Meet the church ladies who used God and sobriety to raise the age of consent across America

Frances Willard’s WCTU "Do Everything" Reform Revolution

In 1874, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union began with a simple goal: stop men from drinking. Five years later, Frances Willard took charge and changed everything.

Her “Do Everything” slogan turned a small group into a force for wide-ranging reforms. Under Willard’s watch, the WCTU grew to 150,000 members by 1892, making it the largest women’s group in America.

They fought for the eight-hour workday, equal pay, and even world peace. Willard called it “WCTUniversity,” training women to speak up and lead.

The American Prohibition Museum in Savannah brings this story to life through rare artifacts from this groundbreaking movement.

Praying Women Marched on Saloons Across Ohio

The winter of 1873-74 changed everything for American women. After hearing Dr. Diocletian Lewis talk about temperance in Hillsboro, Ohio, local women took action. They walked into saloons, knelt down, and prayed for drinkers and barkeeps.

This peaceful protest spread fast. Within three months, these women drove liquor out of 250 communities.

For the first time, women felt their group power as they created the biggest women’s movement America had seen.

Cleveland Meeting Launched a National Movement

In November 1874, women from across America met in Cleveland, Ohio to form something lasting. They created the National Woman’s Christian Temperance Union.

Annie Wittenmyer became the first president, with Frances Willard as secretary.

The group picked a simple motto: “For God and Home and Native Land” and chose the white ribbon as their symbol. The WCTU grew fast under Wittenmyer, building over 1,000 local groups in just five years.

Two Women Fought Over the Direction of Temperance

The WCTU soon faced a split. Annie Wittenmyer wanted to focus only on temperance through moral talks.

Frances Willard saw a bigger picture and believed women needed voting rights to truly tackle alcohol problems. This split caused tension in the group.

Some members stuck with basic temperance work while others pushed for political power. The fight got so heated that Willard left the WCTU in 1877 when her ideas about voting rights met strong pushback.

Frances Willard Won the Presidency with a Bold Vision

Things changed in 1879 when Frances Willard beat Annie Wittenmyer for the WCTU presidency. Willard came ready with her “Home Protection” petition carrying 180,000 names to the Illinois State Senate.

Her win marked a big shift toward political work alongside moral methods.

Willard led for 19 years until her death in 1898, turning what started as a single-issue group into something much more powerful.

The “Do Everything” Strategy Changed Women’s Activism Forever

Frances Willard shared her new approach at the 1882 National WCTU meeting. She called it the “Do Everything” policy.

This smart plan told local chapters they could work on any reform issues they cared about. Old-school groups could stick to temperance while forward-thinking chapters tackled women’s rights.

This setup made the WCTU open to women with different views on political activism. Willard knew women needed various ways to join reform work based on their own beliefs.

Membership Numbers Exploded Under Willard’s Leadership

The “Do Everything” approach worked better than anyone thought. WCTU membership grew to nearly 150,000 paying members by 1892.

This growth made it the largest women’s group in 19th-century America. By 1890, the WCTU stood as the biggest women’s group in the world.

Women rushed to join because Willard’s open, multi-issue approach gave them real ways to improve society without forcing them into one type of activism.

WCTU Tackled Problems Far Beyond Alcohol

By 1896, the WCTU had grown far beyond its temperance roots. Out of 39 departments, 25 focused on non-alcohol issues.

The group fought for labor laws, child welfare, prison reform, and raising the age of consent. They pushed for equal pay, eight-hour workdays, and safer workplaces.

They also worked on kindergartens, mothers’ clubs, Armenian relief, and peace efforts.

Under Willard, the WCTU became a wide-reaching social reform movement tackling almost every major issue affecting women and families.

Women Learned Leadership Skills Through “WCTUniversity”

Willard often called the group “WCTUniversity” because it taught women useful skills they couldn’t learn elsewhere. WCTU meetings trained women to speak in public, run groups, and think quickly.

Members followed meeting rules and took leadership roles. For many women, the WCTU created new identities beyond being wives and mothers.

They became organizers, speakers, and leaders who could handle public life at a time when women had few such chances.

The Movement Quickly Spread Around the World

Frances Willard thought globally from the start. In 1883, she started the World’s Woman’s Christian Temperance Union with the motto “For God and Home and Every Land.”

Willard became head of this worldwide group in 1891, growing her reach globally. The movement set up branches in Britain, Australia, Canada, and many other countries.

Women from different cultures joined under the WCTU banner, sharing tactics across borders in an early form of worldwide women’s teamwork.

WCTU Women Changed American Laws

The WCTU won big political wins despite women lacking voting rights. They got higher ages of consent in many states through steady lobbying.

Their work led to eight-hour workday laws and other key labor reforms. The WCTU kept a full-time lobbyist in Washington D.C. , among the first groups to do so.

Their “Home Protection” plan linked women’s voting rights to family welfare, making voting rights seem less extreme to the public.

Constitutional Amendments Fulfilled Willard’s Vision

Frances Willard died in 1898, but her work lived on. The WCTU’s decades of organizing contributed directly to two constitutional amendments.

The Eighteenth Amendment established Prohibition in 1919, fulfilling the original temperance goal. The Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote in 1920, achieving Willard’s vision of women’s political power.

Today, the American Prohibition Museum in Savannah showcases this remarkable era when women used temperance as a platform to achieve unprecedented social and political reforms that transformed American society.

Visiting American Prohibition Museum, Georgia

The American Prohibition Museum at 209 West Saint Julian Street in Savannah’s City Market explores Frances Willard and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union through 13 interactive galleries.

Adult admission costs $17.23, and you can take a self-guided tour lasting 45-60 minutes daily from 10am to 5pm (closed St. Patrick’s Day).

You’ll see over 20 exhibits including a life-size Carry Nation wax figure with her famous hatchet, plus visit the Congress Street Up speakeasy for Prohibition-era cocktails.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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