Temperance and Prohibition served as the topic for the August 2021 meeting. Members presented books both related to the Temperance Movement and written about or during Prohibition. A driving force behind the Temperance Movement was a conservative Christian ideology devoted to moral reform, and several religious books—on both sides of the alcohol debate—were shown. These texts relied heavily on Scripture to justify their positions on the consumption of alcohol.
While the Bible—or, more accurately, particular interpretations
of the Bible—informed and influenced the Temperance movement, it is important
to note that the temperance movement also influenced new, contemporary English
translations of the Bible. Several Bible
translations which pay special attention to alcohol were shown.
Non-religious books, both in support and critical of temperance and Prohibition, were also shown, as were several more recent works of fiction set during the temperance movement or Prohibition.
Religious Books
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| Six Sermons on... Intemperance Title pages of 2nd edition (left) and 10th edition (right) |
Beecher, Lyman. Six Sermons on the Nature, Occasions, Signs, Evils, and Remedy of Intemperance. Boston: Printed by T. R. Marvin, 1827. Second Edition (meaning printing).
Beecher,
Lyman. Six Sermons on the Nature,
Occasions, Signs, Evils, and Remedy of Intemperance. New York: American Tract Society, 1838. Tenth Edition (meaning printing).
Six
Sermons on the Nature, Occasions, Signs, Evils, and Remedy of Intemperance was one of the most
influential religious tracts on temperance during the movement. Beecher published the tract following the
delivery of a series of sermons on the topic at his church in Litchfield,
Connecticut, where public intoxication was a growing concern and where a formal
meeting of the town's clergy, including Beecher, vowed to stand against it. It was first published in 1826, privately
printed by T. R. Marvin in Boston.
Copies of the sermons were sent throughout the country and were quickly reprinted
by various tract societies. The book was
translated into several languages and became popular in Europe, also. It remained constantly in print for nearly 50
years.
Lyman
Beecher (1775 – 1863) was a prominent, influential Congregationalist pastor in
Connecticut, where congregationalism was the established religion of the
state. During that time, Beecher
publicly feuded with protestants, defending Puritan orthodoxy and the
established state church. Congregationalism
was disestablished as the official church of the state of Connecticut in 1818,
however, and Beecher countered that the disestablishment created a greater need
for active and zealous clergy in society.
Beecher, therefore, embraced that which he once so vehemently
opposed—protestant evangelicalism—citing its focus on moral reform. It was during this time that Beecher became a
leading voice of the temperance movement and wrote Six Sermons on... Intemperance.
Beecher
fathered eleven children, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, the temperance
writer, abolitionist, and author of Uncle Tom's Cabin.
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| The Holy Bible Repudiates "Prohibition" |
Brown, George G. The Holy Bible Repudiates Prohibition. Compilation of All Verses Containing the Words "Wine" or "Strong Drink," Proving that the Scriptures Commend and Command the Temperate Use of Alcoholic Beverages. Louisville, KY: George G. Brown, 1910. In the preface, the author identifies as a Kentucky "whiskey merchant and manufacturer" and defends his Christian upbringing and devotion in regard to his chosen profession. He then sets out to quote and comment on every verse in the Bible—220 in total—which contains the word "wine" or "strong drink." He offers a commentary on each—sometimes as short as one sentence, others as long as several pages—usually in which he gives the context of the verse or an interpretation which tries to conform the passage to his thesis that Scripture does not prohibit the consumption of alcohol but rather commends and even commands it. Brown conveniently omits other biblical passages which mention drinking or drunkenness—which he readily admits—because his argument is narrowly focused only on the references to "wine" and "strong drink."
In
a 26-page essay titled "Reflections" following his evidence of the
use of the words "wine" and "strong drink," Brown sets
forth his argument against prohibition.
He begins with a premise that the duty of the church is to combat sin,
while civil government is responsible for the regulation of society. He then weaves a theological argument for
free will with a political argument for freedom of religion to counter what he
calls the "religious fanaticism" of the proponents of prohibition and
their "false doctrine." Civil
government, Brown argues, must reject this religious fanaticism and continue to
"guarantee to individuals the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness," which includes the freedom to consume alcohol (in moderation).
Bibles
Many
translations and interpretations of the Bible seek to address contemporary issues,
and temperance is no exception. Several
translators sought to address alcohol consumption in their translations and
interpreted select passages to conform to a temperance ideology. A key passage which serves as a good test of
a translator's intention is John 2. The
passage on the wedding at Cana tells the story of the first miracle performed by
Jesus in John's account of Jesus's public ministry; this is the story in which
Jesus turns water into wine. How
translators treat this passage—either in their translation of the text or in notes
about the verse—is an indicator of their position. For each of the Bibles presented, the translator's
work on John 2 is highlighted.
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| Family Bible: The New Testament |
Edwards, Justin. Family Bible. The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. With Brief Notes and Instructions. Containing the References and Marginal Readings of the Polyglot Bible. New York: American Tract Society, 1851. Justin Edwards was born in 1787 in Westhampton, Massachusetts, ordained a minister in Boston in 1812, and in 1825 organized the American Society for the Promotion of Temperance. He was honored with an honorary doctorate from Yale in 1827 and spent the rest of his life traveling and speaking against alcohol consumption.
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| Title page of Family Bible: The New Testament |
In his notes on the wedding
feast at Cana (John 2), he argues that after the water-pots were filled with
water, instead of turning all the contents into wine, Jesus only turned the
water taken out of the kegs into wine; he notes, "that which was drawn out
was made wine, but whether that which remained was, we are not told." He also notes that "good wine was that
which was destitute of spirit," and "that the best wine is harmless; that
the most useful, which has the least strength; and that the most wholesome, in
which nothing was added to the juice of the grape.”
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| Notes on John 2 |
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| The Christian's Bible: New Testament |
LeFevre, George Newton. The Christian’s Bible. New Testament. A
Translation from the Greek, Chiefly of the Codex Sinaiticus and Codex
Vaticanus; These Being the Oldest and Most Complete MSS. of the New Testament.
It Is Not Simply a Translation of Words, but Under the Guidance of the Holy
Ghost. His Thoughts, as Recorded in Greek by His Specially Inspired Writers,
Are Made Known unto Us. By a Servant of Christ. Strasburg, PA: George N. LeFevre, 1929. George LeFevre was
born in Strasburg, Pennsylvania in 1850 and educated at the University of
Lewisburg (later Bucknell University). He
was originally a lawyer but, disturbed by the dishonesty among lawyers, he left
the profession. LeFevre was a member of
the Olivet Hard-Shell Baptist Church but finally left that church because the minister
married a washerwoman instead of a society lady which disgraced the church. Later he disinherited a daughter who became a
missionary without his approval. LeFevre
never affiliated with another church but focused on his own translation of
Scripture. His translation of the New
Testament was an "immersion" version (emphasizing that immersion was
the only legitimate form of baptism). He
self-published his translation in a limited edition, and it was never
reprinted. LeFevre writes profusely in
defense of his translation and how it is unique in rightly expressing what God
has to say to us through Scripture.
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| Title page of The Christian's Bible: New Testament |
In the Gospel of John, Chapter 2 (where the
guests drank freely of the so-called "wine" at the Cana feast),
LeFevre adds this colorful note:
This does not imply any
intoxication, as some misinformed persons have supposed, any more than to say
persons "drank freely" of lemonade. The Greek word that specifically means an
intoxicating wine or beverage is not used at all in connection with this
miracle. Christ here did instantly what
he does in several months through His natural laws, made the healthful juice of
the grape; or what He called "the fruit of the vine" when He
instituted the Lord’s Supper; and what we today call – unfermented wine, which
was the common drink of the Jews. Intoxicating
wine was considered spoiled wine, just as today when the housewife finds a jar
of her canned fruit has fermented, she speaks of it as spoilt.
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| Notes on John 2 |
Copies of LeFevre’s New Testament are very
rare, and this particular copy includes a hand-written letter from LeFevre to a
churchman who had just purchased a copy, which was being sent by mail to
him.
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| The Holy Bible: A Purified Translation: The New Testament |
Reynolds, Stephen Mills. The
Holy Bible: A Purified Translation: The New Testament. Glenside, PA: Lorine L. Reynolds
Foundation, 2000. Stephen Mills
Reynolds, the translator of this version of the New Testament, was born in 1909
in Ohio, educated at Miami University, Princeton University, and Columbia
University, ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1934, and served as a chaplain
in the U. S. Navy during World War II.
In many places, he translates the word “wine” as “grape juice.”
In the story of the Last Supper in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus takes the cup and says, “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” An accompanying note states: “Jesus called the drink of the Last Supper ‘the fruit of the vine.’ This excluded alcoholic wine, which is not the fruit of the vine but rather the excretion of yeast, a microorganism that does not come directly from the vine.”
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| Notes on Matthew 26 (left) and John 2 (right) |
The explanation of why Jesus performed the miracle of turning the water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana (John 2) is even more amusing. Reynolds admits that Jesus did perform this particular miracle, but for a very interesting reason. He says that Jesus only did this because his mother Mary was so insistent. That was because at this time in her life Joseph had died, she had fallen on hard times and gone into the catering business. She was catering the wedding feast and the fact that they ran out of wine was a bad reflection on her ability to perform her job. He goes on to say that Mary never asked Jesus to perform this particular miracle again because she was afraid that “strong drink” would come between her and her place at the cross. Sharing this story with some students at Columbia Theological Seminary, one of them commented, “Well, I guess after Cana, Mary only catered ‘immaculate receptions!’”
Non-religious Books
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| Inebriety: Its Source, Prevention, and Cure |
Palmer, Charles Follen. Inebriety: Its Source, Prevention, and Cure. Philadelphia: The Union Press, 1907. Eighth edition. First published in 1896, Inebriety offered a comprehensive overview of the neurologic and psychiatric science of the time, using lay terms which were more accessible to a general readership. Palmer couched neurological and psychiatric aspects of behavioral therapy into a paradigm of moral behavior; cognitive-behavioral techniques, for example, were described as "purging evil thoughts." This moralistic language, combined with the readability of the text, made the book extremely popular with temperance adherents. The book was regularly reviewed in religious publications, keeping it in demand. By 1899, the book was already in its seventh edition, and had sold more than twenty-five thousand copies by the time of its eighth printing in 1907. A popular feature of the book was a fold-out flow diagram visually depicting the characteristics and mental activity of inebriant (abnormal) behavior, titled "Diagram of the Moral Manifestations Resulting from the Normal and Abnormal Conditions of the Nervous-Mental Structure."
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| "Diagram of the Moral Manifestations Resulting from the Normal and Abnormal Conditions of the Nervous-Mental Structure" |
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| The Eighteenth Amendment |
Murphy, David A. The
Eighteenth Amendment. New York: Peter
P. Mulligan, Inc., 1923. Published a
little over three years after the passage of the Volstead Act in July and the
ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment in December of 1919, The Eighteenth
Amendment explores theories of how and why Prohibition became "the supreme
law of the land" as Warren Harding declared. Like many, if not most, Americans, Murphy was
stunned not only by the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment but also by
its rapid progression through the process.
He asks, "What happened in Congress and in the ratifying legislatures
that 'this amazing invasion of our liberties' should fall upon a
constitutionally free people?"
Murphy argues that Prohibition was neither the will of the
people nor the desire of Congress. He posits
that someone or something drove Prohibition behind the scenes and questions
whether the truth will ever be known. He
then works through a series of theories—both founded and unfounded—to examine
the controversial amendment and to answer the question, "Who would benefit
the most?" Among the possible benefactors
of Prohibition: soft drink makers!
Murphy speculates:
About the time Prohibition went into
effect, ginger ale and other soft drink makers (some of them using the drug
caffein in their mixtures) and distributors began heavy selling campaigns,
engaging high-priced press agents just released from reform and similar drives
and operating offices in Washington in proximity to the House of Congress and
not far from the House and Senate buildings.
This copy is inscribed on the front free end paper, "with compliments of the author, D. Murphy."
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| Author's inscription |
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| The Poisoner's Handbook |
Blum, Deborah. The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York. New York: Penguin Press, 2010. Deborah Blum is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and science writer. In The Poisoner's Handbook, Blum chronicles the pioneering work of chief medical examiner Charles Norris and toxicologist Alexander Gettler in the 1920s as they begin a forensic study of poisons and toxins as murder weapons. While they focus on mysterious deaths and murders, Norris and Gettler begin to see other, less insidious ways toxins unwittingly harm and kill people. The effects of Prohibition are a case in point: Prohibition sparks a chemistry war between bootleggers and government chemists, resulting in cocktails becoming "a game of Russian roulette" in New York's speakeasies. As a result of Norris's work, in 1927 he was elected chair of the advisory board of the Association Against Impure Liquor.
