Social Reform

Transcendentalism a very formal word that describes a very simple idea. People, men and women equally, have knowledge about themselves and the world around them that "transcends" or goes beyond what they can see, hear, taste, touch or feel.

This knowledge comes through intuition and imagination not through logic or the senses. People can trust themselves to be their own authority on what is right. A transcendentalist is a person who accepts these ideas not as religious beliefs but as a way of understanding life relationships.

Temperance/Prohibition The temperance movement was an effort to encourage moderation in the consumption of intoxicating liquors or press for complete abstinence.

The movement's ranks were mostly filled by women who, with their children, had endured the effects of unbridled drinking by many of their menfolk. In fact, alcohol was blamed for many of society's demerits, among them severe health problems, destitution and crime.

In the United States, a pledge of abstinence had been encouraged by various preachers at the beginning of the 1800s.

Prison/Mental Health Reform After the War of 1812, reformers from Boston and New York began a crusade to remove children from jails into juvenile detention centers. But the larger controversy continued over the purpose of prison — was it for punishment or penitence?

the sick and insane were "confined in this Commonwealth in cages, closets, cellars, stalls, pens! Chained, beaten with rods, lashed into obedience." many inmates were bound in chains and locked in cages. Children accused of minor thefts were jailed with adult criminals.

Most of the thousands of Americans in debtors' prisons owed less than $20. While they were locked up, they could not earn money to repay their debts. As a result, they were imprisoned for years. Most people who were judged "insane" were locked away in dirty, crowded prison cells. If they misbehaved, they were whipped.

Women’s Suffrage In the early 1800s, Women were expected to restrict their sphere of interest to the home and the family. Women were not encouraged to obtain a real education or pursue a professional career. After marriage, women did not have the right to own their own property, keep their own wages, or sign a contract. In addition, all women were denied the right to vote.

The movement to enfranchise women lasted for more than 70 years, and involved three generations and millions of women.

Abolitionist The abolitionist movement refers to a period where many organized efforts worked to achieve an immediate end to slavery. Abolitionists wanted black emancipation and they wanted it to come quickly. They argued that not only should slaves be set free, but that blacks should also have a right to land, to be educated, and to vote.emancipation

Education was the effort to make education available to more children. Few areas had public schools--schools paid for by taxes. Wealthy parents sent their children to private school or hired tutors at home. On the frontier, 60 children might attend a part-time, one-room school.

Most children simply did not go to school Reformers believed that education would help these children escape poverty and become good citizens.