Reforming American Society

1. Reforming American Society Chapter 14 – Section 3

2. Main Idea: *In the mid-1800’s, several reform movements worked to improve American education and society. Why It Matters Now: *Several laws and institutions, such as public schools, date back to this period.

3. A Spirit of Revival *The Second Great Awakening was a renewal of religious faith in the 1790’s and early 1800’s. *Revivals spread quickly across the frontier and into Eastern cities. *Preachers said anyone could choose salvation and that religious faith led people to help others.

4. A Spirit of Revival *Such teaching helped awaken a spirit of reform (change). *Americans began to believe that they could act to make things better.

5. Temperance Societies *Led by churches, some Americans began the temperance movement, a campaign to stop the drinking of alcohol. *Heavy drinking was common in the early 1800’s. *Some workers spent most of their wages on alcohol - not leaving enough for their families to live on. *So, many women joined the movement.

6. *Business owners also supported temperance because they needed workers who could keep schedules and run machines. *By 1855, 14 states passed laws to make it illegal to sell alcohol, but many opposed these laws and they were soon repealed. *Still, the movement to ban alcohol remained strong even in the 1900’s.

7. Fighting for Workers’ Rights *Workers called for improvements in working conditions. *Factory work was noisy, dangerous, and boring. *Americans began to organize in the 1830’s. *The young women at the Lowell mills started a labor union because their rent was raised.

8. *About 1,500 women went on strike, stopping work to demand better conditions. *Other workers called for shorter hours and higher wages. *In 1835 and 1836, 140 strikes took place in the eastern United States.

9. *By 1837, the labor movement fell apart b/c of the Panic of 1837. Times were hard, jobs were scarce, and workers were afraid to cause trouble. *A few goals were achieved. In 1840, President Van Buren ordered a 10 hour workday.

10. Improving Education *In the 1830’s, Americans began to demand better schools. *In 1837, the first state board of education in the U.S. was set up, led by Horace Mann. *By 1850, many Northern states had opened public elementary schools, high schools, and private schools through churches and other groups.

11. *Most public schools barred African-American children from an education. *Teaching an enslaved person in the South was illegal. *Few colleges accepted African Americans.

12. *The first African American man to get a college degree: Alexander Twilight in 1823. *The first African American woman to get a college degree: Mary Jane Patterson in 1862.

13. Caring for the Needy: *Some people tried to improve society’s care for its weakest members. *Reformer Dorthea Dix discovered the harsh conditions female inmates endured simply b/c they were mentally ill. *She learned the mentally ill often received no treatment.

14. *She traveled all over the U.S. on behalf of the ill. Her efforts led to the building of 32 new hospitals. *Reformers also helped improve life for those with disabilities, including the deaf and blind.