Answer:
The roots of the temperance movement stretch all the way back to the early nineteenth century. The American Temperance Society, founded in 1826, encouraged voluntary abstinence from alcohol, and influenced many successor organizations, which advocated mandatory prohibition on the sale and import of alcoholic beverages. Many religious sects and denominations, and especially Methodists, became active in the temperance movement. Women were especially influential. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union, founded in 1873, was one of the leading advocates of prohibition.
During the Progressive Era, calls for prohibition became more strident. In many ways, temperance activists were seeking to ameliorate the negative social effects of rapid industrialization. Saloons and the heavy drinking culture they fostered were associated with immigrants and members of the working class, and were seen as detrimental to the values of a Christian society. The Anti-Saloon League, with strong support from Protestants and other Christian denominations, spearheaded the drive for nationwide prohibition. In fact, the Anti-Saloon League was the most powerful political pressure group in US history—no other organization had ever managed to alter the nation’s Constitution.
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