Part 1 of 3: Milton A. Maxwell,
"The Washingtonian Movement"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quarterly Journal of Studies On Alcohol,
Vol.11,410-452,1950
THE WASHINGTONIAN MOVEMENT
By Milton A. Maxwell, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Sociology
State College of Washington, Pullman, Washington
INTRODUCTION
Certain similarities between the Washingtonian movement of the nineteenth
century and the present day fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous have been
commented upon by a number of observers. In view of this resemblance there
is
more than historical interest in an account of the first movement in the
United
States which brought about a large-scale rehabilitation of alcoholics. The
phenomenal rise and spread of the Washingtonian movement throughout the land
in
the early 1940's was the occasion of much discussion, exciting a deep
interest.
The cause of its equally rapid decline have been a subject of much
speculation
and are still of concern to the members of Alcoholics Anonymous who may
wonder
whether or not their movement is destined to a similar fate. This article,
therefore, will present not merely a description and history of the movement
but
also an analysis of the similarities and differences between the
Washingtonians
and Alcoholics Anonymous.
Since the Washingtonian movement is so intimately linked to the larger
temperance movement, it may be well to recall the developments which
preceded
1840. Before the 1830's, "temperance" was hardly a popular cause. Even in
1812,
when Lyman Beecher proposed to his fellow Congregational ministers that they
formulate a program for combating intemperance, "... the regular committee
reported that 'after faithful and prayerful inquiry' it was convinced that
nothing could be done to check the growth of intemperance..."(1). The custom
of
serving liquor at ecclesiastical meetings probably influenced the outcome of
this "prayerful inquiry." But Lyman Beecher was not to be stopped. He headed
a
new committee that recommended the following steps:
.... that district assemblies abstain from the use of ardent spirits (not
wine)
at ecclesiastical meetings, that members of churches abstain from unlawful
vending or purchase (not from lawful vending and purchase) of liquor, that
farmers, mechanics and manufacturers substitute monetary compensation for
the
ration of spirits, that voluntary associations aid the civil magistrates to
enforce the laws, and that the pamphlet of Dr. Rush (2) be printed and
circulated (1).The fact that these proposals were regarded as radical by the
custodians of the New England conscience is a sufficient clue to the state
of
public opinion in 1812.
It was not until 1825 that Lyman Beecher preached his famous Six Sermons
(3), in
which he defined intemperance not merely as drunkenness but as the "daily
use of
ardent spirits." In 1826, in Boston, Beecher and Justin Edwards spearheaded
the
founding of the first national society, "The American Society for the
Promotion
of Temperance" (American Temperance Society) which sought, according to its
constitution, "...to produce such a change of public sentiment, and such a
renovation of the habits of individuals and the customs of the community,
that
in the end temperance, with all its attendant blessings, may universally
prevail(4)."
The temperance movement began to take hold. In 1829 there were about 1,000
societies with a membership of approximately 100,000. By 1834 there were
5,000
local societies claiming 11,000,000 members, a gain of 500 per cent in 5
years.
A temperance press had been established. Effective literature had emerged.
Politicians were taking notice. In 1836 the American Temperance Society was
merged into the new and more inclusive "American Temperance Union," which
decided to take the stand of "total abstinence from all that can
intoxicate(5)."
This step required an entirely new orientation. It is therefore not
surprising
that sone 2,000 societies and countless individuals were not ready to go
along.
Many wealthy contributors, unwilling to forgo wine, withdrew their support.
Some
leaders were discouraged by the resistance to the new pledge and became
inactive. Various controversial issues added to the dissension. The movement
fell upon lean years. Its leaders, in 1840, were wondering what could be
done to
restore the momentum of the years preceding 1836. Their effort were groping
and
limited.
As for the alcoholic, it was the prevailing opinion, up to 1840, that
nothing
could be done to help him. Occasionally a "drunkard" did "reform," but this
did
not erase the general pessimism as to the possibility of rehabilitating
drunkards. Since alcohol was held to be the "cause" of alcoholism, the
temperance movement was aimed solely at keeping the nonalcoholic from
becoming
an alcoholic. This implied indifference to the alcoholic was epitomized by
Justin Edwards in 1822: "Keep the temperate people temperate; the drunkards
will
soon die, and the land be free(6)."
Thus the stage was set for the emergence of the Washingtonian movement.
THE BALTIMORE ORIGINS
One Thursday evening, April 2, 1840, six friends were drinking, as they were
wont to do almost every evening, in Chasels Tavern, on Liberty Street, in
Baltimore. They were William K. Mitchell, a tailor; John F. Hoss, a
carpenter;
David Anderson and George Steers, both blacksmiths; James McCurley, a
coachmaker; and Archibald Campbell, a silversmith(7). Their conversation
turned
to the temperance lecture which was to be given that evening by a visiting
lecturer, the Rev. Matthew Hale Smith. In a spirit of fun it was proposed
that
some of them go to hear the lecture and report back. Four of them went and,
after their return, all discussed the lecture.
... one of their company remarked that, "after all, temperance is a good
thing."
"0," said the host, "they're all a parcel of hypocrites." "O yes," replied
McCurley, "I'll be bound for you; it's your interest to cry them down,
anyhow."
"I'll tell you what, boys," says Steers, "Let's form a society and make Bill
Mitchell president.".. The idea seemed to take wonderfully; and the more
they
laughed and talked it over, the more they were pleased with it(8).
On Sunday, April 5, while the six were strolling and drinking, the
suggestion
crystallized into a decision to quit drinking and to organize a total
abstinence
society. It was agreed that Mitchell should be the president; Campbell the
vice-president; Hoss, the secretary; McCurley, the treasurer; and Steers and
Anderson, the standing committee. The membership fee was to be twenty-five
cents; the monthly dues, 12½ cents. The proposal that they name the society
in
honour of Thomas Jefferson was finally rejected and it was decided that the
president and the secretary, since they were to be the committee to draft
the
constitution, should also decide upon the name. It was agreed that each man
should bring a man to the next meeting. And it was left to the president to
compose the pledge which they would all sign the next day. The pledge was
formulated by Mitchell as follows:
"We whose names are annexed, desirous of forming a society for our mutual
benefit, and to guard against a pernicious practice which is injurious to
our
health, standing, and families, do pledge ourselves as gentlemen that we
will
not drink any spirituous or malt liquors, wine or cider."
He went with it, about nine o'clock, to Anderson's house and found him still
in
bed, sick from the effects of his Sunday adventure. He rose, however,
dressed
himself, and after hearing the pledge read, went down to his shop for pen
and
ink, and there did himself the honour of being the first man who signed the
Washington pledge. After obtaining the names of the other four, the worthy
president finished this noble achievement by adding his own(8).
The name, "Washington Temperance Society, 11 was selected in honour of
George
Washington. Two new members were brought to the second meeting. Strangely
enough, they continued to meet for a number of weeks at their accustomed
place
in Chase's Tavern. When the tavern owner's wife objected to the increasing
loss
of their best customers, Mitchell's wife suggested that they meet in their
home.
This they did until the group grew too large, whereupon they moved to a
carpenter's shop on Little Sharp Street. Eventually, they rented a hall of
their
own.
As they grew in membership they faced the problem of making their weekly
meetings interesting. Their resourceful president made the suggestion that
each
member relate his own experience. He started off with his story of 15 years
of
excessive drinking, adding his reactions to his newly gained freedom. Others
followed suit. This procedure proved to be so interesting and effective that
it
became a permanent feature of their programs. Interest and membership
mounted.
In November the society resolved to try a public meeting in which Mitchell
and
others would tell their personal experiences. The first such meeting, held
on
November 19, 1840, in the Masonic Hall on St. Paul Street, was a decided
success. Not only did it bring in additional members but it also called the
movement to the interested attention of the people of Baltimore. It was
decided
to repeat these public meetings about once a month in addition to the
regular
weekly meetings of the society.
John Zug, a citizen of Baltimore who probably had his interest aroused by
the
first public meeting, made further inquiry and, on December 12, 1840, wrote
a
letter to the Rev. John Marsh, executive secretary of the American
Temperance
Union, in New York City, informing him of the new society in Baltimore. In
it he
told about the growth of the group:
These half a dozen men immediately interested themselves to persuade their
old
bottle-companions to unite with them, and they in a short time numbered
nearly
one hundred members, a majority of whom were reformed drunkards. By their
unprecedented exertions from the beginning, they have been growing in
numbers,
extending their influence, and increasing in interest, until now they number
about three hundred members, upwards of two hundred of whom are reformed
drunkards - reformed, too, within the last eight months. Many of these had
been
drunkards of many years' standing, - notorious for their dissipation.
indeed,
the society has done wonders in the reformation of scores whose friends and
the
community had despaired of long since(9).
So rapidly did the society grow during the following months that on the
first
anniversary of the society, April 5, 1841, there were about 1,000 reformed
drunkards and 5,000 other members and friends in the parade to celebrate the
occasion. This demonstration made a deep impression upon the 40,000 or so
Baltimoreans who witnessed the event.
Additional information on the pattern of activities which made this growth
possible, and on the components of the therapeutic program which made the
reformation of alcoholics possible in the first place, is given in the
writings
of contemporary observers. John Zug, in his first letter to John Marsh,
included
the following description:
The interest connected with this society is maintained by the continued
active
exertions of its members, the peculiar character of their operations and the
frequency of their meetings. The whole society is considered a "grand
committee
of the whole," each member exerting himself, from week to week, and from day
to
day, as far as possible, to persuade his friends to adopt the only safe
course,
total abstinence; or at least to accompany him to the next meeting of the
"Washington Temperance Society." It is a motto of their energetic and worthy
President, in urging the attendance of the members at the stated meetings,
"Let
every man be present, and every man bring with him a man."
They have rented a public hall in which they meet every Monday night. At
these
weekly meetings, after their regular business is transacted, the several
members
rise promiscuously and state their temperance experience for each other' a
warning, instruction, and encouragement. After this, any persons present
wishing
to unite with them are invited forward to sign the Constitution and
Pledge(9).
Christian Keener, the editor of the Maryland Herald, made these further
first-hand observations:
These men spared neither their money nor their time in carrying out the
principles which they had espoused. Many a poor fellow who from the effect
of
liquor had become a burden to his family and himself was fed and clothed by
them, and won by kindness to reform his life; even more than this, they have
supported the families of those who they had induced to join with them,
until
the husband and father had procured work, and was able to support them with
his
own hands.
The peculiar characteristics of this great reform are first, a total
abstinence
pledge .... Secondly, the telling of others what they know from experience
of
the evils of intemperance, and the good which they feel to result from
entire
abstinence(9).
John W. Hawkins, an early member, had this to say in one of his Boston
speeches:
Drunkard! Come up here! you can reform. I met a gentleman this morning who
reformed four weeks ago, rejoicing in his reformation; he brought a man with
him
who took the pledge and this man brought two others. This is the way we do
the
business up in Baltimore. We reformed drunkards are a Committee of the Whole
on
the State of the Union. We are all missionaries. We don't slight the
drunkard;
we love him, we nurse him, as a mother does her infant learning to walk(10).
Christian Keener, in another communication, summed up the work as follows,
making at the same time a comparison with the operations of the regular
temperance societies:
The great advantage of the Washington Temperance Society has been this; they
have reached hundreds of men that would not come out to our churches, nor
even
temperance meetings; they go to their old companions and drag them, not by
force, but by friendly consideration of duty, and a sense of self-respect,
into
their ranks, and watch over them with the solicitude of friends and
brothers...(9).
Such was the character of the original Baltimore "Washington Temperance
Society."
THE SPREAD OF THE MOVEMENT
A phenomenon like this could not be confined to Baltimore, for the
Washington
men had it in their power to meet many pressing needs. First of all, there
were
the drunkards in need of reclamation - a need long ignored because the
opinion
prevailed that there was no hope for them. The meeting of this need partook
of
the miraculous. Secondly, there was the overwhelming drive on the part of
the
reformed men to carry their message of hope to other victims of drink -
spilling
over into a desire to prevent such suffering by winning those not addicted
to
certain sobriety in total abstinence. Finally, there were the needs of the
temperance leaders. Set back by the 1836 decision to put temperance on a
total
abstinence basis, they needed a convincing argument for total abstinence as
well
as some effective means of rekindling enthusiasm for their cause. The
Washington
men were the answer to these needs, for what could be a better argument for
total abstinence than its apparent power to reclaim even the confirmed
drunkard;
and what could excite more interest than the personally told experiences of
reformed drunkards?
The first recorded activity outside of Baltimore was the speaking of John
H.W.
Hawkins, in February 1841, to the delegates of the Maryland State Temperance
Society, meeting in Annapolis, and to the members of the State Legislature
in
the same city.
Hawkins, who was to become the most effective spokesman of the movement, had
joined the Washington Temperance Society on June 14, 1840, after more than
20
years of excessive drinking. Born in Baltimore on September 28, 1797, he was
apprenticed at an early age to a hatmaker. During this apprenticeship he
developed a dependence on alcohol which was increased during 3 years in the
frontier communities of the West. His religious conversion at the age of 18
did
not eradicate this craving. Resuming his trade in Baltimore, he battled in
vain
against his addiction. The panic of 1937 left him unemployed, reducing him
to a
pauper on public relief. Guilt and remorse over his family's destitution
only
intensified his alcoholism. His own account of his last drinking days and
his
reclamation, as given in his first New York talk, are preserved for us:
"Never," said he, "shall I forget the 12th of June last. The first two weeks
in
June I averaged - it is a cross to acknowledge it - as much as a quart and a
pint a day. That morning I was miserable beyond conception, and was
hesitating
whether to live or die. My little daughter came to my bed and said, II hope
you
won't send me for any more whiskey today.' I told her to go out of the room.
She
went weeping. I wounded her sorely, though I had made up my mind I would
drink
no more. I suffered all the horrors of the pit that day, but my wife
supported
me. She said, "Hold on, hold on. I Next day I felt better. Monday I wanted
to go
down and see my old associates who had joined the Washington Society. I went
and
signed. I felt like a free man. What was I now to do to regain my character?
My
friends took me by the hand. They encouraged me. They did right. If there is
a
man on earth who deserves the sympathy of the world it is the poor drunkard;
he
is poisoned, cast out, knows not what to do, and must be helped or be
lost...
(8).
"It did not take his associates long to discover that he had the qualities
of a
leader. A splendid physique and commanding presence, combined with a gift
for
extemporaneous speaking, made him an ideal lecturer.(l)" It is not
surprising,
therefore, that Hawkins was selected to speak before the Maryland State
Temperance Society and the State Legislature. Christian Keener left an
eyewitness report of the latter occasion which helps to explain Hawkins'
appeal:
.... He commenced his speech by letting them know that he stood before then
a
reformed drunkard, less than twelve months ago taken almost out of the
gutter;
and now in the Senate chamber of his native State, addressing hundreds of
the
best informed and most intelligent men and women, and they listened with
tearful
attention. The circumstances had an almost overpowering effect on his own
feelings and those of his audience. He is a man of plain, good common sense,
with a sincerity about him, and easy way of expressing himself, that every
word
took like a point-blank shot. His was the eloquence of the heart; no effort
at
display(9).
About this time, a Baltimore businessman attended a temperance meeting in
New
York City. News of the Baltimore developments having already been circulated
by
John Marsh through the Journal of the American Temperance Union, this
visitor
was requested to give a brief history and description of the Washington
Soc3ety.
A conversation with Dr. Rease, after the meeting, brought forth the
suggestion
that some of the Washington men be invited to New York to relate their
experiences. This tentative proposition was taken to the Baltimore society,
accepted by them, and the arrangements completed for a delegation of five to
go.
The five were William K. Mitchell, John W. Hawkins, J.F. Pollard, and two
other
members, Shaw and Casey.
Their first meeting in New York was held on Tuesday, March 23, 1841, in the
Methodist Episcopal Church on Green Street. The curious throngs were not
disappointed. As in Baltimore, the experiences of these "reformed drunkards"
deeply moved and inspired all those who came to hear. Not only that, but
real-life drama was enacted at the meeting. The New York Commercial
Advertiser
reported the next morning:
During the first speech a young man rose in the gallery and, though
intoxicated,
begged to know if there was any hope for him; declaring his readiness to
bind
himself, from that hour, to drink no more. He was invited to come down and
sign
the pledge, which he did forthwith, in the presence of the audience, under
deep
emotion, which seemed to be contagious, for others followed; and during each
of
the speeches they continued to come forward and sign, until more than a
hundred
pledges were obtained; a large portion of which were intemperate persons,
some
of whom were old and grey headed. Such a scene as was beheld at the
secretary's
table while they were signing, and the unaffected tears that were flowing,
and
the cordial greetings of the recruits by the Baltimore delegates, was never
before witnessed in New York(8).
All the subsequent meetings were equally successful. John Marsh and the
other
temperance leaders who were promoting the meetings were delighted. With no
church large enough to hold the curious crowds, it was decided to hold an
open
air meeting in City Hall Park. More than 4,000 turned out for this. The
speakers, mounted on upturned rum kegs, again enthraled the crowd. This
impressive occasion was merely the climax of a triumphant campaign: about
2,000
were converted to the total abstinence pledge, including many confirmed
drunkards with whom the men worked between meetings. At this time the
Washington
Temperance Society of New York was organized.
The delegation returned to Baltimore in time for the first anniversary
parade
and celebration, an April 5th. With the memory of the New York success still
fresh in their minds, this must have been a very happy and meaningful
occasion -
not merely the recognition of a year's achievement, but also a portent of
things
to come.
Things began to happen rapidly now. While the New York meetings were in
progress, John Marsh wrote to the Boston temperance leaders about the power
of
the Washingtonian appeal. Arrangements were quickly made so that within a
week
after the first anniversary celebration Hawkins and William E. Wright were
on
their way to Boston for a series of meetings in the churches. There were
those
who doubted that Bostonians would respond as enthusiastically as New
Yorkers,
but the coming of these speakers was well published and even larger crowds
than
in New York greeted them. The first meeting was held on April 15, 1841. The
Daily Mail had this report the following morning:
The Odeon was filled to its utmost capacity, last evening, by a promiscuous
audience of temperance men, distillers, wholesalers and retail dealers in
ardent
spirits, conformed inebriates, moderate drinkers, lovers of the social
glass,
teetotallers, etc., to listen to the speeches of the famous "Reformed
Drunkards," delegates from the Washington Temperance Society of Baltimore,
who
have excited such a deep interest in the cause of temperance in other
places...Mr. Hawkins of Baltimore, was the second of the "Reformed
Drunkards"
introduced to the meeting. He was a man of forty-four years of age - of fine
manly form - and he said he had been more than twenty years a confirmed
inebriate. He spoke with rather more fluency, force and effect, than his
predecessor, but in the same vein of free and easy, off-hand, direct,
bang-up
style; at times in a single conversational manner, then earnest and
vehement,
then pathetic, then humorous - but always manly and reasonable. Mr. Hawkins
succeeded in "working up" his audience finely. Now the house was as quiet
and
still as a deserted church, and anon the high dome rang with violent bursts
of
laughter and applause. Now he assumed the melting mood, and pictured the
scenes
of a drunkard's home, and that home his own, and fountains of generous
feelings,
in many hearts, gushed forth in tears - and again, in a moment, as he
related,
some ludicrous story, these tearful eyes glistened with delight, sighs
changed
to hearty shouts, and long faces were convulsed with broad grins and
glorious
smiles(1).
The Boston Mercantile Journal reported the same meeting in the following
manner:
The exercises at the temperance meeting at the Odeon last evening possessed
a
deep and thrilling interest. The hall was crowded and Messrs. Hawkins and
Wright...spoke with great eloquence and power for more than two hours, and
when,
at ten o'clock, they proposed abridging somewhat they had to say, shouts of
"Go
on! Go on!" were heard from all parts of the house. We believe more tears
were
never shed by an audience in one evening than flowed last night...Old grey
haired men sobbed like children, and the noble and honourable bowed their
heads
and wept. Three hundred and seventy-seven came forward and made "the second
declaration of independence," by pledging themselves to touch no
intoxicating
drink; among them were noticed many bloated countenances, familiar as common
drunkards; and we promise them health, prosperity, honour, and happiness in
the
pursuance of their new principles(9).
When even the standing room in Faneuil Hall was filled, a few evenings
later,
and the crowd responded with unrestrained enthusiasm, several hundred coming
forward to sign the pledge at the close of the meeting, there was no longer
any
doubt that the Washingtonian reformers had a universally potent appeal. Here
was
"human interest" material par excellence. No fiction could be more exciting
or
dramatic. These true-life narratives pulled at the heartstrings. They
aroused
awe and wonder at the "miracle of rebirth." Formal religious beliefs had
flesh
and blood put on dry bones. And, to the victim of drink, the Washingtonian
message was like a promise of life to a doomed man. It was the impossible
come
true.
During these meetings, a Washington Total-Abstinence Society was formed in
Boston. Hawkins was also engaged as the paid secretary of the Massachusetts
Temperance Society, and on June 1, 1841, returned from Baltimore with his
family. Within a short space of time, he and his Boston associates succeeded
in
carrying the Washingtonian movement into 160 New England towns.
On May 11, 1841, the executive committee of the American Temperance Union,
on
the occasion of its anniversary meeting in New York City, paid high tribute
to
the Washingtonians. In July at the national convention of the Union, at
Saratoga
Springs, this praise was even more fulsome. John Marsh and many of the other
leaders saw in the Washingtonians the possibilities of a great forward
advance
for the temperance movement. None of them, however, even in their most
optimistic moments, sensed the vitality that was to be manifested by the
Washingtonian movement that very summer and autumn.
Even before the Saratoga convention, two of the most famous of the many
Washingtonian deputation teams, Pollard and Wright, and Vickers and Small,
had
begun extensive tours. By autumn, many teams and individuals were in the
field.
From the 1842 Report of the American Temperance Union, it is possible to
trace
the rapid spread of the movement throughout the country.
J.F. Pollard and W.E. Wright, both of Baltimore - the former having
accompanied
Hawkins to New York, and the latter to Boston - began their work early in
the
summer of 1841 in Hudson, New York. Their first efforts were discouraging,
but
soon they got attention and in a few weeks nearly 3,000 of the 5,500
inhabitants
of Hudson had signed the pledge. A Hudson resident has left this account of
their type of meeting:
Some of the meeting took the air of deep religious solemnity, eyes that
never
wept before were suffused...the simple tale of the ruined inebriate,
interrupted
by a silence that told of emotions too big for utterance, would awaken
general
sympathy, and dissolve a large portion of the audience in tears. The spell
which
had bound so many seemed to dissolve under the magic eloquence of those
unlettered men. They spoke from the heart to the heart. The drunkard found
himself unexpectedly an object of interest. He was no longer an outcast.
There
were some who still looked upon him as a man. A chord was reached which had
long
since ceased to respond to other influences less kind in their nature...The
social principle operated with great power. A few leaders in the ranks of
intemperance having signed the pledge, it appeared to be the signal for the
mass
to follow: and on they came, like a torrent sweeping everything before it.
It
was for weeks the all-absorbing topic...(7).
Pollard and Wright attended the Saratoga convention and then toured through
central and western New York; and that autumn, through New Jersey and
Pennsylvania. On this tour they obtained 23,340 signatures to the pledge,
"one-fifth of which were supposed to be common drunkards"(7). Late in 1841
they
spoke in Maryland and Delaware. They moved in January 1842 into Virginia,
where
they worked particularly in Richmond, Petersburg, Charlottesville and
Norfolk,
pledging Negroes as well as whites.
The other famous team, Jesse Vickers and Jesse W. Small, also of Baltimore,
began their campaign in June 1841 in Pittsburgh, where "all classes, all
ages,
all ranks and denominations, and both sexes, pressed every night into
overflowing churches." In a brief time 10,000 were pledged, "including a
multitude of most hopeless characters"(7). This success was followed by
another
in Wheeling, from which place they proceeded to Cincinnati where Lyman
Beecher,
now president of Lane Theological Seminary, had diligently prepared the way
for
their coming. Large crowds turned out for the meetings and a strong
Washington
society was organized which, by the end of 1841, claimed 8,000 members, 900
of
them reformed. Cincinnati became the chief centre of Washingtonianism in the
West, and Vickers and Small spent a great deal of time preparing the
converts
who were to carry on the missionary work. One of these Cincinnati teams,
Brown
and Porter, obtained 6,529 signatures in an 8-week campaign in the
surrounding
country, 1,630 of them from "hard drinkers" and 700 from confirmed
drunkards.
Another Cincinnati team, Turner and Guptill, toured western Ohio and
Michigan.
On December 21, 1841, a team of three, probably including Vickers, began a
campaign in St. Louis, laying the foundation for a Washington society that
numbered 7,500 within a few months. Many communities in Kentucky, Indiana
and
Illinois were also visited. It is interesting to note that on February 22,
1842,
Abraham Lincoln addressed the Washington Society of Springfield, Ill. Just
how
quickly the West was cultivated by the Washingtonian missionaries, operating
chiefly out of Cincinnati, is shown by the May 1842 claims of 60,000
signatures
in Ohio, 30,000 in Kentucky, and 10,000 in Illinois. Of these, it was
claimed,
"every seventh man is a reformed drunkard, and every fourth man a reformed
tippler"(7).
The intensity of this cultivation varied with time and place. How intensive
it
could be is well portrayed by a citizen of Pittsburgh, in a letter to John
Marsh, in April 1842:
The work has grown in this city and vicinity...at such a rate as has defied
a
registration of its triumphs with anything like statistical accuracy. ...The
most active agents and labourers in the field have been at no time able to
report the state of the work in their own entire province - the work spread
us
from place to place - running in so many currents, and meeting in their way
so
many others arising from other sources, or springing spontaneously in their
pathway, that no one could measure its dimensions or compass its spread. We
have
kept some eight or ten missionaries in the field ever since last June, who
have
toiled over every part and parcel of every adjoining country of
Pennsylvania,
and spread thence into Ohio and Virginia, leaving no school house, or
country
church, or little village, cross roads, forge, furnace, factory, or mills,
unvisited; holding meetings wherever two or three could be gathered
together,
and organizing as many as from 20 to 30 societies in a single county...(7).
In the Boston area, Washingtonian activity was intensive from the beginning.
Within 3 months after the first Hawkins and Wright meetings, the Boston
society
had this to report:
Since this society went into operation the delegating committee have sent
out
two hundred and seventeen delegations to one hundred and sixty towns in
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, and Rhode Island, with
wonderful
success....Some of those towns where we have formed societies are now
sending
out their delegates. The whole country is now alive to the subject...It is
acknowledged on all sides that no people like ours - although unlearned -
could
create such a wonderful interest in the all absorbing cause....
There is no doubt that about 50,000 persons have signed the pledge in the
different towns that our delegates have visited. Where societies were
already
formed, a more lively interest was created, - new signers obtained from
those
who had been inebriates, and thus a new energy imparted...Where societies
had
not before existed, new societies were formed...(8).
Ten months later, in May 1842, the Boston society had 13,000 members, had
sent
260 delegations to 350 towns in New England, and had produced a number of
converts who had become effective missionaries outside of New England.
Benjamin
Goodhue, in December 1841, stirred up great interest in Sag Harbour and the
east
end of Long Island. A Mr. Cady, during this winter, toured North Carolina,
securing 10,000 signatures. In February 1842 Joseph J. Johnson and an
unnamed
fellow Bostonian conducted successful campaigns in Mobile and New Orleans.
By May 1842 the movement had penetrated every major area of the country and
was
going particularly strong in central New York and New England. The most
vigorous
urban centres were Baltimore, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,
Washington, Cincinnati and St. Louis. The city of Baltimore had 15 societies
and
7,842 members. New York and vicinity had 23 societies and 16,000 members. In
the
Journal of the American Temperance Union, on April 1, 1842, John Marsh wrote
enthusiastically of the New York activity: "We suppose there are not less
than
fifty meetings held weekly and most of them are perfect jams. Our accessions
are
numerous and often of the most hopeless characters"(9). In and around
Philadelphia, where the societies took the name of Jefferson, some 20,000
members were enrolled. In the district of Columbia there were 4,297 members,
and
another 1,000 in Alexandria, Va. Later in the year Hawkins visited
Washington
and was successful in reactivating the old Congressional Temperance Society
and
putting it on a total abstinence basis. Congressman George N. Briggs, soon
to be
Governor of Massachusetts, became president of this reorganized society.
To the list of outstanding reformed men who became effective Washingtonian
missionaries during this first year, there should be added the names of
George
Haydock, Hudson, N.Y.(8,000 signatures); Col. John Wallis, Philadelphia
(7,000
signatures); Thomas M. Woodruff, New York City; Abel Bishop, New Haven,
Conn.;
and Joseph Hayes, Bath, Me.
During 1842 the most outstanding temperance orator of all was won to the
cause.
John B. Gough, a bookbinder, was reformed. When his platform ability was
discovered, many Washingtonian societies sponsored his addresses. As his
popularity grew he became a professional free-lance lecturer; and during the
years 1843-47 travelled 6,840 miles, gaining 15,218 signatures to
thepledge(11).
Another important development was the organization of women into the little
known "Martha Washington" societies. The first such society was organized
"in a
church at the corner of Chrystie and Delancey Streets, New York, on May 12
of
that year [1841], through the efforts of William A. Wisdom and John W.
Oliver"(12). The constitution detailed the purpose:
Whereas, the use of all intoxicating drinks has caused, and is causing,
incalculable evils to individuals and families, and has a tendency to
prostrate
all means adapted to the moral, social and eternal happiness of the whole
human
family; we, the undersigned ladies of New York, feeling ourselves especially
called upon, not only to refrain from the use of all intoxicating drinks,
but,
by our influence and example, to induce others to do the same, do therefore
form
ourselves into an association(12).
These Martha Washington societies were organized in many places, functioning
to
some extent as auxiliaries of the Washingtonian societies, but also engaged
in
the actual rehabilitation of alcoholic women. In the annual Report of 1843,
there is this reference"...the Martha Washington Societies, feeding the
poor,
clothing the naked, and reclaiming the intemperate of their own sex, have
been
maintained, in most places, with great spirit..."(7).
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
++++Message 5541. . . . . . . . . . . . Part 2 of 3: Maxwell on the
Washingtonians
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/24/2009 12:40:00 PM
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
From: James Blair
(jblair at videotron.ca)
Dostları ilə paylaş: |