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Montana Woman's Christian Temperance Union records, 1883-1976

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Montana Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Title
Montana Woman's Christian Temperance Union records
Dates
1883-1976 (inclusive)
Quantity
10 linear feet of shelf space
Collection Number
MC 160 (collection)
Summary
The Montana Woman's Christian Temperance Union (Montana WCTU) was devoted to prohibition and other social reforms. The collection includes correspondence (1936-1976) of several state officials; constitution and minutes (1883-1971) of annual meetings; financial records (1883-1970s); membership books (1919-1960s); and printed material reflecting WCTU's national program and policies. Also included is a subgroup of records of the Kalispell WCTU locals, including correspondence, financial records, minutes and scrapbooks.
Repository
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

The Montana Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was founded in August 1883 as a result of a visit to Montana by National WCTU organizers Frances E. Willard and Anna A. Gordon. The delegates attending the initial meeting, representing Butte, Helena, Dillon, and White Sulphur Springs, elected "Mrs. Dr. Clark" as territorial president. By 1889, under the leadership of Laura E. Howey of Helena, the WCTU had grown to thirteen local unions and ten departments including Social Purity, Presentation of our Cause before Legislature and other Influential Bodies, Unfermented Wine at Sacrament, Purity in Literature and Art, and Alms House.

By 1910 the state union was growing rapidly with over 1000 members and it had diversified its concerns to include support for government aid for destitute mothers, teaching of domestic science in the schools, and opposition to the drinking of Coca-Cola which at that time contained cocaine.

With the national tide of enthusiasm for prohibition and other social reforms, the Montana WCTU membership grew to 4167 active members in 202 local unions by 1916. In addition the WCTU had a full-time lobbyist in the 1913 Legislative Assembly and was influential in its support of reform legislation, including placing woman's suffrage and statewide prohibition on the ballot.

However, the necessity of cooperating with other reform organizations brought dissension and attempts to alter WCTU principles. There was also a decline in activity following legal prohibition.

The WCTU entered a new period of enthusiasm in the late 1930s with the employment of several field workers. In 1947 the Montana Legislative Assembly passed a law authorizing a Narcotics Education Commission, but providing no funding. The WCTU spearheaded the fundraising campaign and was influential in the selection of the narcotics educator and in the development of her program. However, conflict over aims and methods arose between the WCTU and Superintendent of Public Instruction Elizabeth Ireland and the program gradually declined in effectiveness.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s the women of the Montana WCTU continued to pursue their goal of statewide total abstinence in the face of increasing acceptance by Montanans of social drinking. By the 1970s, unable to attract younger members, the local unions were forced to dissolve. The state organization had ceased to exist by 1976.

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Content Description

This collection contains records of the Montana WCTU. Included is interoffice correspondence (1936-1976), which contains letters of the National WCTU, the Montana WCTU, other states' WCTU organizations, and local unions in Montana. Correspondents for the Montana WCTU include Mrs. W.C. Dawes, Mrs. H.E. Chappell, Bertha Rachel Palmer, Miriam Pease, Agatha Woods, Beatrice Kreis, Amanda Henricksen, Anna Reagan, Helena Mildred Clarke, Mabel Noble, Grace Thiebaud, Elizabeth S. Donahue, Cora Mae Boucher, Francis Lowe, and Mildred Carpenter. In addition there is correspondence with National WCTU field workers including Lily Grace Matteson, Dora Young, Sara Palmer, and Ida Underland.

The records for the Montana WCTU also include general correspondence (1936-1963) with Montana governors and state officials (State Board of Health, Department of Public Instruction), United Temperance Movement of Montana, congressmen, etc.; financial records (1883-1970); printed materials; reports of directors, officers, and local unions; subject files containing materials for various WCTU departments (1922-1976); miscellany; and clippings.

In addition there is a subgroup for the Kalispell WCTU and the Frances E. Willard local union of Kalispell, which includes general correspondence (1942-1973), financial records (1952-1973), minutes of meetings (1919-1973), programs, scrapbooks, and clippings.

There is also a small subgroup of miscellaneous WCTU materials including reports of the World WCTU, the National WCTU, Ohio WCTU, and New York WCTU; and minutes and programs from Montana local unions including Forsyth, Culbertson, Glendive, Libby, Columbia Falls, and Whitefish.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The Montana Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library before any reproduction use. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Research Center, Archives, Helena, Montana.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged by subgroup and series. Some material housed in Archives Map Case and Manuscript Volumes. See inventory below for more information.

Location of Collection

7:5-3

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information available upon request

Separated Materials

Artifacts, printed material and maps, and photographs have been separated to the Museum, Library, and Photo Archives respectively.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection

Finding aid prepared by Sue Jackson, 1987.
2006

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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