A New Spirit of Change Reforms in American Society

Immigrants & Emigrants An Emigrant is when people leave a country. An Immigrant is when people settle in a new country. Most of these immigrants made their passage in steerage the cheapest deck on ship. Many immigrants died or became ill on the journey. These immigrants mostly came from European countries like Britain, Ireland, Germany and Scandinavia (Sweden, Denmark & Norway)

Immigration to the United States in the 1850’s The Picture on the right shows German immigrants boarding a ship headed for the United States of America.

Factors that “pushed” people to the U.S.A. Population growth Agricultural changes Crop failures Industrial Revolution Religious and Political turmoil

Factors that “pulled” people to the U.S.A. Freedom “Everyone has the freedom to practice the teaching and religion he prefers.” Economic Opportunity People believed that they would have a better opportunity to provide for their families in the United States. Abundant Land The Louisiana Purchase and the Mexican Cession gave the United States millions of acres of land.

By the time the first big wave of immigration hit the United States in the 1850’s, The Continental United States had the borders that it still has today.

Scandinavians, Germans & Irish Scandinavians settled in the Midwest in areas like Minnesota and Wisconsin where there were lakes, forests and cold winters like their homelands. Germans settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and also in towns like New Braunfels, Texas and Fredericksburg, Texas where they tried to grow the same crops they had grown in Germany. Other Germans who belonged to the Jewish faith settled in cities like New York and Hartford, Connecticut. Because of a potato famine in Ireland, by 1850 Irish immigrants made up one- fourth of the population in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

IIIrish immigrants heading to America AAn Irish neighborhood in New York City

Opposition to Immigration Many of these immigrants moved to cities which created overcrowding. Between 1800 and 1830 New York City’s population jumped from 61,000 to 203,000. St. Louis and Cincinnati doubled in size about every eight years. These created unsanitary living conditions where disease and crime spread rapidly. Nativists were opposed to immigration because they feared foreigners would take over, and that jobs would be taken from natives by immigrants.

New York City in the 1800’s Often in the streets of New York City and other larges cities in America there were problems with raw sewage in the streets. People were often sick because they did not get enough sunlight or fresh air. There was also a lot of crime in these big cities.

American Literature & Art American writers were influenced by a style called romanticism which emphasized emotions and drew inspiration from nature. This also lead to a movement called transcendentalism which taught that the spiritual world was more important than the physical world. These ideas lead to a form of protest called civil disobedience which is the idea that if you do not like a law you should peacefully disobey it. Famous books like The Scarlett Letter, Moby Dick and The Last of the Mohicans were written during this time period.

Some of the classics that were written during this time period Rip Van Winkle

Reforming American Society The Second Great Awakening there was a renewal of religious faith in the 1790’s and early 1800’s. Some churches started a temperance movement which wanted to stop the drinking of alcohol. Also during this time period the first labor union organized to get better pay and working conditions. Reformers like Horace Mann and Dorothea Dix tried to improve education and life for the mentally ill.

A Second Great Awakening Scene. The Mill at Lowell, Mass. Where the first labor union was formed in the United States Horace Mann-An Reformer of Education Dorothea Dix- A Reformer for the Mentally Ill.

Abolition and Women’s Rights Abolition or the movement to end slavery began in the late 1700’s and continued to gain momentum over time. Two escaped slaves Frederick Douglass and Soujourner Truth gave northerners an idea of just how brutal slavery could be. The Underground Railroad was an aboveground series of escape routes from the South to the North. Harriet Tubman was a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony lead the women’s suffrage movement and equal rights for women.

From left to right going clockwise: Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony