History of the Woman's Temperance Crusade

History of the Woman's Temperance Crusade by Annie Wittenmyer is a historical account written in the late 19th century. It chronicles the grassroots, prayer-led uprising of Christian women against the liquor traffic, focusing on street prayers, saloon visits, public appeals, and the movement’s rapid organization into the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. Expect vivid, first-person episodes, legal showdowns, and community mobilization, with Ohio’s early actions setting the pace for a nationwide gospel temperance campaign. The opening of this history dedicates the work to crusading women and frames its purpose as an official, firsthand record, followed by Frances E. Willard’s introduction portraying the Crusade as a defense of home that opened the public’s eyes, united churches on the streets, and evolved from spontaneous praying bands into disciplined unions. Chapter I sketches a nation blessed yet imperiled by state-sanctioned liquor revenue, political capture, church quietism, and women’s anguish, before describing a Pentecost-like awakening that sent women into saloons to pray. The narrative then begins in Hillsboro, Ohio: Dr. Dio Lewis’s call sparks organization; Eliza J. Thompson takes reluctant leadership after a Bible-guided conviction; women hold the first saloon prayer-meeting, face legal pushback from a druggist, and stage symbolic whiskey destruction. It proceeds to Washington Court House, where hymn-singing, appeals, pledges, and tabernacle vigils lead to rapid saloon surrenders and sustained public meetings, before turning toward further early campaigns such as Wilmington.

History of the Woman's Temperance Crusade, by Annie Wittenmyer. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #77878.