The temperance movement was one of many reform efforts that built support in the decades before the Civil War. Temperance is defined as moderation in action, thought, or feeling, and is often used to describe the long campaign to decrease the consumption of alcohol by Americans that culminated in the national Prohibition Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in the 20th century. Since the European settlement of North America, alcohol consumption had been common and by early in the 19th century, many Americans believed that alcohol was to blame for a variety of societal problems, including unemployment, crime, poverty, and domestic abuse.
Supporters of the temperance movement blamed alcohol for family and social problems like poverty, domestic violence, child abuse, unemployment, and disease. People of all social classes, race, gender, and religious affiliations joined anti-liquor organizations and sought to use moral persuasion to curb alcohol consumption. Many women were involved, even though they did not have the right to vote. Instead, they sponsored public events, established rooms stacked with prohibition literature, and canvassed for the prohibition vote. Virginians joined such organizations as the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, the Anti-Saloon League, and the Sons of Temperance, all of which carried the message of total abstinence from alcohol and encouraged political support for reform using pamphlets, novels, newspapers, music, sermons, lectures, and art.
The Bottle is a series of eight illustrated panels about the potential dangers of alcohol consumption. Originally published in England in 1847 by George Cruikshank, The Bottle became wildly popular, selling more than 100,000 copies in its first few days and inspiring plays in eight London theaters at the same time. The Bottle was exported to the United States, where, lacking a copyright, it was reproduced by several publishers. Plates 1 and 6 are shown here. The first plate shows a prosperous and happy family where “The Bottle is brought out for the first time: the husband induces his wife ‘Just to take a drop." The following plates show the deleterious effects of alcohol: the father loses his job, they sell their belongings, the baby dies, the children beg in the street. In plate 6 the same family is featured. They are in the same room as the first panel, but the drunken father is attacking his wife and his children try to restrain him as a concerned neighbor bursts into the room.
Inspired by images such as these and encouraged by the rise of anti-alcohol tracts and lectures, Americans jumped on the temperance bandwagon. The Civil War swept these concerns to the side, but by the 1880s the temperance movement had spread widely. Voters in many counties and states across the nation to vote to ban alcohol, including in Virginia, which enacted a statewide ban on alcohol in 1916, four years before national Prohibition was implemented.
RELATED DOCUMENTS: To see all eight panels, visit the Library of Virginia's UncommonWealth blog post on The Temperance Movement and the Road to Prohibition.
Citations:History: VS.8, VS.9, USI.8, USII.4, USII.6, CE.6, CE.10, VUS.8, VUS.10, GOVT.7, GOVT.9
Art: 4.1, 5.1
Preview Activity
Look at it: Look at the images. What do you think is the subject of the images?
Post Activities
Current Connections: How would you change or update these drawings to show the dangers of opiates or other potentially addictive substances?
Think About it: If you were a member of this family, what would, or could you have done to stop this chain of events?
Social Media Spin: Create a post in which you promote temperance for the 21st Century. Include information which might sway a person to seek treatment for alcohol or drug addiction.
The New York State Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (NYSAOWS) was one of the most active anti-suffrage groups in the state of New York. There were several auxiliaries of the group throughout New York. NYSAOWS would receive requests for information, advice or assistance from women in other states, including Virginia, where a group of Richmond women established the Virginia Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage in 1912. Other anti-suffrage groups around the country would use material published by NYSAOWS to rally women in their states around the ideals of the anti-suffrage movement.
Formed in April 1895, the New York association consisted of prominent women who opposed women's right to vote. They gave speeches, handed out materials, distributed pamphlets, and also published a journal. NYSAOWS members believed that women participating in politics would be "disruptive of everything pertaining to home life." They considered that women's roles as mothers and caregivers meant they did not have to do "further service" as citizens. The members also believed that a majority of people were on their side and all they had to do was advocate for women to “recognize the vital need for a division of the world's work between men and women.” In 1896, NYSAOWS believed that only 10% of women actually wanted the vote. NYSAOWS also used tactics such as associating women's suffrage with "support for socialist causes.” Although not based in Virginia, materials published by this organization were widely circulated throughout the commonwealth.
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the title. What does it tell you about the group who wrote the broadside? List three ideas you have about the women who may be the topic(s) of this broadside.
Post Activities
Analyze: Look at the title. What does it tell you about the group who wrote the broadside? Why do you think this title was chosen? How is the title reflected in the arguments expressed in the broadside?
Up for Debate: In small groups, prepare a brief statement in which you take a side and present why your group is in favor of or is opposed to the suffrage movement.
Social Media Spin: Using hashtags and memes, convert the messages of this broadside into short, social media-style messages that may have been used had the technology existed at the time.
Artistic Exploration: Create a placard that an anti-suffragist may have carried, sharing the views from the "Economical Woman."
As women participated in the movement to abolish slavery during the first half of the 19th century, some of them also began to advocate for women's rights. In July 1848, a group of women and men held a convention in Seneca Falls, New York. They signed a "Declaration of Sentiments," drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, which called for women's equality and the right to vote, also known as suffrage. As the woman suffrage movement gained more support throughout the country, it also raised a great deal of public scrutiny. Many people, including women, questioned how women would be able to meet the demands of their domestic duties at home while participating in public activities, such as attending political rallies or making speeches. Since the colonial era, women in America had been considered a dependent class, under the responsibility of their fathers, husbands, or brothers. The growing women's rights movement challenged the prevailing social norms.
Political cartoons have often been used to express opinions and concerns. They are often satirical, using humor, exaggeration, irony, and ridicule to persuade a reader to think about current events from a particular point of view. In this Currier and Ives cartoon published in 1869, "Age of Brass: Or the Triumphs of Woman's Rights," the cartoonist depicted a scene of what might happen if women were given the right to vote. It shows a group of extravagantly dressed women lined up at the ballot box to vote for "The Celebrated Man Tamer: Susan Sharp-Tongue" and for "Miss Hangman" as sheriff. At the end of the line is a woman holding up her fist to a man carrying a baby, highlighting the potential effects of gender role reversal as women took on different roles in society. The women are wearing very elaborate and somewhat masculine-looking clothing and some are smoking cigars, none of which was considered respectable, feminine behavior at that time.
Citation: “The Age of Brass: Or the Triumphs of Woman's Rights.” lithograph. [New York]: Currier & Ives, 1869. Visual Studies Collection, Library of Virginia.
Preview Activity
Take a Look: Look at the policitcal cartoon. What do you notice about it? What do you think is the purpose? Pay attention to the appearances of the characters and the writing included in the image.
Post Activities
Current Connections: How would this lithograph be different if it were produced today for a women's-rights-related issue? How would the imagery and message change to suit modern times?
Think About It: Identify and list specific imagery in this lithograph that seeks to place women on a more equal playing field with men. To what extent are the images successful?
The Richmond Planet was first published in 1882, seventeen years after the end of the Civil War. The thirteen founders (including James H. Hayes, James H. Johnston, E.R. Carter, Walter Fitzhugh, Henry Hucles, Albert V. Norrell, Benjamin A. Graves, James E. Merriweather, Edward A. Randolph, William H. Andrews and Reuben T. Hill) were former slaves who pooled their meager resources to start the Richmond Planet, which was destined to play an important part in shaping the opinions of individuals in Richmond, Virginia, and the nation.
The Planet's first editor-in-chief was Edwin Archer Randolph, a Yale graduate and a leading politician of his day. James E. Merriwether, an educator and civic leader, and E.R. Carter, also prominent in politics, served under Randolph as contributing editors. Reuben T. Hill was selected to manage the paper while the other members of the group, who were mostly employed as public school teachers, made occasional written contributions to the paper.
In 1884, 21-year-old John Mitchell Jr., succeeded Randolph and continued as editor-in-chief for the next 45 years. Mitchell wasted little time; he replaced much of the press equipment, contributed his own artwork to the paper’s impressive design, and increased circulation to the point that the newspaper eventually turned a modest profit. By 1904, the Richmond Planet had reached a weekly circulation of 4,200. The paper quickly gained a reputation as a staunch defender of the African American community and a voice against racial injustice. The paper covered local, national, and international news. However, the paper become known for focusing on segregation, the actions of the Ku Klux Klan, voting rights, and occurrences of lynching. The Richmond Planet became one the South’s most forceful Black voices. The Planet thus reached far beyond Richmond, achieving prominence—and a degree of notoriety—throughout the South.
Under Mitchell, the Planet's masthead, the "Strong Arm" was created. It depicted a flexed bicep surrounded by shock waves that radiated out from a clenched fist, reflecting the force and energy with which Mitchell projected his opinions. Undeterred by people who opposed his work, Mitchell's stories, editorials, and cartoons denounced racial prejudice and exposed those who perpetrated acts of violence against the African Americans.
Citation: Richmond Planet Masthead, Dec. 15, 1923, Richmond Planet, Richmond, Virginia: Newspapers, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
For more information click here.
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the masthead image. What information does it provide about the issues and people who made up the audience for this publication?
Post Activities
Analyze: Why was the Richmond Planet an important newspaper? How did it influence journalism in its time of publication?
Current Connections: How does the Richmond Planet continue to influence and inform 21st century journalists and writers? Why does it still hold an important place in newspaper and media history?
Citizenship Through Voting, Portsmouth, VA, circa 1950’s
Black men gained the right to vote when the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1870. Later in the 19th century, white men in Virginia passed laws requiring literacy tests or payment of poll taxes that made it more difficult for Black men to vote. A new state constitution in 1902 strengthened those restrictions and disfranchised more than 90 percent of Black men. So as not to violate the Fifteenth Amendment that prohibited discriminating against eligible voters "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude," the 1902 constitution's provisions made no reference to race and resulted in the disfranchisement of almost 50 percent of white male voters as well.
When women gained the right to vote after the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920, Black women in Virginia faced the same restrictions and far fewer Black women than white women were able to register to vote. In the 1950s, during the civil rights movement, Black Virginians held numerous voter registration drives around the state and some filed lawsuits against local registrars to challenge the constitutionality of poll taxes. It was not until 1966 that the United States Supreme Court ruled that the use of poll taxes in any election was unconstitutional.
This photograph was taken during the 1950s at a time when voting rights were not guaranteed and African Americans were challenging segregation in schools, transportation, and other areas of public life. The sign on the blackboard was probably posted for a lesson on citizenship and the importance of voting in elections.
Citation: African American teenagers and teacher in a classroom; A sign reading "Citizenship through voting" is on the blackboard, Portsmouth Public Library (Portsmouth, Va.). Esther Murdaugh Wilson Memorial Room.
Image is available in the Library of Virginia's online catalog here.
USI.1, USI.5, VS.1, VS.4, GOVT. 1, GOVT. 3
Preview Activity
Think About it: What is citizenship? How does voting demonstrate citizenship?
Post Activity
Form an Opinion: Write a letter to a 1950’s Senator and/or Representative for the state of Virginia from the perspective of one of these students. Explain why the right to vote is important to you and how you are not guaranteed that right (what limitations existed from the 1902 Constitution)?
Current Connections: What connections can you make to current changes to voting laws in some states? How does the past impact the present on this issue?
John Mitchell Jr. Obituary Announcement, Richmond, 1929
John Mitchell Jr., was the determined and pioneering force behind the success of the Richmond Planet newspaper. Mitchell was born into slavery at Laburnum near Richmond on July 11, 1863. He was the son of John Mitchell and Rebecca Mitchell, who were enslaved by James Lyons, a lawyer and legislator. After his family was emancipated at the end of the Civil War, they remained at Laburnum. Mitchell’s mother taught him how to read and he was able to enroll in school, first at a private school and then at one of Richmond’s public schools, Navy Hill School, early in the 1870s. From 1876 to 1881 he studied at the Richmond Colored Normal School, a high school that specialized in training African American teachers. Mitchell graduated in 1881 as the valedictorian of his class.
Mitchell began his teaching career in Fredericksburg, but returned to Richmond to teach at the Valley School in 1883. A year later the newly appointed school board fired him and 10 other African American teachers. In 1883, Mitchell began writing for the New York Globe and journalism became his focus. In December 1884, at age twenty-one, he became editor of the weekly Richmond Planet. The early years of the publication were a financial struggle, as he edited and published the paper out of his room in a boarding house. The paper soon achieved greater readership and success. Mitchell purchased an electric printing press in 1888 and moved the paper’s headquarters to the Swan Tavern on Broad Street (where the Library of Virginia stands today). The Richmond Planet gained national prominence as an advocate of racial justice and civil rights. The Richmond Planet was a forerunner for other publications and was recognized for Mitchell’s groundbreaking antilynching efforts, which included extensive coverage of lynching cases, lists of lynching victims, and graphic images of lynchings. He also interceded on the behalf of unjustly convicted African Americans by arranging legal counsel, appealing to government officials, and raising funds.
Mitchell used his stature as a "crusading newspaper editor" to propel himself into a political career. In the spring of 1892 he was elected to Richmond's Board of Aldermen from Jackson Ward, and he was re-elected in 1894. He ran for governor in 1921, when African American Republicans named their own ticket in opposition to white Republicans who had excluded them from the party convention. Mitchell’s campaign was controversial and ultimately unsuccessful as he lost the race. Other Black newspapers in Virginia opposed his campaign as they felt it would divide the Black vote.
Mitchell’s troubles continued when the Mechanics Savings Bank that he had established in 1901 fell into crisis in 1922. Mitchell was accused of misusing the bank’s funds. The case was eventually heard by the state Supreme Court, which ruled in his favor and charges were dropped. The community rallied around Mitchell and tried to save the bank while also contributing to his defense fund. Despite their efforts, the bank closed in 1922 and was placed in receivership in 1923. Mitchell was left with no savings and his assets, including the Richmond Planet headquarters, were sold to pay his debts.
Citation: John Mitchell Jr., Obituary Announcement, 7 December 1929, Richmond Planet, Richmond, Virginia: Newspapers, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Read the full obituary here.
Learn more about John Mitchell Jr., in the Dictionary of Virginia Biography here.
Click here for more information about the Richmond Planet.
Preview Activity
Look at It: Look at the image from the front page of the Richmond Planet. What does the headline tell you about the subject of the article?
Post Activities
Be the Journalist: What would you write about John Mitchell Jr? Write a paragraph in which you highlight his most significant achievements. Be sure to include why you chose those specific achievements.
Current Connections: What do you think John Mitchell Jr’s legacy is in the fields of education, civics, and journalism? Why do you think his story is relevant today?
Artistic Expression: Design an image depicting the life and death of John Mitchell Jr.
Mosque (Altria) Theater, Program Cover, Richmond, 1927
In 1918, Clinton L. Williams, the leader of the local chapter of the ACCA Shriners fraternal organization, conceived an elaborate new “temple” to house the activities and growing needs of the chapter. The Shriners, as they are known, have had a significant impact on communities around the world through their charitable works, particularly in the areas of health care and rehabilitation.
The Mosque Theater was designed by architects Marcellus Wright, Sr., Charles M. Robinson, and Charles Custer Robinson to reflect the Moorish Revival style. It took seven years of planning and two years of construction to complete the building, which cost $1.65 million (roughly equivalent to $19 million in the 21st century). It opened in 1927 with a 4,600-seat theater, 18 dressing rooms, four lounges, six lobbies, 42 hotel rooms, a gym, locker rooms, a pool, a small bowling alley, offices, and a restaurant.
In 1940, the city of Richmond bought the building from the Shriners. The building was continued to be used as a theater, but the basement was converted into a training facility for the Richmond City Police Department. In 1994, the city began restoring the theatre to its original appearance, although the interior was redesigned to include a grand ballroom, and it was renamed the Landmark Theater in 1995. In 2014, the Altria Company provided $10 million for extensive renovations and the building was renamed the Altria Theater.
Located at the west end of Monroe Park in Richmond, the theater plays host to a variety of events including Broadway shows, concerts, lectures, and school commencements.
Citation: Mosque Theater Program, Visual Studies Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.
Preview Activity
Look at it: Look at the building depicted on the program cover. What do you think it was used for? Why?
Post Activities
STEM Stat: The original structure of the theater was built in the 1920s and the most recent renovation occurred in 2014. How did the science and technology in the field of architecture change in that time? How is the theater a real-world example of advancements in the architecture and the application of scientific knowledge?
Artistic Expression: The Moorish Revival style included decorative ornamentation drawn from historical sources including the arches, elaborate tile work, and carved wood. It was a popular style in the in the early 20th century. Design a new program cover for a modern audience in which you include more of these details in your depiction of the building.
Think About It: The theater was renamed several times in its history. What does this tell you about the influence of business, social, and political interests when it comes to remaining buildings? Has the way these decisions are made changed over time? Explain.
When the first English settlers arrived in 1607, the Church of England served as the official church of the Virginia Colony. Under the 1689 English Act of Toleration, Protestants who were not members of the Church of England were still required to pay taxes and support the clergymen of the Church of England. Marriage ceremonies were also required to be performed by ministers of the Church of England to be considered legal. During the 18th century, Baptists, Presbyterians, and other dissenters campaigned for the recognition of their denominations and for the freedom of all Virginians to practice their faith as they chose.
Following American Independence, key political leaders in Virginia pursued the disestablishment of the Church of England as the formal church denomination of the young state. Initially introduced in 1776 by George Mason in the Virginia Declaration of Rights, religious tolerance came to fruition in the Act for Establishing Religious Freedom, which is commonly known as the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. First drafted by Thomas Jefferson in 1777, it was passed by the Virginia General Assembly on January 16, 1786. Virginians were no longer "compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever" and were "free to profess . . . their opinions in matters of Religion . . . ."
The act is one of the most important laws adopted by the assembly. It opens with an eloquent vindication of religious and intellectual freedom and closes with specific guarantees of religious liberty and belief. The Virginia law was one of the sources that Congress drew on when drafting the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution in 1789 in which free exercise of religion was granted and Congress was prohibited from abridging the freedom of religion. The guarantees established in the Act for Establishing Religious Freedom became part of the second Virginia Constitution which was adopted in 1830.
Citation: An Act for Establishing Religious Freedom, 1786, Special Collections, Library of Virginia.
Preview Activity
Scan it: Scan the document, original and transcribed version, identify how many acts are contained in the document, and list two or three phrases which stand out to you in each act.
Post Activities
Analyze: What can you infer about the power of the Church of England in Virginia prior to 1786?
Virginia Validation: Which amendment to the United States Constitution contains language similar to the Virginia Act for Establishing Religious Freedom? How are the rights described in the U.S. Constitution different from the rights guaranteed by the Virginia act?
Current Connection: Does the Act for Establishing Religious Freedom still have relevance today? Why or why not?
Circulated in Staunton, Virginia, the broadside dates to sometime between 1900 and 1919. In it, the women of Staunton asked the men in their community to vote in favor of prohibition or the legal elimination of alcohol consumption and sale. The women, who could not vote at that time, pleaded with the male voters appealing to the traditional masculine “duty” to care for the women and their families. In stating their case, the women used their positions as wives, mothers, and protectors of the domestic sphere to give them authority. As the broadside stated, their “boys” were those supporting the liquor business and partaking in alcohol consumption. The women expressed that their sons were “too precious to be sacrificed upon the altar of the saloon.” The broadside demonstrates the common concern at the time about alcoholism and the potential effects that excessive drinking had on society. The women of Staunton argued that men who spent their time and money drinking in the saloons neglected to care for their families, thereby shirking their familial responsibilities as men.For much of the late nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth century, women reformers dominated the prohibition movement which was considered an appropriate cause for women to champion. Women were bore the responsibility of educating their children in morality and maintaining the homefront.
The Staunton women may have been inspired by the work of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), which was founded in 1874 in Ohio. The organization was in favor of prohibition and was active in promoting their beliefs to the public. Many of its members were also involved in other reform movements, such as women's voting rights, which may have been the case in Staunton as well. The broadside may indicate that Staunton women may have had suffrage in mind when expressed emphatically “PROTECT OUR OWN HOMES AND OUR OWN BOYS.” Without the vote, women were dependent on male voters to protect home and society.
Citation: Appeal of the women of Staunton, Staunton, Va. s.n., between 1900 and 1919. Broadside 1900 .A7 BOX, Lab #08_0785_10, Manuscripts & Special Collections, Library of Virginia
Preview Activity
Take a Look: Look at the broadside. Notice words and phrases that are in bold typeface or otherwise emphasized. If you had to guess, what is the context for this broadside? What do you think is the appeal of the women of Staunton?
Post Activities
Artistic Exploration: How would you redesign this broadside for a more artistic and bold appeal? Design a poster or sign to replace the broadside. As an extra challenge, research popular artistic styles of the time period and incorporate their distinguishing characteristics into your work.
Analyze: Why do you think this group of women from Staunton supported prohibition? What does their appeal tell you about their concerns?
Another Perspective: Do you think all women in that area would have felt the same way about prohibition? Why or why not? Women in the period could support prohibition and suffrage. Why might this be the case?
Black men in Virginia voted for the first time in October 1867, when they participated in the election on whether to hold a convention to rewrite the state's constitution as required by Congress after the Civil War. They also voted for delegates to that convention and were eligible to serve as delegates themselves. Virginia's government was then under supervison of the United States Army, which oversaw the election.
The 105 delegates elected to the convention included 24 Black men, the first Black men elected to public office in Virginia. The convention met from December 3, 1867, to April 17, 1868, and was chaired by federal judge John C. Underwood. The African American delegates participated in the discussions and debates and voted to approve the new state constitution. They played an important role in changing the policies and practices of state governance. This document includes entrees for three of the Black delegates, Thomas Bayne, John Brown, and David Canada, in the convention's attendance book. The book documents the days that each member attended the convention and how much pay they received for their service.
The "Underwood Constitution," as it was sometimes known, institutionalized the rights of Black men to vote. John C. Underwood argued that women should also be allowed to vote, but the convention ignored his recommendation. Delegates debated whether to amend the preamble to the constitution by replacing the word “men” with “mankind, irrespective of race or color.” Along with many white delegates, some Black delegates opposed the suggestion because they preferred to keep any references to color or race out of the constitution. A new section was added, however, stating that "all citizens of the State are herby declared to possess equal civil and political rights and public privileges."
The new constitution created a more democratic form of county government. It also included for the first time a provision to allow for amendment of the state constitution. One of its most important reforms was requiring the creation of a statewide system of free public schools, a major priority for those who had been enslaved and denied an education.
The voters in Virginia ratified their new constitution in 1869 by a vote of 210,585 in favor and only 9,136 opposed. After the General Assembly also ratified the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments later in 1869, Congress passed a bill (signed by President Ulysses S. Grant on January 26, 1870), allowing Virginia’s senators and elected representatives to take their seats in Congress. The act ended Congressional Reconstruction in Virginia.
Citation: Virginia Constitutional Convention (1867-1868), Attendance book, 1867-1868. Accession 40656. State Government Records Collection, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Va. 23219.
Learn more about Thomas Bayne in his Dictionary of Virginia Biography entry at Encyclopedia Virginia.
Learn more about John Brown in his Dictionary of Virginia Biography entry at Encyclopedia Virginia.
Learn more about David Canada in his Dictionary of Virginia Biography entry at Encyclopedia Virginia.
VS.9, VUS.7, USII.4,CE.2, CE.7, GOVT.6
Preview Activity
Scan it: Scan the documents. What do you notice about them? What do you think they were used for?
Post Activity
Be a Journalist: Thomas Bayne, John Brown, and David Canada were three of the Black delegates who were elected to and participated in the 1867-1868 Constitutional Convention. The documents from the record book indicate their days of attendance at the convention, and serves as account book, noting payment for attendance and reimbursement for travel expenses. You are a journalist preparing to interview one of these men, what are the three most important questions you would ask? Why are they important?
Current Connection: Provide an example of how the documents reflect or led to a concept/position/policy/practice in government today.
Food for Thought: This was the first time Black delegates helped write Virginia's state constitution. What impact might that have had on changes from previous constitutions?