4.11: An Age of Reform
4.11: Explain how and why various reform movements developed and expanded from 1800 to 1848.
In the last set of notes, we went over American culture throughout the years 1800-1848 and now, we’re going to be moving on to reformation movements during this period.
So we’re going to be going over five topics: temperance, prisons, schools, abolitionism and women’s rights. But before we do, why did reform movements pop up during this period? Well, essentially, both the Market Revolution and the expansion of democracy along with Romanticism in American culture convinced many Americans that change and success was the result of their own personal effort and hard work, meaning in order to see social reform, people needed to step up and give a voice to these reforms themselves.
Temperance
Temperance is the movement to promote abstaining from alcohol. In the first half of the 19th century, the average American drank five to seven gallons of alcohol per year. However, during the Second Great Awakening, the American Temperance Society was established in 1826 to try to stop the working class from consuming alcohol because they were the heaviest drinkers. Due to the influence of the Second Great Awakening, the American Temperance Society was able to establish over 5,000 chapters nationwide. They eventually convinced factory owners and politicians to implement measures to discourage drinking, believing that stopping drinking would increase productivity and reduce crime rates. By the 1850s, alcohol consumption had been cut in half.
Women and the Seneca Falls Convention
Although many women were part of the American Anti-Slavery Society, they were frustrated that they couldn’t advocate or vote for abolitionism due to being women. The ideals of the Republican Motherhood and Cult of Domesticity expected women to stay at home and let men advocate on their behalf. However, in 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention was held, led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. Here, many women began to advocate for their own rights and a document known as the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions was created. This document was modeled after the Declaration of Independence and described what needed to be done to achieve gender equality. Some colleges, such as Mount Holyoke College, also allowed women to be admitted for the first time, giving women access to higher education.
Prisons and Schools
During this period, people with mental illnesses were kept in the same facilities as prisoners and criminals. As a result, Dorothea Dix led a movement to create mental health facilities and mental hospitals across the country. In Pennsylvania, starting in 1790, penitentiaries were created. These were places where people would be locked up to provide labor in public works projects instead of being sentenced to death.
For schools, Horace Mann successfully advocated for mandatory school attendance, a longer school year, and universal free education paid for by tax dollars. Many Americans supported this because they believed school would decrease the amount of illiterate people and help assimilate immigrant children.
Abolitionism
Abolition is the movement to end slavery. During the Second Great Awakening, many Christians began to view slavery as immoral and sinful. However, there were many different opinions on how to approach this issue. Some advocated for a gradual end to slavery. Others wanted immediate abolition or advocated for violent resistance.
William Lloyd Garrison was an abolitionist who founded the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833 and published a newspaper called the Liberator. In protest, he burned a copy of the Constitution, viewing it as pro-slavery.
Another notable abolitionist was Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave who taught himself to read and write and wrote a book called Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. This book detailed the dehumanizing nature of slavery. He also went on speaking tours throughout the nation to share his experiences with slavery.
The Grimke sisters were white abolitionists who supported the cause despite coming from a wealthy Southern family.
