The Arkansas branch of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union was founded in Little Rock in 1879 as part of the national drive supporting the prohibition of alcohol.
Because of the link between drunkenness and domestic violence, temperance was considered a women’s issue and was an obvious partner for the women’s suffrage movement. The Temperance Union had a national organizational network that suffragists could both emulate and draw on for support. At the same time, suffrage would give women the opportunity to vote for temperance legislation.
Several Little Rock women, including Clara McDiarmid and Fannie Chunn, were active leaders of both causes. To learn more about women’s suffrage in Arkansas, visit ARvotesforwomen.com.