The Irony Of Differing Perspectives - 1749 Words

The Irony of Differing Perspectives Till 1827, the idea of sobriety was practically non-existent in North-America . Taverns were open at all times of day and were a place of encounter for everyone – regardless of class, race and gender. Moreover, they facilitated ‘political negotiations, economic exchanges and interracial sociability . So, where did the idea of reducing alcohol consumption come from amid the booming socio-economic stability that taverns seemed to provide? Except for Peter DeLottinville who recounts the honest events that occurred in Joe Beef’s Canteen, the other authors claim that the temperance movement was used for ulterior motives than it appeared to be on the surface. For instance, in Glenn J. Lockwood’s Temperance in†¦show more content†¦During the period of time that the temperance movement was gaining momentum, the Catholic church hopped on board to speed up the process and gain as many converts as they could using their up until then secret weapon: Chiniquy. However, the hidden intention/objective was to regain the Catholic church’s popularity and confidence after Catholics were becoming outnumbered by the influx of Irish famine immigrants and wanted to become ‘more industrious and progressive’ (cite). Unlike all of the previously mentioned authors, DeLottinville does not imply that Joe Beef tried his best to alleviate problems of housing, job hunting, healthcare and labor unrest with any kind of hidden agenda. Beef genuinely cared for the welfare of the working class of Montreal and took it upon himself to represent/assume the voice of the casual laborers . In this case, the Middle Class was the one benefiting from the temperance movement as they were afraid Beef would succeed and have laborers demands adhered to. In the same way that Beef’s canteen was a place where ‘every grade in the social scale was represented’ (CHANGE), many other taverns were also used for both political and economic interracial exchanges and relationships. In other words, whereas taverns were used as tools to strengthen a sense of belonging and security, and often attempted to prove the worthiness of the lower classes, temperance was