---
title: "American Temperance Society — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide"
description: "The American Temperance Society (1826) was a voluntary reform group urging Americans to quit alcohol, a classic Second Great Awakening reform tested in APUSH Unit 4."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/american-temperance-society"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP US History"
unit: "Unit 4"
---

# American Temperance Society — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide

## Definition

The American Temperance Society, founded in 1826, was a voluntary reform organization that pushed Americans to reduce or completely give up alcohol, reflecting how Second Great Awakening evangelicalism inspired antebellum movements to perfect individual behavior and society (APUSH Topic 4.11).

## What It Is

The American Temperance Society was founded in 1826 by Protestant ministers and reformers who saw alcohol as the root of [poverty](/apush/key-terms/poverty "fv-autolink"), domestic abuse, crime, and moral decay. Members signed pledges to abstain from drinking, and the society spread its message through local chapters, traveling speakers, and printed tracts. Within a decade it claimed hundreds of thousands of members across thousands of local chapters, making it one of the largest [reform](/apush/unit-7/new-deal/study-guide/O8bvpnFSbBfiQMHlcl4D "fv-autolink") organizations in antebellum America.

For [APUSH](/apush "fv-autolink") purposes, the society is a textbook example of what the CED calls 'new voluntary organizations that aimed to change individual behaviors and improve society' (KC-4.1.III.A). It grew directly out of the Second Great Awakening, which taught that people could perfect themselves and their communities through moral effort. It was also a response to the market revolution. As work moved into factories and shops with set hours, employers and reformers worried that drinking made workers unreliable, so temperance became both a religious cause and an economic one.

## Why It Matters

This term lives in **Topic 4.11, An Age of Reform ([Unit 4](/apush/unit-4 "fv-autolink"))**, and supports learning objective **APUSH 4.11.A**: explain how and why various [reform movements](/apush/key-terms/reform-movements "fv-autolink") developed and expanded from 1800 to 1848. The American Temperance Society is your go-to specific evidence for the broader pattern the CED cares about, which is that the Second Great Awakening plus the market revolution produced a wave of voluntary reform societies (KC-4.1.II.A.ii and KC-4.1.III.A). On the exam, naming an actual organization with a founding date beats vaguely saying 'reformers wanted change.' It also connects to the theme of American national identity, since reformers believed a democratic republic depended on virtuous, sober citizens.

## Connections

### [Temperance Movement (Unit 4)](/apush/key-terms/temperance-movement)

The American Temperance Society was the organizational engine of the broader [temperance movement](/apush/key-terms/temperance-movement "fv-autolink"). Think of the movement as the cause and the society as the machine built to advance it, with pledges, chapters, and pamphlets.

### Abolitionist Movement and the American Anti-Slavery Society (Unit 4)

[Temperance](/apush/key-terms/temperance "fv-autolink") and abolition were sibling reforms. Both grew from Second Great Awakening evangelicalism, both organized as national voluntary societies, and both used moral suasion to change behavior. A practice question literally asks what the American Temperance Society and American Anti-Slavery Society had in common, and the answer is this shared reform DNA.

### Women's Christian Temperance Union (Units 6-7)

Temperance didn't die in 1848. The WCTU (founded 1874) picked up the cause during the Gilded Age and [Progressive Era](/apush/key-terms/progressive-era "fv-autolink"), and it gave women a public political role decades before they could vote. The American Temperance Society is the start of a continuity thread that runs straight to the WCTU.

### Prohibition and the 18th Amendment (Unit 7)

The temperance crusade that began with voluntary pledges in 1826 ended with a constitutional ban on alcohol in 1919. That nearly century-long arc from moral suasion to federal law is exactly the kind of change-over-time argument LEQs reward.

## On the AP Exam

Expect the American Temperance Society in multiple-choice questions about why reform movements expanded in the 1820s-1840s. Stems typically ask you to connect it to the Second Great Awakening, the market revolution, or the broader pattern of voluntary associations (one practice question groups it with the American Peace Society and American Anti-Slavery Society and asks what they shared). For SAQs and LEQs on Topic 4.11, it works as specific evidence that religious revivalism translated into organized social reform. No released FRQ has used the term verbatim, but it's a strong piece of evidence for any prompt on antebellum reform, and it anchors a continuity argument stretching to the WCTU and Prohibition.

## American Temperance Society vs Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU)

Same cause, different era. The American Temperance Society (1826) is an antebellum, Second Great Awakening organization tested in Unit 4. The WCTU (1874) is a Gilded Age and Progressive Era organization, led by women, that appears in Units 6-7 and helped drive the push toward Prohibition. If the question is about the 1820s-1840s, it's the American Temperance Society; if it's about the late 1800s or women's activism, it's the WCTU.

## Key Takeaways

- The American Temperance Society was founded in 1826 to convince Americans to reduce or completely abstain from alcohol, mainly through voluntary pledges and moral persuasion.
- It grew directly out of the Second Great Awakening, which taught that individuals and society could be morally perfected (KC-4.1.II.A.ii).
- It exemplifies the CED's point that antebellum Americans formed voluntary organizations to change individual behavior and improve society (KC-4.1.III.A).
- The market revolution boosted temperance because employers and reformers wanted sober, punctual workers for the new wage-labor economy.
- Temperance shared methods and members with abolition, education reform, and other movements, so it works as evidence for any APUSH 4.11.A prompt about why reform expanded from 1800 to 1848.
- The temperance cause continued long after 1848, running through the WCTU in the 1870s to Prohibition in 1919, making it useful for continuity-and-change arguments.

## FAQs

### What was the American Temperance Society in APUSH?

It was a voluntary reform organization founded in 1826 that urged Americans to reduce or give up alcohol entirely. In APUSH it appears in Topic 4.11 as a prime example of Second Great Awakening-inspired reform.

### Did the American Temperance Society ban alcohol?

No. It had no legal power and relied on moral suasion, meaning pledges, sermons, and pamphlets to convince people to quit drinking voluntarily. The legal ban came almost a century later with the 18th Amendment in 1919.

### How is the American Temperance Society different from the WCTU?

The American Temperance Society (1826) belongs to the antebellum reform era in Unit 4, while the Women's Christian Temperance Union (1874) belongs to the Gilded Age and Progressive Era in Units 6-7. Same cause, but different time periods, and the exam cares about which era your evidence fits.

### Why did the temperance movement grow in the 1820s and 1830s?

Two big drivers. The Second Great Awakening convinced evangelical Protestants that society could be morally perfected, and the market revolution made employers want sober, reliable workers. Multiple-choice questions about temperance membership growth usually point to one or both of these causes.

### Is the American Temperance Society on the AP exam?

Yes, it shows up in multiple-choice questions on Topic 4.11 (An Age of Reform) and works as specific evidence for SAQs and LEQs under learning objective APUSH 4.11.A, which asks why reform movements developed and expanded from 1800 to 1848.

## Related Study Guides

- [4.11 An Age of Reform](/apush/unit-4/an-age-reform-1800-1848/study-guide/pq1BOhhhmXUke0J5WXkS)

## Structured Data

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"LearningResource","@id":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/american-temperance-society#resource","name":"American Temperance Society — APUSH Definition & Exam Guide","url":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/american-temperance-society","learningResourceType":"Concept explainer","educationalLevel":"AP / High School","about":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/american-temperance-society#term"},"audience":{"@type":"EducationalAudience","educationalRole":"student"},"dateModified":"2026-06-12T23:21:45.109Z","isPartOf":{"@type":"Collection","name":"AP US History Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Fiveable","url":"https://fiveable.me"}},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/american-temperance-society#term","name":"American Temperance Society","description":"The American Temperance Society, founded in 1826, was a voluntary reform organization that pushed Americans to reduce or completely give up alcohol, reflecting how Second Great Awakening evangelicalism inspired antebellum movements to perfect individual behavior and society (APUSH Topic 4.11).","url":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/american-temperance-society","inDefinedTermSet":{"@type":"DefinedTermSet","name":"AP US History Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms"}},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What was the American Temperance Society in APUSH?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It was a voluntary reform organization founded in 1826 that urged Americans to reduce or give up alcohol entirely. In APUSH it appears in Topic 4.11 as a prime example of Second Great Awakening-inspired reform."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Did the American Temperance Society ban alcohol?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"No. It had no legal power and relied on moral suasion, meaning pledges, sermons, and pamphlets to convince people to quit drinking voluntarily. The legal ban came almost a century later with the 18th Amendment in 1919."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How is the American Temperance Society different from the WCTU?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The American Temperance Society (1826) belongs to the antebellum reform era in Unit 4, while the Women's Christian Temperance Union (1874) belongs to the Gilded Age and Progressive Era in Units 6-7. Same cause, but different time periods, and the exam cares about which era your evidence fits."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Why did the temperance movement grow in the 1820s and 1830s?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Two big drivers. The Second Great Awakening convinced evangelical Protestants that society could be morally perfected, and the market revolution made employers want sober, reliable workers. Multiple-choice questions about temperance membership growth usually point to one or both of these causes."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Is the American Temperance Society on the AP exam?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes, it shows up in multiple-choice questions on Topic 4.11 (An Age of Reform) and works as specific evidence for SAQs and LEQs under learning objective APUSH 4.11.A, which asks why reform movements developed and expanded from 1800 to 1848."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"AP US History","item":"https://fiveable.me/apush"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Key Terms","item":"https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Unit 4","item":"https://fiveable.me/apush/unit-4"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"American Temperance Society"}]}]}
```