Reform Movement
Alexandra Ahmed
Kristina Reyes
Marissa Rocha
8th period
1600’s:
In the 1600’s there were not many reform movements occurring due to the
fact they had just entered the New World and were trying to survive. They had
separated from the Church of England and tried to establish a new way of living in
this New World. As more people started to arrive to the new World they faced
different people with a variety of religious beliefs. In this time period there were
the Separatist, Pilgrims, Puritans, Quakers, and the Native Americans. All these
people wanted to get away from their original monarchies and wanted to have
their own religious beliefs and different settlers coming in it showed their
religious freedom, which would have not been allowed before.
1700’s:
In the 1700’s once the colonists started to get an idea on the ways of living
came more reform movements. By the 1730’s colonists seemed to be less
religious then the settlers who had originally arrived; this causes The Great
Awakening to happen. The Great Awakening was known as a wave of religious
revivalism. This caused Americans to learn how to start reading that way they can
study the bible and read up on it at their houses. Later The Great Awakening
would result in The Enlightment. The Enlightment was a movement that had
emphasized rationalism over emotionalism or spiritually. Benjamin Franklin one
of the founding fathers had believed in the Enlightment very much. Franklin had
believed that the Enlightment had focused more about education, government,
and religion. Besides these two movements nothing else had really occurred
during this time period.
1800-1850
The early 1800’s were years of various social reforms. The temperance
movement mainly started after the American Revolution, where many drank to
excess due to rapid inflation; it was very common to pay these workers in drink. In
result, the American Temperance Society was formed in 1826, containing over 1
million members. Also common during that time was prostitution and antigambling. The Mississippi Valley and river gave access to sailors with money and
ships having the trade of women as well as the game of gambling. The south was
more open these actions than most. Politically, the Jacksonian Democracy was
created in 1828 with Andrew Jackson as head. This Party had beliefs of spreading
suffrage to federal institutions and strengthening the executive branch, but the
party had too much white supremacy causing universal white manhood suffrage.
Another group trying to make change was the Utopian Societies. These groups
started in the 1820’s, trying to find the ideal place to live. They hoped to create
their perfect society by building experimental communities and achieving
perfectionism. Knowing that the world isn’t perfect, Dorothea Dix wanted to help.
She was an activist for the insane who, making a vigorous program of lobbying
state legislatures and made the first generation of American mental asylums
during the 1840’s. Also during the 1940’s, Brooks Farm was created. It was
towards agriculture and education and stated it would give a portion of the farm
profits in exchange for equal distribution of the work as. In these communities
education was important as well as equal payment of work for women and men.
Also viewing education as important, education reformist Horace Mann showed
his views a few years prier. He believed that universal education was the only way
to discipline America’s children. He’s known as “The Father of Common School
Movement”. On the religious aspect, Mormons had their own movement. They
traveled from New York to Utah making their own polygamist society.
1851-1900
The Second Great Awakening had a major impact during the late 1800’s. At
that time evangelicalism reform societies helped change penitentiaries, asylums,
and orphanages. Changes also occurred during Reconstruction in the south. The
Civil Service Commission was created. Competition stared to increase and the
development of trusts and stocks came about, reforming the ideals of business.
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act in 1890 was created, making monopolies possible.
Against business wealth, Andrew Carnegie felt businesses have a moral
responsibility of philanthropy. Expressing his opinion he wrote “Gospel of the
Wealth” in 1889. Also known for their writing successes, was Helen Hunt Jackson.
She was an activist on improved treatment of Natives and was known for her
novels, “A Century of Dishonor” in 1887 and “Ramona”. The Natives were also
affected by the Dawes Act in 1887, which authorized the President of the U.S to
survey Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Indians.
European Immigration during that time was also rapid. Jane Adams and the Hull
House was created in 1889 to help shelter and provide for those who couldn’t.
During that time populism grew amongst Americans siding with the people over
the elites. With population growing due to immigration, Railroad Regulations
were adopted with the U.S Railroad Administration, and Interstate Commerce
Commission, for safety and economic reasons. During that time the Pendleton
Act was also made, stipulating government jobs.
1900-1950
During the early 1900’s, the Progressives were able to dominate political
movements by building off populism as well as with the benefit of being middle
class Americans. One of the most influential progressive leaders was Theodore
Roosevelt who was also known as the “Trust Buster.” Most progressives were
offended by the amount of corruption and poverty found within their
communities. They were able to receive help from journalists such as Ida Tarbell,
Lincoln Steffens, and Upton Sinclair, also known as “muckrakers.” Tarbell was a
teacher and author who wrote The History of the Standard Oil Company in 1904,
exposing the corruption behind the largest trust in the early 1900’s. Lincoln
Steffens investigated the corruption within the governments on American cities
and published it in articles which eventually became The Shame of the Cities in
1904. Probably the muckraker best known for his work was Upton Sinclair who
wrote The Jungle in 1906, revealing the meat packing industry of its poor
treatment to employees as well as its lack of proper sanitation. Sinclair stated, “I
aimed at the public’s heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach.” Two
amendments to the constitution also played a large role in the progressive era.
The 16th Amendment allowed for congress to levy income taxes without the
states having a say in it. The 17th Amendment established the direct election of
senators by popular vote. As part of the progressive party, Woodrow Wilson also
saw a need for change. He saw a utopian society as a place where everyone was a
small farmer. In 1912, Wilson’s New Freedom attacked the “Triple Wall of
Privilege” which was made of tariffs, banks, and trusts. Later, from 1920 to 1933
prohibition came into play in the United States. Prohibition banned the sale,
production, and transportation of alcohol through the 18th Amendment. This
seemed to be quite ineffective, for it resulted in a new “gangster era.” Later
during the infamous Great Depression, a New Deal was introduced as a series of
domestic economic programs as a response to the economy. Though this
provided many small jobs to those people who were unemployed, it seemed to be
somewhat ineffective because it was only temporary. Though the Progressives
seemed to be quite successful, they only lasted till the end of World War I. Some
Progressives were for the war while others were against it. The “Red Scar” split
the party even more, and eventually they lost the support of the groups that
originally advocated them.
1950-Present Day
During the years of the Vietnam War, many college students rioted against the
war as well as for freedom of speech. They were not allowed to speak out against
the government and the war thus violating the first amendment. The Beat
Movement, also known as the Beat Generation was a social and literary
movement of the 1950s that derived from many bohemian artist communities.
This movement challenged conformity by creating an era of hip, jazz musicians.
The New Frontier introduced by John F. Kennedy was described as a “frontier of
unknown opportunities and perils, the frontier of unfilled hopes and unfilled
dreams.” The Great Society of this time was introduced by Lyndon B. Johnson as
many domestic programs whose main goals were eliminate poverty and racial
justice. Other movements at this time were created by two important cases.
Gideon vs. Wainwright was a case that said under the Fourteenth Amendment, in
criminal cases, the defendant is provided an attorney by the government if they
were not able to afford one. The case of Miranda vs. Arizona, established the
Miranda Rights. A sense of gay pride was spread throughout the country while
both blacks and women were fighting for equal rights. This movement introduced
the question of same sex marriage.
Glossary
 The Great Awakening- periods of religious revival in American religious history
 The Enlightment- purpose was to reform society using reason, challenge ideas
grounded in tradition and faith, and advance knowledge through the scientific method

American Temperance Society- members who had taken a pledge to abstain from
drinking distilled beverages.

Jacksonian Democracy- political movement toward greater democracy for the
common white man
 Andrew Jackson- 17th president and advocated white men democracy
 Universal White Manhood Suffrage- males within a political system are allowed
to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification
 Utopian Societies- groups looking for the ideal equal lifestyle
 Dorthoea Dix- American activist who created the first generation of American mental
asylums
 Brooks Farm- a utopian experiment in communal living in the United States in the
1840s
 Horace Mann- American education reformist who created public schools. As a
politician he served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1827 to 1833.
 Mormons- church groups that trace their origins to a Christian primitive movement founded
by Joseph Smith in the late 1820s.
 Second Great Awakening- protestant revival movement in late 1800’s.
 Evangelicalism Reform Societies- a religious reform society
 Civil Service Commission- created to select employees of federal government on
merit rather than relationships.
 Trusts- large business
 Stocks- equality stakes of its owners
 Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890- prohibits certain business activities that federal
government regulators deem to be anticompetitive, and requires the federal
government to investigate and pursue trusts, companies, and organizations suspected
of being in violation.
 Andrew Carnegie- philanthropist
 Helen Hunt Jackson- poet and writer who became an activist on behalf of improved
treatment of Native Americans by the U.S. government
 Dawes Act- authorized the President of the United States to survey Indian tribal land
and divide it into allotments for individual Indians

Jane Addams and the Hull House- opened its doors to the recently arrived
European immigrants.

Populism- they side with "the people" against "the elites". While for much of the
twentieth century, populism was considered to be a political phenomenon
 US Railroad Commission- established in 1891 to regulate the rail industry of the
1800s

Interstate Commerce Commission- required that railroad rates be "reasonable
and just," but did not empower the government to fix specific rates.
 Pendleton Act- stipulated that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of
merit
 Progressives- advocating or favoring gradual social, political, and economic reform
 Theodore Roosevelt- the 26th President of the United States (1901–1909).
Influential progressive leader also known as the “Trust Buster”
 Lincoln Steffens- a New York reporter who launched a series of articles that would
later be published together in a book titled The Shame of the Cities
 Upton Sinclair- an American author who wrote the classic muckraking novel, The
Jungle in 1906
 Ida Tarbell- an American teacher, author and journalist. She was a muckraker of the
progressive era. She wrote The History of the Standard Oil Company in 1904.
 16th Amendment- ratified in 1913, authorizing Congress to levy a tax on income
 17th Amendment- ratified in 1913, providing for the election of two U.S. senators
from each state by popular vote and term for six years.
 Wilsons New Freedom- to improve the banking system, lower tariffs (taxes), and, by
breaking up monopolies, give small businesses freedom to compete.
 Prohibition- Alcoholic beverages could not be legally be manufactured, transported,
or sold in the U.S.
 New Deal- the principles of the progressive wing of the democratic party, especially
those advocated under the leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt for economic recovery
and social reform
 Beat Movement- a group of American post-World War II writers who came to
prominence in the 1950s.
 New Frontier- the principles and policies of the liberal wing of the Democratic party
under the leadership of John F. Kennedy.
 The Great Society- programs created by Lyndon B. Johnson to improve education,
provide medical care for the aged and eliminate poverty

Gideon vs Wainwright- unanimously ruled that state courts are required under the
Fourteenth Amendment to provide counsel in criminal cases for defendants who are
unable to afford to pay their own attorneys, extending the identical requirement made
on the federal government under the Sixth Amendment.
 Miranda vs Arizona- supreme court decision that sets guidelines for police
questioning of accused persons to protect them against self-incrimination and to
protect their right to counsel also known as the Miranda Rights.
 Gay Pride- a sense of dignity and satisfaction involved in the public admission o ones
homosexuality