The earliest temperance societies in Canada were probably those which appeared at West River, Nova Scotia, at Montreal, Lower Canada, and at Bastard Township, Upper Canada, in 1827. Others appeared at about the same time in Britain and the United States. Perhaps the most important reason for them was economic, the desire for self-advancement. A high proportion of men of the time were, like Mr. Baker in the illustration, self-employed as farmers or small businessmen. They expected to get ahead entirely on their own and that required self-discipline and self-improvement. There could be little future for the man who wasted his time, money, and energy on drink.
