Religion and Reform

Religion and Reform 1815-1855

Protestant Revivalists • Reform Movement was largely rooted in religion • Believed God was all powerful but that God allowed people to make their own destinies • Supported by the 2nd Great Awakening • Charles Grandison Finney • a lawyer from New York; known for his passionate sermons that brought many back to the church • Lyman Beecher • Wanted to evangelize the West • Taught in simple terms, good people make a good country • Had some famous children

Transcendentalists (rise above) • Philosophers and writers that rejected traditional religion: taught that the process of spiritual discovery and insights would lead a person to truths more profound than what could be reached through reason • Humans are naturally good, should have the courage to act on their own beliefs and live a moral life • Leaders of movement were Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau • Ralph Waldo Emerson: people can transcend the material world and become conscious of the spirit that is in nature; began American Renaissance in literature • Henry David Thoreau: famous stay @ Waldon Pond; experienced living simply • Later, Thoreau devoted himself to the anti-slavery movement, helping escaped slaves flee north • Civil Disobedience: not paying taxes to show opposition to the War with Mexico

Temperance Movement • Campaign to eliminate alcohol consumption • American Temperance Society • Impact of the Movement: • Maine banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol and other states followed but protests led to repeal of lack of enforcement of most laws • Reformers promoted the moral, social, and health benefits of alcohol abstinence as well as economic benefits • Alcohol consumption decreased dramatically between the 1830’s and the 1860’s

Public Education • Support had declined for public education leading to old buildings, textbooks, and other materials; Quality of teaching was inadequate • Geography of mid-Atlantic and southern states discouraged building of schools • Horace Mann: became Mass. 1st Secretary of the Board of Education • Mass: 1st public HS in the USA • By 1860 there were 300 plus HS in the USA • William Holmes McGuffey: readers were popular textbooks that promoted moral values of thrift, obedience, honesty, and termperance

Limits to Educational Reform • Not all parts of the country moved at the same pace • More common in the North and in urban areas • Girls discouraged from attending and denied any further education beyond learning to read and write • Frequently excluded black students or segregated them • Some private colleges opened for these groups

Reforming Prisons • Early 1800s: prisons started being used • Hope was that prisoners would use the time to lead regular, disciplined lives, reflect on their sins and perhaps become law-abiding citizens • Dorothea Dix convinced Massachusetts to improve prison conditions and create separate institutions for the mentally ill • Led 15 states to build hospitals for the mentally ill

Utopian Communities • Small societies dedicated to perfection in social and political conditions where people lived in prosperity as equals • Most were religiously oriented • People believed these communities would eliminate the ill effects of urban and industrial growth • Examples: New Harmony, Indiana (Robert Owen, 1825), Brook Farm, Massachusetts (1841), Ephrata Cloister, PA (1732), the Oneida community in Putney, Vermont, Zoar community in OH, and Armana Colony, IO • Shakers: a group that strived to lead lives of productive labor, moral perfection, and equality among men and women

Section 2: Antislavery Movement Roots of Abolitionism • In the late 1700s, several antislavery societies formed in the North, while abolitionist newspapers appeared in both the North and South calling for emancipation, or freeing of enslaved persons • From 1777 to 1807, every state north of Maryland passed laws that abolished slavery • Legal importation of slaves ended in 1808 • American Colonization Society: colonization of Africa – send free and emancipated slaves to Africa (1822) • Antislavery advocates established the African country of Liberia • Most were offended by the idea and opposed leaving America; adopted a more aggressive fight against slavery

Abolitionists • William Lloyd Garrison: founded the American Anti-Slavery Society and published The Liberator, an antislavery newspaper, wanted immediate end of slavery • Frederick Douglass: an escaped slave, leader of American Anti-Slavery Society, supported a gradual end to slavery • At age 8, he was taught how to read by his owner’s wife • Douglass’s cruel experiences while enslaved inspired him to become a brilliant writer and speaker when he escaped at age 21 • He began an abolitionist newspaper, the North Star

Divisions Among Abolitionists • Gender, race, and political action • Sarah and Angelina Grimké: prominent womenspeakers, southern Quakers who wrote against slavery and prompted states to ban and burn their publications • Sojourner Truth: former slave, became involved in several reform movements then abolitionism • Martin Delaney: abolitionist, one of 1st African Americans to graduate from Harvard Medical School, worked closely with Douglass, supported colonization, frequent critic of white abolitionists • Liberty Party: Tappans and Birney formed it in 1840 • Wanted states to pass laws that would emancipate the slaves • Drew enough votes from Whigs in NY and OH in 1844 to give the election to Polk, a Democrat

Underground Railroad • “secret paths” • A network of escape routes that provided protection and transportation for slaves fleeing north to freedom • Harriet Tubman: “Black Moses” • Tubman escaped herself in 1849 and “conductor” on Underground RR • She alone rescued more than 300 slaves without losing one passenger

Underground Railroad Routes • Underground Railroad used many pathways to free slaves • Mississippi River valley • Eastern Swamps • Appalachian Mountains

Resistance to Abolitionism • Most viewed as radical idea • Despite abolitionist successes, the movement was opposed in both the Northern and Southern states • Opposition in the North • Northern merchants worried that the antislavery movement would worsen relations between the North and South, causing damage to trade between them • White workers also feared the job competition of escaped slaves willing to work for lower wages • Most northerners did not want African Americans living in their communities because they viewed them as socially inferior • Opposition turned violent

Resistance to Abolitionism • Turner’s Rebellion • Nat Turner, an African American preacher planned and carried out a violent uprising in August 1831 • He led 70 slaves on raids of white families in Virginia, killing more than 50 white people • Opposition in the South • Outraged by criticisms made more determined to defend slavery • Southern postmasters refused to deliver abolitionist literature • 1836 gag rule passed in Congress: no antislavery petitions read or acted upon in House of Representatives for 8 years • Abolitionists pointed to gag rule as example of how slavery threatened the rights of black and white people

Section 3: Women’s Rights Cultural and Legal Limits • The growing population in the 1800s made it easier to see the inequalities between men and women • Women could not vote, own property, or make a will • Women were generally not allowed to keep the money they made • Reformers began to see that women were central to the success of a strong, democratic nation

Women’s Rights Movement • Seneca Falls Convention: July 1848 • First women’s rights convention in US history • Produced the Declaration of Sentiments • 12 resolutions altogether • #9 was controversial: women’s suffrage • Women working in areas where they had been excluded • Elizabeth Blackwell: 1st American woman to earn medical degree • Maria Mitchell: 1st female astronomer • Margaret Fuller: editor of philosophical journal, wrote book criticizing cultural traditions that restricted women’s roles in society • Sarah Josepha Hale: published articles about women’s issues for almost 50 years

African American Women • The issue of slavery was more important to most African American women at the time • Only a handful attended women’s rights conventions; there were none at Seneca Falls • Spent their time working toward ending slavery • Sojourner Truth: participated in many abolition and women’s rights movements • Reminded white women that African American women also had a place in the movement • Speech excerpt p. 331

Immigration • Economic changes created demand for more labor in factories and in building of canals and RR lines • Attracted immigrants • Immigration increased dramatically in 1830’s • By 1850’s immigration #’s rose to almost 2.6 million!

Where are they from?Where did they settle? • Almost all settled in the east and the west (not much paying work available in the South) • Almost all came from Northern Europe • Some from Scandinavia and England • Most from Ireland and Germany

Irish Immigrants • Soared in mid-1840’s because of Irish Potato Famine • Most settled in northeastern cities like Boston and NYC • Most became naturalized citizens • Men took manual labor jobs in factories or on canals/RR’s • Irish became a political force because most became Jacksonian Democrats

German Immigrants • Came for political freedome • Most were peasants and settled in midwest – especially in Wisconsin and Missouri, some in Texas • Artisans and intellectuals tended to settle in the northern cities like NYC, Chicago, and Milwaukee

Mixing with those already here • Brought new cultural traditions to the USA • Most were Roman Catholic • Worked long hours in tedious jobs • Often faced discrimination • Unequal treatment of a group of people because of their nationality, race, sex, or religion • Some Americans felt threatened by newcomers and some disapproved of their cultures

Sources of Tension • Economics • Irish worked for lower wages, were used as strike breakers, many of New England girls replaced with Irish men • Religion: Protestant v. Roman Catholic • Protestantism: taught in schools • RC followers didn’t like many of the reforms to enact laws (restricting drinking, gambling, and sports) – thought ok in moderation

American Republican Party • Formed by anti-immigrant citizens • Wanted new naturalization law (21 years living here before could become a citizen) • Violence between Irish Catholics and American Republicans • American Republicans trying to vote in Philadelphia’s Irish districts were attacked • Led to riots in the city in May 1844

Reform brought tensions between North and South • Divided Churches • Methodist • Churches in slave holding states split and formed Methodist Episcopal Church South, which endorsed slavery (1842) • Baptist • About 300 churches formed Southern Baptist Convention (1845)

South Resists Reform • Most untouched by social turmoil that came with urbanization and industrialization in the North • Saw no need for reform in their society • Southern men were head of their property and households (including wives and children)

A few southern women saw a parallel between their lives and those of slaves but they had important roles to play Small Farms Large Plantations Supervised household, sometimes helped manage plantation With all of these tensions, bonds between the areas of the nation were weakening North and South found it more challenging to resolve differences through negotiation and compromise • Worked with husbands, children, and slaves in field • Opportunities for women to participate in reform organizations and community meetings were rare • Farms/plantations spread out & difficult to get together

Religion and Reform