AP US History
Antebellum Reformer Speed Dating
You will be assigned to assume the character of an early 19th century reformer. Your task is to research
your reformer and answer the following questions, creating a biography sheet for "yourself" that includes
a picture, dates of life, and information that includes these questions. In addition, please provide a
nameplate that identifies you. You may earn extra credit for bringing a “prop” that helps your “date” identified
you—something from your individual’s life or reform works. (Be creative).
You will be "speed-dating" (if you don't know what it is, look it up!) other reformers, introducing
yourselves to one another and getting to know your similarities and differences. During the speed-dating,
you will have about 2 minutes to share your story and listen to the story of the person/people with whom
you are paired.
a) What criticism of American society did the individual have?
b) What methods did the person use to improve American life?
c) What goals/success did the individual have in promoting reform?
d) What details (pick a couple important ones) of the person's work made
him/her an interesting figure?
e) What lasting impact did the person's reforms have on society?
Your Reformer: __________________________
Reformers:
Ralph Waldo Emerson
William Lloyd Garrison
Henry David Thoreau
Thomas Gallaudet
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Dorothea Dix
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
George Ripley
John Humphrey Noyes
Father Theobald Mathew
Neal Dow
Sarah and Angela Grimke
Susan B Anthony
Charles Grandison Finney
Joseph Smith
Frederick Douglass
Lucretia Mott
Horace Mann
Robert Owen
James G. Birney
Mary Mason Lyon
Harriet Tubman
Frances Willard
Emma Willard
David Walker
Lewis Tappan