VISUAL ACTIVITY “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. READING THE IMAGE: How does the artist let us know this is a picture about temperance? Can you find five clues to this family’s social and economic standing? CONNECTIONS: What groups or people were most concerned to define alcohol consumption as a major problem needing fixing? Why?