Temperance Act: Frances Willards's We Sang Rock of Ages

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Did you know that in the 1920s the American government poisoned alcoholic beverages to stop excessive use of it from the consumers? Of course, this happened during Prohibition which was the America government’s attempt to stop and illegalize the manufacture and marketing of beer. Surprisingly, Prohibition lasted from 1920 until 1933.Throughout the prohibition period, many famous and infamous leaders rose, such as Alphonse Capone, Carry Nation, and Adolphus Busch. Expectedly the use of alcohol during the 1920s caused strong and respectable men to become diverted dull and to be extremely abusive to their spouse and children; therefore causing it to be a necessity to be abolished in the eyes of the American government. “We Sang Rock of Ages”: Frances Willard’s Battles Alcohol in the late 19th century is a selection from an autobiography by Frances Willard in which it provided detailed report of her experience participating in a temperance movement. Frances Willard’s literary piece uplifts the idea of humane purity against foul and slow working toxins that are capable of corrupting the most innocent kind of men, and stresses the importance for men to not be pressured to follow the crowd. Frances Willard’s “We Sang Rock of Ages” essay indicated the temperance movement’s pursuit to heal social morals, abolish the excessive use of alcohol, and target slaves of alcohol to turn to God through prayer as well as song. Frances Willard’s top priority through her literary piece was to show the negative effects and degradation of the common man due to excessive use of alcohol. Frances Willard’s article on the temperance movement portrays the women’s part in pacifying man’s grasp on alcoholic beverages and the steps they had to take to make it h... ... middle of paper ... ...an marijuana. Works Cited Blum, Deborah. "The Little-Told Story of How the U.S. Government Poisoned Alcohol During Prohibition." Enable Social Reading. N.p., 19 Feb. 2010. Web. 21 Sept. 2013. Frances, Willard E., Glimpse of Fifty Years: The Autobiography of an American Woman (Chicago: H.J. Smith & Co., 1889). Hanson, Erica. “The 1920’s” Lucent Books, 1999. Print. Okrent, Daniel. "Wayne B. Wheeler: The Man Who Turned Off the Taps." Smithsonian Magazine. Smithsonian, May 2010: n. pag. Web. 21 Sept. 2013. “Prohibition.” The History Channel website. History Channel, 2013. Web. 22 Sep 2013. Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Prohibition." About.com, n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2013. Willard Frances. “We Sang Rock of Ages”: Frances Willard’s Battles Alcohol in the late 19th century” Glimpses of Fifty Years: The Autobiography of an American Woman (Chicago: H. J. Smith & Co., 1889), 339-41

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