An influential reform movement of this time period was temperance. It started in the early 19th century, so in the 1800s. This movement was introduced by churches in the early 1800s, but organizations were not founded until the beginning of 1808. The first ones being in New York and Massachusetts. Then with the influence of churches, this movement spread all over the nation. This movement affected the men who drank alcohol very often, and it was led by women who usually had children and an always intoxicated husband who often had the effects of a husband like this.

Some of the key people of this movement include but are not limited to: Mary Hannah Hanchett Hunt, Carry Nation, John B. Gough, Edward C. Delavan, and P.T Barnum.

Mary Hannah Hanchett Hunt was a temperance leader who used the scientific aspect to talk about the effect of alcohol psychologically. She successfully got lessons at schools that talked about the hygienic effects of drinking alcohol and successfully made this educational aspect the main point in her campaign.

Carry Nation was another leader during this movement who simply went into the saloons and smashed the bar fixtures and stock with a hatchet. Even though she was put into jail many times that did not stop her from advocating for what was right.

John B. Gough was one of the men who were always drunken, but he recovered and started giving seminars on how others should also stop drinking. He talked about his personal struggles and how he did relapse, but still got through it and successfully became one of the temperance reformists.

Edward C. Delavan was retired when this movement came and so he helped the society that was in place in New York. He often believed that the poor should not in a sense waste their money on the cheap liquors they are drinking. Also, that the wealthy should give up the expensive alcohol that they are drinking. With all his work, he successfully got rid of wine drinking during church masses.

P.T Barnum also gave lectures about not drinking after he heard one for himself. Though he simply did the lectures to get out of debt, he successfully became an advocate for this movement.

The major reason for this movement was to outlaw alcohol all together so that people would stop drinking or simply so that people would drink less. The end result was that the Protestant religion group increased by size by influencing the rural and western parts of the country. Also, the lasting impact was the women played a large role in this movement and it created a foundation for the women's movement.