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Chapter 12 - Antebellum Culture & Reform

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Chapter 12Chapter 12

AntebellumCulture &Reform

AntebellumCulture &Reform

In France, I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom pursuing courses diametrically opposed to each other; but in America, I found that they were intimately united, and that they reigned in common over the same country… Religion was the foremost of the political institutions of the United States.

-- Alexis de Tocqueville, 1832

The Rise of Popular ReligionThe Rise of Popular Religion

Second Great Awakening

Began in early 1800’s, traditional region staged a dramatic comeback (“revivalism”) => Second Great Awakening. Spread religious fervor throughout the country. Churches

and membership (Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian) mushroomed. Unlike the First G.A. of the old time Puritans, this did not

scare a captive congregation with dire predictions of a vengeful God’s and arbitrary judgments.


But instead, message: Benevolent God desires salvation for everyone of his children. Basic thrust:

• Individual must re-admit God and Christ into their lives.

• Embrace fervent worship and reject skeptical rationalism

• Believe that he/she could affect his/her own destiny and reach salvation through faith and good works.


Accelerated the growth of different Christian sects and denominations. Served as vehicle for establishing order and social

stability in communities still searching for an identify. Attracted a great deal of women (young women)

and African Americans (stirring racial unrest in the South)

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Rise of Evangelism

Methodists proceeded to their camp meeting

The Second Great Awakening: The FrontierPhase Camp meetings ignited a spiritual fervor that

converted thousands and altered the religious landscape of America forever.

Camp meeting revivals conveyed intensely personal religious message

~25,000 people gathered to hear the gospel preached by charismatic orators who “rode the circuit” from camp to camp

1835 Evangelical camp meeting

Trained as lawyer, but became one of the greatest evangelist Held crowd

spellbound with his oratory skills Led massive

revivals in Rochester & NY City (1830 -1831)

Second Great Awakening in the North

Charles Finney

Second Great Awakening in the South black slaves and freed men and women could also

attend segregated, companion revivals

Second Great Awakening’s Effects on Women

Was the feminization of religion. Wives, daughters of businessmen: most fervent

enthusiasts. Why the attraction?

• Evangelicals preached a gospel of female spiritual worth, that they play an active role in bringing their husbands and families back to God.

• Gave women the inspiration, then, to save the rest of society. They formed a host of benevolent and charitable organizations and spearheaded some of the


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The Mormons(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)


Joseph Smith(1805-1844)

1823 Golden Tablets

1830 Book of Mormon

1844 Murdered in Carthage, IL

Violence Against MormonsViolence Against Mormons

p310 Map 15-1 p311



Deseret community.

Salt Lake City, Utah

Brigham Young(1801-1877)

The Romantic ImpulseIn

Antebellum America

The Romantic ImpulseIn

Antebellum America


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TranscendentalismTranscendentalism

Liberation from understanding and the cultivation of reasoning.”

“Transcend” the limits of intellect and allow the emotions, the SOUL, to create an original relationship with the Universe.

Transcendentalist ThinkingTranscendentalist Thinking Man must acknowledge a body of moral truths that were

intuitive and must TRANSCEND more sensational proof:

1. The infinite benevolence of God.

2. The infinite benevolence of nature.

3. The divinity of man.

They instinctively rejected all secular authority and the authority of organized churches and the Scriptures, of law, or of conventions

Transcendentalism(European Romanticism)

Transcendentalism(European Romanticism)

Therefore, if man was divine, it would be wicked that he should be held in slavery, or his soul corrupted by superstition, or his mind clouded by ignorance!!

Thus, the role of the reformer was to restore man to that divinity which God had endowed them.

Transcendentalist Intellectuals/WritersConcord, MA

Transcendentalist Intellectuals/WritersConcord, MA

Ralph WaldoEmerson

Henry DavidThoreau

Nature(1832) Walden

(1854)

Resistance to Civil Disobedience

(1849)

Self-Reliance (1841)

“The American Scholar” (1837)

Watch “Transcendentalism”

The Transcendentalist AgendaThe Transcendentalist Agenda Give freedom to the slave.

Give well-being to the poor and the miserable.

Give learning to the ignorant.

Give health to the sick.

Give peace and justice to society.

Their pursuit of the ideal led to a distorted view of humannature and possibilities:

* The Blithedale Romance

A Transcendentalist Critic: Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

A Transcendentalist Critic: Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

One should accept the world as an imperfect place:

* Scarlet Letter* House of the Seven

Gables


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The Pursuit of PerfectionIn

Antebellum America

The Pursuit of PerfectionIn

Antebellum America

Nationalism and Romanticism: American Painting

American artists expressed the nation’s virtues, evoked the wonder of America’s landscape. Nature (not civilization) was best source of wisdom & spiritual fulfillment.

TheHudson River

School:

1820s-1870

Emergence of an American romantic impulse, independent from Europe.

These artists captured the undiluted power of nature Paint the nation’s most spectacular and undeveloped areas

[the new Garden of Eden]. Nature (not civilization) was the best source of wisdom &

fulfillment. Painting is the vehicle through which the universal mind

could reach the mind of mankind. Art is the agent of moral & spiritual transformation.

Emergence of an American romantic impulse, independent from Europe.

These artists captured the undiluted power of nature Paint the nation’s most spectacular and undeveloped areas

[the new Garden of Eden]. Nature (not civilization) was the best source of wisdom &

fulfillment. Painting is the vehicle through which the universal mind

could reach the mind of mankind. Art is the agent of moral & spiritual transformation.

BackgroundBackground

Paint grand, scenic vistas. Humans are an insignificant [even non-

existent] part of the picture. Experiment with affects of light on water and

sky.

Paint grand, scenic vistas. Humans are an insignificant [even non-

existent] part of the picture. Experiment with affects of light on water and

sky.

Characteristics of the Hudson River SchoolCharacteristics of the Hudson River School

A new art for a new land.A new art for a new land. Transcendentalist thinking. Westward expansion. American nationalism --> What is America?

* Creation of a national mythology Racism and Native Americans. Concern for political extremism. The price paid for progress and the advances of

civilization.

Transcendentalist thinking. Westward expansion. American nationalism --> What is America?

* Creation of a national mythology Racism and Native Americans. Concern for political extremism. The price paid for progress and the advances of

civilization.

Issues/Themes Addressed by the Antebellum Artists

Issues/Themes Addressed by the Antebellum Artists


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In Nature’s Wonderland - Thomas Doughty, 1835In Nature’s Wonderland - Thomas Doughty, 1835 Niagara by Frederic Church, 1857Niagara by Frederic Church, 1857

View of the Catskills, Early Autumn - Thomas Cole, 1837View of the Catskills, Early Autumn - Thomas Cole, 1837View from Mt. Holyoke: The Oxbow - Thomas Cole, 1836View from Mt. Holyoke: The Oxbow - Thomas Cole, 1836

The Course of Empire: The Savage State - Thomas Cole, 1834The Course of Empire: The Savage State - Thomas Cole, 1834 The Course of Empire: The Arcadian or The Pastoral State - Thomas Cole, 1836

The Course of Empire: The Arcadian or The Pastoral State - Thomas Cole, 1836


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The Course of Empire: Consummation - Thomas Cole, 1836The Course of Empire: Consummation - Thomas Cole, 1836 The Course of Empire: Destruction - Thomas Cole, 1836The Course of Empire: Destruction - Thomas Cole, 1836

The Course of Empire: Desolation - Thomas Cole, 1836The Course of Empire: Desolation - Thomas Cole, 1836Kindred Spirits – Asher Durand, 1849Kindred Spirits – Asher Durand, 1849

Vision of UtopiaIn

Antebellum America

Vision of UtopiaIn

Antebellum America

Radical Ideas and Experiments: Utopian Communities

Utopian socialism • Inspired by Robert Owen, Charles Fourier• New Harmony, Indiana—Owenite

Religious utopianism• Shakers• Oneida Community


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Secular Utopian CommunitiesSecular Utopian Communities

IndividualFreedom

Demands ofCommunity Life

spontaneity

self-fulfillment

discipline

organizationalhierarchy Brook Farm

West Roxbury, MA

George Ripley (1802-1880)George Ripley (1802-1880)

Robert Owen (1771-1858)Robert Owen (1771-1858)

Utopian Socialist

“Village of Cooperation”

Original Plans for New Harmony, INOriginal Plans for New Harmony, IN

New Harmony in 1832

New Harmony, INNew Harmony, INThe Oneida Community

New York, 1848The Oneida Community

New York, 1848

John Humphrey Noyes(1811-1886)

Millenarianism --> the 2nd coming of Christ had already occurred.

Humans were no longer obliged to follow the moral rules of the past.

• all residents “married”to each other.

• carefully regulated “free love.”


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p323 p323

Mother Ann Lee (1736-1784)Mother Ann Lee (1736-1784)

If you will take up your crosses against the works of generations, and follow Christ in theregeneration, God will cleanse you from allunrighteousness.

Remember the cries of those who are in need and trouble, that when you are in trouble, God may hear your cries.

If you improve in one talent, God will give you more.

The ShakersShaker MeetingShaker Meeting

Shaker HymnShaker Hymn

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'Tis the gift to be free,'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,And when we find ourselves in the place just right,'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gainedTo bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed,To turn, turn will be our delight,'Till by turning, turning we come round right.

Shaker Simplicity & UtilityShaker Simplicity & Utility


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p320

Social ReformsIn

Antebellum America

Social ReformsIn

Antebellum America

The Second Great AwakeningThe Second Great Awakening

“Spiritual Reform From Within”[Religious Revivalism]

Social Reforms & Redefining the Ideal of Equality

Temperance

Asylum &Penal Reform

Education

Women’s Rights

Abolitionism

Penitentiary ReformPenitentiary Reform

Dorothea Dix(1802-1887)

1821 first penitentiary founded in Auburn, NY

R1-5/7

p315


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Dorothea Dix Asylum - 1849Dorothea Dix Asylum - 1849 Temperance MovementTemperance Movement

Frances WillardThe Beecher Family

1826 - American Temperance Society“Demon Rum”!

R1-6

Annual Consumption of AlcoholAnnual Consumption of Alcohol “The Drunkard’s Progress”“The Drunkard’s Progress”

From the first glass to the grave, 1846

Social Reform ProstitutionThe “Fallen Woman”

Social Reform ProstitutionThe “Fallen Woman”

Sarah Ingraham(1802-1887)

1835 Advocate of Moral Reform

Female Moral Reform Society focused on the “Johns” & pimps, not the girls.


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The Extension of Education Before the 1820s, most schools were private

• Wealthy in the North and South sent children to private schools

• Some poor sent children to charity or “pauper” schools financed by localgovernments

• New England towns were often required to support elementary schools

Public schools expanded rapidly from 1820 to 1850

Means of advancement for working class

Means of inculcating values of hard work, responsibility tomiddle-class reformers

Horace Mann (1796-1859)Horace Mann (1796-1859) Children were clay in the hands of teachers and

school officials Children should be “molded” into a state of

perfection Horace Mann argued that schools saved

immigrants, poor children from parents’ bad influence.

Worked to establish a state board of education and adequate tax support.

Advocated using moral influence rather than corporal punishment, as Calvinists used

Established state teacher-training programs Discouraged corporal punishment

Educational ReformEducational Reform

Religious Training Secular Education

MA always on the forefront of public educational reform* 1st state to establish tax support for local public schools.

By 1860 every state offered free public education to whites. US had one of the highest literacy rates.

p312

The Country School (1871)By Winslow Homer

Women EducatorsWomen Educators Troy, NY Female Seminary curriculum: math, physics,

history, geography. train female teachers

Emma Willard(1787-1870)

Mary Lyons(1797-1849)

1837 she established Mt. Holyoke [So. Hadley, MA] as the first college for women.

A Female SeminaryA Female Seminary


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Graduates of Oberlin College, Class of 1855 Early 19c WomenEarly 19c Women

1. Unable to vote.2. Legal status of a minor.3. Single could own her own property.4. Married no control over her property or her

children.5. Could not initiate divorce.6. Couldn’t make wills, sign a contract, or bring

suit in court without her husband’s permission.

“Separate Spheres” Concept“Separate Spheres” Concept“Cult of Domesticity”

A woman’s “sphere” was in the home (it was a refuge from the cruel world outside).

Her role was to “civilize” her husband and family.Child rearing seen as essential preparation for self-disciplined

Christian lifeWomen confined to domestic sphereWomen assumed crucial role within home

An 1830s MA minister:

The power of woman is her dependence. A woman who gives up that dependence on man to become a reformer yields the power God has given her for her protection, and her character becomes unnatural!

What It Would Be Like If Ladies Had Their Own Way!

What It Would Be Like If Ladies Had Their Own Way!

R2-8

Cult of Domesticity = SlaveryCult of Domesticity = SlaveryThe 2nd Great Awakening inspired women to improve society.

Angelina Grimké Sarah Grimké

Southern Abolitionists

Lucy Stone

American Women’s Suffrage Assoc.

edited Woman’s JournalR2-9

Women’s RightsWomen’s RightsLondon in 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention

Lucretia Mott Elizabeth Cady Stanton

1848 Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments


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Seneca Falls DeclarationSeneca Falls Declaration Reform Turns Radical

Most reform aimed to improve society

Some radical reformers sought destruction of old society, creation of perfect social order

Abolitionist MovementAbolitionist Movement

GradualistsRadicalistsBy 1830s

gradual end to slavery colonization of freed slaves

to colony of Liberia, W. Africa

Immediate abolition of slavery

Divisions in the Benevolent Empire

Before 1830, many peopleexpressed religious and moral concern over slavery, but viewed it as deeply rooted social and economic system that could only be eliminated gradually.

• 1817: American ColonizationSociety

Radicals like William Lloyd Garrisondemanded immediate emancipation

• 1831: Garrison founded TheLiberator

• 1833: American Anti‐Slavery Society William Lloyd Garrison

Anti-Slavery AlphabetAnti-Slavery Alphabet William Lloyd Garrison (1801-1879)

William Lloyd Garrison (1801-1879)

Slavery undermined republicanvalues.

Immediate emancipation with NO compensation.

Slavery was a moral, not an economic issue.


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The LiberatorThe Liberator

Premiere issue January 1, 1831

The Tree of Slavery—Loaded with the Sum of All Villanies!

The Tree of Slavery—Loaded with the Sum of All Villanies!

Other White AbolitionistsOther White Abolitionists

Lewis Tappan

Arthur Tappan

James Birney

Liberty Party.Ran for President in

1840 & 1844.

Black AbolitionistsBlack Abolitionists

David Walker(1785-1830)

1829 Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World

Fight for freedom rather than wait to be set free by whites.

Black Abolitionists Former slaves related the horrible

realities of bondage

Black newspapers, books, and pamphlets publicized abolitionism toa wider audience

Blacks were also active in theUnderground Railroad

Sojourner Truth

FrederickDouglass

Frederick Douglass (1817-1895)Frederick Douglass (1817-1895)

1845 The Narrative of the LifeOf Frederick Douglass

1847 “The North Star”


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Sojourner Truth (1787-1883)or Isabella Baumfree

Sojourner Truth (1787-1883)or Isabella Baumfree

1850 The Narrative of Sojourner Truth R2-10

Harriet Tubman(1820-1913)Harriet Tubman(1820-1913)

Helped over 300 slaves to freedom.

$40,000 bounty on her head.Served as a Union spy during

the Civil War.

“Moses”

Leading Escaping Slaves Along the Underground Railroad

Leading Escaping Slaves Along the Underground Railroad

The Underground RailroadThe Underground Railroad

The Underground RailroadThe Underground Railroad

“Conductor” ==== leader of the escape

“Passengers” ==== escaping slaves

“Tracks” ==== routes

“Trains” ==== farm wagons transportingthe escaping slaves

“Depots” ==== safe houses to rest/sleep

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