Social Reform

The Reform Movement Begins The ideas of Reform, or change, spread throughout the nation These changes would affect religion, politics, education, art, and literature Some wanted a utopia- a community based on a vision of a perfect society

Religion In the early 1800s the Second Great Awakening took place which was a wave of religious fervor and following The “awakening” began with revivals- frontier camp meetings where religious leaders would speak

War vs. Alcohol One of the big issues for the newly religious were the dangers of alcohol and drunkenness These people who fought against the sale of alcohol began what is known as the temperance movement. One of the leaders of this movement was Lyman Beecher a Connecticut minister and crusader

Education Education was a big issue as many states and regions did not offer free education Horace Mann and others began leading the reform movement that helped to strengthen America’s educational system Sadly not all received education as African Americans and women in schools were few and far between Many new colleges and universities also formed during this time of reform in America’s history

Special Needs Americans also began helping people with special needs Thomas Gallaudet opened a school for the deaf in Connecticut in 1817 Samuel Gridley Howe advanced the teaching and understanding of the blind and visually impaired Dorothea Dix worked with the mentally ill and prisoners

Transcendentalist Many writers helped bring out the ideas of transcendentalist- stressing the relationship between human and nature and the individual and his conscience Some of the supporters were writers like Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson These men practiced civil disobedience or disobeying laws they thought were not just.

American Colonization Society The first major anti-slavery effort was with the American Colonization Society who worked to buy out slaves and send them elsewhere to star new lives Many of these slaves went to a small African colony called Liberia where thousands of freed Africans went and formed a country. Sadly, this did not halt slavery in America as planned

Abolitionists Many abolitionists that we have already talked about came about in this time like William Lloyd Garrison, the Grimke sisters, Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman. Abolitionists are those who actively worked to end slavery. Many abolitionist were African Americans or freed slaves like David Walker who published a book asking America to overthrow slavery by force and Frederick Douglass, an escaped lave who spoke, wrote, and taught about anti slavery ideas.

Clashes over Abolitionism Many northerners saw anti slavery as a threat to the nation’s order and togetherness. They also believed African Americans could never join white society Some of the abolitionist like Elijah Lovejoy were even killed for their teachings The south also fought abolitionism by defending slavery, claiming it was essential to the south. They also argued they were good to slaves and that the slaves needed the guidance. The contact between pro and anti-slavery continued to simmer and grow