From: Jerry Reavey
Date: 3/28/00
Time: 6:23:36 PM
Remote Name: 155.247.150.13
Jerry Reavey 3/28/2000
This speech is written by a sobriety supporter in order to get women to join the cause against alcohol. The writer, Dr. J. S. Wilson, seems like one of the more zealous supporters of the Temperance movement. He demands society's "entire abstinence" from the "envenomed poison" that is alcohol. Particularly, this speech appeals to mothers, sisters, wives, and girlfriends to discourage their men from drinking. It asks that women frown very heavily upon men who men who drink, to the point of denying them love and affection. In baser terms, it forced men to choose between sex and alcohol. Ouch! That's a hell of a choice to make! After a few suicides of people who couldn't decide, anyone still alive who was sane would probably pick sex. It seems like a pretty good strategy on the part of Dr. Wilson! This speech shows the new role of women as gaining power and influence in society. A new focus on motherhood made matriarchs an important and necessary part of a household, instead of women being obligated baby-making servants and companions of her husbands. Women had power within the family as being key to the well being of the husband and children. This extended into societal life, as women began to take active roles in making decisions and enacting change. Women's activism and importance in the Temperance movement is a clear example of this. Women are key in the quest to forever vanquish the "germ of inebriety".