BY RACHEL WHITAKER
N 1915 A GROUP OF STUDENTS AND FACULTY at Emmanuel Missionary College decided to do their part in living up to the school's name by engaging in "some active missionary work." The college Missionary Volunteer Society organized three teams that conducted 21 programs in schoolhouses, churches, and public halls throughout Berrien County, Michigan. The presentations were very well received in the community, attracting more than 3,000 attendees altogether and receiving "very complimentary write-ups" in local newspapers.1
What issue inspired the evangelistic fervor of these Adventist students and won the approval of their community? The meetings were held to promote a proposed law to abolish the sale of alcoholic beverages in Berrien County. When the law passed, the manager of the local Anti-Saloon League called the college one of the most influential factors in the successful campaign.
These young temperance activists were by no means isolated zealots among Seventh-day Adventists in the early 1900s. Indeed, their efforts merited an enthusiastic report in the general church paper, the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald. Support for legal prohibition of alcohol was the mainstream position of Adventist Church leaders and laity at the time.
In calling for an end to the curse of liquor in America, Adventists were joining a popular cause of the day advocated by both Christians and social reformers. The temperance movement, as it was called, began in the early 1800s with efforts to reform drinkers. The movement progressed to establishing local and state laws banning alcohol. It culminated in 1919 with the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages nationwide.
Adventist support for alcohol prohibition had been swelling steadily since the late 1850s. The church had long championed temperance and healthful living, and legal prohibition seemed an effective way to promote these virtues. Like other prohibition advocates, Adventists believed that banning alcohol would end the misery caused to individuals, families, and society by drunkenness. They also saw prohibition as a means to accomplish their mission of saving souls by giving people clearer minds to receive the gospel and the end-time message of Adventism.
In fact, Adventists believed they had a divine mandate to work for the abolition of liquor. Ellen White had frequently spoken in favor of the prohibition cause. She believed Seventh-day Adventists should "stand in the front ranks" of the temperance movement.2 In 1881 White had written: "The advocates of temperance fail to do their whole duty unless they exert their influence by precept and example--by voice and pen and vote--in favor of prohibition and total abstinence."3 She repeated this counsel in 1914, just as national prohibition organizations were beginning a concerted effort to pass a constitutional amendment enforcing nationwide prohibition.
Politicizing the Remnant?
Such calls to political activism might seem ironic to twenty-first-century Adventists, given the church's longstanding support for separation of church and state. Adventists at the time felt some tensions, too, but from a different source: their belief that politics were corrupt, divisive, and a distraction from their mission of evangelism. Though the church had from its earliest years been outspoken on such issues as slavery and religious freedom, Ellen White and other leaders consistently urged members not to take sides in partisan political squabbles. As late as the 1880s some members questioned whether even voting was permissible.4
Temperance, though, was placed on an entirely different plane. Adventists concluded that Christian concern for the welfare of others required their involvement in stopping the untold suffering caused by alcohol. Adventist participation became first acceptable, then advisable, then essential.
The Review editors wrote in 1914 that Adventists chose not to "become partisans in the great political controversies which have been carried on." But, they noted, "when there have been great moral issues at stake . . . [Adventists] have felt that it was their duty to cast their influence strongly on the side of truth."5 The examples they gave of "great moral issues" were temperance and slavery.
Church leaders saw no conflict between their morally grounded prohibition activism and their equally vigorous opposition to Sunday-observance laws and other attempts to mix religion and government. But other observers sometimes called attention to the apparent inconsistency. For instance, readers of Liberty, the church's religious-freedom magazine, questioned why the magazine promoted prohibition while opposing Sunday laws. Were not Adventists attempting to force their religious belief in abstinence from alcohol on the public?
Adventists responded by asserting that prohibition was "not a moral but a civil question" and that it could be justified "for purely civil reasons," such as the cost to society of the accidents, illness, crime, and poverty caused by drinking.6 The sale and use of alcohol, though immoral in themselves, should be prohibited not on religious but on secular grounds, they said. Sunday laws, in contrast, had only religious significance. True to this argument, Adventist efforts to persuade the public emphasized the social, economic, and political benefits of prohibition more than the moral aspects.
In essence, Adventists had developed two different lines of reasoning for two different groups. Among themselves prohibition was a moral issue and thus one that merited their involvement. But in their arguments to society at large it was a matter of the public good and thus an appropriate subject for legislative action.
"By Voice and Pen and Vote"
Confident in the moral and civil rightness of their position, Adventists in the early twentieth century worked wholeheartedly to eliminate alcohol from society by force of law. They used every possible means--voting, lobbying legislators, holding public meetings, and distributing temperance literature--to advance the prohibition cause.
The most direct action Adventists could take on behalf of prohibition was to vote, both for state and local prohibition laws and for "dry" (antialcohol) elected officials. Adventist leaders strongly urged members to vote for prohibition. "It is the duty of every one to vote for the prohibition of the liquor evil whenever and wherever he has the opportunity," wrote North American Division president Irwin H. Evans.7 The Review editors believed most Adventists fulfilled this duty; they claimed that "the members of this church have uniformly cast their votes on the side of the closed saloon."8
Adventists also tried to influence legislators to pass prohibition laws. In 1914 a prohibition amendment was introduced in Congress by Representative Richmond P. Hobson and Senator Morris Sheppard. Several Adventist leaders, along with representatives from other churches and temperance organizations, appeared before the House Judiciary Committee to testify on behalf of the amendment.9 Although the bill failed to receive the two-thirds majority necessary to send it to the states for ratification, the antiliquor forces claimed a significant victory because more than half of the legislators voted for the proposal.
Whenever such bills were pending in Congress, Adventist publications encouraged readers to send petitions and strong letters to their elected officials asking them to support the measures. "Consider carefully what alcohol does for the individual and for the State," advised a writer for Life and Health, the church's health magazine, "and then ask your Congressman to help make our beloved country all dry."10
How many Adventists took such action is unknown, but Adventist periodicals attempted to make it easy for them. When the Hobson-Sheppard amendment was proposed, Liberty printed a petition to Congress on behalf of the amendment in the back of several issues, along with instructions on how to circulate the petition for signatures.
Like the students at Emmanuel Missionary College, Adventists in many places held public meetings to promote temperance and prohibition. The Second Seventh-day Adventist Church in Tampa, Florida, for example, organized a temperance education program at the local African Methodist Episcopal church. Two leading town pastors spoke at the event, and temperance pledge cards and publications were distributed.11
The General Conference Missionary Volunteer Department encouraged every MV Youth Society to hold a temperance rally. "Now is the time to win public sentiment over to the cause of prohibition," department leaders stressed. (They also noted that such programs should "proclaim the broader principles of Christian temperance.")12
Publishing had always been one of the main ways Adventists spread their message, and the prohibition issue was no exception. The most important Adventist temperance publication was the Youth's Instructor Temperance Annual, a special edition of the weekly youth magazine. It was printed yearly between 1907 and 1919 and had a circulation of a half million copies--five copies for every Adventist member in North America.13
Despite its generic title, the Temperance Annual (and most other Adventist temperance publications) sought primarily to promote prohibition, not just healthful living and abstinence from alcohol. Out of 27 articles in the 1917 Temperance Annual, for example, 22 contained a strong prohibition slant. Selections from the Temperance Annuals were reprinted in a book called The Shadow of the Bottle, which was, as the title page put it, "published in the interest of nation-wide prohibition of the liquor traffic."14 Similarly, a Signs of the Times Temperance Campaign number produced in 1914 called for prohibition in practically every article.
One exception to this pattern was the 1912 temperance issue of Life and Health. Most of its articles discussed the harmful effects of alcohol, not the necessity of making it illegal. Perhaps the editor, George Heald, was less enthusiastic about promoting a political agenda than were some other Adventists. In an editorial he had argued that eliminating the curse of alcohol must start with education, not law. "Teaching the youth right principles," he said, was needed more than "hot electioneering at election time."15
Publications such as the Youth's Instructor Temperance Annual were aimed at the general public and intended for widespread sale and free distribution. Regular advertisements in the Review encouraged Adventists to use these materials to aid the prohibition cause. "The army of Review readers" needs to do its duty by circulating "temperance literature," the magazine's editors admonished.16
Ellen White herself urged Adventists to distribute prohibition publications. In 1908 she promoted the Watchman Temperance number, a magazine with a clear prohibition slant, by writing in the Review, "Let all take hold to give this temperance number a wide circulation."17 With the nationwide prominence of the prohibition issue, such literature was in demand and sold well.
Adventists' efforts were deliberately calculated to influence voters to support prohibition laws. The push for literature sales was especially strong when elections or votes in Congress were imminent. "Your work will help to swing hesitating votes!" the Review editors proclaimed.18 In 1918, with state ratification of the national prohibition amendment in progress, the Review editors advised, "Let us bestir ourselves as never before, and scatter the Temperance Instructor throughout the land."19 The connection of this intensified campaign to the current political situation was explicit: "In all States holding fall elections, the Instructor Temperance Annual should be placed in the homes of all voters."20
Adventist leaders and laypeople alike joined the campaign to spread temperance literature to their communities. In California, where a state prohibition law was pending, the children of the Adventist church school in Pasadena distributed the Temperance Annual door to door in their city.21 Adventists in Vermont put out 14,000 copies of the Temperance Annual in the major cities in an effort to win support for an upcoming prohibition election.22
In Holland, Michigan, C. L. White went house to house distributing circulars bearing the headline "Help Make Michigan Dry in 1916." With each one he gave a copy of the Temperance Annual and an envelope for donations to help "place this Temperance paper in every home." The West Michigan Conference asked White to present this plan to the churches and set a goal of putting out 50,000 Temperance Instructors in the conference.23
Even the president of the Eastern New York Conference, W. R. Andrews, tried selling the Temperance Annual door to door and said he "found it to be about the easiest thing to sell that I ever tried." He hoped to distribute more than 10,000 copies in his conference to raise support for a statewide prohibition bill that was under consideration.24
It was no wonder that, as the Review put it, "thousands and thousands of prohibition votes are cast as the result of the presence of the Temperance Annual in the homes of voters."25
"Shoulder to Shoulder"
Ellen White had instructed Adventists to cooperate with other temperance organizations such as the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. "We should seek to come near to these workers, and make a way for them to stand shoulder to shoulder with us," she wrote.26 Adventists followed this counsel, coordinating their prohibition activities with larger antiliquor campaigns.
Charles S. Longacre, secretary of the General Conference Religious Liberty Department and one of the most vocal Adventist prohibition advocates, was especially involved with prohibition groups outside the church. Longacre belonged to the "Flying Squadron," a group of seven men (including such notables as William Jennings Bryan and the governors of Indiana and Tennessee) who traveled around the country holding temperance meetings.27 He frequently represented the church at the Anti-Saloon League's national conventions and served as chairman for three of these conventions.28 At a convention in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the National Prohibition Party, Longacre spoke to the entire assembly on Adventists' temperance work throughout the world.29
As in the case of the Emmanuel Missionary College students, Adventist prohibition activities often brought the church favorable recognition from the public. Adventist temperance publications were commended for their high quality by other prohibition advocates, including Representative Hobson, sponsor of the unsuccessful 1914 constitutional amendment.30 Chapters of the Anti-Saloon League and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union purchased Adventist temperance publications to use in their own efforts.31 The National Dry Federation even gave Adventists a special tribute in 1918 for their temperance work.32
Such favorable reactions showed a new acceptance of Adventism by society. Adventists found prohibition activism to be an excellent way to create a more positive public perception of their church. "The old prejudices which existed in the past are rapidly fading away, because of our tangible interest in this important line of service," said Longacre.33 At the same time, Adventists' willingness to work with other groups in this cause showed that they no longer felt such an extreme distinction between themselves and the rest of American society as at some points in their history.
Amid all their activity of persuading voters, writing to elected officials, distributing literature, and holding temperance rallies, Adventists were reminded to draw on another resource: the power of God. "Pray daily for national Constitutional prohibition of the liquor traffic," advised one author.34 "God is on the side of the temperance movement," declared another.35
Triumph and Defeat
Providence indeed seemed to be favoring prohibition activists. In December 1917 a prohibition amendment received the necessary two-thirds majority in Congress to be sent to the states for ratification. Ratification was completed on January 16, 1919, and the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect one year later, outlawing the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages across America.
Adventists and their temperance allies were understandably exuberant. The day the amendment was ratified "was one of the great days in human history," exulted L. L. Caviness, associate editor of the Review.36
The church supported prohibition throughout the law's 14-year existence. When public opinion turned against the ban on alcohol, Adventists fought tirelessly against repeal.37 Despite their efforts, a repeal amendment was passed in 1933 and quickly ratified by the states.
Adventists denounced repeal, and as late as 1944 some articles in Adventist publications still endorsed prohibition. But Adventists had always realized that legal prohibition would not solve drinking problems completely. Before, during, and after prohibition, they continued to educate people on the harmfulness of intemperance.
Was Adventist prohibition support misguided? The answer depends partly on one's view of the law's effectiveness. Alcohol consumption declined by at least 50 percent during prohibition, according to most estimates, and drinking stayed below preprohibition levels for decades after repeal.38 Those are laudable outcomes from an Adventist perspective. On the other hand, one could certainly argue that Adventists' energies would have been better spent elsewhere.
Given this precedent of energetic political activism, church members might well ask why Adventists today take a largely hands-off approach to politics. Some would decry the church's apathetic stance during the civil rights movement or its reluctance to speak out on issues such as abortion and pornography that arouse many Christians today. Did prohibition's failure convince the church that political action aimed at social change was futile? Did Adventists conclude that it was hypocritical to seek moral reforms through legislation while advocating church-state separation?
Perhaps. But it's also likely that the right cause simply has not presented itself. Prohibition meshed almost perfectly with one of Adventism's core principles: healthful living. That doctrinal fit and the direct counsel of Ellen White were the main reasons Adventists became involved. Similarly, the church remains very vocal in the public square on issues affecting religious liberty--an effort also seen as central to our message, and also urged by Ellen White.
One fact is clear: Adventists, unlike many of their prohibition allies, did not abandon the cause of temperance once their program of social reform failed. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the Anti-Saloon League, and the Prohibition Party are little more than historical footnotes today. Seventh-day Adventists, however, continue to proclaim a message of spiritual renewal that encompasses the body as well as the mind. As Charles S. Longacre put it: "Force may effect a temporary prohibition, but truth sets men free forever."39
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1 Dudley C. Newbold, "Temperance Work of the Emmanuel Missionary College Young People's Society," Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, June 3, 1915, p. 18.
2 Ellen G. White, "The Temperance Work," Review and Herald, Oct. 15, 1914, p. 3.
3 ---, "Temperance and the License Law," Review and Herald, Nov. 8, 1881, p. 290, quoted in Review and Herald, Oct. 15, 1914, p. 4.
4 Yvonne Gangbin Anderson, "Seventh-day Adventists and the Politics of Prohibition, 1850-1900" (Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary term paper, Andrews University, 1978), p. 11.
5 "Questions and Answers," Review and Herald, Aug. 13, 1914, p. 2.
6 Calvin Bollman, "Is Prohibition Civilly Justifiable?" Liberty, second quarter 1918, p. 38.
7 Irwin H. Evans, "The Liquor Traffic and the Attitude of the Christian," Signs of the Times, September 1914, p. 4.
8 "Questions and Answers," Review and Herald, Aug. 13, 1914, p. 2.
9 S. B. Horton, "Nationwide Prohibition," Life and Health, August 1914, p. 365.
10 "Make It All Dry," Life and Health, August 1914, p. 341.
11 Mrs. A. E. Nogest, "Temperance Exercises at Tampa, Fla.," Review and Herald, June 7, 1917, p. 17.
12 "Have a Temperance Rally," Youth's Instructor, Feb. 11, 1919, p. 16.
13 Review and Herald, Jan. 28, 1915, p. 2; H. E. Rogers, Seventh-day Adventist Conferences, Missions, and Institutions: The Fifty-eighth Annual Statistical Report, Year Ending December 31, 1920 (Takoma Park, Md.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists [1921]), p. 2.
14 The Shadow of the Bottle (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1915), p. 3.
15 George Heald, "Somebody's Wrong," Life and Health, February 1912, pp. 103, 102.
16 "A Temperance Campaign," Review and Herald, Nov. 30, 1916, p. 21.
17 White, "Diseminating temperance Principles," Review and Herald, June 18, 1908, p. 8, quoted in White, Temperance as Set Forth in the Writings of Ellen G. White (Mountain View, Calif., Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1949), p. 250.
18 Review and Herald, July 23, 1914, p. 22.
19 "Calling for the Temperance Instructor," Review and Herald, Apr. 4, 1918, p. 21.
20 Review and Herald, May 23, 1918, p. 23.
21 "Making Prohibition Votes," Review and Herald, June 29, 1916, p. 22.
22 R. J. Bryant, "Prohibition in Vermont," Review and Herald, Mar. 30, 1916, p. 18.
23 "Help! Help!-How?" Review and Herald, Apr. 6, 1916, p. 22.
24 Review and Herald, Feb. 24, 1916, p. 23.
25 "Making Prohibition Votes," Review and Herald, June 29, 1916, p. 22.
26 White, Testimonies for the Church (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1948), vol. 6, p. 110.
27 Nathaniel Krum, Charles S. Longacre: Champion of Religious Liberty (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1959), pp. 86, 87.
28 Richard W. Schwarz, Light Bearers to the Remnant (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1979), p. 536.
29 Charles S. Longacre, "Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Prohibition Party," Review and Herald, Oct. 9, 1919, p. 30.
30 "The Shadow of the Bottle," Review and Herald, July 22, 1915, p. 2.
31 "Others Are Interested," Review and Herald, Apr. 13, 1916, p. 22.
32 Longacre, "Executive Meeting of the National Dry Federation," Review and Herald, Jan. 23, 1919, p. 21."Making Prohibition Votes," Review and Herald, June 29, 1916, p. 22.
33 Ibid.
34 "Things for You to Do," Youth's Instructor Temperance Annual, Feb. 3, 1914, p. 33.
35 L. A. Hansen, "World-Wide Prohibition Conference," Review and Herald, Dec. 12, 1918, p. 25.
36 L. L. Caviness, "A Great Day," Review and Herald, Jan. 30, 1919, p. 5.
37 See Larry White, "The Return of the Thief: The Repeal of Prohibition and the Adventist Response," Adventist Heritage 5 (winter 1978): 34-47.
38 David Kyvig, Repealing National Prohibition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), p. 24.
39 Longacre, "Fiftieth Anniversary," Review and Herald, Oct. 9, 1919, p. 30.
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Rachel Whitaker is assistant editor of Guide magazine.
