The Spirit of Reform

1. The Spirit of Reform “We are all a little wild here with numberless projects for social reform. But what is man born for but to be a Reformer…a restorer of truth and good?” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

2. During the 1800s, many Americans began to try to reform the nation’s problems. • Social Reform: An organized attempt to improve what is unjust or imperfect in society.

3. Reformers sought reform through reform movements: the religious movement, reform in education, through the abolitionist movement, and finally, in seeking to further women’s rights.

4. Religious ReformThe Second Great Awakening Predestination: That God decides in advance who goes to heaven. Revivals: Huge outdoor meetings that stir religious feelings.

5. Charles Finney: “The Burned-over district was a geographical areadescribed by Finney himself as a "hotbed" of religious revivalism, and it was in this area (largely western New York State) that he had much of his success.”(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burned-over_district) • What is the significance of this quote to you????

6. “The vast sea of human beings seemed to be agitated as if by storm. I counted seven ministers all preaching at once…. Some of the people were singing, others praying some crying for mercy.”-Eye witness of a revival • How are people showing their desire to reform through their actions?

7. “He requires benevolence of us because it is naturally obligatory on us. He made us in his own image, that is, with a nature like His own, and therefore He could not discharge us from obligation to keep the law if He would, for our own reason would still reveal and impose it on us. We should perceive its obligation.” –Charles G. Finney (http://www.gospeltruth.net/1843OE/430329_way_to_be_holy.htm) • How does this quote show Finney’s message that people need to reform themselves?

8. Helping the Mentally Ill and Reforming the Prison System • Conditions in the jails: small, dark, unheated cells, no food • Her solutions: reported to legislators, inspect cells

9. When asked why the jail was in these conditions her answer was, "the insane do not feel heat or cold" (http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/dorotheadix.html) • What kinds of people were thrown into jail?: Mentally ill patients, debtors (people in debt), men, women, children (in the cell together)

10. “I proceed gentlemen, briefly to call your attention to the present state of Insane Persons confined … in cages, closets, cellars, stalls, pens! Chained, naked, beaten with rods, and lashed into obedience.” -Dorothea Dix  • Why do you think this report was so shocking when Dorothea brought this to the attention of Massachusetts legislators???

11. The Temperance Movement“Battling Demon Rum” • Problems caused by alcohol: domestic battery, child abuse, diseases, bankruptcy • Possible Solutions: getting people to drink less, banning the sale of alcohol (What was Carrie Nation’s solution?)

12. “Standing at nearly 6 feet tall and weighing 180 pounds, Carrie Nation, as she came to be known…Wielding a hatchet, she was downright frightful. In 1900, the target of Nation's wrath was alcoholic drink. Nation, who described herself as "a bulldog running along at the feet of Jesus, barking at what he doesn't like," felt divinely ordained to forcefully promote temperance. A brief marriage to an alcoholic in the late 1800's fueled Nation's disdain for alcohol. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/1900/peopleevents/pande4.html • How is Nation’s solutions to the problem of alcohol a little different than most temperance supporters?

13. Improving Education • Problems with schools: few children attended school, run-down buildings, teachers poorly trained, students of all ages together • (Horace Mann is on the left

14. Horace Mann’s Solutions • Got state $ for schools • Built new schools • Extended the school year • Raised teacher pay • Opened 3 teacher colleges to train teachers

15. Improvements for the Deaf, Black and Blind Prudence Crandall: A Conn. Quaker who began a school for African American girls. She taught even when she was jailed 3 times and rocks came flying through the window

16. More Education Reformers • Thomas Gallaudet: Set up a school for the deaf • Samuel Gridley Howe: Invented raised letters and directed the first school for the blind • Laura Bridgman: A deaf and blind pupil of Howe who assisted him in teaching

17. The Abolitionist Movement “America is my home, my country….I mourn because the accursed shade of slavery rest[s] upon it. I love my country’s flag, and I hope that soon it will be cleansed of its stains, and be hailed by all nations as the emblem of freedom and independence.” –Henry H. Garnet, an escaped slave

18. American Colonization Society: Ending slavery by setting up an independent colony in Africa for freed slaves Abolitionists: A group of Americans who want to end slavery completely Proposed Solutions

19. Important Abolitionists: • Frederick Douglass: Born into slavery in Maryland, taught himself to read, escaped to Boston, powerful speaker, publisher of the North Star newspaper

20. More Abolitionists • David Walker: published Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World where he encouraged African Americans to free themselves by any means necessary. • William Lloyd Garrison: published The Liberator, founded the New England Anti-Slavery Society, wrote that slavery is an evil that needs to end immediately

21. The Underground Railroad Harriet Tubman:A woman who escaped slavery and led more than 300 slaves to freedom. The Underground Railroad:A network of abolitionists who helped slaves escape North to freedom.

22. More Abolitionists • Angelina and Sarah Grimke: Wealthy Southern daughters who moved North to fight slavery. • Maria Stewart: The first American woman to make public speeches.

23. Speaking for Women’s rights and the Abolitionist movement Sojourner Truth • “I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that?”

24. Seeking Equal Rights • Seneca Falls Convention: A Meeting called by Mott and Stanton to draw attention to the problems faced by women (met in Seneca Falls, New York!) • Lucretia Mott: Persuasive speaker and organizer with a Quaker background.

25. More Women’s Rights Activists • Elizabeth Cady Stanton: Athletic and smart when young, teased by men in her father’s law office, popular speaker and proclaimer of women’s rights, close friend of Susan B. Anthony

26. More Activists • Elizabeth Blackwell: first woman in America to earn a medical degree • Emma Willard: opened a high school for girls in New York • Mary Lyon: opened Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in MA (first women’s college)

27. Susan B. Anthony • Tireless traveler and speaker • Would finish her speeches even when heckled and eggs were thrown at her • Played a key role in gaining women the vote in 1920

28. “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.” http://www.nps.gov/wori/declaration.htm • Read the selection from the Declaration of Sentiments. In what ways did the authors liken this document to the Declaration of Independence? • Why do you think they did this?

29. American Literature and Art • Herman Melville (Moby Dick) (illustration on right) • One of the first American novelists to gain recognition

30. The Beginnings of Transcendentalism • Washington Irving (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) Illustration on left • His stories gave Americans a sense of richness of their past

31. James Fenimore Cooper (The Last of the Mohicans) Gave an idealized view of relations between whites and Native Americans Created a heroic frontiersman

32. Transcendentalism • Ralph Waldo Emerson: Leading Transcendentalist who taught that the human spirit is reflected in nature • Walt Whitman: Poet who wrote about democracy and the common man • Emily Dickinson: Gained respect as one of Americas greatest poets • Hudson River School: NOT A SCHOOL A new style of art developed by Americans that focused on New York landscapes

33. More Transcendentalists • Nathaniel Hawthorne: Drew from the history of America for his stories • Edgar Allan Poe: Became famous for his tales of horror and mystery • Women writers: Many women wrote stories about experiences of widows, orphans, and women who succeeded by working hard

34. “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears.” -Henry David Thoreau • How does this quote display Thoreau’s beliefs as a Transcendentalist? • As a Reformer? (hint: note his beliefs concerning slavery)

35. Essay Question: Which reformer had the greatest impact on American society and why? Be sure to include the following: - 3 reasons for why your reformer has had the greatest impact on American society (argue for it!) - An introduction and conclusion that are MORE than just a restatement of the question