Social Gospel & The Temperance Movement

Combating alcohol abuse became a major focal point of middle class female political activism during the Progressive era: 

The Social Gospel was a social movement within Protestantism that wished to apply Christian beliefs and values onto American social problems. These believers wished to rectify issues such as poverty, crime, child labor, racial tensions, and alcoholism - all big components of nineteenth and twentieth century America. 

Out of this came the Temperance Movement, which was seen as an important issue for women, as they (and their children) were often portrayed as the victims of their husbands’ abuse. The movement gradually shifted from temperance to prohibition - first urging moderation, then encouraging drinkers to help each other to resist temptation, and ultimately demanding that local, state, and national governments prohibit alcohol outright. This stricter governance of alcohol consumption had roots in Protestant Christianity and was seen as “reforming” urban, immigrant, working class communities, a callback to the Social Gospel movement.