REFORM MOVEMENTS IN AMERICASBMS U.S. HISTORY

MARCH 5-9,2012

SOCIAL REFORM • THE IDEA OF REFORM WAS

TO IMPROVE SOCIETY WITH A STRONG FOCUS ON THE DISADVANTAGED, ESPECIALLY THE ENSLAVED, POOR, CHILDREN AND WOMEN

• REFORM MINDED AMERICANS LIKE THOREAU AND EMERSON WANTED TO BRING EQUALITY AND LIBERTY TO EVERY AMERICAN.

• FOCUS WOULD BE ON REGLION, EDUCATION, ART, AND LITERATURE.

• SECOND GREAT AWAKENING IN THE 1800’s WOULD DRIVE REFORM

TEMPERANCE REFORM

• WAR ON ALCOHOL BEGAN IN EARLY 1800’s

• PUBLIC DRUNKEDNESS WAS WORSE AMONG URBAN WORKERS AND IN THE WEST

• LYMAN BEECHER OF CT AND OTHERS BLAMED ALCOHOL FOR POVERTY, DIVORCE, CRIME, AND INSANITY

• IN 1826 AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF TEMPERNCE FORMED

• FIRST MAJOR VICTORY FOR TEMPERANCE WAS IN MAINE IN 1851 WHEN LAW WAS PASSED BANNING MAKING OR SELLING BOOZE

• MANY AMERICANS WOULD PROTEST AND LAWS WOULD BE REPEALED

• ISSUE WOULD REEMERGE IN 1900’s WHEN PROHIBITION CAUSED A CONSTITUTIONAL BAN ON ALCOHOL

EDUCATION REFORMNEW ENGLAND HAD ONLY FREE SCHOOLS IN EARLY 1800’sHorace Mann led Mass. State Board of Education and created first teachers college in 1839 in America

By 1850S, MOST AMERICANS BELIEVED SCHOOLS SHOULD BE FREE TO ALL, SUPPORTED BY TAXES AND ATTENDANCE MANDATORY

FEMALES NOT GIVEN SAME EDUCATION AS MALES, LEARNING MUSIC AND NEEDLEWORK BECAUSE THEIR ROLE WAS TO BE WIFE AND MOTHER WHICH NEEDED NO EDUCATIONCOLLEGES GREW FROM 1820-1850 WITH OBERLIN COLLEGE IN OHIO ADMITTING FIRST WOMEN AND AFRICANS-AMERICANSTHOMAS GALLUDET OPENED FIRST SCHOOL FOR DEAF IN 1817

DR. SAMUEL GRIDLEY HOWE OPENED FIRST SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND

DOROTHEA DIX EDUCATED AMERICANS ON POOR LIVING CONDITINS OF PRISONERS AND MENTALLY ILL

CULTURAL TRENDSTRANSCENDENTALISM WAS AMERICA’S OWN REFORM MOVEMENT THAT STRESSED CONNECTION BETWEEN HUMANS AND NATURE AS WELL AS INDIVIDUAL CONSCIENCEMARGARET FULLER WROTE ABOUT RIGHTS FOR WOMENRALPH WALDO EMERSON WROTE ABOUT PEOPLE LISTENING TO THEIR INNER SELF TO DO RIGHT AND ELIMINATE PREJUDICE HENRY DAVID THOREAU USED CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE TO PROTEST LAWS HE FELT WERE UNJUST (SAT IN JAIL RATHER THAN PAY A TAX TO VOTE BECAUSE HE OPPOSED THE MEXICAN WAR)AMERICAN WRITERS LIKE LONGFELLOW, WHITMAN, AND EMILY DICKINSON WOULD CHALLENGE CONSERVATIVE BELIEFS OF AMERICANSHARRIET BEECHER STOWE WOULD WRITE UNCLE TOM’S CABIN MID-1800’s TO SHOW THE CRUELTY OF SLAVERY

AbolitionistsWILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON (NEWSPAPER MAN) ,FREDERICK DOUGLASS (FORMER SLAVE ) AND QUAKERS LEAD MOVEMENT TO OUTLAW SLAVERY

AMERICAN COLONIZATION SOCIETY AIMED TO RESETTLE ALL SLAVES IN CARIBBEAN AND AFRICA IN LIBERIA WHICH WAS PURCHASED BY SOCIETY FOR SLAVES 12,000- 20,000 FORMER SLAVES EMIGRATED TO LIBERIA BETWEEN 1822-1865 BUT MANY WANTED TO BE FREE IN AMERICA AND DID NOT EMIGRATE TO LIBERIA

GARRISON STARTED FIRST ABOLITIONIST NEWSPAPER THE LIBERATOR AND STARTED NEW ENGLAND ANTISLAVERY SOCIETY IN 1832 WHICH HAD 1000 CHAPTERS BY 1838

SARAH AND ANGELINA GRIMKE SPOKE OUT AGAINST SLAVERY AFTER MOVING FROM SC TO PHILADELPHIA IN 1832.

ANGELINA AND HER HUSBAND THEODORE WELD WROTE AMERICAN SLAVERY AS IT IS IN 1839 SHINING A LIGHT ON FIRSTHAND ACCOUNTS OF SLAVERY IN AMERICA

AFRICAN-AMERICAN ABOLITIONISTS

IN 1830 AFRICAN-AMERICAN LEADERS HELD FIRST CONVENTION IN PHILADELPHIAFREDERICK DOUGLASS WAS A SLAVE IN MD AND RAN AWAY TO MA THEN TO NYC

DOUGLASS RAN NORTH STAR NEWSPAPER TO PREACH AGAINST SLAVERY: BELIEVED AFRICAN-AMERICANS DESERVED THEIR FREEDOM AND FULL EQUALITY WITH WHITE AMERICANS

FRIENDS PURCHASED DOUGLASS’ FREEDOM IN 1847

SOJOURNER TRUTH BORN A SLAVE IN NY STATE, ESCAPED IN 1826 AND GAINED HER FREEDOM IN 1827 WHEN NY OUTLAWED SLAVERY. WORKED TO OUTLAW SLAVERY AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS

HARRIET TUBMAN ESCAPED SLAVERY AND RAN THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD TO HELP ESCAPED SLAVES FIND THEIR WAY TO FREEDOM IN THE NORTH

CLASHES OVER ABOLITION

-SOUTHERN SLAVEHOLDERS AND NON SLAVEHOLDERS OPPOSED ABOLITION BECAUSE IT WOULD CRUSH THE SOUTHERN ECONOMY. -NORTHERNERS OPPOSED ABOLITION AS A THREAT TO SOCIAL ORDER BY NOT BEING ABLE TO BLEND WITH WHITES AND WOULD TAKE WHITE JOBS-ABOLITIONISTS AND ANTI-ABOLITIONISTS WOULD RIOT AS IN 1830 IN PHILADELPHIA

-ANTI-ABOLITIONISTS WOULD BURN THE NEWSPAPER BUILDING OF ABOOLITIONIST ELIJAH LOVEJOY AND ALSO SHOOT AND KILL LOVEJOY

-SOUTH WOULD DEFEND SLAVERY BY SHOWING HOW OUTLAWING IT WOULD CRUSH THEIR WAY OF LIFE, SHOWED HOW WELL SLAVES WERE CARED FOR AND CLAIMED SLAVES NEEDED WHITES BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE FOR THEMSELVES

WOMEN’S RIGHTS REFORM MOVEMENT

MANY WOMEN SUPPORTING ABOLITION ALSO SUPPORTED GREATER EQUALITY FOR WOMEN

LUCRETIA MOTT WAS A QUAKER FOCUSED ON REFORM THROUGH TEMPERACE, PEACE, WORKERS’ RIGHTS, AND ABOLITION

SENECA FALLS CONVENTION OF 1848 ORGANIZED BY MOT,SUSAN B. ANTHONY AND ELIZABETH CADY STANTON TO WRITE A PLATFORM OF THEIR DEMANDS FOR WOMEN SUCH AS SUFFRAGE

SUSAN B. ANTHONY WORKED FOR WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE, TEMPERANCE, EQUAL PAY AND EDUCATION FOR WOMEN. CATHERINE BEECHER AND EMMA HART WILLARD CALLED FOR EDUCATION OF WOMEN FOR THEIR TRADITIONAL ROLES IN LIFE

WILLARD STARTED TROY FEMALE SEMINARY TO TRAIN WOMEN IN MATH, SCIENCE, HISTORY , GEOGRAPHY, AND PHYSICS

MARY LYON STARTED MOUNT HOLYOKE SEMINARY IN 1837 TO EDUCATE WOMEN IN ROLES TRADTIONALLY HELD FOR MEN.

DURING 1800s, PA, NY, IN, WI, and MS GAVE WOMEN RIGHT TO OWN PROPERTY AFTER MARRIAGE.

ELIZABETH BLACKWELL WAS FIRST WOMEN TO GRADUATE HARVARD MED SCHOOL AFTER BEING TURNED DOWN BY 20 SCHOOLS.