Woman's Christian Temperance Union

After the death of her son, Carse became a determined and outspoken leader of the temperance movement in Chicago and nationwide in the United States. She joined the WCTU in 1874, becoming the president of the CCWCTU in 1878.^[3] The Chicago branch became one of the most successful branches of the WCTU, thanks to Carse's involvement and leadership; she was president for nearly forty years (1878–1917).^[1][8]

Though Carse is often remembered for her savvy as a businesswoman for the WCTU, she also sponsored various reform activities as the president of the CCWCTU. Carse's reform activities encouraged temperance but also more generally improved conditions for the working class in Chicago. She established the first nursery for children in Chicago, known as the Bethesda Day Nursery. That was followed in a year or two by the establishment, through her efforts, of a second, known as the Talcott Day Nursery.^[7] Besides this, several other nurseries, two free kindergartens, two gospel temperance unions, the Anchorage Mission, a home for runaway girls, a reading room for men, two dispensaries for the poor and two industrial schools were established through Carse's management. These charities were supported at a cost of over US$10,000.^[7][9] Carse personally raised almost the entire amount and never received any compensation whatever for her services to the public.^[3] The Rehobeth refuge and recovery shelter, as well as the Bethesda Mission, which was specifically aimed at teaching neighborhood women practical household skills also held temperance support meetings. Carse's social reforms positively influenced the slums of Chicago particularly by providing services and opportunities for members of the poverty-stricken working class.

Woman's Temperance Publishing Association

Matilda Carse's first major business venture was the Woman's Temperance Publishing Association (WTPA) in 1880. It was an independent stock company composed entirely of women, excepting George Hall, its original business manager—an organization that represented Carse's commitment to temperance, business and the woman's movement. The WTPA published WTCU books and pamphlets to support temperance movement reform movements. The legend goes that on November 1, 1879, at the WCTU convention in Indianapolis, Carse held a secret meeting with seven Illinois women. The subject of the conclave was the desire for a weekly newspaper to address the views, opinions, and activities of American women. That night, the women sought divine counsel, each individually imploring God for an answer. The next morning the Women's Temperance Publishing Association (WTPA) was created.^[10] Carse's business acumen made the WTPA a success, and she would serve as the head of its board of directors for the next 18 years.^[11] At its height in 1890, it employed over one hundred employees, mostly women, and published the largest women's paper in the world, the Union Signal. Carse wrote articles for the Union Signal, a WCTU weekly organ, detailing the mission and work behind her greatest project, the Temperance Temple.

Carse directly oversaw the creation and distribution of The Signal, a low-cost newspaper that featured editorials and articles focused on women and family issues of the day (McKeever, 368). She also proposed merging The Signal with Our Union, the official monthly newsletter of the WCTU.^[7] This move was initially met with much skepticism and outright negativity by the majority of WCTU members. The WCTU President, Frances Willard, however, was highly supportive of Carse's plan, and by 1882 the Union Signal, a weekly newsletter published by the WTPA, was created.

Temperance Temple

Matilda B. Carse

In 1885, she began planning for the Woman's Temperance Temple in the center of Chicago's financial district, the national headquarters of the WCTU.^[7][9]

Known as the Temperance Temple, it was designed as a meeting place for the CCWCTU, after their agreement with the local YMCA was cancelled. Carse's vision for the building went far beyond a union meeting-place, however: as plans developed, the Temple became a headquarters for the WCTU as well as an office building, whose rents would provide income for the WCTU's operations. In this way, the building would not only be a symbol for the temperance movement, but also a fundraiser for the WCTU that would increase its "power and autonomy". However, it was, from the onset, Carse's personal project: it was not financed or managed by the WCTU, but by Carse herself. She incorporated and acted as the (self-appointed) trustee for the Women's Temperance of Building Association (WTBA), which oversaw donations and sold stocks to finance the Temple. She sold US$600,000 in stock to Chicago businessmen and capitalists, and US$300,000 in bonds to her fellow WCTU members. Using these funds, and under the direction of Carse, the Temple was completed in 1893. it was designed by the noted architectural firm of Burnham and Root.^[12]

A large part of the controversy surrounding the Temperance Temple was created by Carse's own personality and her position as a woman in a male-dominated sphere. In order to succeed in the business world, Carse had to be outspoken, stubborn and aggressive, traits that were considered masculine and hard to reconcile with the traditional image of a Christian woman. By participating in a masculine activity like business, Carse left herself vulnerable to attack from both outside the WCTU as well as from within its ranks. Carse's insistence on bringing the WCTU into the commercial/business sphere led some in the organization to worry that worldly considerations such as money and leases were undermining their mission. Ironically, Carse's competence in securing the land and overseeing the construction of the building cast doubt on her ability to lead the project, as WCTU members increasingly viewed her activities as speculative and incompatible with a Christian women's organization. Doubts about the project and about Carse herself as the woman in charge made funding difficult, and, despite initial success, the building soon became a losing investment for the WCTU and Carse.

The troubled project came to an end largely due to an adverse business climate following the Panic of 1893. Though much of the controversy about the Temple had centered on Carse as a woman, her fate was not unique among businessmen who took on similar ventures at that particular time. The problem was not Carse's management skills; rather, it was a depression that ruined many of her lessees, and a building cycle that created a surplus of office spaces in the city. Unable to pay off the mortgage, the WTCU officially disaffiliated itself from the building, which became the property of the Field-Columbian Museum. It was finally demolished in 1926. The failed venture had put enormous strain on the WCTU, not only because of the financial loss but because of disputes over the mission of the union. Carse resigned from her presidency of the WTPA, attempting to restore unity to the WCTU through mediation and compromise.

Attribution

• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Chapin, Clara Christiana Morgan (1895). Thumb Nail Sketches of White Ribbon Women (Public domain ed.). Woman's temperance publishing association. p. 68.
• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Colby, Frank Moore; Churchill, Allen Leon (1918). The New International Year Book (Public domain ed.). Dodd, Mead and Company.
• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Farmer, Lydia Hoyt (1893). The National Exposition Souvenir: What America Owes to Women (Public domain ed.). C. W. Moulton. p. 427.
• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Logan, Mrs. John A. (1912). The Part Taken by Women in American History (Public domain ed.). Perry-Nalle publishing Company. p. 673.
• This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Willard, Frances Elizabeth; Livermore, Mary Ashton Rice (1893). A Woman of the Century: Fourteen Hundred-seventy Biographical Sketches Accompanied by Portraits of Leading American Women in All Walks of Life (Public domain ed.). Moulton. p. 811.

Bibliography

• Barkan, Elliott Robert (2001). Making it in America: A Sourcebook on Eminent Ethnic Americans. ABC-CLIO. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-57607-098-7.
• Bordin, Ruth (February 2000). "Carse, Matilda Bradley". American National Biography Online.
• James, Edward T.; Radcliffe College (1971). Notable American Women, 1607-1950: A Biographical Dictionary. Harvard University Press. p. 292. ISBN 978-0-674-62734-5.
• Lender, Mark Edward, ed. (1984). "Matilda Carse". Dictionary of American Temperance Biography: From Temperance Reform to Alcohol Research, the 1600s to the 1980s. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. pp. 82–83.
• Litoff, Judy Barrett; McDonnell, Judith (1994). European Immigrant Women in the United States: A Biographical Dictionary. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-8240-5306-2.
• Pierce, Bessie Louise; Norris, Joe Lester (May 29, 2004). As Others See Chicago: Impressions of Visitors, 1673-1933. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-66821-5.