A survey of one of the most persistent social themes of 19th century Canada. Temperance and prohibition movements were responses to the most pervasive social problem of the century. Canada's transformation from a rural to an urban society added to the depth of the problem, forcing government to finally pay more than lip service to the demands of social reformers. The controls exercised by various levels of government today is the legacy of those great passions that compelled action around the turn of the century.