Reform and Movements

1. Reform and Movements Chapter 9

2. Main Idea • Revivalists and transcendentalists urged Americans to improve themselves and society • Reformers set out to battle social problems like alcoholism, poor education, and inhumane prisons

3. Revivalists • These movements were sparked by the Second Great Awakening • Charles Grandison Finney- Central figure in the revivalist movement. • His sermons emphasized individuals’ power to reform themselves

4. Revivalists • Lyman Beecher- Very popular preacher in Boston • He taught in simple terms, and believed that good people would make a good country. • What was the main message of the revivalist reformers?

5. Answer • They believed that people could reform themselves and in turn become good people which would lead to a good and prosperous country.

6. Transcendentalism • Rejected traditional religion • Transcendentalism: • Taught that the process of spiritual discovery and insight would lead a person to truths more profound than he or she could reach through reason • Declared that humans were naturally good • Urged people to be self-reliant and lead moral lives • Moral life involved helping reform society

7. Transcendentalists • Ralph Waldo Emerson: The leader of the Transcendental movement • Became one of America’s greatest thinkers • Supported various causes and urged others to do the same • “What is man born for, but to be a Reformer, a Reformer of what man is made; a renouncer of lies; a restorer of truth and good…?”

8. Transcendentalists • Henry David Thoreau: Renowned figure among New England Transcendentalists • Neighbor with Emerson • Wrote Walden, or Life in the Woods, his best known piece of literature • Jailed for 2 years for not paying taxes in protest to the war with Mexico • Devoted much of his time to the antislavery movement

9. Temperance Movement • An organized campaign to eliminate alcohol consumption • Reformers opposed alcohol consumption because it made people lose control • Reform Effort: American Temperance Society; 7,000 local members and 1,250,000 members

10. Temperance Movement • Members urged abstinence • Also established alcohol free hotels and passenger boats • A 33 year old lawyer [Abraham Lincoln] equated the temperance revolution to the American Revolution.

11. Impact of Temp. Movement • 1851 Maine became the first state to ban the manufacture and sale of all alcoholic beverages • Protests of brewers, distillers, and citizens would later lead to the repeal of these laws • Between the 1830’s and 1860’s alcohol consumption in the U.S. dropped dramatically

12. Reforms • Public Education: • Support for public education had declined heavily • Horace Mann Leads Reform • Wanted taxes to support public schools • He established schools which were divided by grade level, consistent curriculum, and training for teachers • Also was a fierce opponent of slavery

13. Reforms • Moral Education: the promoting of self-discipline and good citizenship. • Schools taught students how to behave, stand in line and wait their turn, deal with each other politely, and respect authority

14. Limits of Reform • Not all parts of the country moved at the same pace • Girls were discouraged from attending school • More schools in urban than in rural areas • More schools in the North than the South • Students were segregated if African Americans were enrolled

15. Reforming Prisons • Prisons were created in hope to have the prisoners would use that time to reflect and lead disciplined lives • Reality: men and women, young and old, sane and insane, first-time offenders and hardened criminals, all crowded together in horrible conditions • Inmates were dressed in rages, poorly fed, and chained together in unheated cells

16. Reforming Prisons • Dorothea Dix: Spent 2 years visiting every prison in Massachusetts • Submitted a very detailed report to the Massachusetts legislature • Her testimony led to the state improving prison conditions and creating separate institutions for the mentally ill • Her efforts led 15 other states to build hospitals for the mentally ill

17. Utopian Communities • Small societies dedicated to perfection in social and political conditions • A place were human greed, sin, and egotism did not exist, and people lived in prosperity • Short lived • Many Utopia fell because of laziness, selfishness, and fighting

18. Antislavery Movement • The abolitionist movement grew as cotton production became more profitable and slavery spread • The movement attracted a variety of activists, including Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth, along with William Lloyd Garrison

19. Antislavery Movement • Underground Railroad: a series of safe houses where escaping slaves could rest safely as they made their way north and into Canada • Harriet Tubman made 19 trips to help other runaways, and is the most famous leader of the Underground Railroad

20. Antislavery Movement • More support in the North than South, not ALL northerners supported it! • Some northern merchants feared that this movement would further strain relations between the North and South and harm trade • White workers feared competition from escaped or freed slaves willing to work for lower wages