Subscribe for news updates every 10 minutes. Like/Dislike, Favorite, Comment, Embed on Blog, Facebook Share, and Tweet this video. Get the word out on this video. Get an email once a day tinyurl.com Like on Facebook to get updates tinyurl.com Follow on Twitter to get updates tinyurl.com - Thursday May 19 2011 9:57 am en.wikipedia.org The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is the oldest continuing non-sectarian women's organization worldwide. Organized at a national convention in Cleveland, Ohio in 1874, the group spearheaded the crusade for prohibition. Members in Fredonia, New York advanced their cause by entering , singing, praying, and urging saloon keepers to stop selling alcohol. The purpose of the WCTU was to combat the influence of alcohol on families and society. The first president was Annie Wittenmyer. Frances Willard, a noted feminist, was its second president, and made the greatest leaps for the group. They were inspired by the Greek writer Xenophon who defined temperance as 'moderation in all things healthful; total abstinence from all things harmful.' In other words, should something be good, it should not be indulged in to excess. Should something be bad for you, it should be avoided altogether; thus their attempts to rid their surroundings of what they saw (and still see) as the dangers of alcohol. The WCTU perceived alcoholism as a consequence of larger social problems rather than as a personal weakness or failing. Thus the WCTU was very interested ...