| − | Before the [[Civil War]], the Christian lobby called for the [[abolitionist|abolition]] of [[slavery]]. It was politically weak and the target of ridicule before the Civil War, when it suddenly became powerful and won its case. Many continued to lobby on behalf of the Freedmen during [[Reconstruction]]. After 1870 Protestant lobbyists formed working partnerships with Southern [[Democrat]]s (who had a base of Protestant support), along with many [[Republican]]s who represented pietistic<ref>"Pietism, German Pietismus, influential religious reform movement that began among [[German]] Lutherans in the 17th century. It emphasized personal [[faith]] against the main Lutheran church’s perceived stress on doctrine and theology over Christian living. Pietism quickly spread and later became concerned with social and educational matters. As a phenomenon of personal religious renewal, its indirect influence has persisted in Germany and other parts of Europe into the 21st century." [[Fair use]] Pietism, [[Encyclopedia Britannica]], [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/459967/Pietism</ref> [[Protestant]] districts in the North. The [[lobbyist]]s (and the groups they represented), pushed through [[Congress]] effective federal policies against polygamy, laws banning obscenity and prizefight films from [[interstate commerce]] and the mails, and (especially in the states) laws to restrict prostitution, sex with underage girls, and easy divorce. They tried not only to put [[Separation of church and state|God]] in the Constitution but also, through persuasion and [[legislation]], to control drinking, obesity, divorce, Sabbath observance, gambling, [[smoking]], prize fighting, prostitution, and sex with underage girls. Most significantly, they fought for [[prohibition]]—and under professional leadership of the Anti-Saloon League, finally won. Famous leaders included Frances Willard of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Wayne Wheeler of the [[Anti-Saloon League]], and anti-pornography campaigner Anthony Comstock, whose laws against obscenity remain the law of the land. Proposed [[constitutional amendment]]s regulating divorce and declaring the United States a Christian nation never reached the floor of Congress. Neither did the proposal for federal censorship of movies.<ref>Foster (2002)</ref> | + | Before the [[Civil War]], the Christian lobby called for the [[abolitionist|abolition]] of [[slavery]]. It was politically weak and the target of ridicule before the Civil War, when it suddenly became powerful and won its case. Many continued to lobby on behalf of the Freedmen during [[Reconstruction]]. After 1870 Protestant lobbyists formed working partnerships with Southern [[Democrat]]s (who had a base of Protestant support), along with many [[Republican]]s who represented pietistic<ref>"Pietism, German Pietismus, influential religious reform movement that began among [[German]] Lutherans in the 17th century. It emphasized personal [[faith]] against the main Lutheran church’s perceived stress on doctrine and theology over Christian living. Pietism quickly spread and later became concerned with social and educational matters. As a phenomenon of personal religious renewal, its indirect influence has persisted in Germany and other parts of Europe into the 21st century." [[Fair use]] Pietism, [[Encyclopedia Britannica]], [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/459967/Pietism</ref> [[Protestant]] districts in the North. The [[lobbyist]]s (and the groups they represented), pushed through [[Congress]] effective federal policies against polygamy, laws banning obscenity and prizefight films from [[interstate commerce]] and the mails, and (especially in the states) laws to restrict prostitution, sex with underage girls, and easy divorce. They tried not only to put [[Separation of church and state|God]] in the Constitution but also, through persuasion and [[legislation]], to control drinking, obesity, divorce, Sabbath observance, gambling, [[smoking]], prize fighting, prostitution, and sex with underage girls. Most significantly, they fought for [[prohibition]]—and under professional leadership of the Anti-Saloon League, finally won. Famous leaders included Frances Willard of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Wayne Wheeler of the [[Anti-Saloon League]], and anti-pornography campaigner Anthony Comstock, whose laws against obscenity remain the law of the land. Proposed [[constitutional amendment]]s regulating divorce and declaring the United States a Christian nation never reached the floor of Congress. Neither did the proposal for federal censorship of movies.<ref>Foster (2002)</ref> |