Carrie Nation

Who was Carrie Nation?

Carrie Amelia Moore Nation was an American woman who was a radical member of the temperance movement, which opposed alcohol before the advent of Prohibition. She is particularly noteworthy for her terrorism: attacking the property of alcohol-serving establishments with a hatchet.

Nation was a relatively large woman, almost 6 feet tall and weighing 175 pounds, with a stern countenance. She described herself as "a bulldog running along at the feet of Jesus, barking at what He doesn't like", and claimed a divine ordination to promote temperance by destroying bars.

The spelling of her first name is ambiguous, and both Carrie and Carry are considered correct. Official records say Carrie, which Nation used most of her life; the name Carry was used by her father in the family Bible. Upon beginning her campaign against liquor in the early 20th century, she adopted the name Carry A. Nation, saying it meant "Carry A Nation for Prohibition".