University of Richmond UR Scholarship Repository Honors Theses Student Research 1980 The ac use of sobriety : David Lloyd George and temperance reform Philip A. Krinsky Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses Recommended Citation Krinsky, Philip A., "The cause of sobriety : David Lloyd George and temperance reform" (1980). Honors Theses. Paper 594. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND LIBRARIES llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll/11111 3 3082 01 028 9899 - The Cause of Sobriety: David Lloyd George and Temperance Reform Philip A. Krinsky Contents I. Introduction: 1890 l II. Attack on Misery: 1890-1905 6 III. Effective Legislation: 1906-1918 16 IV. The Aftermath: 1918 to Present 34 Notes 40 Bibliographical Essay 47 Temperance was a major British issue until after World War I. Excessive drunkenness, not alcoholism per se, was the primary concern of the two parliamentary parties. When Lloyd George entered Parliament the two major parties were the Liberals and the Conservatives. Temperance was neither a problem that Parliament sought to~;;lv~~ nor the single issue of Lloyd George's public career. Rather, temperance remained within a flux of political squabbling between the two parties and even among the respective blocs within each Party. Inevitably, compromises had to be made between the dissenting factions. The major temperance controversy in Parliament was the issue of compensation. Both Parties agreed that the problem of excessive drunkenness was rooted in the excessive number of public houses throughout Britain.