1. Born November 25, 1846, Nation is probably the member of the temperance movement most recognizable to people of the 21st century. (Quick – name 3 others. What? You can? Show off!)
2. Standing almost six feet tall and weighing about 175 pounds, Nation was a very imposing presence. (And possessed an imposing personality.)
3. She is most often remembered for the violent manner in which she opposed drinking; she is often depicted with a hatchet, because of her proclivity for using one to damage saloons and other watering holes. She was arrested 30 times for these acts of vandalism. (As a child, I often mixed up Nation and Lizzie Borden. Axe, hatchet – same thing, you know.)
4. On June 5, 1899, Nation believed she received a vision from God, telling her to smash saloons in Kiowa, Kansas. (Don’t ask me to tell you 10 things about Kiowa.)
5. Many bars placed signs out front for their customers stating “All Nations Welcome but Carrie.”
6. In the (horrible) film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, the rock band The Kelly Affair eventually changes its name to The Carrie Nations. (Possibly the best decision in the entire movie.)
7. While Nation’s methods were excessive and she can be charged with being over-zealous, the original impetus behind the U.S. temperance movement was in a social change tradition that sought to better the lives of the poor and women and children.
8. Classical music composer Douglas Moore created an opera, Carry Nation, under a commission from the University of Kansas. It premiered at the University in 1966 and later that year was given its first professional performance by the San Francisco Opera. (Please fill in your own hatchet-related comment, e.g., “The reviews must have been cutting.”)
9. Nation was also vehemently anti-smoking and her concerns also extended to women’s clothing: she encouraged women to not wear corsets, due to the pain they inflicted and the physical damage they could do to a woman.
10. Nation’s final speaking engagement was in Eureka Springs, AR, where she was then residing, on January, 1911; she collapsed during this engagement and her final words to the public were “I have done what I could.” She died six months later.
Arlene Somerton Smith
Sep 18, 2012 @ 10:15:36
I’m Canadian, so that is probably why I have never heard of Carrie Nation. I enjoy a glass of wine with my dinner, so we would be on opposite sides of the temperance argument, but I would be a placard-carrying supporter of her opposition to corsets!
rorypond2020
Sep 18, 2012 @ 10:20:46
She’s an interesting figure in American hi9story – typical of how extreme we can get about things! I can’t say I agree with her views or methods, but she does hold a fascination!
Jeff
Sep 18, 2012 @ 13:47:01
Interesting. I haven’t heard that name in years. I do remember the symbol of the axe, though.
Wyrd Smythe
Sep 21, 2012 @ 21:13:50
Funny how our culture sometimes sorta honors vandals and lunatics! We love us a good crook with a good cause. Thanks to Prohibition, organized crime got it’s hooks into America, and the boozing went on. Unintended consequences! At least it serves as a good example of how prohibiting things rarely works and causes problems of its own.
My grandmother was in the WCTU, a teetotaler all her life. (In her defense, she was a nurse and had seen the livers of patients who’d died of cirrhosis. It just about killed her when my grandpa was very ill with pneumonia and the doctor told her she had to give him a teaspoon of brandy every few hours. But she did it! (My dad and his brother teased her about it for years!)
rorypond2020
Sep 22, 2012 @ 10:49:07
Americans (and others?) definitely love (or love to hate) extremists. There’s something fascinating baout the excessive commitment.
Wyrd Smythe
Sep 22, 2012 @ 11:26:49
It seems to be part of the American Narrative. If your cause is just we’ll overlook just about anything. Like dressing up as Indians, forcing our way on board a cargo ship and throwing the cargo (tea) into the harbor! “Getting it Done,” is a higher principle here than, “Following the Rules.” Which is why we usually get so many things done!
Wyrd Smythe
Sep 21, 2012 @ 21:35:43
“In the (horrible) film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,…”
This just hit me…. horrible film?!?! It’s a cult classic! Come on, directed by Russ Meyer and written by Roger Ebert! You were maybe expecting Shakespeare? 😕
rorypond2020
Sep 22, 2012 @ 10:49:52
I didn’t say it wasn’t enjoyable!
Wyrd Smythe
Sep 22, 2012 @ 11:27:12
Ah, well, that’s okay then! 🙂
kiarra
Jan 22, 2013 @ 21:04:28
wow all the things she did i bet she was very indpendent.