What does WCTU stand for?

Answer 1

WCTU stands for Womans' Christian Temperance Union. The WCTU is considered the oldest voluntary, non-sectarian women's organization in continuous existence in the world. It was among the first organizations to keep a professional lobbyist in Washington, D. C. to promote its agenda. The organization is called the "Woman's" rather than "Women's" Christian Temperance Union because it is the individual woman who takes the temperance pledge.

The WCTU reports that it "was organized by women who were concerned about the destructive power of alcohol and the problems it was causing their families and society." It elaborates that "In many towns in Ohio and New York in the fall of 1873 women concerned about the destructive power of alcohol met in churches to pray and then marched to the saloons to ask the owners to close their establishments." They then established the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. In the belief that they needed to become organized nationally, the next summer they established the National Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Within the first five years, the WCTU established a network of over 1,000 local units or "unions" and began publication of a journal, Our Union.

The WCTU currently claims 5,000 members, a staff of four, and an annual budget of $250,000. The Union Signal has a circulation of 550. The organization describes itself as dedicated to educating young people about the harmful effects of alcohol, illegal drugs, and tobacco and works to build support for total abstinence from alcohol.