The Ceaseless War Against Intemperance: Scituate’s Ante-Bellum Temperance Movement
In the decades preceding the Civil War many forces, including a religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening, combined to make the period one of both spiritual revivalism and social reform. Social reformers took on many of the
perceived evils of American society including slavery, the inequality of women, the poor quality of public education, the inhumane treatment of the mentally ill, and alcoholism. During this period Scituate, Massachusetts was a small coastal farming, fishing, and ship building community located approximately 20 miles south of Boston. Surprisingly it was a very active participant in the reform movements of the ante-bellum era, especially the anti-slavery and temperance crusades. While there have been studies on anti-slavery activity in Scituate, there has not been a similar study of temperance reform.