ch 18: an era of reform. second great awakening led by charles finney preachers told people that...
TRANSCRIPT
CH 18: AN ERA OF REFORM
SECOND GREAT AWAKENING
• Led by Charles Finney• Preachers told people that everyone could go to
heaven, and one way was to do good works• Attracted large following in the West and North• Inspired people to improve society• Many started to actively oppose slavery
SECOND GREAT AWAKENING
TRANSCENDENTALISM
• Philosophy that taught how people could ‘transcend’, or go beyond logical thinking to reach true understanding with the help of emotion and intuition• Said people could find answers to life’s mysteries by
trusting their emotions and intuition
• Told people to question society’s rules and institutions• Practiced by men like Ralph Waldo Emerson and
Henry David Thoreau
RALPH WALDO EMERSON AND HENRY THOREAU
MODEL COMMUNITIES
• Communities started to try to create a perfect society• Examples: Brook Farm, Oneida, Amana• Most only lasted a few years
BROOK FARM
• Based in MA from 1841-1847• Every person paid equally and people could work
the jobs they wanted to work• Never financially stable• Main building burned down and it never recovered
ONEIDA COMMUNITY
• Based in NY, existed from 1848-1881• Oneida Silverware originated from this
community
AMANA COLONIES
• Based in Iowa from 1855-1932• Completely self-sufficient—little outside contact
with the outside world• Famous today for its refrigerators, freezers,
microwaves, etc.
PRISONERS AND MENTALLY ILL
• During mid-1800s, many prisoners used to be bound in chains and locked in cages• Children accused of minor thefts were jailed with adults• Most in debtors’ prisons owed less than $20, but could
not earn money to repay their debts, so they stayed in jail for years
• Mentally ill were locked away in dirty and crowded jail cells• Misbehavior was dealt with through whipping
EXAMPLE OF HOW MENTALLY ILL WERE TREATED
DOROTHEA DIX
• Dorothea Dix gathered information and wrote a report for the MA state legislature• As a result of her work, public asylums for the mentally ill
were created• Dix visited prisons in other states, helping bring about
change in those states as well
• By the time Dix died, many more changes took place • debtors were no longer put in prison• Special justice systems for children in trouble• Cruel punishments, such as branding people with hot
irons, had been banned
DOROTHEA DIX
EDUCATION
• In the early 1800s, few children had access to school• In MA, Puritans had schools• Wealthy send their children to private school or hired
tutors• On the frontier, 60 children could go to a one-room
school, part-time• In the cities, some poor children stole, destroyed
property, and set fires• Reformers thought education could help these children
escape poverty and become good citizens
HORACE MANN
• Mann grew up going to school only 10 weeks/year• Later became MA supervisor of education• Spoke in support of public schools (schools funded by
taxes)• Citizens voted to pay taxes to build better schools, pay
teachers better, and establish training schools for teachers
• By 1850, many states in the North and West used these ideas• Most white children, esp. boys, attended free public
schools
HORACE MANN
EDUCATION FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS AND FEMALES
• Though most white boys could go to public schools, girls and African Americans couldn’t• Girls couldn’t go to high school/college• 1837—Oberlin College became first college to admit men and
women
• African Americans in the North had to go to separate, poorer schools
• In the South, few girls and no African Americans could go to school
ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENTS
• Even during the Revolutionary War, some Americans opposed slavery• When slave trade ended, interest in slavery
began dying down in the North• Abolitionists (those who wanted to end slavery)
had different ideas on ending slavery• Some wanted the slaves to revolt• Others wanted to end it peacefully• Still others wanted to give slaveholders time to develop
farming methods that didn’t require slaves
ABOLITIONISTS
• Blacks and whites worked in the abolition movement• William Lloyd Garrison started the Liberator, an
abolitionist newspaper• Frederick Douglass, former slave, became a
leader in the abolitionist movement—started a newspaper, North Star• Angelina and Sarah Grimke were abolitionists who
grew up in a slaveholding family in S.C.• Sojourner Truth, former slave, was an outstanding
speaker
THE LIBERATOR
ME WITH FREDERICK DOUGLASS’S STATUE IN BALTIMORE
SOJOURNER TRUTH
WOMEN AND THEIR LACK OF RIGHTS
• Women had few rights in the 1800s:• could not vote or hold office• could not speak at conventions, give speeches in public• Could not control their money or property• Could not divorce their husbands easily (if they were
being beat by them)• Could not practice certain professions, like medicine or
law
SENECA FALLS
• Organized movement for women’s rights began in 1848• Seneca Falls Convention was where women met and gave
the Declaration of Sentiments (based on Declaration of Independence)• Attended by women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia
Mott, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Blackwell
• Passed resolutions attempting to correct the injustices, including the right to vote
SENECA FALLS
EFFECTS OF SENECA FALLS
• New York gave women control over their property and wages• Massachusetts and Indiana passed more liberal
divorce laws• Elizabeth Blackwell started her own hospital