REFORM MOVEMENTS IN
UNITED STATES HISTORY
1830’s; Populism; Progressives; Modern Era
Reforms of the 1730’s – 1760’s
The 1st Great Awakening
A move away from predestination towards living as
Jesus had instructed.
Related Terms/People/Literature
Arminianism – free will instead of predestination
Jonathan Edwards
George Whitefield
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
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Reform 1820’s-1850’s
The Second Great Awakening
Preached that you were capable of self-improvement.
Salvation through repentance.
Each person had a duty to combat sin; lead to reform
movements
Related Terms/People/Literature
Charles G. Finney
Burned-over district
Mormons; Millerites; Spiritualist; Shakers
Growth of Baptist and Methodist is South
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Reforms of 1820’s-1850’s
Education Reform
Public Schools were formed to provide educational
AND moral direction.
Middle class families viewed it as a chance for
advancement and to instill Protestant ethics.
Save immigrants and poor children from bad
influences and bad parents to influence good
citizenship.
Related Terms/People/Literature: Horace Mann
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Reforms of 1820’s – 1850’s
Asylum/Prison Reform
Reformers believed that all problems were
correctable. This lead to many state supported
prisons and asylums. Poor treatment/abuse of
prisoners and patients lead to reform.
Related Terms/People/Literature: Dorothea Dix
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Reform of 1820’s – 1850’s
Reform Turns Radical in the 1830’s
 Women’s Movement
Temperance Movement - Reform dedicated to the
removal of alcohol from society due to rise in
alcoholism, spousal abuse, and mismanagement of
family funds.
Women’s Equality – Seneca Falls Convention
demanded women’s right to vote; rejected the Cult
of Domesticity; gender equality
Reform of 1820’s – 1850’s
Women’s Movement Continued
Related Terms/People/Literature:
Lucretia Mott
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Sojouner Truth
Clara Barton
Dorothea Dix
Seneca Falls Convention
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Reform of 1820’s – 1850’s
Abolitionist Movement
Abolition of slavery.
Mostly appealed to small town citizens in the North.
Related Terms/People/Literature
William Lloyd Garrison – The Liberator
Frederick Douglass – The North Star
Harriet Tubman – Underground Railroad
Harriet Beecher Stowe – Uncle Tom’s Cabin
American Anti-Slave Society
Liberty Party
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Reform of 1820’s – 1850’s
Utopian Communities
Reformers who grew tired of trying to reform society began
their own ideal communities.
Key Terms/People/Literature
Robert Owen and Charles Fourier created socialist communities
Shakers – believed in sexual equality and the 2nd coming of
Christ
Onieda Community – 2nd coming of Christ has already
occurred which negates the need for moral rules; free love
George Ripley formed a utopian society based on education
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Reform of 1820’s – 1850’s
Transcendentalism
Literary & philosophical idea that individuals can
transcend reality & connect with universal spiritual
forces
Key Terms/People/Literature
Henry David Thoreau – Walden Pond (advocated a
utopia of 1); Civil Disobedience
Ralph Waldo Emerson – Nature; Self-Reliance
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Reform of 1880’s
Civil Service Reform
Brought on by the spoils system and the growth of
government during the Second Industrial Revolution
Pendleton Act 1883 – merit based exams for civil
service jobs
 Women’s Christian Temperance Movement
Fought for temperance, improvement in race relations
and women’s right to vote. (Carrie Nation)
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Populist Reforms 1880-1896
Granger Movement
They were angry at wholesalers, banks, and railroads
(Eastern establishment) They established co-ops,
banks and grain elevators. Granger movement
died out in the 1870’s depression.
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Populist Reforms 1880-1896
National Farmer’s Alliance
Ocala Demands: Free Coinage of Silver, railroad
regulation, direct election of US Senators, national
income tax, storage of grain in government silos
when prices are low
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Populist Reforms 1880-1896
Populist Party
Politically oriented group of agrarian farmers in the
Midwest and South that formed a coalition with
factory workers that advocated a wide range of
economic and political legislation
In addition to the Ocala Demands they wanted an 8
hour workday, break-up of monopolies, and
immigration restrictions.
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Populist Reforms 1880-1896
Populist Party
Key terms/people/literature
Williams Jennings Bryan
Bimetalism
Bland Allison Act
Sherman Silver Purchase Act
*Populist ideas enacted by other parties: national income
tax, direct election of US Senators, secret ballot. The
movie, Wizard of Oz, is a populist allegory.
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Progressive Reforms 1890s-1920s
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Began in cities to reform working conditions, living
conditions and labor problems.
Themes: belief in progress, Social Gospel,
government help to achieve goals, change
environment to change people, and humanize
industry and urbanization
Progressive Reforms 1890s-1920s
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Populist Movements
Prohibition – lead to 18th Amendment
Prostitution – raised moral conscience; many states
outlawed brothels
Good Government Movement – fought to end local
government corruption. Moved power away from
party bosses to city councils and mayors.
Muckraking Journalism – Journalist used their craft
to expose societal problems in many different
areas.
Progressive Reforms 1890s-1920s
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Standardizing Education – assimilation of
immigrants, creative intelligence
Women’s Movement – Women’s suffrage movement
(19th Amendment); birth control education to help
eliminate poverty
African-American Movement – racial equality;
integrated schools etc.
Workers Movement – Union Movement
Progressive Presidents
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Teddy Roosevelt – trust busting; industry regulations;
conservation of land and resources; Department of
Commerce and Labor; Big Stick Diplomacy
William Howard Taft – trust buster; safety codes for
miners; Children’s Bureau; split the Department of
Commerce and Labor into two separate
departments; Dollar Diplomacy
Woodrow Wilson – graduated income tax; Federal
Reserve Act; Clayton Anti-Trust Act; 16-20th
Amendments; Moral Diplomacy
Progressive Reforms 1890s-1920s
Key terms/people/literature
Settlement houses
Jane Hull
Social Gospel
Mugwumps
Jacob Riis – How the Other Half Lives
Henry George – Progress and Poverty (showed the
gap between rich and poor)
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Progressive Reforms 1890s-1920s
Key terms/people/literature
Lincoln Steffan – Shame of the Cities (exposed city
political machine corruption)
Ida Tarbell – History of Standard Oil (exposed
Rockefeller’s ruthless business practices)
Upton Sinclair – The Jungle (exposed unsanitary
conditions of meatpacking industry which would
lead to the Pure Food and Drug Act)
John Dewey – Education reform
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Progressive Reforms 1890s-1920s
Key terms/people/literature
Margaret Sanger
Booker T. Washington – Atlanta Compromise Speech
WEB DuBois – Niagara Movement
NAACP
Samuel Gompers – American Federation of Labor
Women’s Trade Union
Industrial Workers of the World
Triangle Shirtwaist Comapany
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Progressive Reforms 1890s-1920s
Key terms/people/literature
Initiatives, referendums, and recalls
Robert La Follette – Wisconsin Governor
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