Temperance

The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) of Fall River was founded circa 1883. Their pledge, according to their 1885 quarterly convention pamphlet:

“I hereby solemnly promise, God helping me, to abstain from all distilled, fermented and malt Liquors, including Wine, Beer, and Cider, as a beverage, and to employ all proper means to discourage the use and traffic in the same.”

Whiskey, wine, and beer, flowed freely at local bars which gave some men of the city a supposed respite from their daily troubles. They would spend their hard-earned money on those beverages, and some of them were guilty of spending too much on such libations, which could leave them, their wives and children in dire straits. It was this type of reckless overindulgence that would inspire women to band together and form the WCTU. This was not only a movement to bring an end to drinking but also to keep it out of the city for good.

Undertaking the task to convince men to abstain from alcohol – while abstaining themselves –transcended societal boundaries and involved women from all walks of life, regardless of their financial status. Movements like this, gave women a chance to express their opinions in a climate where their voices were often stifled or dismissed. Nearly thirty years prior to Prohibition, the women of Fall River were laboring together in solidarity in an attempt to keep the city from the dangers of drink.