December ,I948,January 1949

The Washngtoonians By Richard Ewell Brown “This,” he said, “will be our last It was Friday Evening, April 3rd, “What’s a11tnls about temperance? — Jrink.” Believe it or not, it was. They 1840. Six men, tipplers all, were he asked jovially. decided to convene nightly at their gathered about a table at Chase’s Tavern “It’s not such a bad idea,” said various homes, and each man promised on Liberty Street in Baltimore. To the John F. Hoss, the carpenter, thickly. to bring a friend with-him to t h e x x f casual passerby, there was nothing “Temperance speakers are all meeting. By recounting their experiences unusual about them; just another bunch fools and hypocrites,” angrily replied the as reformed drunkards, they hoped to of harmless drunks. From the way they landlord. induce the new members to join them in talked, one might gather they were old “Of course, it’s to your interest to signing the pledge. Thus started the friends, that this was no casual meeting cry them down,” argued William K. Washington Total Abstinence Society. but one made familiar through long Mitchell, the tailor, and soberest member The movement spread like wildfire, repetition. Among them were two of the party. and branches were soon set up in blacksmiths, a tailor, a carpenter, a “That’s absolutely right,” cried various parts of the city. In March 1841, coach-maker and a silversmith. At least McCurley, the coach-maker. “Think of all a delegation was sent to New York that’s what they were when they sat the money we spend here, while our where thousands flocked to the down. But when they left the bar that poor families -” For the moment emotion meetings. A Boston chapter was night, they were pioneers in a new field; got the best of him, and he sought relief organized in April, and by the end of the the originators of an idea for the scientific from his glass. year the organization had a total rehabilitation of chronic alcoholics that “I know what we ought to do,” membership of something like two was destined to sweep the country. shouted Anderson. “We ought form our hundred thousand. Reformed men, as With the founding of the first own temp’rance society.” Everyone they were, like John B. Gough and John temperance society at Litchfield, Conn., except the landlord burst into roars of Hawkins, were in demand all over the in 1789, the early Nineteenth Century inebriated approval. country as speakers for the various found the United States enjoying (or But the next day, after they’d groups. enduring, depending on the viewpoint) a sobered up, the idea somehow stayed In Baltimore, a grand procession wave of temperance reform. Baltimore with them. Realizing they were no longer was held with “six or eight thousand” in was no exception. On the evening of able to drink in moderation, they made the ranks, led by John Hoss and fifty which we speak, a well known up their minds “to drink no more the mounted marshals “with their various temperance lecturer was scheduled to poisonous, draft, forever.” insignia. Speakers and other dignitaries hold forth at a church not far from Before taking this drastic step, rode in open barouches drawn by four Chase’s Tavern. One of our six drinkers they met again two nights later at the grey horses,” while bands and banners suggested they send a delegation to hear tavern for their last bout. It was agreed added gaiety and color to the occasion. what he had to say – just for the record, that Mitchell should draw up a total In the meantime, in Deadham, of course. Four of their number blearily abstinence pledge, and they would all Mass., a Mr. Thompson proved himself volunteered, and when these intrepid sign it. Just before closing time on that such an eloquent speaker that the entire adventurers returned, quite a discussion same evening, one of them held up his town joined the Washington movement. ensued as to the value of temperance. At glass. that moment, the landlord came in with another round.

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The leading liquor merchant gave up his differently. Professor Bacon says: “The Along with religious affiliations, the business, signed the pledge and was effect of such exhortation is to reenforce founders of the Washington society made President of the village society. the person’s feeling of inferiority and self- wished to avoid any suspicion of political “Amid the cheering and rejoicing of the depreciation” and to increase his bias so common to other temperance populace,” the newly elected “hostility.” Criticism, a s the groups. Politics and denominational Washingtonian official supervised the Washingtonians realized, was one thing religion were both taboo as topics of disposal of his entire stock of liquor “by the chronic alcoholic couldn’t take. discussion. Every effort was made to pouring it upon the ground.” To make sure that new members prevent the society from encroaching on would not be frightened away, the anyone’s prejudices, so that all people (Conk January 1949) Washingtonians charter provided that would feel free to join the organization. only ex-drunks could address the One purpose, and one purpose only, was What was the valuable secret that meetings. Thus the “benefits of held in mind: to rescue men from the the Washingtonians had stumbled upon, experience spoken in burning words from toils of drink. To that end, the founders and why was the movement such a the heart” were made available for all to tried to make Washingtonianism, is the success? hear. Ifordinary mortals wished to speak, words of Father Mathew, “a green spot in To begin with, they were the first they had to have permission “by common the desert of life where all could meet in to discover the now widely admitted fact consent of the members.” Debates, peace and harmony.” “Moral suasion” that no one is quite so well equipped to lectures and speeches were definitely was their weapon, and sympathy their help the chronic alcoholic as the ex- out, and matters of business were limited keynote. There was no censoring of drunk. Here is no superior person, short to “as few remarks as possibleM- erring members. If a man broke his on sympathy and long on advice, but a Ministers were not barred, but if they pledge, he was forgiven “not seven fellow sufferer who has been through the spoke “they were desired to lay aside times, but seventy times seven.” mill and knows all the answers. “An heir pontificals …abandon their Another favorable aspect of inescapable symbol of the successful sermons…and speak as men.” Washingtonianism was its simplicity. escape from pain” – to quote Professor Not that the Washingtonians were Responsibility was divided equally, rather Selden Bacon of Yale University. anti-religious. Dr. Albert Day of that most than among a few officers. The society Secondly, the Washingtonians successful institution for the regeneration constituted a grand committee of. the avoided all the time-honored pitfalls that of chronic alcoholics, the Washington whole, and everyone was kept busy beset the early Nineteenth Century Home in Boston, had this to say in 1877: doing missionary work, bringing new reformer. Heretofore the drunkard had “We cannot ignore the religious element members to the weekly meetings and been generally regarded as an object of in the treatment of inebriety. Let the helping old members who had slipped contempt, denunciation, or ridicule. The excellent and heaven-born truth taught back into former habits. This doing for new society considered him a sick rather by Jesus of Nazareth underlie all our others had as much therapeutic value for than a sinful man. Religious diatribes and teachings. But let them be shorn of all the giver as for the receiver, and denunciations had no place on the their dogmatism, and taught in all their accounted to a large degree for the Washington program. According to an beautiful simplicity. (the drinker’s) eyes Washington success. early member, self-righteous exhortations should be opened to new truths.” Despite the tremendous popular or scorn were “calculated to drive him Although this was said many years after approval which crowned the society’s (the drinker) to madness and despair by the founding of Washingtonianism, it maiden efforts, however, the Washington drinking deeper……(and) embitter his reflects the beliefs of the earlier movement finally met its Waterloo in the heart.” Modem science puts it a little members.

conflteting aims of its members. The grew tired of listening to an endless early Washingtonians had no desire to chain of ex-drunks expatiate on an stop the liquor traffic by legal means, experience that, in the final analysis had improve public morals or punish no meaning for anyone but another wrongdoers. Why, then, was the alcoholic. It must have been hard, at organization unable to stick to its original times, for him to hide his boredom. platform? Sympathy requires understanding. The founder had made one grave To make matters worse, many of error which not only proved a stumbling the “cures” proved to be of a somewhat block for future work among alcoholics, less than permanent nature. For the nonbut which eventually led to the alcoholic, there was only one answer: disintegration of the society as such. close down the bars and bistros. Many Stipulating hat only ex-victims of tried o dominate the meetings for intemperance could speak at meetings sectanan or pol~tcalpurposes. Failing in was a step in the right direction, but it these attempts, they left the organization didn’t go far enough. If the rule had been to heckle from the outside. As early as that only ex-alcoholics could be eligible September, 1842, a large group of for membership, the society might well Washingtonians formed a new society, be in existence today. The Sons of Temperance, dedicated to As it was, the distraction between the complete suppression of the liquor a temperance organization and a society traffic, as well as to personal abstinence. for the regeneration of alcoholics was Thus, tom by dissent from within, and never understood. The Washingtonians opposed by rival organizations from didn’t realize that in their therapeutic without, it is not surprising that the program they had something that was far Washington movement did not live up to more important than all the temperance its early promise. ballyhoo before or since their time. They had discovered an oyster; the pearl, if they’d only known it, was inside. The non-alcoholic member soon