ERA of REFORM

SOCIETAL CHANGES 2 nd Great Awakening: period of religious revival after 1800, Charles Finney holds tent meetings (20,000+), meant to awaken faith Individual responsibility for seeking salvation Helps spark reform New belief that all people (black and white) belong to God Utopian Communities: “perfect place” everyone works together, self-sufficient, most didn’t work well -New Harmony (pray, work hard, save) -Oneida -Brook Farm -Shakers—only remaining utopian community, men/women are equal, only a handful of members remain today because they rely on adoption

Transcendentalism -belief in a simple lifestyle and truth found in nature Pride in culture Philosophical and literary movement Walt Whitman— ”Leaves of Grass” Ralph Waldo Emerson—”Self- Reliance” Henry David Thoreau—”Walden” and ”Civil Disobedience” (peacefully refuse to obey the law)

EdUcAtIoN One room schools, no state or fed laws before 1800 Few educated beyond 10, schooling varied across regions Horace Mann—advocates public school for all and paid for by taxes, “Father of Education” Noah Webster—developed the American English dictionary

Institution Reform Dorothea Dix—provide help for mentally ill that were housed in jails  starts mental hospitals Prison reform as well—aim to rehabilitate so prisoners can become productive members of society

American Culture American culture develops in the form of art, literature, poems, etc. Poets: Edgar Allen Poe and Emily Dickenson Authors: James Fennimore Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorn, Herman Melville, Washington Irving Artists: Hudson River School painted landscapes that glorified America, 1 st American art

Alex de Tocqueville French writer “Democracy in America” which discusses why democracy has succeeded in the United States and failed in other places Classic work of political science

Life Under Slavery Rural Slavery—men, women and even children worked from dawn to dusk Many lived on plantations, did field work, or some wives worked in the owner’s house Language barrier among slaves, most slaves lived rurally Urban Slavery—”hired out” as a skilled worker to mills, mines, and shipyards, not as cruel, had more freedoms

Abolitionists: those who oppose slavery William Lloyd Garrison: white man, “Liberator,” attacked churches for not condemning slavery, demands immediate emancipation David Walker: free black, believed in freedom by force, if your not willing to fight—you ought to remain enslaved Frederick Douglas: born slave, escaped, “North Star” (named after the North Star which guided those on the Underground Railroad), spoke for American Anti- Slavery Society,

REBELLION: slaves turn to violent methods Nat Turner: 1831 led a slave revolt in Virginia 80 slaves and freedmen attacked 4 plantations killing 60 Result—scared slave owners, led to greater control over slaves, 200 slaves were killed in retaliation

Anti-slavery Emancipation: freeing of slaves Gradual process v. immediate Force v. nonviolent tactics Religious reasons were backbone of argument Morally wrong Constitution says “all men” Pro-slavery New fear of revolts Black codes begin—state laws that govern slavery and free blacks Religious support—used bible to support slavery Cited passages that counseled servants to obey their masters “happy” plantation myth— southerners cared for their slaves for a lifetime Without the “necessary evil” economy would fail