should enforce the amendment. National prohibition was proposed several times in New Zealand as well, and nearly successful. On a similar note, Australian states and New Zealand introduced restrictive early closing times for bars during and immediately after the First World War. In Canada , in 1916 the Ontario Temperance Act
2300-602: The Ohio River , and returned in 1751 and 1753. His journals provide valuable insights of the greater Ohio Valley as well as the Alleghenies . Gist travelled as far west as the Miami Indian village of Pickawillany (near present Piqua, Ohio ). Relying on his report, the Ohio Company began selling land in what later became Western Pennsylvania and present-day West Virginia . Gist and Cresap both received sizable land grants west of
2400-612: The Republican Party to adopt an anti-temperance platform at the 1872 Republican National Convention with the threat of taking the German and European vote away from the party. The following year , Hesing formed the People's Party , a breakaway pro-liquor faction of the Republican Party, and elected Harvey Doolittle Colvin as mayor of Chicago by a wide margin. The Anti-Saloon League
2500-690: The Twenty-first Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on December 5, 1933, repealing nationwide prohibition. The gradual relaxation of licensing laws went on throughout the 20th century, with Mississippi being the last state to end prohibition in 1966. In Australia, early hotel closing times were reverted in the 1950s and 1960s. Initially, prohibition had some positive effects in some states, with Ford reporting that absenteeism in his companies had decreased by half. Alcohol consumption decreased dramatically. Also, statistical analysis has shown that
2600-654: The Ulster Temperance Movement with other Presbyterian clergy, initially enduring ridicule from members of his community. The 1830s saw a tremendous growth in temperance groups, not just in England and the United States, but also in British colonies, especially New Zealand and Australia . The Pequot writer and minister William Apess (1798–1839) established the first formal Native American temperance society among
2700-461: The abolitionist movement and women's suffrage movement . During the Victorian period, the temperance movement became more political, advocating the legal prohibition of all alcohol, rather than only calling for moderation. Proponents of temperance, teetotalism and prohibition came to be known as the "drys". There was still a focus on the working class, but also their children. The Band of Hope
2800-478: The teaching on alcohol of their founder John Wesley , Methodist churches were aligned with the temperance movement. Methodists believed that despite the supposed economic benefits of liquor traffic such as job creation and taxes, the harm that it caused society through its contribution to murder, gambling, prostitution, crime, and political corruption outweighed its economic benefits. In Great Britain, both Wesleyan Methodists and Primitive Methodists championed
2900-493: The 1790s, physician Benjamin Rush envisioned a disease-like syndrome caused by excessive drinking, the "symptoms" being moral and physical decay. He cited abstinence as the only treatment option. Rush saw benefits in fermented drinks, but condemned the use of distilled spirits. As well as addiction, Rush noticed the correlation that drunkenness had with disease, death, suicide, and crime. According to "Pompili, Maurizio et al", there
3000-633: The 18th century, there was a gin craze in Great Britain. The middle classes became increasingly critical of the widespread drunkenness among the lower classes. Motivated by the middle-class desire for order, and amplified by the population growth in the cities, the drinking of gin became the subject of critical national debate. In 1743, John Wesley , the founder of the Methodist Churches, proclaimed "that buying, selling, and drinking of liquor, unless absolutely necessary, were evils to be avoided". In
3100-666: The 19th and early 20th centuries, the temperance movement became prominent in many countries, particularly in English-speaking, Scandinavian, and majority Protestant ones, and it eventually led to national prohibitions in Canada (1918 to 1920), Norway (spirits only from 1919 to 1926 ), Finland (1919 to 1932), and the United States (1920 to 1933), as well as provincial prohibition in India (1948 to present). A number of temperance organizations exist that promote temperance and teetotalism as
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3200-536: The ASL began its efforts for national prohibition. Wayne Wheeler , a member of the Anti-Saloon League was integral in the prohibition movement in the United States. He used hard political persuasion called "Wheelerism" in the 1920s of legislative bodies. Rather than ask directly for a vote, which Wheeler viewed as weak, Wheeler covered the desks of legislators in telegrams. He was also accomplished in rallying supporters;
3300-749: The American Temperance Society. The first temperance society in Pennsylvania, of which a record has been found was that of "Darby Association for Discouraging the Unnecessary Use of Spirituous Liquors" organized in Delaware County in 1819, at the Darby Friends Meetinghouse. The temperance movement in the United States began at a national level in the 1820s, having been popularized by evangelical temperance reformers and among
3400-738: The Anti-Saloon League's success lies in putting the ballot into the hands of women", i.e. it was expected that the first act that women were to take upon themselves after having obtained the right to vote, was to vote for an alcohol ban. The actions of the temperance movement included organizing sobriety lectures and setting up reform clubs for men and children. Some proponents also opened special temperance hotels and lunch wagons, and they also lobbied for banning liquor during prominent events. The Scientific Temperance Instruction Movement published textbooks, promoted alcohol education and held many lectures. Political action included lobbying local legislators and creating petition campaigns. This new trend in
3500-738: The Appalachian Mountains were forfeited to the Native American tribes in the Proclamation of 1763 , requiring them to be re-purchased through King George III . In 1768, the British government authorized Sir William Johnson to make the Treaty of Fort Stanwix , purchasing land rights from the Iroquois , in accordance with the Proclamation of 1763. Samuel Wharton and William Trent applied for
3600-516: The Appalachians. In 1752 the company had a pathway blazed between the small fortified posts at Wills Creek (that became Cumberland, Maryland ), and Redstone Old Fort (that became Brownsville, Pennsylvania ). Cresap and his scout Nemacolin had established the latter location in 1750, which overlooked Redstone Creek and the longstanding Monongahela River ford . Conflicting land claims complicated settlement efforts. The Ohio Country tract ceded by
3700-597: The Australian scandal newspaper, Truth , claimed he first used the word in 1899, a claim supported by the OED . However some authors claim that the present meaning originated from an Australian temperance slogan, "We Only Want Social Evils Remedied." This apparent backronym is considered a "less credible provenance" by the ANU. The Australian writer C. J. Dennis defined it thus: 'Wowser: an ineffably pious person who mistakes this world for
3800-534: The Cincinnati Enquirer called Wheeler "the strongest political force of his day". His efforts specifically influenced the passing of the eighteenth-amendment. And in 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment was successfully passed in the United States, introducing prohibition of the manufacture, sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages. The amendment, also called "the noble experiment", was preceded by
3900-652: The Grand Ohio Company received from the British government a grant of a large tract lying along the southern bank of the Ohio as far west as the mouth of the Scioto River . A colony to be called "Vandalia" was planned. However, the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War interrupted colonization and nothing was accomplished. The London-based company ceased operations in 1776. The Ohio Company of Associates
4000-672: The King through Virginia's Governor Dinwiddie included, in Dinwiddie's opinion, the "forks of the Monongahela," present-day Pittsburgh . The Pennsylvania colonial government also claimed much of this territory (though Maryland's charter ended at the Appalachian divide , and while the charter of Virginia set no western boundary, Pennsylvania's grant was for 5 degrees of longitude from the Delaware River,
4100-524: The Ohio Company, a post he held for forty years until his death in 1792. In 1748–1750, the Ohio Company hired Thomas Cresap , who had opened a series of trading posts along the Potomac River at Long Meadow, Oldtown and Will's Creek (on the foot of the eastern climb up the Cumberland Narrows along what was soon to be called the Nemacolin Trail ). Cresap contracted to blaze a small road over
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4200-635: The Ohio Valley, most notably at Fort Duquesne . Dinwiddie responded by sending a military unit under the command of George Washington to the region, which led to the outbreak of the French and Indian War . In 1763, the Ohio Company sent a representative to petition the British Crown for a grant renewal. The plans for settlement and military development continued, with Henry Bouquet 's 1764 plans to construct military posts around prospective western settlements. However, following Pontiac's War , land claims west of
4300-682: The Sabbath. After the American Revolution there was a new emphasis on good citizenship for the new republic. With the Evangelical Protestant religious revival of the 1820s and 1830s, called the Second Great Awakening , social movements began aiming for a perfect society. This included abolitionism and temperance. The Awakening brought with it an optimism about moral reform, achieved through volunteer organizations. Although
4400-526: The Springfield Washington Temperance Society on the 110th anniversary of the birth of George Washington . In the speech, Lincoln criticized early methods of the temperance movement as overly forceful and advocated reason as the solution to the problem of intemperance, praising the current temperance movement methods of the Washingtonian movement. By 1845, the Washingtonian movement was no longer as prominent for three reasons. First,
4500-408: The US being decreased by half between 1830 and 1840. During this time, prohibition laws came into effect in twelve US states, such as Maine. A Maine law was passed in 1851 by the efforts of Neal Dow . Organized opposition caused five of these states to eliminate or weaken the laws. By the 1860s the temperance movement had become a significant mass movement and it encouraged a general abstinence from
4600-587: The United States, the National Prohibition Party which was led by John Russell gradually became more popular, gaining more votes, as they felt that the existing Democrat and Republican parties did not do enough for the temperance cause. The party was associated with the Independent Order of Good Templars , which entertained a universalist orientation, being more open to blacks and repentant alcoholics than most other organizations. Reflecting
4700-411: The Washingtonians did not believe that intemperance destroyed a drinker's morality. They worked on the platform that abstinence communities could be created through sympathizing with drunkards rather than ostracizing them through the belief that they are sinners or diseased. On February 22, 1842, in Springfield, Illinois, while a member of the Illinois Legislature, Abraham Lincoln gave an address to
4800-401: The Washingtonians through their closed rather than public meetings, fines, and membership qualifications, believing their methods were more effective in curbing men's alcohol addictions. After the 1850s, the temperance movement was characterized more by prevention by means of prohibitions laws than remedial efforts to facilitate the recovery of alcoholics. By the mid-1850s, the United States
4900-434: The Word of Wisdom, including complete abstinence from alcohol. William Miller, the founder of the Millerites, claimed that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ would be in 1843 and that anyone who drank alcohol would be unprepared for the Second Coming. After the Great Disappointment in 1843, the Seventh-day Adventist denomination adopted health reforms inspired by influential church pioneers Ellen G. White and her husband,
5000-451: The body represented the "temple of God" and anything that harmed the "temple", including alcohol, must be avoided. By 1833, several thousand groups similar to the ATS had been formed in most states. In some of these large communities, temperance almanacs were released which gave information about planting and harvesting as well as current information about temperance-related issues. Temperance societies were being organized in England about
5100-409: The capital "T"s that were written next to the names of people who pledged complete abstinence from alcohol. People were instructed to only drink pure water and the teetotalists were known as the "pure-water army". In the US, the American Temperance Union advocated total abstinence from distilled and fermented liquors. By 1835, they had gained 1.5 million members. This created conflict between
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#17331232046785200-543: The cause of temperance; the Methodist Board of Temperance, Prohibition, and Public Morals was later established in the United States to advance the movement. In 1864, the Salvation Army , another denomination in the Wesleyan-Arminian tradition, was founded in London with a heavy emphasis on abstinence from alcohol and ministering to the working class, which led publicans to fund a Skeleton Army in order to disrupt their meetings. The Salvation Army quickly spread internationally, maintaining an emphasis on abstinence. Many of
5300-399: The century, temperance societies became commonplace in the US. During that time, there was also a growth in the number of non-religious temperance groups which were linked to left-wing movements, such as the Scottish Prohibition Party . Founded in 1901, it went on to defeat Winston Churchill in Dundee in the 1922 general election . A favorite goal of the British Temperance movement
5400-459: The consumption of alcohol. A general movement to build alternatives to replace the functions of public bars existed, so the Independent Order of Rechabites was formed in England, with a branch later opening in the US as a friendly society that did not hold meetings in public bars. There was also a movement to introduce temperance fountains across the United States—to provide people with reliably safe drinking water rather than saloon alcohol. In
5500-426: The curtailment of the influence of pubs and brewers. The organization became quite radical, organizing rallies, demonstrations and marches to influence as many people as possible to sign the pledge of allegiance to the society and to resolve to abstain "from all liquors of an intoxicating quality, whether ale, porter, wine or spirits, except as medicine." In this period there was local success at restricting or banning
5600-499: The day; at the turn of the 19th century, however, overindulgence and subsequent intoxication became problems that often led to the disintegration of the family. Early temperance societies, often associated with churches, were located in upstate New York and New England, but only lasted a few years. These early temperance societies called for moderate drinking (hence the name " temperance "), but had little influence outside of their geographical areas. In 1810, Calvinist ministers met in
5700-475: The early 19th-century United States, alcohol was still regarded as a necessary part of the American diet for both practical and social reasons. On one hand, water supplies were often polluted, milk was not always available, and coffee and tea were expensive. On the other hand, social constructs of the time made it impolite for people (particularly men) to refuse alcohol. Drunkenness was not a problem, because people would only drink small amounts of alcohol throughout
5800-424: The early history of the Word of Wisdom, temperance and other items in the health code were seen more as wise recommendations than as commandments. Although he advocated temperance, Joseph Smith did not preach complete abstinence from alcohol. According to Paul H. Peterson and Ronald W. Walker, Smith did not enforce abstinence from alcohol because he believed that it threatened individual choice and agency and that
5900-542: The elites that working-class people were responsible enough to be granted the vote. In short, the 1830s was mostly characterized by moral persuasion of workers. In 1840, a group of artisans in Baltimore, Maryland created their own temperance society that could appeal to hard-drinking men like themselves. Calling themselves the Washingtonians , they pledged complete abstinence, attempting to persuade others through their own experience with alcohol rather than relying on preaching and religious lectures. They argued that sympathy
6000-536: The evangelist reformers attacked them for refusing to admit alcoholism was a sin. Secondly, the movement was criticized as unsuccessful due to the number of men who returned to drinking. Finally, the movement was internally divided by differing views on prohibition legislation. Temperance fraternal societies such as the Sons of Temperance and the Good Samaritans took the place of the Washingtonian movement with largely similar views relating to helping alcoholics by way of sympathy and philanthropy. They, however, differed from
6100-456: The future of the temperance movement. Other small temperance societies appeared in the 1810s, but had little impact outside their immediate regions and they disbanded soon after. Their methods had little effect in implementing temperance, and drinking actually increased until after 1830; however, their methods of public abstinence pledges and meetings, as well as handing out pamphlets, were implemented by more lasting temperance societies such as
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#17331232046786200-403: The history of the temperance movement was the last but it proved to be the most effective. Scholars have estimated that by 1900, one in ten Americans had signed a pledge to abstain from drinking, as the temperance movement became the most well-organized lobby group of the time. International conferences were held, in which temperance advocacy methods and policies were discussed. By the turn of
6300-560: The illegal liquor trade. Iceland introduced prohibition in 1915, but liberalized consumption of spirits in 1933, but beer was still illegal until 1989. In the 1910s, half of the countries in the world had introduced some form of alcohol control in their laws or policies. The temperance movement started to wane in the 1930s, with prohibition being criticised as creating unhealthy drinking habits, encouraging criminals and discouraging economic activity. Prohibition would not last long: The legislative tide largely moved away from prohibition when
6400-416: The liquor traffic to bear upon the election of candidates for the Chamber of Deputies . As late as 1919, L'Alarme did not only oppose fermented liquors, but considered wine and wine-producers among the most powerful forces against ardent spirits, to which the alcoholism opposed by L'Alarme was considered to be due. According to alcohol researcher Johan Edman, the first country to issue an alcohol prohibition
6500-407: The mandate and investment of Virginia Royal Governor Robert Dinwiddie , other original members included John Hanbury, Colonel Thomas Cresap , George Mercer , John Mercer , and "all of His Majesty's Colony of Virginia." In that same year, George Mercer petitioned King George for land in the Ohio country, and in 1749, the British Crown granted the company 500,000 acres in the Ohio Valley between
6600-547: The medical community of the existence and seriousness of the disease of alcoholism and prove the efficacy of asylum treatments for alcoholics. They argued for more genetic causes of alcohol addictions. Treatments often included restraining patients while they reformed, both physically and morally. During the same period, there was significant pushback against the growing temperance movement, particularly in urban areas with significant European immigrant communities. Chicago political bosses A.C. Hesing and Hermann Raster forced
6700-428: The mid-1800s, hard cider was the primary alcoholic drink of the people. Hard cider was prominent throughout this entire period and nothing compared in scope or availability. It was one of the few aspects of American culture that all the colonies shared. Settlement along the frontier often included a legal requirement whereby an orchard of mature apple trees bearing fruit within three years of settlement were required before
6800-517: The middle classes. There was a concentration on advice against hard spirits rather than on abstinence from all alcohol, and on moral reform rather than legal measures against alcohol. An earlier temperance movement had begun during the American Revolution in Connecticut, Virginia and New York state, with farmers forming associations to ban whiskey distilling. The movement spread to eight states, advocating temperance rather than abstinence and taking positions on religious issues such as observance of
6900-409: The most important prohibitionist groups, such as the avowedly prohibitionist United Kingdom Alliance (1853) and the US-based (but international) Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU; 1873), began in the latter half of the 19th century, the latter of which was one of the largest women's societies in the world at that time. But the largest and most radical international temperance organization
7000-413: The most prominent items in the Word of Wisdom is the complete abstinence from alcohol. When the Word of Wisdom was written, the Latter Day Saints were residing in Kirtland, Ohio and the Kirtland Temperance Society was organized on October 6, 1830, with 239 members. According to some scholars, the Word of Wisdom was influenced by the temperance movement. In June 1830, the Millennial Harbinger quoted from
7100-413: The movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism , and its leaders emphasize alcohol 's negative effects on people's health, personalities and family lives. Typically the movement promotes alcohol education and it also demands the passage of new laws against the sale of alcohol , either regulations on the availability of alcohol, or the complete prohibition of it . During
7200-604: The owners compensated through a new tax on surviving pubs. The brewers controlled the pubs and organized a stiff resistance, supported by the Conservatives, who repeatedly defeated the proposal in the House of Lords. However, the People's Tax of 1910 included a stiff tax on pubs. The movement gained traction during the First World War, with President Wilson issuing sharp restrictions on the sale of alcohol in many combatant countries. This
7300-468: The post-Civil war "gospel" temperance movement. This movement was similar to early temperance movements in that drunkenness was seen as a sin; however, public testimony was used to convert others and convince them to sign the pledge. New and revitalized organizations emerged including the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) and the early Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). The movement relied on
7400-479: The present U.S. state of Ohio ) and to trade with the Native Americans . The company had a land grant from Britain and a treaty with Indians, but France also claimed the area, and the conflict helped provoke the outbreak of the French and Indian War . Virginian explorers recognized the potential of the Ohio region for colonization and moved to capitalize on it, as well as to block French expansion into
7500-464: The reformed individuals using local evangelical resources to create institutions to reform drunk men. Reformed men in Massachusetts and Maine formed "ribbon" clubs to support men who were interested in stopping drinking. Ribbon reformers traveled throughout the Midwest forming clubs and sharing their experiences with others. Gospel rescue missions or inebriate homes were created that allowed homeless drunkards
7600-533: The sale of alcohol in many parts of the United States. In 1838, Massachusetts banned certain sales of spirits. The law was repealed two years later, but it set a precedent. In 1845, Michigan allowed its municipalities to decide whether they were going to prohibit. In 1851, a law was passed in Maine that was a full-fledged prohibition, and this was followed by bans in several other states in the next two decades. The movement became more effective, with alcohol consumption in
7700-403: The sales of alcohol. He believed that it was only possible for drinkers to reform in the early stages of addiction, because anyone in advanced stages of addiction, according to Beecher, had damaged their morality and could not be saved. Early temperance reformers often viewed drunkards as warnings rather than as victims of a disease, leaving the state to take care of them and their conduct. In
7800-477: The same time, many inspired by a Belfast professor of theology, and Presbyterian Church of Ireland minister John Edgar , who poured his stock of whiskey out of his window in 1829. Was this in England or Ireland? He mainly concentrated on the elimination of spirits rather than wine and beer. On August 14, 1829, he wrote a letter in the Belfast Telegraph publicizing his views on temperance . He also formed
7900-599: The same year, the American Temperance Society (ATS) was formed in Boston, Massachusetts, within 12 years claiming more than 8,000 local groups and over 1,250,000 members. Presbyterian preacher Charles Grandison Finney taught abstinence from ardent spirits . In the Rochester, New York revival of 1831, individuals were required to sign a temperance pledge in order to receive salvation. Finney believed and taught that
8000-467: The sexual content in his art and writing. In The Motor magazine w/e 10 April 1940, the word was discussed, and the author of the "Contact" column was still bemused until he received a card from a gentleman in Bristol who said "Broadly speaking, 'wowsers' are pious hypocrites, those who dislike seeing others enjoy themselves, usually in evidence amongst the elder members of a community." Americans rarely use
8100-677: The teetotalists and the more moderate members of the ATS. Although there were temperance societies in the South, as the movement became more closely tied with the abolitionist movement, people in the South created their own teetotal societies. Considering drinking to be an important part of their cultures, German and Irish immigrants resisted the movement. In the UK, teetotalism originated in Preston, Lancashire in 1833. The Catholic temperance movement started in 1838 when
8200-480: The temperance movement and continued westward expansion caused farmers to abandon their cider orchards. Attitudes toward alcohol in Great Britain became increasingly negative in the late 18th century. One of the reasons for this shift was the need for sober laborers to operate heavy machinery developed in the Industrial Revolution . Anthony Benezet suggested abstinence from alcohol in 1775. As early as
8300-446: The temperance movement during this time had a positive, but moderate, effect on later adult educational outcomes through providing a healthy pre-natal environment. However, prohibition had negative effects on the US economy, with thousands of jobs being lost, the catering and entertainment industries losing huge profits. The US and other countries with prohibition saw their tax revenues decrease dramatically, with some estimating this at
8400-420: The temperance movement was nonsectarian in principle, the movement consisted mostly of church-goers. The temperance movement promoted temperance and emphasized the moral, economical and medical effects of overindulgence. Connecticut-born minister Lyman Beecher published a book in 1826 called Six Sermons on...Intemperance . Beecher described inebriation as a "national sin" and suggested legislation to prohibit
8500-611: The territory. In 1748, Thomas Lee and brothers Lawrence and Augustine Washington organized the Ohio Company to represent the prospecting and trading interests of Virginian investors including Robert Dinwiddie ; George Washington ; George Mason ; John Mercer (colonial lawyer) and sons George Mercer, James Mercer & John Francis Mercer ; Richard "Squire" Lee ; Thomas Ludwell Lee ; Phillip Ludwell Lee ; Robert Carter III of Nomoni; John Tayloe II of Mount Airy ; and Gwain Corbin, son of Henry Corbin (colonist) . In addition to
8600-472: The word, except as an interjection of surprise. However it appears several times in the works of H. L. Mencken : In Ocean's Thirteen , Basher ( Don Cheadle ) says to Linus ( Matt Damon ), "You're such a wowser" when the latter refuses to buy certain types of magazines for him. Temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages . Participants in
8700-660: Was Russia, as part of war mobilization policies. This followed after Russia had made significant losses in the war against the sober Japanese in 1905 . In the UK, the Liberal government passed the Defence of the Realm Act 1914 when pub hours were licensed, beer was watered down and was subject to a penny a pint extra tax, and in 1916 a State Management Scheme meant that breweries and pubs in certain areas of Britain were nationalized, especially in places where armaments were made. In 1913,
8800-413: Was a profitable activity, and crime increased rather than decreased as expected and advocated by proponents. In the United States, the temperance movement was in decline: Fundamentalist and nativist groups had become dominant in the movement, which led moderate members to leave the movement. During this time, in former colonies (such as Gujarat in India, Sri Lanka and Egypt), the temperance movement
8900-600: Was an organization that began in Ohio in 1893. Reacting to urban growth, it was driven by evangelical Protestantism . Furthermore, the League was strongly supported by the WCTU: in some US states alcoholism had become epidemic and rates of domestic violence were also high. At that time, Americans drank about three times as much alcohol as they drank in the 2010s. The League simultaneously campaigned for suffrage and temperance, with its leader Susan B. Anthony stating that "The only hope of
9000-624: Was an overlooked method for helping people with alcohol addictions, citing coercion as an ineffective method. For that reason, they did not support prohibitive legislation of alcohol. They were suspicious of the divisiveness of denominational religion and did not use religion in their discussions, emphasizing personal abstinence. They never set up national organizations, believing that concentration of power and distance from citizens causes corruption. Meetings were public and they encouraged equal participation, appealing to both men and women and northerners and southerners. Unlike early temperance reformers,
9100-457: Was associated with anti-colonialism or religious revival. As such, the temperance movement in India became closely tied with the Indian independence movement as Mahatma Gandhi viewed alcohol as being a foreign importation. He viewed foreign rule as the reason that national prohibition was not yet established at his time. The temperance movement still exists in many parts of the world, but it
9200-531: Was divided from differing views of slavery and prohibition laws and economic depression. This influenced the Third Great Awakening in the United States. The prayer meeting largely characterized this religious revival. Prayer meetings were devotional meetings run by laypeople rather than clergy and consisted of prayer and testimony by attendees. The meetings were held frequently and pledges of temperance were confessed. Prayer meetings and pledges characterized
9300-585: Was done to preserve grain for food production. During this time, prohibitionists used anti-German sentiment related to the war to rally against alcohol sales, since many brewers were of German-American descent. L'Alarme: société française d'action contre l'alcoolisme was a movement in France, inaugurated in 1914, under the auspices of the Ligue National contre l'Alcoolisme (National League Against Alcoholism), to bring public sentiment for increased restrictions upon
9400-584: Was far less discreet with his drinking habits. However, at the end of the 19th century, second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Brigham Young said that the Saints could no longer justify disobeying the Word of Wisdom because of the way that it originally was presented. In 1921, Heber J. Grant , then president of the LDS church, officially called on the Latter-day Saints to strictly adhere to
9500-531: Was founded in 1847 in Leeds, UK by the Reverend Jabez Tunnicliff . It aimed to save working class children from the drinking parents by teaching them the importance and principles of sobriety and teetotalism. In 1855, a national organisation was formed amidst an explosion of Band of Hope work. Meetings were held in churches throughout the UK and included Christian teaching. The group campaigned politically for
9600-520: Was often given in trade for furs, leading to poverty and social disintegration. As early as 1737, Native American temperance activists began to campaign against alcohol and for legislation to restrict the sale and distribution of alcoholic drinks in indigenous communities. During the colonial era, leaders such as Peter Chartier , King Hagler and Little Turtle resisted the use of rum and brandy as trade items , in an effort to protect Native Americans from cultural changes they viewed as destructive. In
9700-465: Was one of the seventy-two shareholders, as well as included Franklin's son William (then Royal Governor of New Jersey), George Croghan and Sir William Johnson, as well as Franklin's perennial London allies William Strahan and Richard Jackson . The Walpole Company, Indiana Company , and members of the Ohio Company reorganized, and on December 22, 1769, formed the Grand Ohio Company. In 1772,
9800-468: Was passed, prohibiting the sales of alcoholic beverages with more than 2.5% alcohol. In the 1920s imports of alcohol were cut off by provincial referendums. Norway introduced partial prohibition in 1917, which became full prohibition through a referendum in 1919 , but this legislation was overturned in 1926 . Similarly, Finland introduced prohibition in 1919, but repealed it in 1932 after an upsurge in violent crime associated with criminal opportunism and
9900-460: Was sharply to reduce heavy drinking by closing as many pubs as possible. Advocates were Protestant nonconformists who played a major role in the Liberal Party . The Liberal Party adopted temperance platforms focused on local option. In 1908, Prime Minister H.H. Asquith —although a heavy drinker himself —took the lead by proposing to close about a third of the 100,000 pubs in England and Wales, with
10000-906: Was the Good Templars. In 1862, the Soldiers Total Abstinence Association was founded in British India by Joseph Gelson Gregson , a Baptist missionary. In 1898, the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association was formed by James Cullen , an Irish Catholic, which spread to other English-speaking Catholic communities. In 1870, a group of physicians founded the American Association of the Cure of Inebrity (AACI) in order to treat alcohol addiction. The two goals of this organization were to convince skeptical members of
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