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University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library

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1150 Beal Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2113, USA
bentley.ref@umich.edu

Oscar Gottlieb Christgau Papers, 1908-1971

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Summary

Creator:
Christgau, Oscar Gottlieb.
Abstract:
Temperance leader, assistant to the general superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League of America. Correspondence, scrapbooks, dramatic productions, photographs, and printed material concerning the enforcement and repeal of the 18th Amendment, the political activities of the Anti-Saloon League, particularly during the election of 1928, and the temperance activities of William Jennings Bryan, Morris Sheppard, Billy Sunday, and F. Scott McBride. Correspondents include: Patrick H. Callahan, James Cannon, Arthur Capper, Luren D. Dickinson, F. Scott McBride, Homer Rodeheaver, Howard H. Russell, Morris.
Extent:
12.2 linear feet
2 oversize volumes
1 oversize folder
Language:
English
Call Number:
85988 Aa 2; AC; UAl
Authors:
Finding aid created by Michigan Historical Collections staff

Background

Scope and Content:

The Christgau Collection is comprised of correspondence, scrapbooks, topical files, printed matter, and photographs covering the period of roughly 1906 to 1971. The Correspondence deals largely with the mechanics of Christgau's work: the enlisting and scheduling of temperance speeches and productions, local arrangements for temperance conventions, and personal support for local option and other temperance-related issues. Though there is some overlap, the collection includes a separate series of correspondence and other materials relating specifically to his work as manager of the regional Southeastern Conference convention of the ASL which met each year in St. Petersburg, Florida. This sequence of correspondence covers the years 1928 to 1948.

The collection includes Christgau's autobiography, many of his speeches and notes for speeches, notes which he made on the conventions he managed and the speeches he heard, and copies of the addresses he made over the radio in the late Thirties and throughout the 1940's. Christgau also maintained separate files documenting his work with the national ASL and the ASL of Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota. In a series of topical files, Christgau included information, clippings, and printed materials on individuals associated with the temperance movement and with issues of concern to temperance groups.

The collection also contains files pertaining to the dramatic productions which Christgau presented under ASL auspices. These files have been arranged by the name of the production and include texts of the drama and promotional materials. The remainder of the collection consists of a section of temperance printed items, newspaper clippings, bound scrapbooks and photographs.

Biographical / Historical:

Oscar Gottlieb Christgau was actively involved in the temperance movement in the United States for more than fifty years. He began, in 1915, as a speaker for the Anti-Saloon League of Illinois and was later appointed editor of the Illinois Edition of The American Issue, the Anti-Saloon League newspaper. It was in Illinois that Christgau began working with F. Scott McBride, who was then state ASL Superintendent. Christgau became his assistant and continued to speak, write, and organize upon behalf of the prohibition amendment. When McBride took on the position of national ASL General Superintendent in 1924, Christgau followed him as Assistant National Superintendent. For the next two decades, throughout the Twenties and Thirties, he worked tirelessly for the League and its policies. In the Twenties, he continually urged fall enforcement of the 18th Amendment; and then, in the Thirties, after the amendment had been repealed, he urged the passage of prohibition laws within local communities.

As assistant to McBride, Christgau had many responsibilities. He was manager of the national and regional conventions of the ASL. He supervised all of the necessary local arrangements, arranged for speakers, and coordinated the convention schedules. Christgau was also in charge of the ASL's National Speaker's Bureau. In this capacity, he sought out nationally prominent speakers willing to preach the gospel of temperance to conferences and local churches. Such speakers included Billy Sunday, World War I hero Alvin York, and temperance stalwart Sam Morris.

Christgau was a pioneer in the use of temperance dramas as a vehicle for gaining converts to the cause. Among others, he authored a dramatic debate entitled, "Can the Law Be Enforced?" and a play "Senator North's Deciding Vote." Christgau appeared in many of these productions himself.

In 1942, Christgau was elected State Superintendent of the Iowa ASL. This was to be his last full-time temperance position.

Acquisition Information:
The collection was the gift of Mr. Christgau (donor no. 4853 ) and came to the library in 1970. Additional accessions were received.

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open to research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Donor(s) have transferred any applicable copyright to the Regents of the University of Michigan but the collection may contain third-party materials for which copyright was not transferred. Donor's family retains publication rights to Mr. Christgau's autobiography. Patrons are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[item], folder, box, Oscar Gottlieb Christgau Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

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Collection

Oscar Gottlieb Christgau Papers, 1908-1971
Call Number 85988 Aa 2; AC; UAl
Total components 170
Last indexed 2023-12-09