Mitchell+K.+-+RC+-+FA12

Reformer's Convocation Resume

Character: Father Theobald Mathew


 * Began movement on April 10th 1838.
 * Called the Cork Total Abstinence Society.
 * Was strongly against alcohol.
 * Had a huge success in his home country, Ireland.
 * Affected 3 million people at its height in Ireland.
 * Drastically lowered crime rates from around 1837 to 1845.
 * Was welcomed to America as a distinguished guest.
 * Gained 600,000 followers in America.
 * He was supposedly pro-Abolition but did not publicly announce it for fear of his own movement.
 * The Knights of Father Mathew was the American faction of his temperance movement.
 * Many Americans at this time resorted to alcohol because of various other reformations.
 * The increasing alcoholism was linked to domestic violence.
 * The movement was heavily opposed by brewers and distillers and put many out of business.
 * It was a vital role in the religious reformation of the time because it supported the holiness of the Sabbath
 * Other advocates of the movement were Lyman Beecher and Rev. John Edgar.