Chapter 8 Reforming American Society

1. Chapter 8 Reforming American Society

2. I. Religion Sparks Reform A. 2nd Great Awakening Charles Finney, emotional speaker Swept the nation after 1790 Insisted people could improve themselves and society 1. Revivalism 20,000 often gathered at outdoor camps 4 or 5 day festivals 2. The African-American Church Brought Christianity to slaves Baptist and Methodists churches were open to everyone Offered a promise of freedom

3. B. Transcendentalism and Reforms American styles emerge 1. Transcendentalists Relationship between humans and nature Lived simple lives Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and Henry David Thoreau Walden and civil disobedience Longfellow, Whitman, Dickinson, and Beecher Stowe

4. C. Ideal Communities Many formed utopian communities Tried to create perfect places Tried religious and social reform New Harmony, IN Few lasted very long 1. The Shakers Founded by Ann Lee Shared their goods No fighting, ever They vowed to never get married or have kids Had to adopt kids Had 6,000 members in 1840s Seven left in 1999

5. D. Schools and Prisons Reform 1. Reforming Asylums and Prisons Dorothea Dix helped get rid of many physical punishments and isolation 2. Improving Education Horace Mann Improved schools 1850s, most states: School is free Supported by taxes Teachers are trained Attendance is required Girls received less, didn�t study men�s subjects Few schools: west or for blacks

6. II. Slavery and Abolition A. Abolitionists Speak Out Early Efforts to End Slavery Quakers, Benjamin Lundy: gradual approach to end it American Colonization Society Free slaves and send them back to Africa Founded Liberia, 1847 Most did not want to go 1. William Lloyd Garrison Founded The Liberator, 1831 �I will not retreat a single inch-AND I WILL BE HEARD.� Gather followers

7. A. Abolitionists cont. 2. African American Abolitionists Major role in the movement Personal experiences David Walker Sojourner Truth 3. Frederick Douglass Slave in MD, taught himself to read and write, escaped Powerful speaker Edited the North Star Traveled abroad, returned to fight slavery at its source

8. B. Life Under Slavery 1. Slave Cabins, Family Life, Culture, and Christianity Hardship and misery No money, little chance for freedom Few comforts Families often torn apart Extended families helped raise kids Fused African and American elements for culture After 1808, no foreign slaves Held onto music, dance, folk stories, and clothes Many accepted Christianity Spirituals used to communicate secretly

9. B. Life Under Slavery cont. 2. Slave Codes and Resistance to Slavery Laws to control slaves No assemblies or education Needed a pass to leave their master�s property Nat Turner led a major rebellion in 1831 Killed 55 whites Armed rebellions were rare Resisted in other ways Many escaped via the Underground Railroad Runaways were whipped, chained, and sometimes killed

10. C. Slave Owners Defend Slavery 1. Proslavery Defenses Some used the Bible to justify it Some stated slavery benefited blacks Treated better than industrial workers of the North Eventually: Social Darwinism defending it

11. III. Women and Reform A. Women�s Roles in the mid-1800s Limited options for women Cult of domesticity Wife and mother duties Very few worked outside the workplace No voting rights and could not serve on juries Still paid taxes Their property became their husband�s when they married

12. B. Women Mobilize Reform 1. Women Abolitionists Sarah and Angelina Grimke Used their fortune to free slaves 2. Working for Temperance Lyman Beecher Blamed for poverty, crime, broken homes, and insanity Temperance movement included many women 1851, Maine became dry

13. B. Women Mobilize Reform cont. 3. Education Emma Willard opened one the first rigorous schools for girls in 1821 Mount Holyoke, 1837 for women 4. Health Reform Elizabeth Blackwell, Geneva College 1st female doctor Few women bathed or exercised Many even fought against restrictive clothing Amelia Bloomer wore loose-fitting pants

14. C. Women�s Rights Movement Emerges Abolitionists also worked for women�s rights Sojourner Truth Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton 1. The Seneca Falls Convention 1848, 200 women and 40 men pledged to work for suffrage 2. The Movement Grows Susan B. Anthony also fought for coeducation and temperance Wyoming allowed women to vote in 1890

15. IV. The Changing Workplace A. Industry Changes Work Most clothing was produced at home before industry 1. Rural Manufacturing Cottage industry People worked out of their homes at their own pace 2. Early Factories Textiles established the first factories Artisans lost jobs to machine and unskilled workers End of the master, apprentice, and journeyman era of some industries

16. B. Farm Worker to Factory Worker Mill towns owned by people like, Lowell used �mill girls� 1. The Lowell Mill Hired women because they were cheaper They paid well for women�s work 2. Conditions Work began at 5 AM Worked at the mill from 7 to 7 Heat, darkness, and poor ventilation 3. Strikes at Lowell 800 girls went on strike in 1834 After a 15% wage cut Most returned after public criticisms of Lowell Leaders were fired Many others followed

17. C. Workers Seek Better Conditions 1. Immigration Increases Most came from Germany and Ireland 3 million came between 1845-1854 2. A Second Wave The Great Potato Famine in the 1840s 1 million died Another million came to America Discriminated against because they were Catholic Lived in neighborhoods in eastern cities Took the lowest paying jobs

18. C. Workers Seek Better Conditions 3. National Trades� Union Journeyman of specific trades tried to form the first unions Carpentry, shoemaking, weaving, printing, and comb making Tried to form the National Trades� Union in 1837 4. Court Backs Strikers 1842 Massachusetts case said workers could strike Still, membership was low before the Civil War