"Do Everything" or "Single Issue": Lady Henry Somerset, Francis Willard, and the 1890s policy dispute in the British Women's Temperance Association

Abstract

This paper examines a relatively rare but nonetheless serious quarrel within the British Women’s Temperance Association (BWTA) caused by disagreement over policy issues, especially the recommendation in 1892 - 1893 of the Do-Everything or Progressive Policy by the BWTA’s President, Lady Henry Somerset, and over the re-organization of the Executive Committee. The dispute split the twenty-five members of the governing Executive Council (the so-called ‘Majority’ and ‘Minority’ positions), culminating in a decisive vote in favour of Lady Henry and her followers (the ‘Minority’) at the May 1893 Annual BWTA Council meeting. The proposed re-organization of the Executive Committee is not considered in detail in this paper for it is considered as the means of facilitating the execution of the broader Minority policy, which included support for non-temperance social reforms, despite claims by its proposers that its intention was to decentralize decision-making by reintroducing more power to the provinces. The following two aspects will be particularly addressed: by supporting campaigns thought only indirectly to support temperance, such as votes for women, the BWTA under Lady Henry allegedly disrespected the original BWTA aims as laid out in the first constitution; the undue influence of Frances Willard, President of the World Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WWCTU), over Lady Henry and thus the BWTA, leading to the adoption of a ‘foreign’ temperance methodology unsuitable to the British temperance organization.