In the 1870s, groups of women began marching from church meetings to nearby saloons. They knelt in prayer on the saloon's floor or on the street to block the entrance. The main reason women did this was

These marches and prayer vigils were part of the 1870s Women's Crusade, a temperance movement. Women prayed outside saloons and urged owners to stop selling alcohol because they believed drinking harmed families and communities. The main purpose was therefore to protest the drinking of alcohol, not gambling or Bible sales.

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