Reform Movements in a Changing America Between 1840 and 1860, 4 million immigrants flooded into the U.S.—most were Irish and German escaping economic or political problems at home The Irish faced a terrible potato blight, causing starvation and disease—immigrants came to America with nothing, and settled in the northeastern cities willing to work for low wages Germans fled persecution— they tended to settle in the more rural parts of the mid-west

Many native-born Americans (nativists) despised immigrants who by willing to work for less, may take jobs away Cities in the northeast held 75% of the manufacturing jobs—cities were overflowing with people looking for work Overcrowded cities led to problems such as: unclean water, lack of sewage and running water, disease, crime, and fire

Americans looked to art, writing, and literature as a way to take pride in the country and as a form of self-expression Transcendentalism and Romanticism taught people to live simply, appreciate nature, depend on yourself, and question some of societies rules and norms Famous writers, poets, and artists of the time included: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Walt Whitman

The Second Great Awakening was a Christian revival that inspired Americans to reform parts of society such as: alcohol abuse, prisons, education, and slavery The Temperance Movement urged people to stop drinking Dorothea Dix worked to separate orphans and the mentally ill from hardcore criminals Horace Mann’s Common-School Movement called for all children to attend free public school Colleges and universities were created, as well as some schools for African-Americans and women William Lloyd Garrison, The Grimke Sisters, and Frederick Douglass fought for abolition- or the end to slavery in America Harriet Tubman was a conductor on the Underground Railroad- a network of safe houses on the road north to freedom

Many northerners were not in favor of abolition—they feared the consequences of freeing 5 million slaves who would move north looking for work and homes Southerners viewed slavery as an economic necessity as well as a way of life

The Women’s Rights Movement sprang from the Abolition Movement—women who were working for black freedoms and equality soon realized that they too were being discriminated against Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony and others traveled the country preaching not only abolition, but equality for women The Seneca Falls Convention was the first public meeting devoted to women’s rights—the Declaration of Sentiments was drafted to detail the social injustices toward women