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Women and the Temperance Movement
An excerpt from an 1827 temperance sermon by Lyman Beecher.

An excerpt from an 1827 temperance sermon by Lyman Beecher.

Lyman Beecher was a famous Presbyterian minister and the father of authors and activists Harriet Beecher Stowe and Catharine Beecher, who advocated for the abolition of slavery and education for women. He co-founded the American Temperance Society and wrote popular sermons on temperance, which were printed and distributed throughout the US and Europe. This excerpt from one of Beecher’s sermons exemplifies Protestant attitudes towards drinking and urges men, churchgoers, and Americans to work for temperance.

Citation Information
Beecher, Lyman, excerpt from “Six sermons on the nature, occasions, signs, evils, and remedy of intemperance,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/4bab241ae8ebd637ec2a1ff072582d76.
Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.
Courtesy of Harvard University via HathiTrust.

Tips for Students

For this source, consider:

  • the author's point of view
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Item 1 of 15 in the Primary Source Set Women and the Temperance Movement

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An excerpt from an 1827 temperance sermon by Lyman Beecher.
A 1910 illustration depicting the destruction of intemperance from a book by Matilda Erickson used in churches, schools, and youth groups.
An excerpt from an 1891 biography of Dr. Dio Lewis, who inspired the formation of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union.
An excerpt from an 1852 story by Lucius M. Sargent, who used popular fiction to promote temperance.
An illustration of the heroine of the temperance novel Sweet Cicely (1885), who begs a bartender to stop serving her husband.
An 1877 illustration of a Sunday afternoon temperance meeting at Holy Trinity Church.
An 1832 article from the Temperance Recorder connecting drunkenness to cholera infection.
An 1856 cartoon depicting German Americans as drunkards and suggesting that a bar is the German idea of school.
An 1885 pamphlet published for the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union that takes a “by the numbers” look at liquor consumption and costs.
An 1893 address to the World’s Woman’s Temperance Union by Frances Willard, president of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union.
A letter from temperance leader Frances Willard to civil rights activist Albion Tourgée, responding to allegations of racism, 1894.
A 1901 photograph of Carrie (Carry) Nation with a hatchet and a Bible.
A 1901 photograph of damage to a Kansas saloon following a visit from Carrie Nation.
A 1906 article from the Los Angeles Voice supporting temperance.
A 1921 advertisement for the Keeley Institute, a for-profit treatment center for alcohol addiction.

These sets were created and reviewed by teachers. Explore resources and ideas for Using DPLA's Primary Source Sets in your classroom.

To give feedback, contact us at info@dp.la. You can also view resources for National History Day.

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