6) Temperance and Suffrage

Before the 19th century, society operated on the basis of there being 2 spheres, the women's sphere was in the home and the men's was in public. The Woman Movement stopped this though.

In December 1873, Dr Diocletian Lewis was asked to give a lecture to the public concerning temprance, so he told a story of his mother. His mother had tried to stop alcohol from being drank in a particular bar and gathered her friends. They went to the saloon, got down on their knees and prayed. The bar owner was supposedly so moved that he promised to stop selling alcohol and stop getting drunk.

The women in Hillsboro took this story to heart, and at a meeting the day after, they decided they would do the same thing. So, they went and prayed at many saloons and other places where alcohol was sold. People were astonished, especially at their success. They shut down all but one drug store. News of this temprance 'crusade' spread around the Midwest where more women started doing the same thing. They forced a lot of people to sign a pledge to give up alcohol. This movement became known as the 'Women's Crusade' or the 'Women's War'.

The movement had no name at first, but the term 'league' was soon adopted. It then transformed into a union. It gave an institutional state for the first masses of women involved in politics. Frances Willard became the president and she was passionately committed to the pursuit of women's rights and temperance. She closely allied these in her campaigns so that one could not be achieved without the other. 40 departments developed within the union including one devoted to being good citizens and another concerning immigrants etc. They had 2 general policies: home protection and do anything. The contradictory nature of these gave the movement energy and strength. She said that the 2 spheres were beginning to dissolve.

Another important aspect of the union revolved around motherly love. This was developed into something that had political power. Willard pushed the seperate spheres to their breaking point and created a new phase of womanhood that would later develop into feminism. She was a very emotional writer who appealed to the Christian notion of motherly love.

Many women still weren't satisfied as they still couldn't achieve an anti-alcohol legislation. They realised they needed the vote in order to get anywhere as the men would never vote for temperance. The movement for the women's vote had already been in motion for a while, but the temperance movement now joined the fight. But, up until that point, attempts at gaining the vote had always been pushed aside while the African Americans gained more rights.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the president of the National Woman Suffrage Association between 1892-1900. The position fell to Carrie Chapman Catt, and by 1914, 12 states had allowed women the vote.

But, there were still many unsatisfied with the pace of the movement. Many began to be inspired by the Pankhursts in Britain. Alice Paul organised a procession in March 1913 during President Woodrow Wilson's inauguration. The march was very theatrical and it nearly caused a riot. Police arrived and used force to break it up and jailed many of the women. They then started picketing outside the White House demanding the vote. Those women were also jailed in 1917 where they started a hunger strike.

The 19th amendment was passed in 1920 that gave women the vote.

American feminism had European roots. The word itself was developed by Hubertine Auclert who was the first leader of French women's suffrage. The terms she created became very popular in France and then migrated to other countries, eventually landing in America.

American women argued that, as they were citizens, they should be allowed to vote as this was a right that came with being a citizen. They also said that women would improve society. But, this again was slightly contradictory as they were saying they were the same as men, but also different. It became a counter-culture where feminism was a revolt against the stereotypical ideas against women held by both men and women.

Temperance led to suffrage which led to feminism.