Reform Movements

To reform means to change something. So, a “reform movement” is when different people or groups try and change something about society.reform movement

The Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening, a renewal of religious faith, took place in the 1790s through the early 1800s. It consisted of a series of revival meetings to reawaken religious faith, just like the First Great Awakening! Revivalist preachers said that anyone could have God’s forgiveness, so it appealed to many Americans.

Charles Grandison Finney Was one of the most important leaders of the Second Great Awakening gave up career as a lawyer and began preaching. preached that “ all sin consists in selfishness” and that religious faith should lead people to help others. This message was a main reason there was a reform movement!

The Temperance Movement Temperance = avoiding excesses The Temperance Movement was a campaign to stop heavy drinking. The consumption of alcohol was seen as responsible for many personal and societal problems including unemployment, absenteeism in the workplace, and physical violence aimed at women and children. Business owners supported Temperance because they needed sober workers. Neal Dow, a New England businessman and Quaker, led the fight to get rid of alcohol. Although a Quaker, Dow served as a General for the North in the Civil War. He continued his temperance work after the war

Dow became the mayor of Portland, Maine, and was successful in getting a law passed eliminating alcohol in his city, making him famous. The temperance movement ideally wanted people to give up drinking entirely, but eventually settled on getting people to reduce the amount of alcohol they consumed. The American Temperance Society was the largest organization of its kind in the 1830’s with over 200,000 members. Temperance continued to be a big issue well into the 20 th century. "In the Monster's Clutches,” by T.S. Arthur, shows alcohol as a monster. It was a form of propaganda in the Temperance movement.

Caring for the Disabled and Disadvantaged of Society The old, the young, the abandoned, the insane, the disabled; all were herded together in poorly constructed buildings called “poorhouses”. Common domestic animals were treated more humanely then the people in the poorhouses.

Thomas H. Gallaudet He graduated from Yale when he was 17 and had big plans for his life. He eventually decided he wanted to be a preacher. He had many health problems which filled him with doubts about his ability to make a difference in the world. His life changed when he met Alice Cogswell, the 9 year old deaf daughter of his doctor. He knew he could make a difference by teaching the deaf. Since there were no school for the deaf in the U.S., Gallaudet traveled to Europe to study methods for teaching deaf students, including sign language. After returning to America and raising funds, he opened the first school for the deaf in the U.S., which later became known as the American School for the Deaf. In 1821 he married a deaf woman and raised several children. His son, Edward, founded the first college for the deaf in 1864, which later became known as Gallaudet University.

Samuel G. Howe He worked to improve public schools, the treatment of the mentally ill, prison reform, and also wanted to get rid of slavery. In 1833 he established the New England Institution for the Education of the Blind. He taught that instead of being pitied, the blind were capable of learning just like anyone else. He developed new and easier devices for teaching the blind including inexpensive ways of printing with raised letters. During the Civil War, he wrote the words for “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”. "The strong should help the weak, so that the whole should advance as a band of brethren."

What prisons were like… Prisons were a place to “store” any “undesirables” that society did not want to deal with. Men, women, and children were all put in the same cell! The goal of prison was to punish people, not to reform them. Children were treated like adult criminals. The mentally ill were abused and often thrown in prison.

Josiah Quincy Mayor of Boston from Established the “Department for the Correction and Reformation for Juvenile Offenders”; one the first of its kind. Before, young offenders were put in prison with adults, no matter their age or crime. Quincy wanted juveniles to have a chance to reform and get an education rather than go to prison as adults. This started the idea of the juvenile justice system in America.

Thomas Eddy Eddy believed that no two inmates were alike and that it would be a mistake to treat all prisoners the same. Believed the purpose of prison was to reform rather than punish people. Prisoners were treated humanely and given a good diet, allowed to see their families, made to work and learn new skills, and went to school while in prison. Eddy separated juvenile offenders from other prisoners, allowed them to go to school in prison, all with the goal of making them useful, productive citizens.

Dorothea Dix She began her reforms after teaching Sunday school at a women’s jail where she discovered that the mentally ill were poorly treated. The mentally ill were considered “sub- human” and unable to feel heat, cold, or pain. She traveled thousands of miles to study the conditions facing the mentally ill 1 st hand. She traveled throughout the U.S., Great Britain, France, Canada, Russia, even Japan to plea for better treatment for the mentally ill. In all, her efforts had helped to establish more than 100 hospitals. “In a world where there is so much to be done, I felt strongly impressed that there must be something for me to do. “

Education Reforms

Who could go to school? Only the very rich could afford to send their children to school. Children were taught to read and write at home. There were no public schools. Girls were not allowed to go to school; either were free blacks in the north.

Emma Hart Willard In the early 1800s, there were very few educational opportunities for women Emma Willard opened Troy Female Seminary in Troy, New York, first school to teach women science, social studies, and mathematics, subjects denied to women before. Her vision of intellectual equality for men and women opened the doors of education to women. Despite the efforts, it was still uncommon for woman to attend college until the late 1800s. “Genuine learning has ever been said to give polish to man; why then should it not bestow added charm on women? “

Mary Lyon In 1834 she left her job as an assistant principal at a school for girls to focus her efforts on opening an institution of higher learning for women. Despite the fact that the U.S. was in an economic depression, she raised money, persuaded men to back her plans, wrote curriculum, hired teachers, and supervised the building of her school. Mount Holyoke Female Seminary opened on November 9, Students were required to take seven science and mathematics classes to graduate. A typical school day lasted 16 hours! Although many thought education was “wasted” on women, Mary Lyon never doubted her belief that women deserved the same educational opportunities as a man. “If anyone thinks he has no responsibilities, it is because he has not sought them out.”

Horace Mann He gave up a promising career in politics and became the first secretary of education in Massachusetts. What he accomplished in his state was copied by other states and becomes the “Common School Movement”. “Common School” =every child could receive a basic education funded by local taxes. Believed public schooling was central to good citizenship and participation in a republican society. Developed teacher training schools and fought for women to be allowed to be teachers. He is considered the “father of public education. “Be ashamed to die before you have won some battle for humanity.”