CHAPTER 8 A PUSH FOR REFORM

CH. 8-1 NEW MOVEMENTS IN AMERICA

American History

RELIGION SPARKS REFORM Most famous preacher—Charles Grandison

Finney Led revivals designed to awaken religious

feelings

THE SECOND GREAT AWAKENING 1820-1850—number of people attending

church doubled Movement called “Second Great

Awakening” “First Great Awakening” occurred in 1700s

Many preachers were Protestant They DID NOT teach strict adherence to

church rules, or obedience to a minister. Preachers said that destiny lay in their

own hands People were told to live well and work

hard. Second Great Awakening helped launch

a remarkable period in American History “The Reform Era”—1830-1860

Americans attempt to reshape American Society

THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT One of the main goals of reformers was to

reduce the use of alcoholic beverages TEMPERANCE—moderation Books, plays, songs written about evils of

alcohol. Reformers also started temperance societies. 1851—Maine outlaws alcohol 12 states follow in the next several years.

REFORMING EDUCATION Prior to 1840s—American schools were

either private schools or common schools

Common Schools—free public schools where children learned basic reading, writing, and math skills

Most families couldn’t afford private schools

Quality of teaching in common schools was generally poor.

THE COMMON-SCHOOL MOVEMENT Reformers wanted children to be

educated Educated people made better

decisions and that wide-spread education was fundamental to a democratic society

Education reformers organized themselves into “friends of education”

HORACE MANN The greatest education reformer of the

era Mann advocated a new, highly organized

approach to education He said states should fund education and

schools should be controlled locally Compulsory attendance Creation of so-called normal schools

where teachers would be trained

1839—MA creates the first normal school

1852—MA passes first compulsory attendance law in the USA

Other states copied Mann’s work 1860– 6 out of 10 white children

attended school (double from 30 years before)

Reformers didn’t or couldn’t help Native Americans or African Americans

WILLIAM MCGUFFY Another well-known reformer Wrote and published a series of textbooks

called “Eclectic Readers” Became known as “McGuffy Readers” Books written for different grade levels Taught reading and moral and intellectual

values Over 100,000,000 were sold Nearly every American student used them

in the middle and late 1800s

REFORMING PRISONS DORTHEA DIX—campaigned for humane

treatment of prisoners Taught Sunday school to prisoners 1841 Mentally ill and non-violent criminals were

confined with violent criminals Horrible overcrowding Unsanitary conditions Prisoners were abused by jailers MA created state-supported institutions to

treat and house mentally ill people, separate from criminals

Dix and supporters convinced other state governments to create similar institutions

TRANSCENDENTALISM AND UTOPIANISM

TRANSCENDENTALISM—the belief that knowledge is found not only by observation of the world but also through reason

Thus, by transcending, or going beyond, observation, people can have a deeper and truer understanding of the world

RALPH WALDO EMERSON The leading transcendentalist Gave sermons and lectures and wrote

essays Self-reliant and trust their intuition Transcendentalists supported reform America’s most renowned authors

HENRY DAVID THOREAU Firmly believed in the power of self-

reliance and individual thought 1845—Thoreau lived in a small cabin

by Walden Pond, MA He thought simple living would lead

to meaningful life People should act according to their

own beliefs, even if they had to break the law

1846-Thoreau refused to pay a tax he thought would promote slavery

He spent a night in jail In the essay “Civil Disobedience” he

said “that government is best which governs least”

“Civil Disobedience” was very influential

Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr.

UTOPIANISM

Some reformers wanted to create new communities that were free from social ills

UPTOPIA— ”the perfect society” One community was led by Robert

Owen 1825—He purchased the town of

Harmonie, IN

Owen attempted to start a utopian community in Harmonie, IN

Residents failed to implement Owen’s ideals and the community failed 3 years later

Another community occurred in 1841 at Brook Farm, MA. It failed due to mounting debt in 1847

Most communities were small and short-lived.

A notable exception were communities built by the Shakers

Shakers—Christian sect Started building communities in the late

1700s By the 1830s, nearly 6,000 Shakers

lived in more than a dozen communities throughout the USA.

THE END