I. Religion Sparks Reform
A. Second Great Awakening - Americans attended revivals and
churches in record numbers
1. Launched the Reform Era to reshape American society
B. Temperance (moderation) movement reduced the use of alcohol
1. “Evils of alcohol” – sickness, poverty, & breakup of families
2. Maine outlawed alcohol in 1851 – 12 states followed
II. Reforming Education
A. Common school movement – education was vital to democracy
B. Horace Mann was the greatest school reformer - advocated for
compulsory attendance
1. By 1860, six in ten white students attended school
III. Reforming Prisons
A. Dorthea Dix campaigned for humane
treatment of prisoners and mentally ill
1. Criminals and mentally ill confined
together
2. Crowded and unsanitary conditions
and abused by jailers
B. Nearly 100 mental institutions in US by
her death in 1887
A. Sought deeper and truer understanding of the world
B. Ralph Waldo Emerson – people should be selfreliant & trust their intuition
1. Sense of connection between people and nature
2. One of America’s most important authors
C. Henry David Thoreau – power of self-reliance
and individual thought
1. Mentored by Emerson - lived simply to
achieve a meaningful life
2. Wrote “Civil Disobedience” – claimed
govt. was best when it governed the least
 Inspired Gandhi and MLK Jr. - nonviolent resistance
D. Utopianism – created communities free of
social ills
I. Immigrants
A. Irish – potato was their staple crop
1. Great Irish Famine – potato crops failed & over 1
million died by 1850
2. By 1854, nearly 1.5 million had moved to US
B. Germans – fled homeland due to economic depression,
overpopulation & escape religious persecution
1. Came to the US for free land and business opportunities
C. Push-pull theory
1. Push – factors that cause people to leave homeland
2. Pull - factors that cause people to move to another country
A. Hostility toward Irish - sheer numbers, 1.5 Irish out of
24 million Americans
1. Most settled in port cities on Atlantic coast
2. Resented because of their poverty - took lowpaying jobs & threatened American workers
3. Catholics in a predominantly Protestant country
B. Nativists – opposed immigration, violently at times
C. Germans experience was more positive – they were
middle-class Protestants
1. Many settled in Midwest & became farmers or carpenters
A. Urban reform – richest 1% controlled cities & half
the wealth
1. Most urban Americans were poor
2. Lived in tenements – disease spread rapidly
3. Majority of reform happened in late 19th century
B. Industrial reform
1. By 1860, 30% worked in manufacturing - shifted
from farmers to wage earners
2. Owners wanted to maximize profits
a. long hours, low wages and unsafe conditions
b. workers organized for greater bargaining power
C. Labor movement supported workers rights
1. Opposed by business owners – many were politicians
2. President Jackson declared 10 hour workday for fed.
employees
3. President Van Buren extended the law to workers
I. Limits on Women
A. Legal limits – couldn’t vote or hold office
B. Economic limits – not allowed to own property
C. Cultural limits – women were viewed as inferior to
men
1. “A woman’s place was in the home”
2. Cult of domesticity urged women not to work
A. Second Great Awakening opened
doors for women
1. Greater participation in
religious affairs - formed Bible groups
and missionary societies
B. Reform societies promoted social
change
C. Educational reform - Catharine
Beecher ran a school for women
1. Mt. Holyoke College – first
women’s college led many to become
teachers
D. Seneca Falls Convention (NY) began modern American
women’s movement
1. Women desired political power, but lacked influence /
accomplishments in office
a. Active in abolitionist movement (racial equality =
gender equality)
b. needed to fight to improve own lives as well
2. Convention organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton
3. Produced the Declaration of Sentiments - written by Stanton
a. 100 signed the document – 68 women/32 men
b. Declared “all men and women were created
equal”
I. Lives of Slaves
A. By 1860, 4 million lived in slavery in the South
B. Life of work - slaves were viewed as property, not people
1. Lived on farms and plantations - cotton farming was
labor intensive
2. Lived in barely tolerable conditions - food, clothing &
medical care was inadequate
C. Life of fear – slavery threatened to separate families
1. Many owners treated slaves well, but others were harsh
and inhumane
D. Life of hope - religion was major source of comfort
1. Found pleasure in storytelling and inspiration in songs
A. Slave revolt in 1830 – led by Nat Turner
1. Deadliest slave uprising in American history
2. Killed slaveholder and family - 75 followers killed
dozens more Whites
3. Local militia captured and executed 20, including
Turner
B. Some slaves escaped to the North, Canada or Mexico
C. Underground Railroad – network of escape
routes and safe houses
1. Provided food, hiding and directions
2. Harriet Tubman was a key organizer
& most famous worker
- Escaped herself, then helped others
on journey to freedom
A. Campaign to end slavery
B. One of largest movements of Reform Era
C. Religious roots - Quakers condemned slavery as
immoral
1. Northerners viewed slavery as a moral wrong
D. William Lloyd Garrison demanded slavery be
abolished immediately – leading abolitionist
1. Started newspaper called The Liberator
2. Founded American Anti-Slavery Society - nearly
200,000 members
E. Frederick Douglas escaped slavery at 20
1. Popular speaker with sharp intellect
- published newspaper called North Star
2. One of most influential abolitionists in
US history
21. _________________ led the movement for humane treatment
of prisoners and the mentally ill.
22. __________________________ wrote “Civil Disobedience,”
and influenced Gandhi and Dr. King.
23. _____________________________ led the Transcendentalist
movement and is one of America’s great authors.
24. ________________________ organized the Seneca Falls
Convention and wrote the Declaration of Sentiments.
25. _________________________________ started The Liberator
and demanded that slavery be abolished.
26. _____________________________ published the North Star
and was an influential abolitionist.
27. ___________________helped organize the Underground RR.