➡ Women’s Suffrage
The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (W.C.T.U.) worked for many years to get what became the 18th Amendment, or Prohibition, passed in the United States. They felt that limiting alcohol consumption would improve the quality of life for women and children as it also improved the lives of men and the family finances.
The women’s suffrage movement was at times associated with the temperance movement, though some groups tried to distance themselves from the other. Some felt that the goals of the other might alienate their own followers, and there was, at times, dissension within a group because of those who wanted to combine efforts, and those who did not. In the end, Prohibition was passed first, in 1917, and was ratified in 1919; women’s suffrage was submitted for ratification in 1919, and ratification completed in 1920.
The above story is a good example of how prevalent alcohol use was in the late 1800s.
It is very impressive that Prohibition passed without women having the right to vote.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) Postcard in the collection of the author.
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