Woman's Christian Temperance Union
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2008-07-09T02:01:13Z
EoGuy
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/* History and purpose */ Changed WCLU to WCTU.
:''"WCTU" redirects here. See [[WCTU Railway]] for the rail line in White City, Oregon.''
The '''Woman's Christian Temperance Union''' (WCTU) is the oldest continuing non-[[sectarian]] [[women]]'s [[organization]] worldwide. Founded in [[Fredonia, New York]] in 1873, the group spearheaded the crusade for prohibition. Members advanced their cause by entering saloons, singing, praying, and urging saloonkeepers to stop selling alcohol. Subsequently, on [[December 22]], [[1873]], they were the first local [[organization]] to adopt the name, Women's [[Christian]] [[Temperance movement|Temperance]] [[Union (commerce)|Union]].
==History and purpose==
The purpose of the WCTU is to [[combat]] the influence of [[alcohol]] on families and [[society]]. [[Frances Willard (suffragist)|Frances Willard]], a noted [[feminist]], was its second [[president]].
They were inspired by the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] [[writer]] [[Xenophon]] who defined [[Temperance (virtue)|temperance]] as "moderation in all things healthful; total abstinence from all things harmful." In other words, should something be [[Goodness and value theory|good]], it should not be indulged in to excess. Should something be [[bad]] for you, it should be avoided altogether; thus their attempts to rid their surroundings of what they saw (and still see) as the dangers of alcohol.
The WCTU perceived [[alcoholism]] as a consequence of larger social problems rather than as a personal weakness or failing. Thus the WCTU was very interested in a number of social reform issues including: [[labor (economics)|labor]], [[prostitution]], [[public health]], [[sanitation]] and international [[peace]]. As the movement grew in numbers and strength, members of the WCTU also focused on [[suffrage]]. The WCTU was instrumental in organizing women's suffrage leaders and in helping more women become involved in American politics. Willard pushed for the "Home Protection" ballot, arguing that women, being the superior sex morally, needed the vote in order to act as "citizen-mothers" and protect their homes and cure society's ills. At a time when suffragists still alienated most American women, who viewed them as radicals, the WCTU offered a more traditionally feminine and appropriate organization for women to join. Suffragists who emerged out of the WCTU used constitutional arguments to support their bid for enfranchisement and cited the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]]. They claimed that American adult women had the right to vote because they were individuals and were thus entitled to enjoy all the rights of an American individual. By making this argument, suffragists were perceived as less threatening to social order, appealed to American pride and were successful in presenting their message of extending voting rights to all American adults.
The WCTU created a significant response throughout the United States. In [[1878]], [[Matilda Bradley Carse]] became the president of the [[Chicago]] branch. During her time as president, Carse founded many charities and managed to raise approximately $10,000 a year to support them. She started the Bethesda Day Nursery for working mothers, two [[kindergarten]]s, the [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]] Mission for erring girls, two dispensaries, two industrial schools, an employment bureau, [[Sunday school]]s, and temperance reading rooms. Carse also founded the Woman’s Temperance Publishing Association, a stock company which published written material ranging from books, to brochures and tracts on temperance regarding various social reforms, namely [[temperance]].
The WCTU also formed in [[Canada]] in [[1873]], in [[Ontario]]. In [[1885]] Letitia Youmans founded a nationwide [[organization]] which was to become the leading [[women]]'s [[society]] in [[Canada]]'s [[temperance movement]]. An [[Australia]]n arm commenced operation in [[1882]], it was important in both the temperance and [[women's suffrage]] movements.
In [[1885]], WCTU missionary [[Mary Greenleaf Clement Leavitt]] went on a tour of [[New Zealand]] and helped establish WCTU branches there. Having turned down the offer to become the first president of the WCTU, Leavitt went on to be named Honorary President in 1891 in Boston. Operating as a freelancer, Leavitt helped establish WCTU branches in the Hawaiian Islands, Australia, Madagascar, India, China, Madeira, Mauritius, Ceylon, Siam, the Straits Settlements, Korea, Japan and Europe.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=k8cCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA431&lpg=PA431&dq=%22mary+clement+leavitt%22&source=web&ots=8k2k0sNg8a&sig=Uf1wNXPR6SyuNHvttDf7z_MPz7g&hl=en#PPA432,M1 The American Monthly Review of Reviews, Albert Shaw, 1897]</ref> A branch for children was formed, called the [[Loyal Temperance Legion]].<ref name="famous">{{Citation
| last = McWhirter
| first = Luella F.
| contribution =
| year = 1915
| title = Famous Living Americans, with Portraits
| editor-last = Webb
| editor-first = Mary Griffin
| volume =
| pages = 231
| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=mcsCAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA225&dq=%22anna+adams+gordon%22&lr=#PPA225,M1
| place = [[Greencastle, Indiana]]
| publisher = C. Webb & Company
| id = }}</ref>
Led by [[Kate Sheppard]] from 1887, the New Zealand WCTU was a major force behind the campaign for [[Women's suffrage in New Zealand|women's suffrage]]. This resulted in New Zealand women being granted [[universal suffrage]] in [[1893]].<ref>Atkinson, Neill (2003), ''Adventures in Democracy: A History of the Vote in New Zealand'', University of Otago Press, p.89.</ref> In April, [[1887]], WCTU member [[Susanna M. Salter]] of [[Argonia, Kansas]] became the first woman mayor elected in the United States.
In addition to campaigning against [[alcohol]], the WCTU addressed [[social]] ills stemming from [[drunkenness]] and [[domestic violence]]. It also campaigned for reforms that would improve the status of [[women]] in [[society]], such as the [[right]] to [[vote]]. The WCTU was a major force in [[Prohibition]]-and was also influential in creating [[laws]] banning [[prostitution]] and [[recreational drugs]] in the [[United States]].
Although the WCTU had chapters throughout [[North America]] and had hundreds of thousands of members, it did not initially accept [[Catholic]], [[Jewish]], or [[African-American]] [[women]], or [[women]] who had not been born in [[North America]]{{Fact|date=September 2007}}. Today that is no longer the case. In fact, today [[man|men]] may also join the organization as honorary members.
In contrast to the WCTU's stated aims, not all large-scale Christian groups and movements believe the consumption of alcohol to be inconsistent with practice of Christianity (see [[Christianity and alcohol]]).
==Current status==
The main requirements for joining the WCTU include signing a pledge of [[abstinence]] from [[alcohol]] and paying membership dues.
Current issues for the WCTU include [[alcohol]], which the [[organization]] considers to be [[North America]]'s number one [[drug abuse|drug]] problem, [[illegal drug trade|illegal drugs]], [[abortion]] [http://www.wctumd.org/issues.html] and [[gay marriage]] [http://www.wctu.org/resolution_-_marriage.html]. The WCTU has warned against the dangers of [[tobacco]] since [[1875]]. They continue to this day in their fight against those substances which they see as harmful to [[society]]. The WCTU strongly supports banning [[same-sex marriage]], which it sees as a negative influence on families; in general, it is opposed to [[gay rights]] [http://www.wctumd.org/whatsnew.html].
The WCTU publishes a quarterly [[journal]] entitled ''The Union Signal''; the journal's main focus is as a digest of current research and information on drugs.[http://www.wctu.org/publications.html]. The WCTU also attempts to encourage young people to avoid substance abuse through participation in three, age-divided suborganizations: White Ribbon Recruits for pre-schoolers; the Loyal Temperance Legion (LTL) for elementary school children; and, the Youth Temperance Council (YTC) for teenagers.
==See also==
*[[Frances Willard (suffragist)|Frances Willard]]
*[[Anna Adams Gordon]]
*[[Mary Hunt]]
*[[Scientific Temperance Federation]]
*[[Temperance movement]]
*[[Ida B. Wise]]
*[[Margaret Bright Lucas]]
*[[Matilda Carse]]
== External links ==
* [http://www.wctu.org WCTU Official Website]
* [http://www.wctusocal.com WCTU of Southern California]
* [http://www.drugfreelifestyles.com.au/welcomepage.htm WCTU of Australia]
* [http://www.mewctu.org WCTU of Maine]
* [http://home.vicnet.net.au/~wctu Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Victoria, Inc.]
* [http://www.franceswillardhouse.org The Frances Willard House Historical Association]
* [http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/wctu.html Religious Movements Homepage Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)]
* [http://www.fum.org/QL/issues/9706/Helme.htm Friends (Quaker) United Meeting: WCTU in Our Heritage]
* [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/WW/vaw1.html The Handbook of Texas: WCTU]
* [http://gos.sbc.edu/w/willard.html Address Before The Second Biennial Convention Of The World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union, by Frances Willard, President (October, 1893)]
* [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/WCTU-growth.html Modern History Sourcebook: Woman's Christian Temperance Union: Growth of Membership and of Local, Auxiliary Unions, 1879-1921]
* [http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/92/ “We Sang Rock of Ages”: Frances Willard Battles Alcohol in the late 19th century, by Frances Willard]
* [http://www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/research/manuscripts/organize/woman-temperance.htm Woman's Christian Temperance Union (Nebraska Chapter) records] at the [[Nebraska State Historical Society]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Temperance movement]]
[[Category:Temperance organizations]]
[[Category:1873 establishments]]
[[Category:Christianity and women]]
[[Category:Women's organizations]]
[[Category:Organizations based in the United States]]
[[Category:Feminism]]
[[Category:Feminist organizations]]
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