“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men
are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness….Whenever any Form of Government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of
the People to alter or to abolish it…”
THE DECLARATION
OF INDEPENDENCE
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrvpZxMfKa
U&feature=related
CAN YOU THINK OF any time in
history when those famous words
of the declaration of independence
were not necessarily true?
THE 1800s
AN ERA
OF REFORM
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO
REFORM?
• To reform something means to
change it…
Reform Movement
Between about 1820 and 1850, American
reformers devoted themselves to such causes
as ending slavery, promoting women’s rights,
protecting the mentally ill and improving
education.
Great changes in America were about to happen
and reformers were fighting for this change.
The Second Great Awakening
For many people, the feeling of needed to
reform or change American society began with
new religious movements. One of the main
religious movements was called the Second
Great Awakening.
Optimism of the Second Great
Awakening
Preachers during the Second Great Awakening
began telling their flocks that they could
“build a heaven on Earth” through doing good
deeds. This inspired people to work for the
improve problems in society.
Ideas Affect Reform
• Many people in society were encouraged by
these religious movements to reform (change)
problems in society. Others were inspired by
the nonreligious ideas of American writers,
poets, and philosophers.
Temperance Movement
Some Americans began the temperance
movement. This was a campaign to stop people
from drinking alcohol. Many women joined the
temperance movement and urged people to
sign a pledge to give up alcohol.
Temperance Movement
Supporters of the temperance movement
argued that alcohol was a social ill. Alcohol led
to poverty, drunkenness and crime. They
believed society would be much better if
alcohol was prohibited (outlawed). Many
states banned the sale of alcohol. Overtime
however, these laws were repealed (taken
away).
Henry David Thoreau
• One famous poet and writer that began to
spread his ideas of reform was named Henry
David Thoreau. Thoreau preached what he
called civil disobedience.
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
Civil disobedience is the idea that people are
in control of their government and therefore
have to right to do what they believe is right
even if it means disobeying the government
Breaking Down The Word
Civil = peaceful/ nonviolent
Disobedience= breaking the rules/ defiance
Civil Disobedience=
nonviolent acts of defiance that are intended
to create change
DOROTHEA DIX
REFORMING PRISONS
AND HELPING THE
MENTALLY ILL
PRISONERS AND THE
MENTALLY ILL
• During the mid 1800s prisons were a place to
put children accused of petty crimes, the
insane and the criminal.
Debtors Prison
• Over 75,000 Americas were in debtors
prisons. Most for over less than 20 dollars.
Life in the Prison
The prisons were horrible places where people
were chained, whipped, beaten, and forced to
stand naked in the confining cages. The
mentally ill were treated particularly bad and
were severely punished if they missed behaved.
DOROTHEA DIX
One of the most famous people to speak out
for the rights of prisoners and the insane was
a woman named Dorothea Dix.
Dorthea Dix wrote about the horrible things
she saw in the prisons and worked tirelessly to
improve the conditions in the jails.
I have observed mentally ill
inmates chained naked to
stone walls in cells without
heat or ventilation. I have to do
something for them.
Dorthea Dix and
Mentally Insane
Through the reform work of Dorthea Dix, the
government created new laws to handle
children and the mentally insane within
prisons.
More insane asylums were build to house the
mentally ill. In the asylums they were treated
as people with an illness, not as criminals.
The New Asylums
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sho
ws/asylums/view/
EDUCATION
REFORM
Reforming Education
Before the reform movements of the
mid-1800s most children did not go to school.
The children of many poorer families needed
to work and earn money.
Horace Mann
A man named “Horace Mann” led a movement to
reform education. Horace Mann believed that
more children needed to be given the
opportunity to attend school. Horace Mann
argued that education was the “great
equalizer” and “greatly improve America.”
Horace Mann
Horace Mann has become known as the “father
of public education.”
Horace Mann Reforms Education
Horace Mann argued that everyone in society
would benefit from children going to school
and that people should pay taxes to fund
schools, and pay teachers better.
School Not For Everyone
After his reform actions, most white children,
especially boys, attended free public schools.
It took many more years for girls and later
African-American students to have access to
free/public education. It was illegal to even
teach a slave to read and write.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
THE SUFFRAGE
MOVEMENT
Equal Rights for Women
In the 1840s women were fighting for the
rights of others and began to realize they too
needed equal rights.
19th Century Women’s Rights
During the 1800s women were not treated
equally and had little say over their own lives.
Divorce was almost unheard of, women couldn’t
control the money they earned, they couldn’t
vote, and they didn’t have the right to buy or
control their own property.
THE SENECA FALLS CONVENTION
The Seneca Falls Convention
• On July 19, 1848, almost 300 people (including
40 men) met in Seneca Falls, New York to
discuss women’s rights.
• The convention for women’s rights was led by
Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She read a speech
called the Declaration of Sentiments.
The Declaration of Sentiments
The Declaration of Sentiments which was read
at the Seneca Falls Convention proposed rights
of women.
It began with these words, “We hold these
truths to be self-evident that all men and
WOMEN are created equal…”
Declaration of Sentiment
Just like the Declaration of Independence
listed the acts of tyranny (cruelty) by King
George over the colonies, The Declaration of
Sentiment listed the acts of tyranny by men
over women.
ELIZABETH CADY-STANTON
WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE
• Many women argued that they needed to
fight for women’s suffrage. Suffrage means
the right to vote. They believed this was
the best way to get power in society and
create change.
The Legacy of the Seneca Falls
Convention
• Only one of the 200 women
who participated in the
Seneca Falls Convention lived
long enough to vote
for president.
However, The convention represented a great
movement towards reforming the rights of
women and slowly women began to earn the
rights they deserved.
•
http://www.amazon.com/Not-Ourselves-Alone-ElizabethStanton/dp/B002PMRSWE/ref=pd_vodsm_B002PMRSWE
Women’s Rights Convention
Suffrage Song
“Let us all speak our minds”
• http://dig.lib.niu.edu/gildedage/songs/letus
allspeak.html
Sojourner Truth
“AINT I A WOMAN”
• One of the women that
became an active campaigner
for the rights of women and
the rights of African-Americans
was named Sojourner Truth.
• Being both an African- American and a
woman, Sojourner Truth represented two of
the most oppressed groups in society.
Abolitionists work to End
Slavery
• Another reform movement that
existed in the 1800s was the push
to end slavery.
• During the reform movements of the 1840s,
many people became known as
abolitionists. They wanted to abolish (end)
slavery.
• Some of most famous abolitionists include,
Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and
Sojourner Truth
• Her words of strength and bravery in
the face of unspeakable discrimination
motivated the thousands who heard her
speeches. She represented two great
reform movements.
“Ain’t I a Woman?”
• One of her most famous
speeches was given to a church
congregation who had gathered
together to discuss women’s rights.
• Sojourner Truth walked to the front of the
crowed as they talked about the rights of
white women and stated….. “Ain’t I a
woman…”
AINT I A WOMEN
Abolitionists work to End
Slavery
• Another reform movement that
existed in the 1800s was the push
to end slavery.
• During the reform movements of the 1840s,
many people became known as
abolitionists. They wanted to abolish (end)
slavery.
• Some of most famous abolitionists include,
Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and