The Franklin Mint History Of The United States, 1776-1973
Manufacturer
The Franklin Mint
CultureAmerican
DateNo Date
MediumSilver
DimensionsOverall: 1 3/4 in. (45 mm.)
Credit LineGift of Dr. Eugene F. Poutasse
Object number76.81.58
Not on view
DescriptionOne of collection of 200 silver medals.The 1833 medal: First National Temperance Convention
The First National Temperance Convention opened at the First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia on May 24, 1833. In all, 440 delegates attended from 19 states and territories, including members of the American Temperance Society of Boston and several State societies. An immediate result was the organization of the "United States Temperance Union," a national society that was later renamed the American Temperance Union. Thereafter the temperance movement spread rapidly and its effect was soon widely felt.
The convention resolved that "the traffic in ardent spirits as a drink and the use of it is morally wrong and ought to be abandoned throughout the world." On the 1833 medal a man is shown signing a pledge.
By 1836 there were eleven weekly and monthly journals devoted exclusively to temperance. It was claimed there were 8,000 local societies with memberships totaling 1,500,000. More than 4,000 distillers were said to have gone out of business. During the years to follow, laws were passed that eventually culminated in national prohibition during the 1920's.
