Age of Reforms
Utopian Communities
Brook Farm
Oneida Community
New Harmony
Places where the societal members often pursued perfection in different ways(transcendentalism)
Religious movements
Church of latter day saints/mormons: followers migrated to the west to Utah after leader Joseph Smith was killed
Unitarianism: use of democracy within individual congregation; oneness with god; dignity of humans
Temperance movement
People like Charles Finney sought to fight against prevalence and effects of alcohol
American Temperance Society: At first they wanted to limit alchohol intake then complete abstinence
Middle class women = biggest reformers; drunken husbands affected families; expanded roles in domestic sphere
Shifted to political arena as leaders began to see benefits of temp. movement due to reduced alcohol intake -> more productivity
Results
Maine Law in 1851 first to prohibit manufacture of alcoholic beverages with 12 states following
Alcoholic consumption went down by half from 1820 to 1840
Temperance movement resulted in 18th amendment in 20th century
Asylums & prison reform
Dorothea Dix sought for better conditions and treatment for mentally ill in asylums
Prisoners would taught job skills and be rehabiliated in attempt to reform them
Education Reform
State supported schools for universal public education & professional training for teachers
Schools aided in social stability by teaching values ommitted by parents
Prepared students to work in industrial econ through disciplince by teaching American and moral values
State supported colleges making higher education more accessible
Aboltionism
Second Great Awakening caused some to question slavery; gradual emancipation had already begun
Free African American pop grew but North tried to restrict their civil rights; abolitionism grew as activism increased
Emancipation in the North
States like Conneticut and Massachussetts immediately emancipated
States like Pennsylvania and new jersey gradually emancipated(until adulthood)
African American life in the North
Although many were becoming free, their civil rights were restricted: difficult to purchase land; voting rights restrictions; employment discrimination
African Americans worked for freedom of enslaved people and racial equality
Abolitionists
Used moral suasion in anti-slavery societies; black and white women became activists in these groups
Part of a transatlantic movement that ended British slavery in 1833
Frederick Douglas: escaped slavery in maryland and began working in the political system to end slavery
Underground railroad used as secret escape routes from slavery to norhtern states and Canada
William Still- Quaker who assisted Quakers in Philadephia
escaped slavery and was a major conductor of the underground railroad
individual citizens and communities instrumental in helping slaves escape