Arguably, indeed. Grand claims like this seem questionable to me, especially since I had never heard of Willard prior to this piece. However, that in and of itself demonstrates the historical erasure of women who were, indeed, important in their day. I'm curious whether any of you recall reading about Willard in your U.S. history textbooks, because I certainly do not, but that may have been because, as the editors point out above, the temperance movement has been largely reduced to a mockable footnote in American history.