Chapter 12 THE PURSUIT OF PERFECTION America Past and Present Eighth Edition Divine   Breen   Fredrickson   Williams  Gross  Brand Copyright 2007, Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman

The Rise of Evangelicalism l Separation of church and state gave all churches the chance to compete for converts l Pious Protestants formed voluntary associations to combat sin, “infidelity”

The Second Great Awakening: The Frontier Phase l Camp meetings contributed to frontier life – Provided emotional religion – Offer opportunity for social life l Camp meeting revivals conveyed intensely personal religious message l Camp meetings rarely led to social reform

The Second Great Awakening in the North l Lyman Beecher and evangelical Calvinism l Charles G. Finney –Departed radically from Calvinist doctrine –Appeal is based in emotion not reason –Finney preached in upstate New York and stressed revival techniques l Beecher and others disturbed by emotionalism of Finney’s methods l Revivals led to organization of more churches

From Revivalism to Reform l Northern revivals stimulated reform l Middle-class participants adapted evangelical religion to preserve traditional values l "The benevolent empire" of evangelical reform movements altered American life – For example, temperance movement cut alcohol consumption by more than 50%

Domesticity and Changes in the American Family l New conception of family’s role in society l Child rearing seen as essential preparation for self-disciplined Christian life l Women confined to domestic sphere l Women assumed crucial role within home

Marriage for Love l Mutual love must characterize marriage l Wives became more of a companion to their husbands and less of a servant l Legally, the husband was the unchallenged head of the household

The Cult of Domesticity l "The Cult of True Womanhood" – Placed women in the home – Glorified home as center of all efforts to civilize and “Christianize” society l Middle- and upper-class women increasingly dedicated to the home as mothers l Women of leisure entered reform movements

Institutional Reform l Domesticity informed public institutions l Schools continued what family began l Asylums, prisons mended family’s failures

The Extension of Education l Public schools expanded rapidly from 1820 to 1850 l Means of advancement for working class l Means of inculcating values of hard work, responsibility to middle-class reformers l Horace Mann argued schools saved immigrants, poor children from parents’ bad influence l Many parents believed public schools alienated children from their parents

Discovering the Asylum l Poor, criminal, insane seen as lacking self-discipline l Harsh measures to promote rehabilitation – Solitary confinement of prisoners – Strict daily schedule l Public support for rehabilitation skimpy l Prisons, asylums, poorhouses became warehouses for the unwanted

Reform Turns Radical l Most reform aimed to improve society l Some radical reformers sought destruction of old society, creation of perfect social order

Divisions in the Benevolent Empire l Radical perfectionists impatient by 1830s, split from moderate reform – Temperance movement – Peace movement – Antislavery movement l Moderates sought gradual end to slavery and colonization of freed slaves to its colony of Liberia l Radicals like William Lloyd Garrison demanded immediate emancipation –1831: Garrison founded The Liberator –1833: American Anti-Slavery Society

The Abolitionist Enterprise: Public Reception l Appealed to hard-working small town folk l Opposition in cities & near Mason-Dixon line l Opposition from the working class – Disliked blacks – Feared black economic and social competition l Solid citizens saw abolitionists as anarchists

The Abolitionist Enterprise: Obstacles l Abolitionists hampered by in-fighting l William Lloyd Garrison disrupted movement by associating with radical reform efforts –Urged abolitionists to abstain from participating in the political process –Also involved in women’s rights movement l Some abolitionists helped form the Liberty Party in 1840

Black Abolitionists l Former slaves related the horrible realities of bondage –Prominent figures included Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth l Black newspapers, books, and pamphlets publicized abolitionism to a wider audience –Frederick Douglass’ The North Star l Blacks were also active in the Underground Railroad

From Abolitionism to Women's Rights l Abolitionism opened to women’s participation l Involvement raised awareness of women’s inequality l Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 – Organized by Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton – Prompted by experience of inequality in abolition movement – Began movement for women’s rights

Radical Ideas & Experiments: Utopian Communities l Utopian socialism –Inspired by Robert Owen, Charles Fourier –New Harmony, Indiana—Owenite –Fourierite phalanxes l Religious utopianism –Shakers –Oneida Community

Utopian Communities Before the Civil War

Radical Ideas & Experiments: Transcendentalism l Ralph Waldo Emerson l Margaret Fuller l George Ripley –Founded cooperative community at Brook Farm l Henry David Thoreau and Walden –Civil disobedience

Counterpoint on Reform l Reform encountered perceptive critics –Nathaniel Hawthorne allegorically refuted perfectionist movements suggesting the world was inherently an imperfect place l Reform prompted necessary changes in American life