The
Temperance movement was a movement in several countries, notably the
United States, during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The movement blamed many of society's ills -- including
joblessness and
domestic violence -- on the
drinking of
alcoholic beverages, and tried to persuade people to abstain from these (
teetotalism). Though obviously such problems could lead people to drink. Many notable voices of the time, ranging from
Lucy Webb Hayes to
Susan B. Anthony, were active in the movement. There were very close links between the movement and those supporting women's
right to vote.
Some parts of the movement wished to ban alcoholic beverages entirely. Political pressure from the movement eventually resulted in the establishment of Prohibition with the passage of Amendment 18 to the U.S. Constitution.. As a result the movement lost much of its raison d'être; by the time it was repealed by Amendment 21, the failure of Prohibition to control alcohol drinking had largely discredited the Temperance movement, which never regained much popularity thereafter.