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Activism

Women’s Christian Temperance Union Hatchet

Protesters used prayers, hymns—and sometimes axes—to call attention to alcoholism

In the 19th century, alcoholism wreaked havoc on families and communities. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union strove to abolish the liquor trade, reduce consumption of alcohol, and secure pledges of abstinence. In 1873, at the courthouse in Washington, Ohio, women celebrated the closing of two saloons with songs and prayers, but then, according to contemporary accounts, “axes were placed in the hands of the women who had suffered most, and swinging through the air, they came down with ringing blows, bursting in the heads of the casks, and flooding the gutters of the street.” 

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WCTU Hatchet, around 1910

Description
Though distancing themselves from Carry A. Nation’s “hatchetations,” the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and other organizations could hardly ignore the hatchet as a symbol of teetotaling activism and popular engagement. Somewhat at odds with this message, this wooden WCTU hatchet’s head is decorated with the emblem of a box turtle, an icon of dryly unexcitable endurance.
Credit Line
Norman Hedglin
c. 1910
associated date
1904
ID Number
PL.323503.01
catalog number
323503.01
accession number
323503
Object Name
Hatchet
Physical Description
wood (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 5 in x 12 in x 1/2 in; 12.7 cm x 30.48 cm x 1.27 cm
Exhibition
American Democracy
Exhibition Location
National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History
subject
Women's History
Record ID
nmah_516749
Usage of Metadata (Object Detail Text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a3-2fd3-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
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Contact

  • WomensHistory@si.edu

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