Carry Nation (1846-1911) was a fearless reformer who dedicated her life to the temperance movement, often vandalizing alcohol-serving establishments with a hatchet. For those of you tuning in for the first time, welcome! Here’s the deal: Every weekday, we highlight the stories of iconic women in history you may not know about, but definitely should. We’re talking about women from around the world and throughout history. Each month is themed. This month we’re talking about troublemakers–from women who made “good trouble” to women who thrived in illicit industries to villains in the truest sense of the word.
This month, we're talking about troublemakers–from women who made “good trouble” to women who thrived in illicit industries to villains in the truest sense of the word.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan. This is Womanica.
This month, we’re talking about Troublemakers. We’re covering stories across the spectrum of women who made “good trouble”, to women who thrived in illicit industries, to villains in the truest sense of the word. All of the women we’re covering had a major impact on the societies in which they lived.
Today’s troublemaker was a fearless reformer who believed it was her God-given vocation to save people from drunkenness. Alcohol was the demon drink that she would go to great lengths to ban. And during a period when women were frowned upon for making any sort of scene, this woman made quite the name for herself. Please welcome Carry Nation!
Carry Nation was born Carry Amelia Moore on November 25, 1846, in Garrard County, Kentucky. Carry’s childhood was fraught with financial troubles and frequent moves around Missouri, Kentucky, and Texas. In one instance, the family was forced to leave their beloved High Grove Farm in Missouri and relocate to Kansas City when the Union Army demanded they evacuate.
When the war ended in 1865, the family returned to their farm and took in Union Army doctor Charles Gloyd. It didn’t take long for Carry and Charles to strike up a courtship. They kept the relationship a secret because Carry knew her parents disapproved of Charles and his drinking habits. It wasn’t until two years later that her parents finally gave their blessing. Carry and Charles married on November 21, 1867.
The marriage was doomed from the start. Charles was drunk at their wedding and most days chose to spend his free time drinking at the local Masonic lodge instead of with his new wife. Carry went from one unstable household to another and back again. This time when she returned to her parent’s home, it wasn’t just her. She was pregnant with the couples’ daughter, Charlien. Charlien was born on September 27, 1868. Six months later Charles died of alcoholism.
With a newborn and no husband, Carry needed a source of income. She got a teaching certificate and became a teacher at a public school in Holden, Missouri. Carry taught for four years before being fired for intentionally teaching children the incorrect pronunciation of words. Instead of looking for another job, Carry turned to prayer..
On December 27, 1874, her prayers were answered. Carry married minister and lawyer, David Nation. They moved to Medicine Lodge, Kansas where David worked as a minister.Carry got involved in hotel management. Similar to her parent’s marriage, Carry and David’s relationship consisted of financial struggles that caused much strife and tension. Carry once again turned to religion for answers. She reportedly began having visions that she interpreted as God’s call to fight drunkenness.
During this time, women’s political activity was limited because they did not have the right to vote. One cause that many women activists were able to put their energy and efforts behind was the temperance movement or the prohibition of alcohol. Abstaining from alcohol was considered to be an issue of marriage, family, and home so society deemed it acceptable for women to engage in this political debate.
Carry founded a very active local chapter of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and advocated a state ban on liquor sales. Her more fervent recruits became known as “Home Defenders”. In December 1894, Carry and the “Home Defenders” raided a local pharmacy that sold alcohol. They entered with a vengeance, stealing a keg which they smashed and set on fire in front of the store.
In 1900, Carry’s proclivity for making a scene became a pattern. Dressed in a floor-length black dress with a white ribbon bow around the neck and a black bonnet, Carry would walk into saloons, which were usually off-limits to respectable women, and sing hymns and Bible verses while destroying whatever she could get her hands on.
She slashed open bottles, smashed kegs, and let taps run loose She was a force to be reckoned with. Word of her crusade spread so far and wide that bars began to hang signs that read “All nations welcome—Except Carrie.”
Her actions served their purpose. They were supposed to be spectacles that riled people up. But as her infamy grew, the more mainstream temperance movement began distancing itself.At the offhand suggestion of her husband, Carry began carrying a hatchet with her on these raids. On December 27, 1900, the “Home Defenders” smashed the Hotel Carey bar in Wichita, Kansas. Carry led the charge, hatchet in hand. She soon earned her the nickname, Hatchet Granny, Selling hatchet pins to finance her work and pay her bail fees. Her raids became known as “hatchetations”. She described herself as "a bulldog running along at the feet of Jesus, barking at what He doesn't like"
There was a method to Carry’s madness and it worked -- to a certain extent. It got her into rooms she might otherwise not have been allowed in.
She secured a meeting with the governor where she demanded state liquor laws be enforced. He told her "You are a woman, but a woman must know a woman's place. They can't come in here and raise this kind of disturbance." Carry went against everything a woman was supposed to be - docile and demure.
In 1901, Carry founded the Smasher’s Mail newspaper. She wanted her anti-alcohol sentiments to reach a broader audience. It was also another form of subsidizing her campaign. This was also the same year that Carry’s husband divorced her. A short film called “Why Mr. Nation Wants a Divorce” was released at Carry’s expense. The film depicted a woman who defied her gender norms and allegedly abandoned and humiliated her husband. Nevertheless, Carry continued her work for the next decade.
In the end, Carry’s flair for the dramatics caught up to her. She collapsed while giving an impassioned speech about the perils of alcohol. One year before Kansas became the eighth state to grant women the right to vote, Carry Nation died on June 9, 1911, in Leavenworth, Kansas.
A constitutional amendment prohibiting alcohol in the U.S. was ratified by the states about eight years after her death, in 1919.
All month, we’re talking about dynamic women who were villains and troublemakers during their era.
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Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!