Online ExhibitsCarry A. NationHome Defenders". . . the men would not do it, [so] we women did it. . . . This conduct from us women means something." In 1881 Kansas outlawed the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. The law, however, was generally ignored. During the next 20 years, many Kansans who witnessed alcohol's devastating effects fought to get the laws enforced. Here's a timeline of temperance activities in Kansas. The prohibition movement appealed to many women because it allowed them a means to act at a time when they could not vote. Bribery, fraud, and drunkenness at the polls were all reasons 19th century politicians gave for denying women the vote. It was argued that the political process would corrupt these feminine guardians of family and home. 
On the other hand, reformers believed woman's moral superiority would purify politics rather than degrade women. Prohibitionists adopted this argument after seeing many families destroyed by a father's alcoholism. This is one reason Carry Nation called her supporters "Home Defenders." She sold buttons printed with this phrase to promote her cause. Hatchetations, 1900-1902 "See, I have this day set thee over the nation and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant." --Jeremiah 1:10 
Like many women reformers, Carry Nation believed she was doing God's will by acting against saloons. While it was illegal for alcoholic beverages to be manufactured and served in Kansas in her time, the laws were unevenly enforced. In early 1900 Nation worked within the law to close saloons (also known as joints) in Medicine Lodge. In June of that year a dream inspired her to take a more violent approach, using a tactic employed by earlier reformers. A voice told her, "Take something in your hands, and throw at these places in Kiowa and smash them." Read Carry's inspiration for smashing. Nation's efforts resulted from a growing frustration with the inability of Kansas authorities to enforce the prohibition laws. While neither the first nor last person to smash saloons in Kansas, Carry has become a symbol for all anti-alcohol campaigns. The saloon facade pictured at left is from the exhibit Carry A. Nation: The Famous and Original Bar Room Smasher. It is the setting for a story about Carry confronting Topeka jointists who had barricaded themselves inside a saloon on January 31, 1901. Read Boys, Boys, Come and Let Me In. Why Did Reformers Smash Saloons? 
Saloons were often among the first businesses in frontier towns. A common sight in many communities, they provided jobs and a place for social interaction. These joints also were magnets for gambling, prostitution, and other illegal activities. For this reason they were targeted by reformers. Kansas' earliest recorded saloon-smashing was in Lawrence in 1855. The bar pictured here was constructed by museum staff members in the fall and winter of 2000 for the exhibit Carry A. Nation: The Famous and Original Bar Room Smasher. It is solid cherry and incorporates design elements from two late-1800s photographs of Kansas saloons. Click on the image at right to view an enlargement. "A woman is stripped of everything by them [saloons]. Her husband is torn from her; she is robbed of her sons, her home, her food, and her virtue...Truly does the saloon make a woman bare of all things!" 
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