Oberlin Temperance Alliance Records, 1870-1917

Oberlin Temperance Alliance (1874-ca. 1917)
Oberlin Temperance League (1870-1874)

The Oberlin Temperance Alliance was founded in March 1874 with the statement that its object was “by all lawful measures, to suppress the traffic in, and use of, intoxicating liquors.”  Anyone could become a member by signing a pledge.  The immediate cause of its creation was to put a stop to the sale of liquor at Oberlin drugstores.  The executive committee of the Alliance was empowered to call public meetings, raise funds by subscription and otherwise, to prosecute law suits, and in other ways to support the interests of total abstinence in the community.  Oberlin College President James Fairchild was the Alliance’s first president.  The membership of the Alliance was apparently all male, since the Women’s Christian Temperance Union organizations worked in cooperation with it.

The Alliance rallied public sentiment against liquor sales and use, supported legislation prohibiting the sale of alcohol, tried to talk saloon keepers into closing operations and druggists out of selling intoxicants, and helped defend members if they were legally threatened for their activities.  Its methods included keeping watch upon the activities of suspected individuals or firms, and in order to do this sympathetic students were occasionally paid to frequent the billiard hall or other “questionable” place.

Author: William E. Bigglestone

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