Woman’s Christian Temperance Union of Georgia Report

Collection

Identifier: SMC 120

Scope and Contents

This small collection consists of one printed report from 1907 of the 25th Annual Convention, the Jubilee for State Prohibition, that met at St. Luke’s M.E. Church in Columbus, Georgia on October 22-25, 1907. The report contains minutes, reports of officers and superintendents of departments, state plans for 1907-1908, state pledges and state directory.

Dates

Creation: 1907

Biographical / Historical

In 1880 the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) established its first society in Georgia, and in 1883 a statewide WCTU was organized.

An organized temperance movement began in Georgia in the late 1820s and, after early difficulties, flourished through the 1930s. As in other parts of the United States, Georgia's temperance reformers typically were evangelical Protestants who regarded alcoholic beverages as harmful (even sinful) for the individual drinker and for society at large. Supposedly, drink destroyed families and reputations and brought about poverty, disorder, and crime. As elsewhere, Georgia's temperance reformers started by urging individuals to decide voluntarily not to drink and later campaigned to change the laws to restrict and abolish the sale of alcoholic beverages. Georgia had statewide prohibition from 1908 until 1935, a period that began before and extended beyond national prohibition (1920-33). (New Georgia Encyclopedia)