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Temperance Movement Timeline
(Late 18th century–Present)Early influences
Alcohol in colonial North America
1675 - 1699
In late-17th-century North America, alcohol was a vital part of colonial life. Men, women, and children used alcoholic beverages as drinks, medicines, and commodities.
Native communities respond to alcohol’s effects
1700 - 1799
During the 18th century, alcohol traded for furs severely affected many Native American cultures and societies, contributing to poverty and social disintegration.
Image source: Temperance movement
The gin craze spreads in Great Britain
1700 - 1799
An 18th-century gin craze in Great Britain intensified public concern about drunkenness and helped stimulate calls for restrictions on alcohol.
Image source: Gin Craze
Native American temperance activism begins
1737
As early as 1737, Native American temperance activists campaigned against alcohol and sought legislation restricting the sale and distribution of alcoholic drinks in Indigenous communities.
New England cider consumption peaks
1767
In 1767, the average New England family was reported to consume seven barrels of hard cider annually, equivalent to about 35 gallons per person.
Image source: Cider
Great Britain’s attitudes toward alcohol turn negative
1775 - 1799
Attitudes toward alcohol in Great Britain became increasingly negative during the late 18th century, helping create the intellectual and religious environment in which organized temperance campaigns developed.
Benezet advocates abstinence
1775
Anthony Benezet suggested abstinence from alcohol in 1775, an early expression of the abstinence principle that later became central to temperance organizing.
Indian Trade and Intercourse Act restricts alcohol
1834
After the 1834 Indian Trade and Intercourse Act, alcohol consumption, distribution, and production on Indian reservations were prohibited or severely limited.
Image source: Nonintercourse Act
Religious and social reform
Wesley condemns liquor
1743
In 1743, Methodist founder John Wesley proclaimed that buying, selling, and drinking liquor, unless absolutely necessary, were evils to be avoided.
Image source: John Wesley
Edgar publicizes temperance views
Aug 14, 1829
On August 14, 1829, Belfast professor and Presbyterian minister John Edgar published a letter in the Belfast Telegraph advocating temperance. He mainly targeted spirits rather than wine and beer.
Key Facts
- The movement emerged in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in response to widespread alcohol consumption and its perceived social harms.
- The American Temperance Society, founded in 1826, helped organize abstinence campaigns across the United States.
- Women played a major role, arguing that alcohol abuse contributed to domestic violence, poverty, and family instability.
- Temperance activism contributed to the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment, beginning U.S. Prohibition in 1920; Prohibition ended with the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933.
- Modern temperance efforts continue through campaigns for sobriety, alcohol education, addiction treatment, and public health policies.
Source
This Temperance Movement timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.
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