Temperance movement in the United Kingdom
The temperance movement in the United Kingdom was a
Origins
Before the 19th century, there were diatribes published against drunkenness and excess, but total abstinence from alcohol was very rarely advocated or practised. In the 18th century, there was a "
Early movement
The early temperance movement was inspired by the actions of
As a response to rising social problems in the newly industrialised cities, a stricter form of temperance emerged called teetotalism, which promoted the complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages, this time including wine and beer, not just ardent spirits. The term teetotal is apocryphally said to derive from a speech by Richard "Dickie" Turner, a follower of Livesey, in Preston in 1833.[9]
In 1838, the mass working class movement for universal suffrage, Chartism, included a current called "temperance chartism". Faced with the refusal of the parliament of the time to give the right to vote to working people, the temperance chartists saw the campaign against alcohol as a way of proving to the elites that working-class people were responsible enough to be granted the vote.[10][11] In short, the 1830s was mostly characterised by moral persuasion of workers.[12]: 25
In 1847, the
In 1853, inspired by the Maine liquor law in the US, the United Kingdom Alliance was formed with the aim of promoting a similar law prohibiting the sale of alcohol in the UK. This hard-line group of prohibitionists was opposed by other temperance organisations who preferred moral persuasion to a legal ban. This division in the ranks limited the effectiveness of the temperance movement as a whole. The impotence of legislation in this field was demonstrated when the Sale of Beer Act 1854 which restricted Sunday opening hours had to be repealed, following widespread rioting. In 1859 a prototype prohibition bill was overwhelmingly defeated in the House of Commons.[13]: 99–100
Temperance clubs and institutes came into being, one of the largest in the UK, formed in 1864 and still in use, was
The US-based (but international)
One of the most active advocates of temperance was Dr. Norman Shanks Kerr. He promoted the treatment of inebriates and held that inebriety was a disease, not a vice, and that it should be treated accordingly. In 1884, in response to the inadequacy of the Habitual Drunkards Act of 1879, he founded the Society for the Study and Cure of Inebriety and was the first president.[18]: 135 The society still exists as the Society for the Study of Addiction.
In 1884 the National Temperance Federation, which was associated with the Liberal Party, was founded as an umbrella organisation. The Conservative Party largely supported the interests of the alcohol industry and opposed temperance.[19]
Religious support
The various
In the 19th century, the
In 1864, another Methodist group, the Salvation Army was founded in London with a heavy emphasis on abstinence from alcohol and ministering to the working class, which led publicans to fund a Skeleton Army in order to disrupt their meetings. The Salvation Army quickly spread internationally, maintaining an emphasis on abstinence.[24][18]: 542
In Wales
Many
The Church of England Temperance Society, which had roots in the
From 1880 to 1882 the cause of abstinence was revived by the Gospel Temperance or Blue Ribbon movement, based in America. They sent a member named Richard Booth to promote their cause in England through mass meetings held up and down the country.[5]: 153–4
Later movement and decline
By the end of the 19th century, it was estimated that about a tenth of the adult population were total abstainers of alcohol.[19][31]
The temperance movement received an unexpected boost due to state intervention when the Liberal government passed the
At the same time, there were temperance organisations connected to the
Between the wars, American exponents of the sterling example set to Britain by National Prohibition, such as William "Pussyfoot" Johnson and Mary Harris Armor, toured the country, to be met with derision, and in Johnson's case, violence.[5]: 171–3 In the end, the example of the failure of prohibition in America put paid to any remote chance that the temperance lobby would succeed in achieving its aims in the UK.[13]: 107
In February 1960 Forte applied for a
Legacy
The former Manchester City F.C. football stadium Maine Road took its name from a street that had been renamed Maine Road (from Dog Kennel Lane) by members of the temperance movement. They selected the name as a result of the 1853 Maine law.[37]
Vimto, originally "Vim Tonic", was concocted in 1908 as a healthy alternative to alcohol, and originally sold in temperance bars.[38] Fitzpatrick's Herbal Health in Rawtenstall, Lancashire, is thought to be the oldest surviving temperance bar – other such establishments have become popular in recent times.[39][40]
Several of the largest temperance organisations survive under different names. For example, the Band of Hope is now named Hope UK, with the stated aim of "providing drug and alcohol education and training for children and young people, parents and youth workers".[41]
See also
- List of Temperance organizations
- Rothwell Temperance Band
- Alcohol and health
- Harriet A. Glazebrook
References
- ^ Sooke, Alastair. "Hogarth's London: Gin Lane and Beer Street". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ISBN 9781447309932.
- ISBN 9780842022279.
- ^ a b Harrison, Brian (1971). Drink & the Victorians, The Temperance Question in England 1815–1872. Faber and Faber.
- ^ a b c d Peter, Fryer (1965). Mrs. Grundy: Studies in English Prudery. Corgi Books.
- ^ "The Glasgow Herald [November 19, 1929]". Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-19974-235-6.
- ^ "Joseph Livesey: the Walton weaver". www.waltonledale.co.uk. Walton le Dale. 2000–2012. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- ^ "teetotal". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.[dead link]
- JSTOR 24408553. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ "To the working men of Great Britain". Chartist Circular. 19 December 1840. p. 1. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- .
- ^ ISBN 978-186074-422-8.
- ^ Gardiner, FJ (1898). History of Wisbech and Neighborhood, during the last fifty years - 1848-1898. Gardiner & Co. p. 220.
- ^ Keating, Joseph (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- ^ Osborne, Lori (12 September 2015). Frances Willard and the Historic Link Between the 19th Century Women's Temperance and Suffrage Movements. National Archives in Washington.
- ^ "Our History". White Ribbon Association. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ a b Blocker, Jack S.; David, M. Fahey; Tyrrell, Ian R., eds. (2003). Alcohol and Temperance in Modern History: An International Encyclopedia. p. 542.
- ^ a b c "Temperance Society". Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational Publishers Ltd. Archived from the original on 20 May 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
- ^ Vickers, John A. (ed.). "Temperance". A Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ Timberlake, James H. (1963). Prohibition and the Progressive Movement 1900-1920. London: Harvard University Press.
- ^ Wheeler, Henry (1882). Methodism and the Temperance Reformation. Walden and Stowe. p. 278.
- ^ Moore, Keith (30 August 2012). "What happened to the Methodist central halls?". BBC News.
- JSTOR 1260460.
- ^ "Wales alcohol restrictions: Temperance's long history". BBC News. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ISBN 978-1-85008-346-7.
- ISBN 978-0-521-57644-4. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ Sherlock, Frederick (1910). Henry John Ellison: Founder of the Church of England Temperance Society.
- ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- S2CID 159977906.
- ISBN 978-1-4094-6888-2. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- S2CID 158837534.
- .
- ^ Simkin, John (1997). "Prohibition and Reform Party". Spartacus Educational. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ Coventry Evening Telegraph Wednesday 10 February 1960, page 9
- ^ Daily Mirror Thursday 11 February 1960, page 11
- ISBN 978-0-9558127-2-9.
- ISBN 978-0-09-193381-4.
- ^ Anson, John (12 March 2007). "Rawtenstall: Fitzpatrick's Temperance Bar". Newsquest (North West) Ltd. Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
- ^ Eby, Margaret (19 July 2019). "The rise of the sober bar". BBC. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
In the late 19th Century, a number of alcohol-free bars known as temperance bars were established in the UK on the heels of the temperance movement, which advocated abstinence. Fitzpatrick's Temperance Bar, founded in 1890 in Rawtenstall, north of Manchester, is still slinging root beer and glasses of dandelion and burdock today. (...) The audience isn't just non-drinkers but anyone who wants a fun bar environment without the threat of a hangover the next day.
- ^ "Welcome to HOPE UK". Hope UK. 21 February 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
External links
- Drink and the Victorians: a history of the British Temperance Movement (ca. 1200 items) is housed in the Department of Special Collections and University Archives Archived 4 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine at Stanford University Libraries
- Temperance Town, a suburb in Cardiff, Wales, where alcohol was banned
- See more images from temperance movement in United Kingdom by selecting the "Alcohol" subject at the Persuasive Cartography, The PJ Mode Collection, Cornell University Library