Antebellum
Revivalism
&
Reform
Reform movement came about because
of the Market Revolution
1. Led by the Middle Class
2. Belief in the goodness of human
nature
3. Moralistic
T he Second Great Awakening
1790’s-1830’s
• 2nd Religious Revival Movement in the U.S.
• Stressed salvation through personal faith
– Redemption
T he Second Great
Awakening
Social Reforms & Redefining the
Ideal of Equality
Temperance
Education
Abolitionism
Asylum &
Penal Reform
Women’s
Rights
T he “Burned-Over” District
• An area in Upstate & Western NY state
• Heavily evangelized during the 2nd G.A.
• There was no more “Fuel” to “Burn” b/c everyone
had converted
• New religious
movements began in
this area
T he Mormons
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)
 1823  Golden Tablets
 1830  Book of Mormon
 1844  Murdered in
Carthage, IL
Joseph Smith
(1805-1844)
T he Mormons
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)
• After his death,
Brigham Young
became the new
leader
Brigham Young
(1801-1877)
• Mormons faced persecution
b/c of their beliefs
– Polygamy
– Cooperative Communities
T he Mormon “Trek”
 Desert community
would become their
“Zion”
 Salt Lake City,
Utah founded in
1847
 Utah did not
become a state
until 1896 b/c of
Mormon beliefs
B. Utopian Communities
W hat is a Utopian Community?
• A group that pulls away from society to form a
“perfect” community
• Formed to counteract the economic & social evils
caused by the Market Revolution
• About 100 formed
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–
–
–
All were Cooperative
Socialist/Communist in nature
Gender roles neutralized
Some founded around religion
T he Shakers
•
•
•
•
•
Religion was the focus
Life should be dedicated to finding perfection
Segregated men and women
Believed in celibacy
Live a simplistic
lifestyle
T he Oneida Community
New York, 1848
 Millenarianism --> the 2nd
coming of Christ had
already occurred.
 Humans were no longer
obliged to follow the moral
rules of the past.
• all residents married
to each other –
“Complex Marriage”
John Humphrey Noyes
(1811-1886)
• carefully regulated
“free love”
Brook Farm
• Transcendentalist Utopian farm
• Formed in West Roxbury, MA
• Was influential to writers like
Thoreau & Hawthorne
George Ripley
1802-1880
New Harmony, IN
• To deal with poverty socialist
communities should be
established
• All families work & live together
Robert Owen
1771-1858
Institute Building in the U.S
• During the 1830’s and 1840’s the U.S.
began a program of institute building:
– Jails for debtors and criminals
– Poorhouses for the destitute
– Orphanages for children without families
Dorthea Dix
• Mentally insane were placed
in prisons and abused
• No assistance given
• Dix was an advocate to
improve their treatment
• 1849:1st Asylum established
to treat the insane
• By 1860 28 states established
asylums
Consumption of Alcohol
• Alcohol seen as one of the
biggest problems of society
• Mainly a problem for men
– “Demon” Rum, Cider,
Whiskey
– Beer (when the Germans
arrive)
• Problem?
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Wasted Money
Domestic Abuse
Increased Crime Rates
Decreased Efficiency at work
American Temperance Society
•
•
•
•
Founded in 1826 in Boston, MA
Claimed to have 200,000 members by mid 1830’s
Group mainly made up of Women
Two methods for ending the evils of alcohol:
1. Advocate a moderate use of alcohol
2. Make alcohol illegal
•
By 1857, 12 states had made alcohol illegal
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•
ME was the first
Problem: laws found unconstitutional
Successful: alcohol consumption dropped
Horace Mann (1796-1859)
“Father of
American Education”
 Pushed for a state supported,
public educational system
 Advocated dividing children up
by “Grades” and having a uniform
curriculum in all schools
 Discouraged corporal punishment
 Established state teachertraining programs
Educational Reform
Religious Training  Secular Education
 MA
 By
 always on the forefront of public
educational reform
* 1st state to establish tax support for
local public schools.
1860 every Northern state offered free public
education to whites.
* US had one of the highest literacy rates.
Women Educators
 Middle class women now seen
as able to have an acceptable
job outside of the house
Established a seminary in NY
to train female teachers
Emma Willard
(1787-1870)
 1837  she established
Mt. Holyoke [MA] as the first
college for women.
Mary Lyons
(1797-1849)
Early 19c Women
1.
2.
3.
4.
Unable to vote.
Legal status of a minor.
Single  could own her own property.
Married  no control over her
property or her children.
5. Could not initiate divorce.
6. Couldn’t make wills, sign a contract,
or bring suit in court without her
husband’s permission.
“Separate Spheres” Concept
“Cult of Domesticity”
 A woman’s “sphere” was in the home
 Her role was to “civilize” her
husband and family.
 Four Cardinal virtues:
1. Piety
2. Purity
3. Submission
4. Domesticity
Women’s Rights
Many women believed that their roles in other
reform movements should lead to an expansion
of their rights
Lucretia Mott
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
1848  Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments
Cult of Domesticity = Slavery
The 2nd Great Awakening inspired women
to improve society.
Angelina Grimké
Sarah Grimké
 Southern Abolitionists
Seneca Falls Convention
• 1st women’s rights
convention
• Held in July 1848
• Stanton read Declaration of
Sentiments
• Outlined that women &
men should be equals
• However, no real changes
until after WWI
Early Movements
• 1816: American Colonization Society founded
• Did not believe that freed slaves could achieve equality
in the U.S.
• Established Liberia in Africa
W illiam Lloyd Garrison
• Wanted immediate emancipation
with NO compensation.
• Slavery was a moral, not
an economic issue.
• Began militant abolitionist
movement in the North
Premiere issue  January 1, 1831