The Use and Need of the Life of Carry A. by Carrie Amelia Nation

Carry A. Nation Biography

Publication date: 1904

Type of source: Book

Impact: 4/5 Stars

Why I read this source: Prohibition project

Would I recommend: Yes

 

Favorite part of source?

When she listed all the times she went to jail (page 51).

Least favorite part of source?

When she a was a kid, those stories were useless to my project but still kind of interesting. She told a story about when she was five and the local bachelor doctor said he was waiting for her (page 7). That was gross but gave me a sense of cultural norms.

What information was new to me?

"My grandmother was an invalid for years, and kept her room." (page 8) 

The new information was the word invalid.

Oxford Languages defines invalid as: a person made weak or disabled by illness or injury.

What I remember from it?

Carrie A. Nation was a badass. 

Main idea of the source?

Because this is a biography, it doesn't have a straight-forward main idea. However, if I were to guess the main idea of Carrie A. Nation's life it would have something to do with the line in the book "no drunkard can inherit eternal life" (page 9). In my own words; The main idea of Carrie A. Nation's biography is that drinking alcohol is a sin, therefore alcoholism will prevent you from going to heaven. 

 

Who would the author have voted for in 2016 Presidential Election?

I believe if she were alive and voted in 2016 she would have voted for Hilary Clinton. Throughout the book, Nation is supportive of woman's suffrage. This tells me she would likely be excited by the idea of women president. She is also sympathetic to the pain of enslaved people when she talks about growing up before the Civil War. This tells be that if she were living in the 21st century she would be at least somewhat anti-racist. However, she might be prejudice against immigrants  because of the anti-immigrant sentiment held by many prohibitionists of the time period. I would say it's a toss up between the candidates but because she was so supportive of women working in politics, specifically mothers, I believe she would vote for Clinton.