In the United States in the 1800s, many organized groups spoke out against drinking. Together, these groups are known as the temperance movement. Temperance means moderation, but in fact many of the reformers in the movement pressed for abstinence, or drinking no alcohol at all. The influence of the temperance movement culminated in 1920 in Prohibition, a period during which the sale of alcohol was illegal.

Many temperance movements that emerged in the United States included men and women from varying ethnic, religious, social, economic, and political groups. They focused on temperance as the solution to problems in their own lives and in those of others. Over the course of the 1800s the strategies used by temperance proponents changed. They began by trying to persuade people to drink only moderate amounts of alcoholic beverages. By the end of the century, their efforts became more coercive, with proponents...