“The ancient manners were giving way. There grew a certain tenderness on the people, not before remarked. It seemed a war between intellect and affection; a crack in nature, which split every church in Christendom… The key to the period appeared to be that the mind had become aware of itself… the young men were born with knives in their brains.” R.W. Emerson KNIVES IN THEIR BRAINS

Religion 2 nd Great Awakening: belief that individuals were straying into Catholicism and Unitarianism- wanted to create a Protestant state Lyman Beecher- leader of the Northern wing of the Great Awakening: campaign against sin and infidelity Revivalism- renewal of having Jesus Christ being the personal lord and savior. Commit to a higher goal rather than just self interest… all levels of society, rich & poor. Charles G. Finney: appeal to the heart rather than doctrine- belief that one could be totally free from sin. Allowed women to pray. Free Will “Right Ground” Camp meetings- the jerks- Peter Cartwright… knocked them out. Circuit riders- authorized by Methodists… maintained religion in sparsely populated areas where ministers did not live.

Education Horace Mann- seeking a model of education in Europe (specifically Germany) Free public education: there were secondary schools but no free education (though New England had a free public education) More 3 R’s but make it attractive. Additionally, the basics: 1) Free elementary and secondary schools available to all; 2) professional teacher training; 3) compulsory attendance until a certain age Teacher training: first American teacher college established in 1839 Conflicts between the poor and the rich- did not want to have to pay taxes for a lower class.

Insane & the Criminal Point of the judicial system- punish or reform? Urbanization brought challenges to traditional care for the criminals, poor and insane: “discovery of the asylum” Based on strict regiments of work or isolation- reflect on sin But led to overcrowding and brutal discipline- did not achieve intended results. Dorothea Dix… mental health Misunderstood 32 mental hospitals

Temperance “Demon Rum” 10 Nights in a Bar Room Neal Dow: Maine 1851 “Dry”- 13 states by 1861

Women’s Rights Cult of Domesticity- women’s place was in a home and on a pedestal- separate spheres Initiated out of the abolitionist movement- public speaking and calling for equal rights: Sarah and Angelina Grimke Lucretia Mott- not recognized at the London anti-slavery convention Elizabeth C. Stanton Susan B. Anthony

Goals of Women Equal Education Equal Employment Rights of Property Right to Vote Seneca Falls Manifesto 1848

Thought Transcendentalism: “a belief in the divinity of human nature” transcend normal thought to become one with the universe Truth can be found through the observation of nature Former Unitarians who wanted less doctrine and denominations Ralph Waldo Emerson- oversoul, radical individualism “The American Scholar” Henry David Thoreau “Walden” “Civil Disobedience”

Literature Early writers- James F. Cooper, Washington Irving Romanticism Nathaniel Hawthorne- rejection of utopianism- society is flawed Herman Melville Edgar Allen Poe Walt Whitman- life is beautiful.

Utopianism Mormons- Joseph Smith Millerites- William Miller Shakers- Mother Ann Lee (feminine incarnation of Christ)- strict celibacy… eventually die off- no reproduction Oneida- Johnny H. Noyes- free love: God had already arrived and the old doctrine was no longer needed, complex marriage, mutual criticism Charles Fourier- Frenchmen who adopted the ideas of equal community work. New Harmony- George Rapp, Robert Owen- common and equal ownership Brook Farm- George Ripley: transcendental living but with cooperation amongst the village- leads to new educational ideas… falls apart after a fire destroys a central building