The Second Great Awakening & Antebellum Reforms

What was the Second Great Awakening?

A Protestant religious revival in the early 19th century emphasizing personal salvation, emotional preaching, and social reform.

What major social reforms were inspired by the Second Great Awakening?

Abolitionism, temperance, and women's rights.

What do Deists believe about God?

God is a distant creator who set the universe in motion but does not interfere in human affairs.

Who were notable Deists from the Enlightenment?

Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.

What is the Burned-Over District?

A region in western New York known for intense religious revivals during the Second Great Awakening.

Who was Charles Finney?

A leading preacher of the Second Great Awakening known for passionate sermons emphasizing free will and moral reform.

What role did the AME Church play for free African Americans in the North?

Provided spiritual, social, and political foundation, promoting identity and resistance against oppression.

What does millennialism refer to?

The belief in a coming transformation of society, often tied to the return of Christ and a thousand-year reign of peace.

What did transcendentalists emphasize?

Individualism, self-reliance, and a deep connection to nature.

What is the main idea of the Unitarian movement?

Rejection of traditional Christian doctrines, emphasizing rational thought and the moral teachings of Jesus.

Who was Henry David Thoreau and what did he advocate for?

An author who opposed conformity, advocating for simple living, personal independence, and civil disobedience.

What did Ralph Waldo Emerson promote in his writings?

Self-reliance, nonconformity, and seeking spiritual truth in nature.

Why were utopian communities established in the 19th century?

To create ideal, self-sufficient societies based on shared values like equality and cooperation.

What characterized the Oneida Community?

Practiced complex marriage and communal child-rearing, gaining fame for its silverware production.

What significant event led to the movement of Mormons to Utah?

Intense persecution due to their beliefs, including the Missouri Mormon War.

What was the Hudson River School known for?

An art movement focusing on majestic landscapes and the natural beauty of America.

What were the themes of Romanticism?

Emotion, nature, individuality, and the supernatural.

What did Nathaniel Hawthorne explore in his works?

Themes of guilt, sin, and the dark side of human nature.

How did the Temperance Movement aim to influence society?

By reducing or eliminating alcohol consumption due to its negative societal effects.

What was the primary goal of the public school movement?

To provide free, tax-supported education for a more educated and moral society.

Who was Dorothea Dix?

A leading reformer who advocated for better treatment of the mentally ill and prison reform.

What did the Cult of True Womanhood emphasize?

Women’s roles confined to home and family, emphasizing piety, purity, submission, and domesticity.

What was the significance of the Seneca Falls Convention?

The first organized gathering for women’s rights in the U.S., advocating for suffrage and equality.

Who were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony?

Leaders in the women’s rights movement advocating for suffrage and legal rights for women.

What did Sojourner Truth advocate for in her speeches?

Both racial equality and women’s rights, emphasizing the intersection of gender and race.

What were slave codes?

Laws that restricted the rights of enslaved African Americans, denying them basic freedoms.

What was the American Colonization Society's aim?

To send free African Americans back to Africa, establishing the colony of Liberia.

Who were early abolitionists?

Individuals dedicated to ending slavery, such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass.

What was the purpose of personal liberty laws?

To protect free Black people in the North and prevent the enforcement of fugitive slave laws.

What were pro-slavery arguments based on?

Claims that slavery was a necessary economic system, benefiting both the economy and the enslaved.

What was the Gag Rule?

A series of congressional rules that prohibited discussion of slavery in the House of Representatives.