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Developing American Identity (1820-1880) (Temperance (Began with moral…
Developing American Identity (1820-1880)
Temperance
Reformers targeted alcohol as the cause of social ills.
Began with moral exhortation; various societies formed to promote alcohol temperance.
Protestant ministers became concerned with drinking and founded the American Temperance Society. Persuaded drinkers to take a pledge of total abstinence.
A group of recovering alcoholics formed the Washigtonians and argued that alcoholism was a disease that needed practical, helpful treatment.
German and Irish immigrants were against the temperance reforms, but lacked the political power to stand against it and state/city governments proceeded to enforce temperance.
Became clear to factory owners and politicians that reduction in alcohol consumption is tied with greater work output and lower crime rates/poverty.
Maine went beyond taxing the costs of liquor to outright prohibiting the sale and manufacturing of intoxicating liquor. Twelve other states followed suit.
The movement died out in turn for the slavery issue, but is revived in 1870s with the Women's Christian Temperance Union and achieved national success with the passing of the 18th amendment.
Women
Women became more affluent with the use of birth control (limiting size of families) and had more leisure time to devote to religious and moral uplift organizations such as the NY Female Moral Reform Society.
Cult of Domesticity - Said that women were to be perfect housewives, doing domestic work and serving as sanctuaries for their husbands. The idealized view of women as moral leaders in the home.
Women's Rights - Resentment for the manner in which men relegated them to secondary roles started a campaign for women's rights, with big names such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Seneca Falls Convention (1848) - Leading feminists gathered to issue a document modeled after the D.o.Independence that declared "all men and women are created equal", listing the grievances women have against men for discriminating against them.
Issues became overshadowed by slavery in the 1850s.
Abolitionist Movement
A wide spectrum of abolitionists existed, from proponents of gradual reform to the sudden yanking of slaves away from uncompensated owners. The Second Great Awakening also added a religious boost to the abolitionist movement.
American Colonization Society - Idea of transporting freed slaves to an African colony was tried in 1817. Appealed to moderate antislavery reformers and racists that demanded Africans be gone. Never proved as a practical course. Only about 12,000 were transported to Africa.
American Antislavery Society - William Lloyd Garrison began publishing The Liberator, marking the beginning of the radical abolitionist movement. Advocated the immediate abolition of slavery without compensating owners. Garrison stepped up his attacks by condemning and burning the Constitution as a proslavery document. Argued for "no union with slaveholders".
Liberty Party - Garrison's extremist views led to a split in the abolitionists. Liberty Party, led by James Birney, believed that political action was better than radicalism.
Black Abolitionists - The most outspoken and critics of slavery. Fredrick Douglass was one of the most prominent of them. Advocated for legal and political action against slavery and racial prejudice. Started the antislavery journal known as the North Star. Other Africans such as Harriet Tubman rose.
Violent Abolitionism - The most radical of abolitionists. Argued for direct revolt vs. slave owners to slaves.
Education
Reform movement started in the Jacksonian era; focused on the need for free public schooling to combat the growing number of uneducated poor. Workers' groups in cities propelled this effort.
Free Common Schools - Horace Mann was the leading advocate for common schools. Worked for compulsory attendance, longer school years, and increased teacher preparation. Ideas spread rapidly to other states
Moral Education - Reformers desired moral education alongside literacy. William Holmes McGuffey led a movement to create textbooks that taught literacy AND morality. The virtues of hard work, punctuality, and sobriety were taught.
Higher Education - Religious enthusiasm from the Second Great Awakening fueled the growth of private and religious colleges. Adult education was furthered by lyceum lecture societies.
Religion/Utopian Society
The Second Great Awakening - A religious revival that swept the nation during the 19th century. Partly a reaction vs. rationalism and enlightenment thinking.
Calvinism - Teaching of original sin and predestination had been rejected by believers in more liberal and forgiving doctrines such as those of the Unitarian Church.
Calvinism's counterattack - Reverend Timothy Dwight inspires a generation of young men to become evangelical preachers. Successful preachers were audience-centered and understood by even the uneducated. Appealed to poor as they preached for equal opportunity of salvation for all.
New York - Charles G. Finney started a series of revivals that entailed the appealing to peoples' emotion and fear of damnation. Prompted thousands to publicly declare their revived faith. Preached that hard work and faith would be their savior, strongly appealing to the middle class.
Baptists and Methodists - Circuit preachers would attract thousands to hear their dramatic preaching. Activated the faith of many people who didn't originally belong to a church. Largest Protestant denominations of the country.
Millennialism - Based on widespread belief that the world was about to end with the second coming of Jesus. William Miller gained tens of thousands of followers by predicting a specific date (8/21/1844). Nothing happened that day, but the Millerites continued as a new denomination.
Mormons - Founded by Joseph Smith in 1830. Based his religious thinking on the Book of Mormon. Smith gathered a following in NY and moved to Ohio, then Missouri, and finally Illinois where he was killed by a local mob. Under Brigham Young, the Mormons escaped religious persecution at Utah. Polygamy aroused distaste by the gov't.