Social Structure and Moral Reform: A Study of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union

@article{Gusfield1955SocialSA,
  title={Social Structure and Moral Reform: A Study of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union},
  author={Joseph R. Gusfield},
  journal={American Journal of Sociology},
  year={1955},
  volume={61},
  pages={221 - 232}
}
  • J. Gusfield
  • Published 1 November 1955
  • Sociology
  • American Journal of Sociology
Analysis of WCTU journals and reports and interviews with current leaders reveal a pattern at variance with theories of an adaptive process in social movements. In pre-Prohibition periods humanitarian reform was the central theme in WCTU doctrine. Temperance was viewed as the solution to problems of underprivileged groups. Since Repeal, the WCTU has ceased to represent dominant social classes, and its doctrine has become the expression of moral indignation toward upper-middle-class life… 
View on U Chicago Press
52 Citations
Background Citations
16
Methods Citations
1

52 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

The Connection Between the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and the Prohibition Party
Scholars have long been interested in the complementary relationships forged by membership groups and political parties. The post-bellum period presents an opportunity to consider these connections…
Moral regulation as status politics: A critical reconstruction of Joseph R. Gusfield’s theory
Sociology of moral regulation has been interested in different kinds of morally charged social movements, such as the temperance movement, to investigate the social reasons why people take part in…
Alcoholism: A Catalyst for Women to Organize/1850-1980
Since the mid-nineteenth century, women have been concerned about and have had an impact on social legislation related to alcoholism. This article describes the activities of women in the…
A Case Study of Societal Misguidance
m The ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment seems in retrospect a social and political anomaly. In a country where the &dquo;social drink&dquo; is a widely accepted custom, attacked only by small…
Public and Private Education: Conceptualizing the Distinction
Common wisdom and public discourse seem to suggest that there are two types of schools, private and public. Policy debates, media outlets, and comparisons of outcomes on standardized tests and…
Losing focus: goal displacement at an alternative newspaper in El Salvador
This study examines whether a Salvadoran alternative newspaper maintained its critical, independent, and alternative position after the country’s first leftist president was elected and the newspaper…
The survival strategies of a complex western-type educational-religious organization in an eastern culture : a case-study of the Hong Kong Baptist College
This study is in the general field of complex social organization. It is an exploratory analysis of a western-type senior college organiza­ tion in the Colony of Hong Kong. The objectives of the…
Oligarchy, Iron Law of
From Pabst to Pepsi: The Deinstitutionalization of Social Practices and the Creation of Entrepreneurial Opportunities
In this paper, we examine the dual role that social movement organizations can play in altering organizational landscapes by undermining existing organizations and creating opportunities for the…
The Consequences of Social Movements: Taking Stock and Looking Forward
Citizens of both democratic and authoritarian countries seem to become less supportive of those in power and more willing to use non-conventional forms of collective action for putting pressure on…
...
...