Reforming America: Religion, Education, and Reforms 1790-1860

1. Mr. Long’s AP US History The Ferment of Reform and Culture: 1790-1860

2. Introduction • We have seen two revolutions involving the shaping of America up to this time now we have a third. • Revolution 1: Political (Rise of Mass Democracy) • Revolution 2: Economic (Self-Sufficient System) • Revolution 3: Cultural (Religion, social)

3. Reviving Religion • 1850: ¾ of the population still attends church • Over time the zeal of the old-time (Calvinism) had been fading • Thomas Paine“Age of Reason” • Churches are “set up to terrify and enslave mankind and monopolize power and profit”

4. Reviving Religion • Deism- Believed in a supreme being who created mankind with a capacity for moral behavior • CLOCKMAKER THEORY • This was the belief of many founding fathers • Jefferson (Jefferson Bible) • Franklin

5. Reviving Religion • Unitarianism- Believe in a God (1 Person not Trinity) and that human nature is good. • Salvation through good works • Essentially believe what ever you want RELIGION IS BECOMING MORE LIBERIAL AS IT STRAYS FROM ITS FOUNDATION!

6. Reviving Religion • Reaction to Liberalism = 2nd Great Awakening • 2nd Great Awakening- A wave of religious revivals which spread to the masses with “camp meetings” • Lager then 1st Great Awakening • One of the most monumental episodes in American Religion!

7. Reviving Religion • Results of 2nd Great Awakening • Spurred on missionary work (Hawaii, Indians, Foreign) • Created splits in denominations • EX: Southern Baptists and Baptists • How do we see sectionalism through this?

8. Reviving Religion • Charles Finney • Greatest revival preacher • Kept Audiences captive with his mix of old-time religion and innovative thoughts. • Denounced alcohol/slavery • President of Oberlin College (hotbed for abolitionist movement)

9. Reviving Religion • Women in 2nd Great Awakening • KEY of the 2nd Great Awakening=feminization of religion (membership/theology) • Middle class women = strongest supporters and largest population • IMPORTANCE: SPREAD RELIGION FROM HOME OUTWARD

10. Denominational Diversity • Revivals fragmented religious faiths • EX: Burned-Over District, NY • Sectionalism • EAST: wealthier, more conservative, well educated tended to not be effected as much. • South/West: poorer, less learned, rural, they were more affected by revival waves. • WHY? • They need something to bolster their spirits. • Slavery is a huge issue

11. Review • What are the three different revolutions we see come about in the United States from 1790-1860? • How did we see the rise in sectionalism displayed through the 2nd Great Awakening?

12. A Desert Zion • Mormons- members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. • Founded by Joseph Smith (NY) • After his murder the mission is picked up by Brigham Young as they moved west to Utah. • Great example of Westward expansion.

13. Free Schools for a Free People • Tax supported schools are scarce early on in United States early on. • REASON: They are associated w/ poor b/c that is who they were for. “ragged schools” • Wealthy eventually saw the light. • REASON: if they did not educate the ignorant they would eventually be dangerous and have the vote. • This is their insurance for a stable democracy

15. Free Schools for a Free People • Public education triumphed between 1825-1850 • Lagged behind in the South (rural, spread out) • Early free schools were very bad • One room school house • Open only a few months a year • Teachers ill trained, under paid, bad tempers (men) • Taught the Three R’s • Readin, ritin and rithmatic

16. Free Schools for a Free People • School Reform • Horace Mann (1796-1859) • “Father of public education” • Proposed • More/Better Schools • Longer Terms • Better pay for teachers • Expanded Curriculum • Noah Webster: Webster’s Dictionary, Reading books • William H. McGuffy: McGuffy’s Reader

17. Higher Goals for Higher Education • The main goal of higher education at this time is religious training (Ivy League) • Spurred on by zeal from 2nd Great Awakening • State Supported Schools • First in the South (Univ. of Virginia 1819) • Women schooling still rare

18. Age of Reform • 2nd Great Awakening led to many social reforms (3 Main) • Temperance Movement (Anti-Drinking) • Women’s Rights Movement • Abolitionists Movement (Anti-Slavery) Women are prominent in reform movements. REASON: Allows them to escape the confines of the home and have voice heard.

19. Age of Reform

20. Demon Rum-The “Old Deluder” • Reasons for increased drinking: • Customs of the day • Hard/monotonous labor (factories/agriculture) • PROBLEMS CAUSED BY ALCOHOL • Decreased efficiency of labor • Danger of accidents at work • Fouled the sanctity of marriage • Threatened spirituality/safety in home

21. Demon Rum-The “Old Deluder” • American Temperance Society (Boston 1826) • Group of reformers against the use/manufacturing of alcohol. • Thy used print, pictures and lectures very effectively. • T.S.Arthur: wrote Ten Nights in Barroom and What I Saw There (1854). • Told of how entire town ruined by a tavern • What did taverns mean at time of Revolution? • 2nd highest selling book at the time.

22. Demon Rum-The “Old Deluder” • Two Major Lines of Attack • To stiffen the will of the people to resist drinking • To remove alcohol altogether by legislation • Neal S. Dow (Maine): “The Father of Prohibition” • Maine Law of 1851- prohibited the manufacturing and sale of liquor in the state.

23. REVIEW • WHAT ARE THE THREE REVOLUTIONS THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE US FROM 1790-1860? • WHAT ARE THE THREE MAIN REFORMS THAT THE 2ND GREAT AWAKENING HELPED AID?

24. Women in Revolt • Role of women at beginning of 19th century = subordinate housewives • They couldn’t vote • Couldn’t inherit land • They could be legally beaten by their husbands • This sounds a lot like the life of blacks at the same time.

25. Women in Revolt • Even with all the negatives they still faired better then European women. • Marriage is a choice (unlike colonial times) • 10% were spinsters at the time of the Civil war • Women were thought to be keepers of “societies conscience” • Home belonged to the women • They are responsible for raising good and productive citizens of the Republic

26. Women in Revolt • Women’s Rights Movement • Seneca Falls Convention (1848) • Led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. • Declaration of Sentiments • “ all men and women are created equal” • WHAT RIGHTS THEY WANTED • Women’s suffrage • Women’s right to retain property after marriage • Greater divorce and child custody rights • Equal education opportunities

27. Women in Revolt • Leaders of Women’s Rights • Lucretia Mott • Susan B. Anthony • Elizabeth Cady Stanton • Importance: • Launched the modern day women’s rights movement.

28. MAD GAB • Eight Ace Dove Hit • A taste of it

29. Wilderness Utopia • There was a small group of reformers who sought a communitarian lifestyle • Utopia- A perfect society • Robert Owen- 1825 founded New Harmony • Brook Farm- Massachusetts in 1841 • Oneida Community- NY 1848, most radical attempt. “Free Love” • Shakers- longest est. sect of communitarians. • Didn’t believe in marriage or procreation, died out by 1940’s.

30. The Dawn of Scientific Achievement • Early American’s are more concerned w/ practical gadgets then pure science. • REASON: Inventions solved their problems • THERE IS SCIENCE BUT VERY LITTLE!

31. The Dawn of Scientific Achievement • Professor Benjamin Silliman (1799-1864) • Chemist/Geologist • Taught and wrote at Yale for 50 years.

32. The Dawn of Scientific Achievement • John J. Audubon (1785-1851) • Studied birds in America • “Birds of America”

33. The Dawn of Scientific Achievement • Advances in Medicine? • Medicine is still in its infancy • Bleeding was still the preferred method of healing • Disease is still a huge problem • Epidemic in Philadelphia in 1793. “Bring out your dead” • Lifespan = 40 years for whites, less for blacks in 1850 • Surgery is very brutal

34. Artistic Achievement • Painting • Painting is still handicapped • REASON: • Not enough people w/ money to pay/sit for paintings in US. • Some good artists still emerge • Gilbert Staurt • Charles Willson Peale • John Trumball

35. Artistic Achievement • Hudson River School • A group of artists led by Thomas Cole, who painted landscapes emphasizing America’s national beauty (uniqueness) • America’s first coherent school of art!

39. Blossoming of National Literature • What type of writing have we seen thus far? • Political (most successful early writing) • American literature receives a boost from nationalism post-Revolution/1812 • Why do you think this is?

40. Blossoming of National Literature • Knickerbocker Group (3 New Yorkers) • Washington Erving (1783-1859) • 1st to earn international recognition • He interpreted America to Europe • The Legend of Sleepy Hollow • Rip Van Winkle

41. Blossoming of National Literature • James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) • 1st American Novelist • The Last of the Mohicans

42. Blossoming of National Literature • William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878) • American Poet • THE KNICKERBOCKERS GAVE AMERICA ITS OWN STYLE IN MULTIPLE GENRES OF WRITING.

43. Trumpeters of Transcendentalism • Transcendentalism • A philosophy and literary movement of the 1800’s that emphasized living a simple life while celebrating the truth found in nature and in personal emotion and imagination. • Golden Age of American Literature = 2nd quarter of 19th century.

44. Trumpeters of Transcendentalism • Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) • He urged writers to do away w/ European tradition and search the riches of America for inspiration. • “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”

45. Trumpeters of Transcendentalism • Henry David Thoreau (1817-1863) • He was thrown in prison for not paying his Massachusetts poll tax. • Civil Disobedience (1849) • Walt Whitman (1819-1892) • Leaves of Grass (1855)

46. Growing Literary Lights • Female Literary achievements • Louisa May Alcott (1832-188) • Little Women (1868) • Emily Dickenson (1830-1886) • Extraordinary talent in poetry • Over 2,000 poems published after her death.

47. Growing Literary Lights • Other contributors • Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) • The Scarlet Letter • Herman Melville (1819-1891) • Moby Dick, Billy Budd • Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) • The Raven, The Cask of Amontillado

48. Growing Literary Lights • Literature from the south • The South did not contribute much to early literary movements. • WHY? • Poor schooling • Illiterate

49. Portrayers of the Past • Many notable historians came from this era • George Bancroft (1800-1891) • “Father of American History” • Wrote a 6 volume history in 1789 • Others of note • William H. Prescott • Francis Parkman • There is a heavy NE bias to early histories.