Presentation Transcript

1. 14.3 Reforming American Society A Spirit of Revival Preachers across the country in the 1800’s were preaching that people should see what they could do to help others. This helped create the spirit of reform.
2. Temperance Societies The temperance movement was a campaign to stop people from drinking alcohol. Many women joined the temperance movement because heavy drinking among men was common during the 1800’s to the point that in extreme cases men spent so much money on alcohol that there wasn’t enough left to feed their families.
3. Temperance workers would hand out pamphlets, give speeches, put on small plays, and encourage people to sign a pledge that they would not drink. Business owners also supported temperance for obvious reasons: it’s better not to have someone with a hangover working in your business or factory. In 1851 Maine banned the sale of liquor, and by 1855 13 other states had banned it as well.
4. Fighting for Workers’ Rights While business and factory owners were trying to get workers to shape up, the workers began calling for reform as well. In the 1830’s workers began to organize into labor unions which would seek better working conditions.
5. In 1835-36 140 strikes took place in Eastern United States. However, when the Panic of 1837 set in, jobs became scarce and workers were afraid to cause trouble (remember the Lowell Mills girls).
6. Improving Education In 1837 in Massachusetts, the first state board of education was set up. The head of the Mass. BOE was Horace Mann. By 1850, many states set up boards of education. States and cities began to set up public schools (high schools at first), and private groups and churches opened colleges.
7. Women, however, could not go to school in most places Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to graduate from a medical school in the United States. In the South it was illegal for a slave to get any kind of education since the Nat Turner Rebellion in 1831, but even in the North most schools would not admit African Americans.
8. Caring for the Needy In 1841 Dorothea Dix discovered bad conditions in a women’s prison, and that many of the women had been put in prison not for crimes, but because they were mentally ill. Dix traveled around the country and discovered this type of problem was found in many areas. Because of Dorothea Dix, 32 new hospitals for the mentally ill were opened around the country.
9. Spreading Ideas Through Print It was the very early beginning of the information age. During the 1830’s cheaper newsprint (paper used for newspapers), and the invention of the steam driven printing press lowered the price of a newspaper to a penny so that average people could afford a newspaper. Also, remember that more people are actually being taught to read, so now there is greater access to information. Hundreds of magazines also started up during this time.
10. Also, remember that more people are actually being taught to read, so now there is greater access to information. Hundreds of magazines also started up during this time.
11. Creating Ideal Communities During the 1800’s two attempts were made to start utopian (what does this mean?) societies. In both of these people would receive food and other necessary items directly in exchange for work.
12. Shakers appeared as religious groups that set up communities in New York, New England, and some of the western areas (like Ohio and western Pennsylvania where these communities existed until into the 20th century). Shakers refused to fight for any reason, gave women equal rights within the community, and vowed not to marry or have children (no wonder the group eventually died out).