Maryland Temperance collection
Collection — Box: 1
0381-MDHC
The Maryland Temperance Collection spans the years 1848 to 1922 and comprises a variety of materials about the temperance movement in the state, including constitutions, reports and correspondence of temperance societies, fliers for temperance events, advertisements for temperance political candidates and a postcard depicting a temperance rally. The collection shows how the temperance movement marketed itself to gain political and social power.
This collection is open to the public and must be used in the Maryland room. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using the collection.
Photocopies of original materials may be provided for a fee and at the discretion of the curator. Please see our Duplication of Materials policy for more information. Queries regarding publication rights and copyright status of materials within this collection should be directed to the appropriate curator.
14 Items (1 Letter Size Half-Size Box)
The Sons of Temperance was a dues organization founded in 1842 in New York City. It was one of the largest temperance organizations at its peak in the 1850s. Besides holding meetings, the organization was a mutual aid society which paid death benefits to members and their wives. The Grand Division of Maryland of the Sons of Temperance was chartered on March 5, 1844. The St. Thomas Division No. 7 of the Sons of Temperance at Harper's Ferry was incorporated by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia on January 11, 1848.
The Cadets of Temperancesociety was first formally established in 1846 in Pennsylvania and was a youth division of the Sons of Temperance. Aiming to bring boys ages ten to seventeen into the temperance movement, members of the order were prohibited not only from drinking alcohol, but also from using tobacco. The society was established in Westernport by the Rev. Father T.E. Gallagher, the pastor of St. Peter's Church, who was appointed in 1902.
The Home Defenders Association for a Dry Baltimore favored the prohibition of the sale of alcohol in the city. The temperance organization was supported by the Methodist Episcopal Church, which even affixed bulletin boards to the fronts of churches warning about the dangers of drink .
The Prohibition Party is the oldest existing minor political party in the United States and has traditionally found support among evangelical Protestants. It was founded in 1869 and had its peak in the elections of 1888 and 1892 when its candidate for president gained 2.2 percent of the popular vote. Besides running for attorney general in Maryland, Finley C. Hendrickson, a lawyer, became a member of the party's executive council, vied to be the party's presidential nominee in 1912 and ran for U.S. Senate in 1913. Hendrickson was seen as one of the more practical party members, advocating for a broader party platform that would expand the party's appeal outside of its fervently religious following.
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union was founded in 1874 and is the oldest voluntary, non-sectarian woman's organization in the world. The group conducted "pray-ins" in saloons and asked that alcohol no longer be sold and also supported the women's suffrage movement. The Maryland chapter of the WCTU formed in 1875.
The collection is organized as one series.
The University of Maryland Libraries purchased the Maryland Temperance Collection from The Book Shop, LLC, a rare books dealer.
One postcard of Edmund's Well, Druid Hill Park dated August 25, 1905 was removed to the postcard collection.
When the collection was accessioned, some of the documents were housed in clear plastic sleeves. The papers were removed from the plastic sleeves, and the most fragile were placed in acid-free paper sleeves. The collection was arranged into two folders, events and political materials and organization materials, then arranged chronologically by date and placed in acid-free folders and housed in an acid-free box.
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives