Reform Movements Flashcards
Religious Reform
In the early 1800s, Americans experienced strong religious emotions during what is called the “Second Great Awakening”. As a result, people wanted to do good things for their society.
Prison and Mental Illness Reform
Mentally ill people were often thrown in jail or chained to their beds. Dorothea Dix worked to get better treatment for the mentally ill. Eliza Farnham also worked to improve the conditions of prisoners who she thought could be changed.
Temperance Movement
Temperance groups spread word about the dangers of alcohol. Many believed it led to a lot of problems but mainly family problems. Alcohol use was high among factory workers.
Education Movement
Horace Mann of Massachusetts believed that education was the “great equalizer”, was key in democracy, and that every child should attend.
Abolitionists
- William Lloyd Garrison created his own anti-slavery newspaper, The Liberator.
- Frederick Douglas was an escaped slave from Maryland who publish an anti-slavery newspaper: The North Star.
- Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a novel called Uncle Tom’s Cabin, that brought attention to how evil slavery was.
- Sojourner Truth was a former slave that made it her life goal to travel and tell people the truth about slavery.
Underground Railroad
A series of paths slaves could use to get
to the North or Canada. A “conductor” would help show runaways which way to go during the night, the most famous of them being Harriet Tubman - a.k.a “Black Moses”
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is a movement founded by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Transcendentalists believe in listening to your inner self, your conscience, to determine what is right and wrong. Henry David Thoreau was the most famous transcendentalist
Civil Disobedience
Civil disobedience is peacefully disobeying a law to make a point. Many transcendentalists believed in practicing civil disobedience. Henry David Thoreau practiced civil disobedience by refusing to pay taxes, because the government permitted slavery.
Women in the 1800s
In the 1800s women were not seen the same way as men and were treated differently. They were supposed to stay at home, raise children, and could not serve on juries and could not vote. Susan B. Anthony worked to change that.
Women’s Rights Movement
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the Seneca Falls Convention. This was the first meeting for women’s rights. At the meeting they wrote the “Declaration of Sentiments” which asked for women to be treated the same as men and to have the right to vote.
