Katharine Brushnell, WWCTU (World Woman’s Christian Temperance Union), and the root of “America’s moral empire”
“Time was when so-called Christian civilization seemed able to send its vices abroad and keep its virtues at home…That day has passed forever. With the invention of the steam as a locomotive power of great velocity, with the introduction of the cable, and later, the wireless telegraphy; with the mastery of tehse natural forces and their introduction in every part of the world, we see the old world being drawn nearer and nearer to us by ten thousand cords of commercial interests, until shortly, probably within the life time of you and me, the once worn out and almost stranded wreck will be found quickened with new life and moored alongside us. The Orient is already feeling the thrill of renewed life. It is responding to the touch of the youth and vigor of the West and becoming rejuvenated; it is drawing closer and closer in its eagerness for the warmth of new interests.”
Key positions
- Head of the Western WCTU Social Purity Department
-National Evangelist of the Social Purity Department
-Founder of Mission in Chicago
I want to focus on Katharine’s place in the Progressive era as a missionary, and anti-vice activist. During her time the Page Act, Mann Act, and Chinese Exclusion Act were passed. She was a key figure fighting to create a global order against vice, eliminating and criminalizing alcohol, drugs, and sex work. In doing so justifying global capitalism, and Christian control over the world through missions, laws, and police. In this I hope to show the role white women played and continue to play in white Christian imperialism.
During her time the idea of “white slaves” was very popular, and it was used to justify banning Chinese immigrants because the idea was that they were causing prostitution, drugs, and stealing white women to sell them into sexual slavery. She became famous in 1888 for railing against the “white slave trade” in Wisconsin, despite local police insisting that it didn’t exist. She “investigated” herself by going into immigrant brothels, and to China and India and writing horror stories about prostitution and drugs which British and American governments supported and paid for. Below I put excepts from her book:
Official representatives of a Christian nation have gone to Hong Kong and to Singapore, and there, because of their social vices, elaborated a system, first of all of brothel slavery; and domestic slavery has sheltered itself under its wing, as it were; and lastly, at Singapore coolie labor is managed by the same set of officials. What these officials have done has been accepted by the Oriental people about them as done by the Christian civilization. It cannot be said that the evils mentioned above have been the outgrowth of Oriental conditions and customs, principally. It has been rather the misfortune of the Orient that there were brought to their borders by Western civilization elements calculated to induce their criminal classes to ally themselves with these aggressive and stronger "Christians" to destroy safeguards which had been heretofore sufficient, for the most part, to conserve Chinese social morality.
If free, independent women of God were as scarce in America as in Hong Kong the same moral conditions would prevail here, without regard to climate, for, if women could be bought and sold and reduced by force to prostitution, there are libertines enough, and they have propensities strong enough to enter at once upon the business, even in America. That which has elevated women above this slave condition is the development of a self-respect and dignity born of the Christian faith. But let us take warning. If the women of America have not the decent self-respect to refuse to tolerate the Oriental slave-prostitute in this country, the balance will be lost, libertines will have their own way through the introduction into our social fabric of their slaves, and Christian womanhood will fall before it. "Ye have not proclaimed liberty every one to his fellow, therefore I proclaim liberty to you, saith the Lord, to the sword, and the famine, and the pestilence."
It was our purpose when we undertook the task of writing a sketch which would enable Americans to understand the social conditions that are being introduced into our midst from the Orient
One of the divisions of The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is was a part of is still active to this day. Back in the day it was an international temperance organization mostly known for supporting and helping to pass the 18th amendment. The reason they opposed vice like alcohol, and sex work is because they believed they were the cause of all the problems in society. They believed men drinking alcohol was the reason for domestic violence, inequality, child abuse, infidelity, and death. They apply the same logic to any other vice. The purpose of the organization was to create a “ ‘sober and pure world’ by abstinence, purity, and evangelical Christianity”. Even though this movement became more inclusive, and today many people believe the talking points of these prudish puritan pioneers, back in the day it was reserved for evangelical Protestants who had the goals of evangelizing the entire world. To this day, Protestants are still the main ones creating the templates on public morals, policing, and “trafficking” for governments, police, corporations, and the media to copy. As you have seen, it’s pretty much impossible to separate this from foreign policy and immigration. Another thing that WCTU would do it to try create “Americanization” activities for new immigrants including at Ellis Island. One of the ideas they promoted to the government and police was that similar to Native Americans, Irish and German immigrants were likely to be alcoholics and they advocated that society target them as the source of the problem. They would demand assimilation believe that foreign Europe would corrupt society, and demanded they learn English. Today, this view is going strong with various organizations fighting to pass laws to discriminate against those who don’t speak English. Various states have passes English laws barring public officials from providing translations services, and allowing for discrimination for those who can’t speak English and those with disabilities. Another popular thing they did was they would gather outside of saloons where they condescendingly pray, bully, talk down to, and stalk customers. They still do this. They pretend to be martyred victims, or heros, give out pamphlets, and cheap lip-gloss, and other bullshit items, and preach to you about how valued and loved you are by the lord Jesus Christ. (They’ve done it to me). Most of the “sex trafficking” organizations that people give money to are missionary groups, so you’re paying for them to have pamphlets, goodie bags of cheap bullshit that we don’t actually need, and paying for them to vacation in other countries where they harass locals at strip clubs, brothels, and preach to other governments on how they need to abolish sex work.
Treasures Ministries is one of many example of profitable “sex trafficking” organizations that are actually just ministry groups. Harmony Grillo (the founder) advertises herself to media outlets and online as a “sex trafficking” survivor, she’s actually someone who was in an abusive relationship, had a hard childhood, and consensually joined a strip club at 19 years old. But she calls herself a “slave”, and a “sex trafficking survivor”. Her organization provides religious services and karaoke (yes really) that only reaches about 20 women (the organization makes several 6 figures yearly). If you donate to her you’re paying for her to send goodie bags to strip clubs and STD testing sites for pornstars. One of her success stories is going to Ecuador and harassing a local strip club owner until “he saw the light” and shut down his business. The organization like most “sex trafficking” organization is a global one, reaching 5 continents. This is one way that imperialism continues and makes the world a worse place, we are not addressing the problems of our society. Instead we are criminalizing and shaming the most marginalized in our society and doing nothing to actually address their needs.
The WCTU worked with the social purity movement, which is still very much alive today. To be clear, even through they say “social”, they mean “sexual”. The movement opposed any federal recognition of sex work mainly prostitution as a labor issue, they wanted it to be outright criminalized. One of the things they did was segregate prisons by sex, they also wanted to eliminate abortion, were against contraceptives, and wanted to ban porn. I would say that in all areas that they have created suffering, and greater problems in our society. People in prison aren’t even able to have sex freely, denying access to abortion and contraceptives leads to an increase in more deaths and pregnancies. Disdain for porn has led to porn being free online because people don’t think it’s worth paying for, and have no shame in piracy. Various piracy sites like youporn, xnxx, pornhub have made massive monopolies off of stolen porn.
WCTU has lost much of their influence but they are still fighting against alcohol, abortion rights, and drugs. Other organizations have risen up to take the place against the global crusade against drugs, gambling, sex work, and other vice. Major philanthropists are championing positive eugenics to third world countries insisting that they have an “overpopulation” problem they alone can fix.
It’s strange isn’t it, that we aren’t allowed to cross the border to flee their violence and control, but they always cross our borders to shame us, change our laws, and governments?