Prohibitionism In Carrie Nation

In order to obtain change, people need to take action and get support for the cause they believe in. In history many people have taken initiative and stood up for a change they believed in, but no one fought for what they wanted with as much passion and fervor as Carrie A. Nation did when she took action against the widespread use of alcohol. What makes Carrie Nation so different from most other Prohibitionists is her personal attachment to the cause making her want change more than anyone else, her religious beliefs and charity work that kept her involved in the lives of people affected by alcohol, and, most notably, her use of violence forcing the public to take notice. To begin with, Nation, from early in her life, saw first-hand what

However, their marriage was short lived, when after two years, Gloyd passed away due to his heavy drinking habits. Carrie and Charles had a daughter together, who developed a disfiguring illness when she was about ten years old, in which Carrie attributed her husband’s alcoholism as the cause of their daughter’s illness. She believed that “the curse of heredity is one of the most heartbreaking results of the saloon. Poor little children are brought into the world with the curse and disease entailed upon them.” In Nation’s eyes alcohol was seen as the cause of diseases in young children and she regarded this as one of the worst effects alcohol had on a family. Another example of Nation’s devotion to preventing the consumption of alcohol was her faith in God. When she was ten years old she felt an overwhelming need to turn to God and do good on account of his wishes. She even described herself as “a bulldog running at the feet of

was not bringing enough attention to the Prohibition cause, she took her large, six-foot-tall stature and intimidating face, and went about closing bars using violence. In 1899 Nation looked to God for help in convincing the legislature to close down bars. She claims he answered her by saying “go to Kiowa [Kansas]. I will stand by you.” She later writes her interpretation of God’s message in her autobiography explaining that “[she] did not think of smashing, God told [her] to do it.” Upon God’s message Carrie went to Kiowa and then Wichita with wrapped up rocks and iron rods, and eventually an axe, with the intention of causing damage and bringing attention to her cause. She would walk into a saloon with her wrapped up rocks and begin throwing them at the mirrors and pictures on the wall, as well as destroying all the bottles, spilling the contents on the floor. “In her view, the illegality of the saloons flourishing in [Kansas] meant that anyone could destroy them with impunity.” It was her duty to put the saloons out of business, if the state was not going to take action according to the law. Though Nation believed her actions were for the betterment of society, many saloon patrons would physically attack Carrie in an attempt to get her to stop what she was doing. During one attack in Enterprise, Kansas “...a woman heavily veiled rained blow after blow upon Mrs. Nation with a horsewhip...[she]