temperance movement

International social movement dedicated to the control of alcohol consumption through the promotion of moderation and abstinence. It began as a church-sponsored movement in the U.S. in the early 19th century. It attracted the efforts of many women, and by 1833 there were 6,000 local temperance societies in the U.S. The first European temperance society was formed in Ireland in 1826. An international temperance movement began in Utica, N.Y., U.S., in 1851 and spread to Australia, Asia, Europe, India, South and West Africa, and South America. Seealso Carry Nation; Prohibition; Woman's Christian Temperance Movement.

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U.S. temperance-movement organization. Founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1874, it used educational, social, and political means to promote legislation. Its president (1879–98) was Frances Willard (1839–1898), an effective speaker and lobbyist who also led the World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union from its founding in 1883. The WCTU was instrumental in promoting nationwide temperance and in the eventual adoption of Prohibition.

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• Temperance (virtue), the practice of moderation
• Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed
• Temperance bar, bars of the temperance movement opposed to alcohol
• Temperance (group), Canadian pop-dance musical group
• Temperance (Tarot card), a Major Arcana Tarot card
• Temperance, an album by Astrud Gilberto
• Temperance, Michigan, a community in the United States
• The Temperance River, in Minnesota
• Temperance Brennan, a character by Kathy Reichs