Antebellum Temperance Reform

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Not only a history professor at the University of Washington, W.J. Rorabaugh was also has notable published research based on the 1960s, including; Berkeley at War: The 1960s (Oxford University Press, 1989), Kennedy and the Promise of the 1960s (Cambridge University Press, 2002), and The Real Making of the President: Kennedy, Nixon, and the 1960 Election (University Press of Kansas, 2009). (Pg. 138). In the article, Was Antebellum Temperance Reform Motivated Primarily by Religious Moralism?, the focus of the article was to determine what the prime motivation behind the temperance reform was, whether it was a religious reason or because it was for social and business benefits. While both sides agreed that the ultimate goal was to “perfect the …show more content…

Many religious preachers and believers thought, “One visible sign of inner light was abstinence from alcoholic beverages.” (Pg. 136), to clarify this quote, the author is claiming that religious Americans felt if they were truly committed to their faith and had any religious morals, then they would refrain from indulging in any alcoholic beverages. In addition, not only did they believe that alcohol was the “devil’s rum”, but “Conversely, concluded one minister, “we may set it down as a probable sign of a false conversion, if he allows himself to taste a single drop.””. All in all, Rorabaugh was stating that besides many believing in the “devil’s rum”, that many believed that now with the church preaching abstinence from alcohol, it was a true test of one’s true commitment and faith. “These articles were followed in 1814 by a seminal temperance pamphlet issued by Andover’s New England Tract Society. This pamphlet was widely used by ministers to prepare sermons opposing the use of alcohol.” (Pg. 135) Ministers began the movement by preaching to their followers and describing how alcohol was immoral and unacceptable for one of religious belief. After the church members started participating in the temperance movement, they then realized how appealing this movement could be to others besides

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