AN AGE OF REFORM 1820-

1860

The Reform Impulse

• During the prosperous 1820s-40s there was an increasing concern in society as a whole for the need to reform- to make America as great as we felt it could be.

• The optimism of this time period shaped a number on movements regarding the desire for reform in social class issues, women’s rights/political inequality , religion and racism.

• Most reformers were middle class- generally from Northeast and Midwest. (south involved in some, but not others) Women vitally important- guardians of virtue etc…

• Reformers had a profound effect on politics and society.

Utopian Communities

• If improvement is the goal- one way to achieve is by grouping together with like minded individuals to achieve your purpose. (whatever that may be) Often disillusioned by materialism and industrialism, wanted to create a simpler, more harmonious lifestyle

• Generally collective- all property owned by the group (essentially forerunners of socialism and communism)

The Shakers

• 1st American communal movement. Founded by “Mother Ann” Stanley in England, came to US in 1787. Name comes from religious ceremonies where they were supposed to be experiencing the holy spirit.

• Had 20 communities in NY and OH with about 5000 members at peak.

• Believed in equality of sexes - opposed to marriage (and sex) made it hard for numbers to grow. (adopted orphans)

• Prosperous- known for quality furniture making (simplicity) Long lasting- survived until 1940s

Oneida

• Founded 1848 by John Humphrey Noyes based on new religious morality that sought free love, “complex” marriage, and selection of parents for better offspring. (sort of the anti-shaker)

• Noyes was very controlling, almost dictatorial. Prosperous due to metalwork (traps and silverware)

Worldly Communities

• Founded 1841, Brook Farm was another Utopian Community- but based on the principles of Transcendentalism- the belief that the spiritual world is more real, and more important than the physical one. Truth therefore “transcends” the limitations of what we can experience.

• Inspired by European Romanticism, a reaction to industrialization that stressed passion and emotion- esp in the arts. Emphasized individualism, and self reliance. Hostile to “conventional” institutions.

• Brook farm was meant to show that intellect and physical labor are not mutually exclusive. Attracted writers and artists, nonconformists and reformers- but not farmers. Community collapsed in 1846 after a fire.

The Owenites

• Robert Owen was a

British industrialist-

who didn’t like the degradation of factory workers. 1824 – Owen buys a town in Indiana, and decided to create “New Harmony”. Wanted to stop pursuit of wealth in favor of a “new moral world” of communal living. Failed within a decade

• Josiah Warren created totally unregulated settlements at Utopia OH, and Modern Times NY. Goods valued on how much labor it took to make them- no “nonproducers” allowed. But the NO rules thing ended up with chaos….

Religion and ReformTemperance• Reform movements drew inspiration from the

2nd Great Awakening – which called for people to live more godly lives. “Perfectionism” – all humans are capable of indefinite improvement. Took reform movements that already existed to much more intense levels.

• Evangelicals called drinking a sin- and alcohol abuse was a serious problem in 19th c America. Drunkenness decreased ability to work, and increased abuse of families. Temperance Movement promoted by churches to get men to slow or stop drinking voluntarily.. • American Temperance Society founded 1826• TS Arthur’s “10 Nights in a Barroom and what I saw there” 2nd best seller of

1850s.

• Temperance Fairly successful in reducing consumption, (in 1840s it was ½ what it had been in 1830s) but many started to look for Prohibition of Alcohol entirely. (Maine 1st state to do so in 1851) Least sectional of all reform movements

Critics of ReformReformers and Freedom

• Remember- this is the age of individualism – and reform movements tended to mess with that, which could get awkward

• Catholic immigrants particularly resentful – didn’t like “protestant morality” forced on them (and they liked to drink too). Plus, Catholics believe in original sin, so perfectionism is a waste of time….

• Individualism and Reform needed to exist in a delicate balance. Reformers often explained what they were doing as attempts to “liberate” people from the “slavery” of drink, or sin

• Also said that true self fulfillment comes from self-discipline – and that was what they were trying to teach people.

• Felt immigrants lacked self control, and led lives of vice and sin. Published “Tracts” (religious pamphlets) and flooded them in immigrant areas.

The Invention of the Asylum

• In America- “crime” has always called for “punishment”. During 1830s and 1840s, one aspect of reform was taking those who were outside the system (by choice, like criminals, or not, like orphans and the mentally ill) and creating places where their character could be transformed

• Jails for criminals (long term)

poorhouses, orphanages, asylums

for the mentally ill. Intention was

to “cure” whatever made person

act “incorrectly”

The Common School• The largest (and most important)

“Institutions” built during the reform era were tax supported schools. Local primary schools already common (in North – south not into this) this expands on those “one room schoolhouses”.

• Horace Mann (educational reformer) said schools would “equalize the conditions of men”- an alternative for those who could not afford to buy land, they would provide self-discipline and social advancement.

• Would also reinforce morality through rules: obedience to authority, promptness, attendance, and organizing ones day into pre-determined periods. (Gee, school is like a factory….) Also provided the 1st really “respectable” career for middle class women.

THE CRUSADE AGAINST SLAVERY

Abolitionist societies have been around since colonial age (Quakers). Had been

often discussed at end of revolution, then died away, only to be reawakened

with the Missouri Compromise

ColonizationBlacks and colonization• Many abolitionists favored gradual emancipation

and Colonization (return to Africa)- Favored by Henry Clay, John Marshall, Daniel Webster, J Q Adams, Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln.

American Colonization society founded 1816- established Liberia on West Coast of Africa.

• Assumption was that Blacks/Whites couldn’t live together on equal terms – much like Indian Removal

• Approx 15,000 blacks go to Liberia (capital Monrovia) from 1820-1860, some voluntarily (already Free), some slaves freed on condition they leave

• But since our slave trade outlawed 1808- most Blacks are native born- not “African”, and they strongly resented the notion that they couldn’t live here.

Militant AbolitionismThe Emergence of Garrison

• Abolitionist movement became much more aggressive beginning

in 1830s. Rejected gradual approach, demanded immediate, complete, uncompensated emancipation. All about exposing the evils of slavery- often “in your face” screaming and demanding justice.

• Founded on writings of David Walker (An Appeal to the Colored Citizens) which was all about hypocrisy of liberty v. slavery. But William Lloyd Garrison was the voice of the militant abolitionism. 1831 begins to publish “the Liberator” – a weekly Journal. • “I will be harsh as truth, I will not equivocate, I will not excuse, I will not

retreat a single inch, and I will be heard”

• Occasional suggestions that the “virtuous” north should secede from the “decadent” South. Popularity of movement made it clear this issue was not going to be solved quickly or easily.

Spreading the Abolitionist Message

• Elijah Lovejoy- his printing press destroyed 4 times, eventually murdered by pro slavery faction in Illinois.

• Theodore Weld- founder of American Anti-Slavery society, wrote American Slavery As It Is. great orator, known for sermons during 2nd awakening. Really started talking about slavery as a SIN, which changed the conversation- used stories published in SOUTHERN papers as source- south could not say he was making things up.

• Arthur and Lewis Tappan- funded the Liberator.

• Grimke Sisters- only well known southern female abolitionists (but their main focus was women’s rights)

Slavery and Moral SuasionAbolitionists and the Idea of Freedom

• South said that abolitionist’s goal was to create slave rebellion – but most (not all, as we will see later) abolitionists rejected violence

• Instead, their goal was to show people the sinfulness of slavery (Moral Suasion) – and how BOTH the north and south were complicit in benefitting from it.

• They were radical social critics, their language was deliberately provocative, and calculated to stir people up. Freedom comes not from owning land- but from individualism- being in charge of yourself and your own destiny.

• Yes, factory workers have hard lives, but they can quit their jobs, move, have a family- all things denied to slaves.

• Insisted upon the idea that Freedom itself (as opposed to property or self government) is the most fundamental American right

A New Vision of America

• Abolitionists were the 1st to take “color” out of the definition of an American. (up til now, could only be a full “citizen” if white) Demanded equality before the law regardless of race.

• 1st to say that Blacks ARE American, b/c they are born here, just like us. They are no more “African” b/c of their heritage than a white person is “English” (or Irish or German etc) by theirs. Used Liberty Bell as their symbol (which helped make it famous)

• Also helped expand the definition of “cruelty”. Beating etc came to be seen as wrong- the idea that a person has the right to “bodily integrity”.

BLACK AND WHITE ABOLITIONISTS

Black Abolitionists• Frederick Douglas escaped as a young

man, self educated. Wrote Narrative on the life of Frederick Douglas, a famous account of the life of a slave

• Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1851) most famous book of the age (only the bible sold more) Highly dramatized (and not super accurate, Stowe had never been to south) but portrayed slaves as sympathetic characters, Christians and families at the mercy of slaveholders – Melodramatic, but effective.

Abolition and RaceSlavery and Freedom• Leaders of abolitionist movements were

generally white- so by 1840s Free Blacks sought

independent movements.

• Remarkable how far abolitionists pulled away from what were accepted ideas of the time, fighting legal and political battles, and challenging what it meant to be a “man”

• In 1852 Fredrick Douglas gave a famous speech on Independence day “What, to a slave, is the 4th of July” – saying that America could not choose to celebrate ourselves as land of the free, and continue to allow slavery.

• Black communities would celebrate the anniversary of things like the end of the slave trade, or dates when various other countries had abolished slavery. Held up England as a land of Justice, and US as land of Tyranny.

• Free blacks also pointed out that while they were not property, they were certainly not being invited to be a full part of America

Gentlemen of Property and StandingSlavery and Civil Liberties

• It was not only the south that hated abolitionism- (though they did, and southern postmasters would do things like burn abolitionist mailings etc, which is against the law) There were also people in the North – who made big $$ from cotton etc- who wanted abolitionists silences

• William Lloyd Garrison dragged through streets in Boston, Elijah Lovejoy killed by a Mob in Illinois, Anti-Abolitionists burned Penn. Hall to prevent meetings.

• To try to sweep the issue under the rug, in 1836 Congress adopted a “Gag resolution” saying no abolitionist bills would be debated/voted on. Repealed 1844 (JQA)

• An effective technique was to appeal to Northerners that their OWN freedoms were threatened by slavery (after all, if it could happen to one group)

• It’s never easy to hold on to an unpopular opinion- and most people in North just wanted to ignore the slave issue. But Abolitionists would not be silenced, and worked to assure their right to discuss issue- even if it made others uncomfortable.

THE ORIGINS OF FEMINISM

The Rise of the Public Woman

• Women were tremendously important to the abolitionist movement –after all, we were the guardians of public virtue. Most were evangelical protestants, fired up after 2nd Great Awakening

• LOTS of people were involved in politics in the 1830s and 40s (remember those 80% voter turnouts) and women were excluded. In reform, women found a way to be involved in the issues our nation was experiencing, some even with leadership roles. (Dorothea Dix and her work with mentally ill)

• Attacked double standards of era- demanding a voice.

Women and Free Speech

• Working as abolitionists, women began to see correlations to their OWN subordinate legal status.

• Grimke Sisters: criticized for giving speeches to mixed gender crowds on abolitionism led them to feminism. Defended not only the right of women to take part in debate, but to share social and educational privileges enjoyed by men.

• Letter on Equality of the Sexes – critique of the idea that women and men had to have separate spheres. Demanded equal pay for equal work. “I know nothing of men’s rights and women’s rights. My doctrine is that whatever it is morally right for men to do, it is morally right for women to do”.

Women’s Rights• Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, abolitionists turned

away from international anti-slavery convention in London b/c of their sex - which led them to feminism. Organized Seneca Falls Convention 70 women and 30 men in upstate NY. 1st discussion of Women’s suffrage, as well as property rights (coverture still common), need for education and increased econ opportunities.

• Declaration of Sentiments: modeled

on Dec of Independence, “All men and

women are created equal” protested

“injuries and usurpations to the rights

of women”

Feminism and Freedom

• Women’s Rights advocates insisted that women deserved individual choices (besides whom to marry) and the possibility of self realization that was essential to freedom.

• Middle Class women have more time (servants etc) – but less fulfillment, women were denied higher education and access to the vast majority of “professions”

• Margaret Fuller: transcendentalist (so freedom is internal, a quest for personal development), said women needed education to decide their lives for themselves. Became the 1st female editor of New York Tribune

Women and Work• Market revolution had given women new roles –and lower class

women worked HARD. Disparity of Republican Motherhood / Cult of Domesticity vs Economic roles . Women are seen as mentally/physically weak (despite their work)

• Sojourner Truth – a emancipated (from

gradual era of Revolution) slave gave

famous “Aren’t I a Woman” speech 1851

• Amelia Bloomer: advocated “Turkish

trousers” rather than skirts for women….

seen as indecent

• Feminists challenged the idea that freedom

and reason belonged to men alone, and

that issues of justice and liberty did not

apply to the family.

The Slavery of Sex

• Again, women could empathize with the legal issues of slavery- b/c they had very few legal rights themselves- especially if married. Remember from the last chapter- southern slaveholders often compared their wives and their slaves as naturally inferior.

• Mary Wollstonecraft had written Vindication of the Rights of Women in 1790s (“Why are all men born free and all women born slaves?”)

• Women did not have rights to own/control property (even if they had it before marriage), control their own wages (often paid to husband) though some states (like NY) began to enact laws separating husbands/wives property after Panic of 1837

Social Freedom

• Again, like abolitionists- feminists maintained that the central idea of freedom is having the decision making power in your own life – including your own body. There were very few laws against physically or sexually abusive husbands (as long as they were not “intolerable”), and birth control, while in infancy, was illegal in many states.

• Though feminists challenged the cult of domesticity, they did use the stereotype of women’s greater morality to say that if women were allowed increased access to public life- they would be an influence for good.

• Lucy Stone: kept her own name after she married.

• Susan B. Anthony: demanded laws that gave

custody rights to mothers, the right to collect their

own wages, and inherit property.

The Abolitionist Schism

• Abolitionism and Feminism became intertwined, two groups searching for recognition, and full citizenship. But some MALE abolitionist leaders became uncomfortable with the dual role of the struggle, and thought that women had overstepped their bounds, or that supporting women’s rights as well (as leaders like William Lloyd Garrison did) made them seem TOO radical.

• 1840 Abby Kelly was appointed to a leadership position in the American Anti-Slavery Society, which offended enough men that a group split off and formed the American and Foreign Anti Slavery Society (clever title guys)

• Mainstream press and churches dismissive- said this “nonsense” would hurt women’s more important reform work. But- women gained greater access to education (esp college) and property rights before the Civil War