Original Source:Ms. Susan M. Pojer Antebellum Revivalism & Reform Standard 2.4: Compare the social and cultural characteristics of the North, South and West during the Antebellum period, including the lives of African Americans and social reform movements such as abolition and women’s rights Original Source:Ms. Susan M. Pojer
Different Regions of the US South North West Affected by culture of Puritans and Quakers Immigrants were attracted to jobs in industries and contributed to diversity By 1840, most slaves were emancipated Promoted interests such as high tariffs and national bank. Large planation provided a privileged class that dominated society. Majority of Southerners were not slave owners but small family farmers. Culture was heavily influenced by slaves and free black. Supported issues such as low tariffs and the expansion of slavery. Developed as settlers moved and brought their culture with them. Promoted strong individualism Supported ideas such as cheap land, internal improvements, and uncontrolled banking.
Antebellum Antebellum refers to the time period before the Civil War.
The Second Great Awakening “Spiritual Reform From Within” [Religious Revivalism] Led to more Social Reforms & Redefining the Ideal of Equality Temperance Education Abolitionism Asylum & Penal Reform Women’s Rights
“The Pursuit of Perfection” In Antebellum America
Second Great Awakening Revival Meeting Revival- emotional meeting designed to awaken religious faith It took the country by storm (was national in scope) and contributed to the development of reform movements that further divided the nation
(European Romanticism) Transcendentalism (European Romanticism) Liberation from understanding and the cultivation of reasoning.” Emphasized living a simple life and celebrating the truth found in nature, personal emotion and imagination
(European Romanticism) Transcendentalism (European Romanticism) Therefore, if man was divine, it would be wicked that he should be held in slavery, or his soul corrupted by superstition, or his mind clouded by ignorance!! Thus, the role of the reformer was to restore man to that divinity which God had endowed them.
Resistance to Civil Disobedience (1849) “The American Scholar” (1837) Transcendentalist Intellectuals/Writers Concord, MA Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau Nature (1832) Resistance to Civil Disobedience (1849) Self-Reliance (1841) Walden (1854) “The American Scholar” (1837) R3-1/3/4/5
The Transcendentalist Agenda Give freedom to the slave. Give well-being to the poor and the miserable. Give learning to the ignorant. Give health to the sick. Give peace and justice to society.
Penitentiary Reform Dorothea Dix (1802-1887) Emphasized the idea of rehabilitation. R1-5/7
Dorothea Dix Asylum - 1849
Temperance Movement “The Drunkard’s Progress” 1826 - American Temperance Society “Demon Rum”! Temperance movement- the effort to prohibit the drinking of alcohol “The Drunkard’s Progress” From the first glass to the grave, 1846 R1-6
Annual Consumption of Alcohol
Religious Training Secular Education Educational Reform Religious Training Secular Education The North has historically focused more on public education . It was est. by the Puritans to enable the faithful to read the Bible. The South did not provide public education for poor whites and outlawed the teaching of slaves. MA always on the forefront of public educational reform * 1st state to establish tax support for local public schools. By 1860 every state offered free public education to whites. * US had one of the highest literacy rates.
The McGuffey Eclectic Readers Used religious parables to teach “American values.” Teach middle class morality and respect for order. Teach “3 Rs” + “Protestant ethic” (frugality, hard work, sobriety) R3-8
“Separate Spheres” Concept “Cult of Domesticity” A woman’s “sphere” was in the home (it was a refuge from the cruel world outside). Her role was to “civilize” her husband and family. Early 19c Women Unable to vote. Legal status of a minor. Single could own her own property. Married no control over her property or her children. Could not initiate divorce. Couldn’t make wills, sign a contract, or bring suit in court without her husband’s permission.
What It Would Be Like If Ladies Had Their Own Way!
Cult of Domesticity = Slavery The 2nd Great Awakening inspired women to improve society. Lucy Stone Angelina Grimké Sarah Grimké American Women’s Suffrage Assoc. edited Woman’s Journal Southern Abolitionists R2-9
R2-6/7 Women’s Rights 1840 split in the abolitionist movement over women’s role in it. Women’s rights movement was very active in the North and was tied to the abolitionist movement. Lucretia Mott Elizabeth Cady Stanton 1848 Seneca Falls Convention in 1848
Seneca Falls Declaration At The Seneca falls convention the women were determined to be advocates for women’s rights after they had been denied the right to participate at an abolitionist convention. Also protested women's limited access to education, lack of property ownership and the inability to obtain a divorce.
Abolitionist Movement First developed among Quakers who believed that everyone, even slaves, had an inner light. Abolition- the call to outlaw slavery Emancipation- freeing of slaves British Colonization Society symbol
Abolitionist Movement No real anti-slavery sentiment in the North in the 1820s & 1830s. Abolitionists published newspapers, organized anti-slavery conventions, wrote books and helped slaves escape. They also led rebellions! These activities forced Southerners to try and defend their way of life. Southerners argued slavery was a ‘positive good’ because slaves were better off than workers in the North. Abolitionists were able to keep slavery at the forefront of national conversation.
Anti-Slavery Alphabet
William Lloyd Garrison (1801-1879) Slavery & Masonry undermined republican values. Immediate emancipation with NO compensation. Slavery was a moral, not an economic issue. R2-4
Published by William Lloyd Garrison The Liberator Published by William Lloyd Garrison Banned in the South shows the fear the South had of anti-slavery publications R2-5
The Tree of Slavery—Loaded with the Sum of All Villanies!
Frederick Douglass “I stole this head, these limbs, this body from my master and ran off with them.” 1847 “The North Star” his own anti-slavery paper R2-12
Nat Turner He was born into slavery in VA in 1800. He was a preacher and decided to lead a slave revolt. He lead 80 followers to attack 4 plantations and kill 60 whites. He was eventually found and hanged. In retaliation, whites killed 200+ blacks.
Sojourner Truth (1787-1883) or Isabella Baumfree 1850 The Narrative of Sojourner Truth R2-10
Harriet Tubman (1820-1913) “Moses” Helped over 300 slaves to freedom. $40,000 bounty on her head. Served as a Union spy during the Civil War. “Moses”
Leading Escaping Slaves Along the Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad “Conductor” ==== leader of the escape “Passengers” ==== escaping slaves “Tracks” ==== routes “Trains” ==== farm wagons transporting the escaping slaves “Depots” ==== safe houses to rest/sleep
Southerner backlash Southerners responded to slave revolts by tightening their control. Passed slave codes-forbidding education and privilege. Examples: neither free nor slave blacks could preach the gospel Free blacks lost their right to vote, own property or work independently Used the Bible to defend slavery Created the myth of the happy slave Were able to convince Congress to pass the gag rule- a rule limiting or preventing debate on an issue
Trends in Antebellum America: 1810-1860 New intellectual and religious movements. Social reforms. Beginnings of the industrial revolution in America. Re-emergence of a second party system and more political democratization. Increase in federal power Marshall court decisions. Increase in American nationalism. Further westward expansion.