Reform in the Early 1800s
Development of Religious
Enthusiasm and the Growth of
Cities
• A spread of religious values, population
growth, and urbanization during the early
1800s led to a number of reform
movements trying to “fix” societal
problems.
Second Great Awakening
Second Great Awakening
• A reemergence of religion - especially in
Midwest and Southern states. 1800-1830s
• Typified by rowdy revival meetings - emotional
outlets for rural people, and often served as
social gatherings in places where there was
little else.
• Awakening in Northern states was a kind of
resurgence of Puritan beliefs.
Charles Finney
• New York preacher emphasized
emotional religious
appeals
From Religion to Reform
• Northern religious revivalism in particular led to
•
reform movements.
Reform movements picked up in cities addressing poverty, crime, temperance
Temperance Movement
• Movement against alcohol was religious and “feminist”
•
- alcohol seen as immoral and destroying families.
The beginning of a movement that culminated in 1918.
Gender Issues of the 1800s
• Throughout the country
•
•
women began to work out
of the home there was
clear inequality.
Women could not vote, in
marriage husbands were
in total control over
property and children.
Women began to have
more authority in religious
organizations - often
leading reform
movements.
Cult of Domesticity/True Womanhood
• View that women were supposed to
•
•
•
embody perfect virtue - based on
increased female involvement in religion.
For men, women were to be at home as
role models of piety - especially in
middle-upper class homes.
Really was the result of changing
economy - men and women no longer
working in a common environment instead wage labor. Created a concept of
different spheres for men and women =
men work, women stay at home.
In a sense women were denied a
commanding role in the economy, but
they were also the moral standard
bearers.
Fighting for Women’s Rights
• Even though women
were seen as the
moral standard in
society, they could not
vote.
Challenging the Status Quo
• Seneca Falls Declaration - 1848. Argued not just
for voting rights, but general equal rights.
Women’s Role
• Reality of women’s
•
role was not so ideal.
Many poorer women
worked, and were
expected to care for
the home.
Middle-upper class
women were more
often able to work in
charitable societies.
Asylum Reform
• Many of the state
•
•
institutions to deal with
mentally handicapped.
Idea was that problems
could be treated (solitary
confinement, rigid routine).
Ultimately many asylums
could not meet their needs,
but it was a step toward
humane treatment.
• Religious fervency during the early 1800s
was a major contributing factor to the
spread of reform movements.