File:Womans-Holy-War.jpg

"Woman's Holy War. Grand Charge on the Enemy's Works."

An allegorical 1874 political cartoon print, which somewhat unusually shows temperance campaigners (alcohol prohibition advocates) as virtuous armored women warriors (riding sidesaddle), wielding axes Carrie-Nation-style to destroy barrels of Beer, Whisky, Gin, Rum, Brandy, Wine and Liquors, under the banners of "In the name of God and humanity" and "Temperance League". The foremost woman bears the shield seen in the Seal of the United States (based on the U.S. flag), suggesting the patriotic motivations of temperance campaigners. The shoe and pants-leg of a fleeing male miscreant are seen at lower right.

The background to this is that much drinking went on in male-only gathering places in 1874, and working-class men too often went straight from the factory gates to the saloon on pay-days, and drank away much of the money that their families needed to survive. Much wife-beating and abusive parenting was done when husbands were drunk. Even many well-off middle-class and upper-class wives (who were not victims of spousal abuse, and whose economic situation was not threatened by their husbands' drinking) felt somewhat resentful and neglected when their husbands spent too many nights out at all-male convivial events (almost invariably involving drinking). Many women saw alcohol prohibition as a highly-desirable social reform which would ameliorate many of these problems -- and women banding together to take collective action relieved the sense of personal helplessness that women often felt about their individual situations.

For the opposing point of view (expressed by relatively recent immigrants who had a more family-oriented drinking culture, and saw attempts at prohibition as biased immigrant-bashing), see Image:WeinWeibUGesang.jpg.