<P> In 1743, John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Churches, proclaimed "that buying, selling, and drinking of liquor, unless absolutely necessary, were evils to be avoided". </P> <P> In 1810, Calvinist ministers met with a seminary in Massachusetts to write articles about abstinence from alcohol to use in preaching to their congregations . The Massachusetts Society for the Suppression of Intemperance (MSSI) was formed in 1813 . The organization only accepted men of high social standing and encouraged moderation in alcohol consumption . Its peak of influence was in 1818, but the MSSI ended in 1820 and made no significant mark on the future of the temperance movement . Other small temperance societies appear in the 1810s, but had little impact outside their immediate regions and they disbanded soon after . Their methods had little effect in implementing temperance and drinking actually increased until after 1830; however, their methods of public pledges and meetings as well as handing out pamphlets were implemented by more lasting temperance societies such as the American Temperance Society . </P> <P> The temperance movement began at a national level in the 1820s, having been popularized by evangelical temperance reformers and among the middle classes . There was a concentration on advice against hard spirits rather than on abstinence from all alcohol and on moral reform rather than legal measures against alcohol . An early temperance movement began during the American Revolution in Connecticut, Virginia and New York state, with farmers forming associations to ban whiskey distilling . The movement spread to eight states, advocating temperance rather than abstinence and taking positions on religious issues such as observance of the Sabbath . </P> <P> After the American Revolution there was a new emphasis on good citizenship for the new republic . With the Evangelical Protestant religious revival of the 1820s and' 30s, called the Second Great Awakening, social movements began aiming for a perfect society . This included abolitionism and temperance . The Awakening brought with it an optimism about moral reform, achieved through volunteer organizations . Although the temperance movement was nonsectarian in principle, the movement consisted mostly of church - goers . </P>

When did the temperance movement begin in the united states
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