The Women's Christian Temperance Union
 |
 |
Frances Willard founded the WCTU in Arkansas |
The national Women's Christian Temperance Union grew in 1874 from the activism of Ohio women, who stood outside saloons singing hymns and conducting prayer services. In 1879 the organization elected Frances Willard of Illinois as its second president, and she tirelessly toured the nation to encourage the formation and expansion of state WCTU chapters. In 1881 Willard came to Arkansas and found a rising movement.
In 1876 Monticello women formed the first local chapter, and three years later the inaugural state convention at Searcy elected Annie T. Jones as the first Arkansas WCTU president. With the white ribbon pin affixed to their clothing, members recruited young boys and girls to join the auxiliary Loyal Temperance Unions, promoted Sabbath observance, and visited jails to convert prisoners to abstinence.
A number of WCTU leaders embarked on broader reforms. Minnie Rutherford Fuller of Magazine was an early women suffragist and drafted the state law establishing juvenile courts. Unlike several other southern states, Arkansas had no African-American union, and only whites were officially members of the state WCTU. The 1899 organization of the all-male Anti-Saloon League provided the WCTU an ally, but the partnership proved to be unequally balanced.
Before launching state-wide prohibition drives, the League failed to consult the leaders of the WCTU but expected their cooperation. The WCTU persisted following the end of general prohibition in the 1930s, but membership diminished and activities narrowed. The state organization ceased to function in the 1980s.
|
 |
Anti-alcohol flier |
|
