“Signing the Pledge” in the 1840s This lithograph celebrates a hard-won moment in the life of a hard-luck family. A temperance worker convinces the father to sign an oath to abstain from alcohol, while his wife exhibits prayerful gratitude. The temperance pledge was a major tool used by anti-alcohol advocates to curb drinking: Could it have really worked? Consider the power of religious oaths in a society infused with religious belief.

The Granger Collection, New York.