A Push for Reform The Main Idea The Reform Era led to some improvements in American society as well as the beginning of the women’s movement and the abolition movement. Reading Focus How did religion spark reform in the early nineteenth century? How did early immigration lead to urban reform? What was the role of women in the Reform Era? What was the abolition movement?

Religion Sparks Reform Western New York became known as the Burned-Over District as the flames of religion took over the minds of the people. New movements included Across the country, especially in the North, Americans experienced the Second Great Awakening, as people took up religion in huge numbers. Preachers of the Second Great Awakening were Protestant, and they did not preach adherence to church rules or obedience to a minister, but rather that hard work and dedication could bring heaven on earth. The Second Great Awakening’s moral focus sparked the Reform Era, a time when Americans tried to reshape their society. Mormon, started by Joseph Smith Seventh-day Adventist, started by William Miller Shaker farms, utopian communities, Spiritualism

The Temperance Movement The Reform Era The Reform Era lasted from about 1830 to 1860. The men and women who participated in the many reform movements were called reformers. Key reforms of this period included The Temperance Movement Tried to lessen or eliminate the use of alcohol Education Reform Worked to improve the sub-par education system Prison Reform Dorothea Dix Worked for better conditions and new institutions for mentally ill One of the most remarkable movements of this era was the transcendentalism movement of New England. Believed knowledge is not found only through observation of the world but by reason, intuition, and personal spiritual experience Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were members.

Early Immigration During the 1800s, many people immigrated to America to escape poor conditions in their countries. Irish and Germans were two of the first groups to come to the U.S. in large numbers. By 1860 the U.S. was home to about 3 million Irish and German immigrants. Many immigrants, especially the Irish, were poor and struggling. Anti-immigrant sentiment was promoted by several groups, including the Know-Nothings, who were called that because when asked about their activities, members said “I know nothing.” They formed a political party called the American Party, which had more than 1 million members by the 1850s. Hostility was mostly directed toward the Irish, who were mainly poor and Catholic, whereas Germans generally had more money and were Protestant.

Reform in Cities and Industries Urban Reform Growing cities had many immigrants living in tenements, or poorly made, crowded apartment buildings that were filthy and dark. In an early reform effort, local boards of health set sanitation rules in some cities, though conditions remained bad for many years. Industrial Reform From 1820 to 1860 the number of American manufacturing workers soared from 5 percent to more than 30 percent, which had far–reaching social results. Workers were given long hours, unsafe conditions, and low wages. Workers began to organize into groups, demanding better working conditions, and starting the American labor movement. The Ten-Hour Movement caused President Jackson to declare 10-hour work days for some federal workers. President Martin Van Buren later extended the rule to others in 1840.

Women’s Right Movement Women in the Reform Era Women Reformers Though women could not vote, serve on juries, or run for office, they played a large role in reform movements such as prison reform, education reform, and the temperance movement. All reform movements were rooted in the moral changes of the Second Awakening, and this opened doors for women. Many women did good works Started Bible groups Started missionary societies that later became reform societies Focused on issues from education to urban reform Women’s Right Movement The Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 was the first women’s rights convention in America. Two generations of women had already worked for greater rights, but women still couldn’t vote or hold public office. Dedicated abolitionists Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the convention. The Seneca Falls Declaration, held: “men and women were created equal.” The declaration was widely ridiculed, as were the women and few men who supported it.

Life as an Enslaved Person Enslaved African Americans were denied their most basic right — freedom. They had no choice but to work whenever the slaveholder demanded it. Most enslaved people lived on farms or plantations in the South, doing farm work, hard labor, or servant duties in the household. In cities, enslaved people worked in mills, offices, and homes; they also worked in the mines and in forests as lumberjacks. Enslaved people mostly lived in intolerable conditions Poor food and shelter Non-existent medical care Possibility of separation from family Despite this, many found comfort in community, culture, and religion.

Anti-Slavery Efforts in the South Some African Americans in the South were freemen, or African Americans who had been emancipated. These men and women faced legal and social discrimination, yet still played a large role in anti-slavery activities. Many freemen helped enslaved people escape, and many bravely spoke out for freedom for all African Americans. In 1831 the deadliest slave uprising in American history took place. Nat Turner and his accomplices killed dozens of whites before the uprising was put down by a local militia. Other enslaved African Americans chose to attempt escape, trying to reach the free states of the North, Canada, or Mexico. Over the years, a constantly changing network of escape routes developed called the Underground Railroad. Sympathetic whites and freemen provided help to escaping slaves. Harriet Tubman, who escaped slavery herself, helped many on their journey to freedom.

The Abolition Movement in the North The number of enslaved people trying to escape increased in the 1830s, possibly encouraged by an anti-slavery movement in the Northern states. The Second Great Awakening’s focus on morality caused many Northerners to see slavery as wrong and ungodly. Many joined reform societies to stop slavery 1833: William Lloyd Garrison founded the American Anti-Slavery Society. It was the first group to call for an immediate end to U.S. slavery. In five years, had over 1,500 chapters in the North. Many abolitionists were women. Sarah and Angela Grimké, daughters of a Southern slaveholder, were abolitionists. They moved to the North to support abolition and women’s rights. Frederick Douglass, who escaped slavery, was a leading abolitionist. He published an 1845 biography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

Opposition to Abolition Though the majority of white southerners did not own enslaved people, the minority who did found abolition outrageous, as if it were an attack on their livelihood and, to some, their religion. Slaveholders argued that slavery was essential to cotton production, which was a powerful argument even in the North, because cotton accounted for 55% of American exports. In fact, most Northerners supported slavery as well, since freedom for slaves meant more competition for jobs. Still, the pressure to abolish slavery in the U.S. was undeniable.