1844 Thayer View of Boston Common and a Washingtonian Convention

This c. 1844 Benjamin Thayer view of Boston Common depicts the May 28, 1844 Washingtonian Movement Rally, the largest Temperance Rally held in the United States up to that time. 30,000 people from various temperance organizations gathered on Boston Common to hear from Governor George N. Briggs, John B. Gough, and William K. Mitchell.

A Closer Look

With the State Capitol, Park Street, and Park Street Church in the background, thousands of Washingtonians are illustrated assembled on Boston Common. Soldiers in dress uniforms and dignitaries in a carriage pulled by while horses occupy the foreground, and many Washingtonians appear holding banners.

The Washingtonian Movement

The Washingtonian Movement was a 19th century American temperance society. Six alcoholics founded the society at Chase's Tavern in Baltimore, Maryland, on Thursday, April 2, 1840. The six men, with the goal of complete abstinence from alcohol, started from the idea that by relying on one another, creating an atmosphere of conviviality, and sharing their alcoholic experiences, they would be able to support each other and keep sober. By speaking about their experiences and how the Society had helped them remain sober, the Society continued to gain new members. While the Washingtonians advocated for temperance, their focus was on the individual, as opposed to many other 19th century temperance organizations that dwelt on society's wider relationship to liquor. At its peak, tens of thousands of individuals were members, with some estimates of memberships numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Unfortunately, the Society disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Attention drifted from the group's main focus, sobriety, with members moving to support divisive subjects including prohibition, sectarian religious movements, and abolition. In 1935, when Alcoholics Anonymous was founded, in many respects the Washingtonians spiritual successors, AA's founders were completely unaware the existence of the Washingtonians.

Publication History and Census

This view was lithographed by Benjamin Thayer and published by Frederick Gleason c. 1844. We note two cataloged examples: Boston Athenaeum and the American Antiquarian Society.