Reform and a New
American Culture
U.S. History
Chapter 15
The Reforming Spirit

Social reform is
an organized
attempt to
improve what
is unjust or
imperfect in
society
Second Great Awakening

The religious
movement that
stressed free
will rather than
predestination
Second Great Awakening


Individuals could
choose to save
their souls by
their own actions
Revivals: huge
outdoor meetings
Hospital Reform


Dorothea Dix
found people with
mental illness
were jailed as
criminals
Dix persuaded
legislators to treat
insanity as illness
instead of a crime
Prison Reform


Dix also found
overcrowding in
prisons and
prisoners serving
lengthy sentences
for minor crimes
Debtors: people
who cannot pay the
money they owe
Temperance Movement


Campaign against
alcohol abuse
Alcohol abuse was
seen as most
serious social
problem, leading to
child abuse and the
break up of families
Temperance Movement
Maine Laws
banned the
sale of alcohol
 Carrie Nation

Improving Education


1814: New York
passed law requiring
tax-supported school
districts
By 1850, public
elementary schools
were built in most
northern states
Improving Education
Thomas Galludet
helped improve
education for
people with
disabilities
 Opened a school
for the deaf

Abolitionist Movement
Campaign to end
slavery
 Religious beliefs
led some
Americans to
oppose slavery

Abolitionist Movement

Abolitionists
wanted to end
slavery
completely in
the U.S.
Colonization Movement

American
Colonization
Society proposed
to end slavery by
setting up an
independent
colony in Africa
for freed slaves.
Opposition to Abolition


In both North and
South, some people
saw abolition as a
threat to their
economic livelihood
Southern economy
was dependent on
cotton plantations
Underground Railroad

Network of black
and white
abolitionists who
secretly helped
slaves escape to
freedom in the
North or Canada
Underground Railroad


Runaway slaves
could be returned
to their owners if
they stayed in
northern states
Free States vs.
Slave States: Iowa
was free state
farthest west
Seeking Equal Rights

Involvement in
the abolitionist
movement
caused many
women to join
struggle for
women’s rights
Seeking Equal Rights


Women had few
rights in mid1800s
A working
woman’s wages
belonged to her
husband
Seneca Falls Convention
Delegates passed
resolutions
demanding
equality for
women
 “all men and
women are
created equal”

Seneca Falls Convention
Education was
key to equality;
women could
now study math
and medicine
 Resolutions to
educate the
whole society

New Careers


Women found jobs
in careers reserved
previously for men
Elizabeth Blackwell
was the first
woman to earn a
medical degree and
become a licensed
doctor
Art


Before 1800,
European painting
traditions influenced
the American painting
styles
Mid-1800s, American
artists began
developing their own
styles
Art

Hudson River
School in New
York produced
artists who
painted scenes of
American life and
landscapes
Literature


Democracy was a
common theme in
the poetry of Walt
Whitman
Henry David
Thoreau wrote
about nature and
simple living:
Walden
Literature


Transcendentalists
believed the most
important truths in life
transcended, or went
beyond, human reason.
Individualism or “inner
light” to guide lives and
improve society – Ralph
Waldo Emerson
Literature

“If a man does not
keep pace with his
companions, perhaps it
is because he hears a
different drummer. Let
him step to the music
he hears.” Thoreau in
Walden
Literature: Novels

The Legend of
Sleepy Hollow:
Washington Irving


The Last of the
Mohicans: James
Fenimore Cooper
Moby Dick: Herman
Melville
Literature: New Authors



Women and African
American writers
Hardships faced by
slaves, widows,
orphans
William Wells, Clotel
Lessons for Modern Times


Martin Luther King
was influenced by
Thoreau’s idea of
civil disobedience
People have right to
disobey unjust laws
if their consciences
demand it
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
What was the religious movement
that stressed free will rather than
predestination?
Seneca Falls Convention
Hudson River School
Second Great Awakening
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
What was the religious movement
that stressed free will rather than
predestination?
Seneca Falls Convention
Hudson River School
Second Great Awakening
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
What was the campaign to end
slavery called?
Abolitionist movement
Social reform
Women’s right movement
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
What was the campaign to end
slavery called?
Abolitionist movement
Social reform
Women’s right movement
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
What was the gathering at which
delegates passed resolutions
demanding equality for women?
Hudson River School
Seneca Falls Convention
Temperance Movement
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
What was the gathering at which
delegates passed resolutions
demanding equality for women?
Hudson River School
Seneca Falls Convention
Temperance Movement
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
What is the organized attempt to
improve what is unjust in society
called?
Temperance Movement
Underground Railroad
Social Reform
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
What is the organized attempt to
improve what is unjust in society
called?
Temperance Movement
Underground Railroad
Social Reform
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Why did the Underground Railroad
routes lead through northern states
and into Canada?
Escaped slaves found little support in
northern states
Runaway slaves could be returned to
their owners if they stayed in
northern states
British ships would help African
Americans return to Africa
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Why did the Underground Railroad
routes lead through northern states
and into Canada?
Escaped slaves found little support in
northern states
Runaway slaves could be returned to
their owners if they stayed in
northern states
British ships would help African
Americans return to Africa
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
What was the campaign against
alcohol abuse?
Abolitionist movement
Temperance movement
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
What was the campaign against
alcohol abuse?
Abolitionist movement
Temperance movement
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which BEST summarizes the proposal of
the American Colonization Society?
Freed slaves should be resettled in
northern states
Freed slaves should be given their own
territory in the US
Freed slaves should be allowed to return
to Africa
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which BEST summarizes the proposal of
the American Colonization Society?
Freed slaves should be resettled in
northern states
Freed slaves should be given their own
territory in the US
Freed slaves should be allowed to return
to Africa
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which was NOT a new educational
opportunity for women in the mid1800s?
Studying math
Studying drawing
Studying medicine
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which was NOT a new educational
opportunity for women in the mid1800s?
Studying math
Studying drawing
Studying medicine
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
How did the Second Great Awakening
encourage the spread of social reform?
Its stress on self-improvement led to wish
to improve the whole society.
Its stress on acceptance of differences led
to growth of new religions.
Its doctrine taught people to rely on
society to solve their problems.
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
How did the Second Great Awakening
encourage the spread of social reform?
Its stress on self-improvement led to wish
to improve the whole society.
Its stress on acceptance of differences led
to growth of new religions.
Its doctrine taught people to rely on
society to solve their problems.
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which of the following was an
accomplishment of educational reformers
in the 1800s?
Public elementary schools were built in
most northern states
Public high schools were built in most
northern states
Colleges were created for people with
disabilities
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which of the following was an
accomplishment of educational reformers
in the 1800s?
Public elementary schools were built in
most northern states
Public high schools were built in most
northern states
Colleges were created for people with
disabilities
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which of the following was a result
of Dorothea Dix’s efforts at social
reform?
Mental illness was treated as a minor
crime
Children were released from prison
Insanity was treated as an illness,
not a crime
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which of the following was a result
of Dorothea Dix’s efforts at social
reform?
Mental illness was treated as a minor
crime
Children were released from prison
Insanity was treated as an illness,
not a crime
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which of the following does NOT
belong among the abuses Dorothea
Dix found in prisons?
Use of debtors as slave laborers
Overcrowding of prisoners
Lengthy sentences for minor crimes
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which of the following does NOT
belong among the abuses Dorothea
Dix found in prisons?
Use of debtors as slave laborers
Overcrowding of prisoners
Lengthy sentences for minor crimes
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
What did temperance groups view as
the most serious social problem of
the 1800s?
Shortage of mental hospitals
Alcohol abuse
Overcrowded schools
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
What did temperance groups view as
the most serious social problem of
the 1800s?
Shortage of mental hospitals
Alcohol abuse
Overcrowded schools
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Why did southerners who owned no
slaves defend slavery?
They feared job competition from
freed slaves
The southern economy had become
dependent on cotton plantations
They believed women would also
want more rights
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Why did southerners who owned no
slaves defend slavery?
They feared job competition from
freed slaves
The southern economy had become
dependent on cotton plantations
They believed women would also
want more rights
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which statement best describes the
beginning of the abolitionist movement?
Religious beliefs led some Americans to
oppose slavery
Douglass, an escaped slave, published an
antislavery newspaper
Some free African Americans moved to
Liberia
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which statement best describes the
beginning of the abolitionist movement?
Religious beliefs led some Americans to
oppose slavery
Douglass, an escaped slave, published an
antislavery newspaper
Some free African Americans moved to
Liberia
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which group benefitted MOST from
Thomas Gallaudet’s reform efforts?
The mentally ill
People with disabilities
Free African Americans
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which group benefitted MOST from
Thomas Gallaudet’s reform efforts?
The mentally ill
People with disabilities
Free African Americans
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which of the following themes was
common in the poetry of Walt
Whitman?
Democracy
Predestination
Prison reform
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which of the following themes was
common in the poetry of Walt
Whitman?
Democracy
Predestination
Prison reform
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Henry David Thoreau is best known
for what literary work?
Leaves of Grass
Walden
Moby Dick
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Henry David Thoreau is best known
for what literary work?
Leaves of Grass
Walden
Moby Dick
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
“Let (each person) step to the music
he hears.” This quote expresses the
belief of which literary group?
Hudson River School
Transcendentalists
Puritans
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
“Let (each person) step to the music
he hears.” This quote expresses the
belief of which literary group?
Hudson River School
Transcendentalists
Puritans
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
What was a central influence on the
styles of American painters before
1800?
Frontier life
Growth of the city
European painting traditions
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
What was a central influence on the
styles of American painters before
1800?
Frontier life
Growth of the city
European painting traditions
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which of the following was NOT a
favorite subject of American artists in
the mid-1800s?
City of London
Rocky Mountains
New York State
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which of the following was NOT a
favorite subject of American artists in
the mid-1800s?
City of London
Rocky Mountains
New York State
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Who wanted to ship free slaves back
to Africa as a means to end slavery?
Members of the Quaker religion
Followers of Charles Grandison
Finney
Members of the American
Colonization Society
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Who wanted to ship free slaves back
to Africa as a means to end slavery?
Members of the Quaker religion
Followers of Charles Grandison
Finney
Members of the American
Colonization Society
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
What directly led to 8 states passing
“Maine Laws” after 1851?
The temperance movement
The Second Great Awakening
The growth of public schools
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
What directly led to 8 states passing
“Maine Laws” after 1851?
The temperance movement
The Second Great Awakening
The growth of public schools
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Who is the author known for writing
“The Last of the Mohicans”?
Washington Irving
James Fenimore Cooper
Emily Dickinson
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Who is the author known for writing
“The Last of the Mohicans”?
Washington Irving
James Fenimore Cooper
Emily Dickinson
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Elizabeth Blackwell is best known for
her pioneering achievements for
Becoming a licensed doctor
Opening a high school for girls
Speaking against slavery
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Elizabeth Blackwell is best known for
her pioneering achievements for
Becoming a licensed doctor
Opening a high school for girls
Speaking against slavery
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which experience caused many
women to join the struggle for
women’s rights?
Belief in predestination
Enrollment in the Hudson River
School
Involvement in the abolitionist
movement
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which experience caused many
women to join the struggle for
women’s rights?
Belief in predestination
Enrollment in the Hudson River
School
Involvement in the abolitionist
movement
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which of the following statements BEST
reflects a key belief of the Second Great
Awakening?
“Individuals must obey their religious
leaders.”
“I cannot control my destiny; it has been
decided in advance.”
“I can save my own soul, and my good
works will improve the world.”
Review Question

A.
B.
C.
Which of the following statements BEST
reflects a key belief of the Second Great
Awakening?
“Individuals must obey their religious
leaders.”
“I cannot control my destiny; it has been
decided in advance.”
“I can save my own soul, and my good
works will improve the world.”