Sons of Temperance
3134659
148771236
2007-08-02T18:44:56Z
Mindmatrix
160367
they were present in Canada too, though not throughout the country; for example, in [[King, Ontario]]
[[Image:SonsOfTemperanceHillEnd1872.jpg|thumb|'Sons of Temperance' Procession, [[Hill End, New South Wales]], a gold mining town in Australia, 1872]]
The '''Sons of Temperance''' was a [[brotherhood]] of men who promoted the [[temperance movement]] and mutual support. It began spreading rapidly during the 1840s throughout the United States and parts of Canada.
The organization had a highly restricted membership. In order to become a member (called a “brother“), a man had to be [[nominated]] by an existing brother. Three other brothers would then investigate his life to determine if they thought he was worthy of membership.
The Sons of Temperance required a two-dollar [[initiation]] fee, an amount equal to a week’s wages of an ordinary worker. In addition, the weekly membership fee was six cents. It had secret rituals, signs, passwords, hand grips and [[regalia]].
The organization also acted as an insurance company. Its constitution required the brotherhood to pay thirty dollars to cover the burial costs of any brother who died. It also required the payment of fifteen dollars for the funeral costs of a member’s dead wife.
A [[bylaw]] required fellow brothers to visit any sick brother at least once a day, and one of the orders of business at each meeting was to identify any brothers who were ill. The organization later admitted women.
The Order of the Sons of Temperance was introduced into the United Kingdom in 1849, the first division being formed in an area of Liverpool known as 'Old Gory'. By 1855 it was sufficiently widespread that a charter was granted by the parent body for the institution, on 6th April 1855, of the National Division of Great Britain and Ireland.
==External links==
*[http://www.sonsoftemperance.co.uk/ Sons of Temperance Friendly Society (UK)]
==Sources==
*[http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:x5wSYq2u0FEJ:www.arches.uga.edu/~cwc3/+%22Sons+of+Temperance%22+Macon+Athens&hl=en Temperance in Antebellum Athens (Georgia)]
*[http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/Controversies/1124913901.html Temperance Movement Groups and Leaders in the U.S.]
[[Category:Temperance movement|Sons of Temperance]]
[[Category:Temperance organizations|Sons of Temperance]]