Anna Adams Gordon (1853–1931) was an American

social reformer A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary m ...

, songwriter, and, as national president of the

Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international Temperance movement, temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social ref ...

when the Eighteenth Amendment was adopted, a major figure in the

Temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

Biography

Early life

Gordon was born on July 21, 1853, in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, to James M. and Mary Clarkson Gordon, both Christian

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

. When she was three, her family moved to Auburndale. Elizabeth Putnam Gordon was an older sibling. She went on to attend Boston High School, Lasell Seminary, and

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United State ...

. She spent a year abroad in San Sebastián with another sister,

Alice Gordon Gulick Alice Gordon Gulick (August 8, 1847 — September 14, 1903) was an American missionary teacher in Spain. Early life Alice Winfield Gordon was born in Boston, Massachusetts,Frances A. Willard and Mary A. Livermore, eds''A Woman of the Century''( ...

, who had started a school for girls there in 1871.

Woman's Christian Temperance Union

Mrs Willard centre in London Annes E Slack to left

In 1877, Gordon met

Frances E. Willard Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard (September 28, 1839 – February 17, 1898) was an American educator, temperance reformer, and women's suffragist. Willard became the national president of Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in 1879 a ...

at a

Dwight L. Moody Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 26, 1899), also known as D. L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massa ...

revival meeting A revival meeting is a series of Christian religious services held to inspire active members of a church body to gain new converts and to call sinners to repent. Nineteenth-century Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon said, "Many blessings may come ...

, in the building where Willard was holding temperance meetings. Gordon's younger brother Arthur had died just days before, a traumatic event which had, as Willard later wrote, driven Gordon "Godward". The two became close friends, with Gordon continuing to play organ for Willard's meetings. Gordon eventually moved into Willard's residence as her personal secretary. Gordon subsequently followed her employer on her travels through the United States, Canada and Europe, spending a year in England, mostly as the guests of

Lady Henry Somerset Isabella Caroline Somerset, Lady Henry Somerset (née Somers-Cocks; 3 August 1851 – 12 March 1921), styled Lady Isabella Somers-Cocks from 5 October 1852 to 6 February 1872, was a British philanthropist, temperance leader and campaigner for ...

. Gordon and Willard remained close friends until Willard's death in 1898, at which time Lillian M. N. Stevens became president of the

, with Gordon as vice-president. That same year, Gordon also wrote a memorial biography of Willard (expanded and reprinted in 1905). Upon Lillian Stevens' death in 1914, Anna Adams Gordon became president of the WCTU. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, Gordon was instrumental in convincing

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of P ...

to harden the federal government's policies against the manufacture of alcoholic beverages, most notably by criminalizing the use of foodstuffs to make alcohol. Later, in 1919, temperance organizations scored a major victory with the ratification of the

Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Eighteenth Amendment (Amendment XVIII) of the United States Constitution established the prohibition of alcohol in the United States. The amendment was proposed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and was ratified by the requisite number of ...

, which fully established prohibition in the United States. After this success, the WCTU under Gordon's guidance began to turn more towards temperance enforcement, and causes peripheral to the temperance movement, such as citizenship for immigrants,

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countr ...

in the workplace, and

child protection Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home. One of the ways to ...

. In November 1922, she was elected president of the World Women's Temperance Union (WWCTU), and resigned her presidency of the national WCTU organization. She died on June 15, 1931, in

Castile Castile, Castille or Castilla may refer to: Places Spain *Castile (historical region), a vaguely defined historical region of Spain covering most of Castile and León, all of the Community of Madrid and most of Castilla–La Mancha *Kingdom of ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Works

During Gordon's career, she also became president of the

World League Against Alcoholism 300px, The Drunkard's Progress: A lithograph by Nathaniel Currier supporting the temperance movement, January 1846. The World League Against Alcoholism was organized by the Anti-Saloon League, whose goal became establishing prohibition not only ...

, vice-president of the

National Temperance Council The National Temperance Council was established in 1913 to coordinate the activities of numerous organizations in the temperance movement. Its purpose included the promotion of alcohol education. Its goal was the ratification of an amendment to the ...

, and vice-chairman of the Commission of Nineteen on the National Constitutional Prohibition Amendment. She was deeply involved in temperance work with the National Council of Women, the International Sunday-School Association, the World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the National Legislative Council, etc. As a leader in the WCTU, Gordon was a staunch believer in the need to interest children in temperance at a very early age. To that end, she authored a number of books of stories, verse, and song aimed at children, as well as publications for adults. Sales of her books were said to have surpassed a million copies. Her temperance songs became especially successful and were translated into multiple languages. She was also the editor of ''

The Union Signal ''The Union Signal'' (formerly, ''The Woman's Temperance Union'', ''Our Union'') is a defunct American newspaper, established in 1883 in Chicago, Illinois. Focused on temperance, it was the organ of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), ...

'', the news organ of the WCTU, and ''

The Young Crusader ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speak ...

'', the newspaper of the

Loyal Temperance Legion The Loyal Temperance Legion was the children's branch of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). Its slogan was "Tremble, King Alcohol, We Shall Grow Up". It published an English-language newspaper for children called ''The Young Crusader' ...

, the WCTU's children's branch.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Anna Adams 1853 births 1931 deaths American suffragists American Christian socialists American women's rights activists Mount Holyoke College alumni Writers from Boston American temperance activists People from Castile, New York American social reformers Songwriters from Massachusetts American children's writers American women children's writers Woman's Christian Temperance Union people Proponents of Christian feminism American socialist feminists Activists from New York (state) 19th-century American writers 19th-century American women writers Female Christian socialists