Friendly Opponents Become Enemies, Scene 2
For centuries, in religious, philosophical, and everyday English, the noun Temperance had primarily denoted moderation, perhaps with a soupçon of modesty in behavior added. In the early 1900s, however, its primary definition was not at all temperate, but extreme: total abstinence from alcohol.
Obviously, as enacted, Prohibition did not work in the U.S. I shall mention just one of its shortcomings, which I feel is relevant to understanding Hicksville in this era: it played into the hands of the Klan. Because the latter group publicly supported Prohibition, it was able to ally itself with people in authority - religious leaders, and also those in key civil positions, such as School Board members and government officials. Once that was done, the KKK was free to recruit parishioners, teachers, lower-level government workers, etc., and try to persuade them to embrace its base ideology. The Klan also levered the public's Prohibition sentiment to discredit and agitate against groups who regularly used wine - specifically, Roman Catholics because they consecrated wine at Mass, and Italians, who often made wine, and drank it at home as part of meals.
Ironically, while the Klan got many warm receptions, honest proponents of Prohibition sometimes were treated as their townsfolk's enemies, especially if they belonged to activist organizations. Judging by the period newspapers, the most prominent prohibitionist organization in and around Hicksville was the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. It regularly sponsored lectures, held working meetings, attended regional conventions, participated in rallies and demonstrations, etc. Of course, women were not alone in doing this work; Hicksville also had an active chapter of the International Order of Good Templars, a men's organization with similar objectives, which received less publicity.
Cartoon warning of the dangers of merging the causes
of Women's Suffrage and Temperance, published in
the now-legendary international magazine Puck
wikipedia.org
The fact that women in this era also publicly demonstrated for women's suffrage may have hurt, or at least delayed, both causes. Many people (especially men) had believed early on that if women could vote, they would enact Prohibition. Almost conversely, they also believed that if Prohibition were enacted first, the chances of reversing it would be nil if women could vote.
Either way, with regard to the women of the WCTU, that manner of thinking left a very unpleasant taste in the soon-to-be dry mouths of many men.
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