Chapter 14 The Age of Reform (1820-1860)

Section 1 Social Reform E s s e n t i a l

Q u e s t i o n

How did religion influence the social reforms in the United States during the early and mid-1800s? Religion • Religious camp meetings (revivals) were common in the early 1800s • Known as the Second Great Awakening • This led to a new spirit of reform • Brought changes to American religion, education, and literature • Some reformers sought to improve society by forming utopias (Perfect society) • Few were able to establish lasting communities (Mormons) • They were founded on impractical ideas Sec tion 1

Why did most utopias fail? A. It was too hard to implement the temperance movement. B. Many teachers lacked proper training. A. A C. They did not take the B. B needs of the disabled into consideration. C. C D. They were founded on impractical ideas.D. D The Religious Influence • Attending revivals made men and women eager to reform both their lives and the world • Among these were people who wanted to ban alcohol • Lyman Beecher, a Connecticut minister, crusaded against the use of alcohol (temperance) • Beecher and other reformers used lectures, pamphlets, and revival style rallies to warn people of the dangers of liquor • The temperance movement led to some victories when Maine and other states passed laws banning to manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages • Most of these laws were later repealed

Reforming Education • In the mid-1850’s, most schools were poorly funded • Teachers lacked training • Restrictions were placed on who could attend schools (Girls and African Americans) • Massachusetts lawyer Horace Mann called for educational reforms • 1839- Massachusetts created the nation’s first state-supported normal school to train teachers Reforming Education Continued • During the age of reform, many new colleges and universities were created • Most accepted only men • Gradually, higher education became available to groups that had been denied the opportunity • Oberlin College of Ohio was founded in 1833 • Oberlin admitted both women and African Americans People With Special Needs • Some reformers focused on the problem of teaching people with disabilities • Thomas Gallaudet developed a method to educate people who were hearing impaired • Samuel Gridley Howe developed books with large raised letters to help the visually impaired • Schoolteacher Dorothea Dix worked for prison reforms after seeing prisoners chained to walls • She also found that some people were not guilty of crimes, but were mentally ill • She made it her life’s work to educate the public about poor conditions for prisoners and the mentally ill Cultural Trends • Changes in American society also influenced art and literature • American artists developed their own style and explored American themes starting in the 1820s • The spirit of reform influenced the transcendentalists • Stressed the relationship between humans and nature and the importance of the individual conscience • The leading transcendentalists were Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau S e c t i o n

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Which of the following was a major subject of transcendentalist literature? A. Realism B. The relationship between humans and nature and the importance of the A. A individual conscience B. B C. Anti-abolitionism D. The relationship between humans andC. C technology and the importance of industrialismD. D Cultural Trends Continued • Fuller supported women’s rights • Emerson urged people to listen to the inner voice of conscience and to overcome prejudice • Thoreau practiced civil disobedience by refusing to obey laws he considered unjust • 1846 Thoreau went to jail rather than pay a tax to support the Mexican War • Many American poets created great works (Henry Wadsworth, Walt Whitman, and Emily Dickinson) • During this time, women were the authors of the most popular fiction • Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin which explored the injustice of slavery E s s e n t i a l

Q u e s t i o n How did religion influence the social reforms in the United States during the early and mid-1800s?

-Inspired people to reform their own lives and improve the ills of society Reformers wanted to restrict alcohol Better teacher training and school funding More colleges More access to education for women, African Americans, and people with special needs Better conditions for prisoners and the mentally ill Chapter 14 Section 1 Quiz Utopias are based on a vision of a perfect society. A. True B. False Religious leaders fought for the freedom to drink alcohol. A. True B. False In 1839 Massachusetts founded the first state-supported school to train teachers.

A. True B. False The roles of wife and mother were not roles that most parents wanted for their daughters. A. True B. False During the 1820s American artists developed their own style and explored American themes. A. True B. False Who opened Hartford School for the deaf in Connecticut in 1817? A. Samuel Gridley Howe B. Dorothea Dix C. Thomas Gallaudet D. Horace Mann The first college in the United States to admit women and African Americans was

A. Harvard. B. Ashmun Institute. C. Mount Holyoke. D. Oberlin College of Ohio. Who was the schoolteacher who helped reform attitudes toward the mentally ill?

A. Dorothea Dix B. Samuel Gridley Howe C. George Catlin D. Thomas Gallaudet People who stressed the relationship between humans and nature and the importance of the individual conscience were called A. naturalists. B. transcendentalists . C. reformers. D. conscience- raisers. What writer wrote about the injustice of slavery? A. Nathaniel Hawthorne B. Herman Melville C. Harriet Beecher Stowe D. Washington Irving