Ch 8.1- Religion Sparks Reform- 2nd Great Awakening/Revivals

Second Great Awakening

Widespread spiritual movement , swept the United States after 1790.

revival

A religious gathering, that relied on emotional sermons to awaken religious feelings.
Done to awaken religious faith through preaching and prayer.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Leading transcendentalism philosopher, also a New England author.

transcendentalism

A philosophical and literary movement that emphasized living a simple life and that truth found in nature.

Henry David Thoreau

Author of "Walden". He practiced Transcendentalism.

Civil disobedience

Form of protest that calls on people to disobey unjust laws. Thoreau refused to pay a local poll tax because he believed the money would go to a war that would lead to more slavery.

utopian communities

Experimental groups who tried to create a perfect society

Dorothea dix

Reformer who worked to set up hospitals for the mentally ill. She worked hard to improve conditions for mentally ill.

What was the appeal of revivalism?

Preachers gave exciting sermons to bring out an emotional response to the audience. The stressed that people could change themselves and society.

What did transcendentalism emphasize?

People could find truth by looking at nature and within themselves rather than in any organized system of beliefs. Believed in the dignity of the individual and fought for social change.

In what areas did Americans pursh for reforms?

Reformers wanted to create ideal living environments like utopian communities. They wanted tax supported public schools. Dorathea Dix wanted reform in the treatment of mentally ill people.

What ideas did revivalism promote?

Revivalism preached that each person had the responsibility to find salvation. That people could change themselves and society.

What were the accomplishments of the movement to reform asylums and prisons?

Several states to set up public hospitals for the mentally ill. Improved conditions in prisons.

What were the purposes of utopian communities?

To create a perfect society, where people lived in harmony, and were self-sufficient.

Shakers

1770's by "Mother" Ann Lee; prohibited marriage and sexual relationships; practiced celibacy

Charles Grandison Finney

An important preacher in the revivalist movement

camp meetings

Gatherings especially prominent on the frontier with fiery revivalist preachers promoting the doctrine of human free will.

Walden Pond

A pond in northeast Massachusetts near Concord. Henry David Thoreau lived in a cabin near the pond from 1845 to 1847.

Brook Farm

An experiment in Utopian socialism, it lasted for six years (1841-1847) in New Roxbury, Massachusetts.

Horace Mann

United States educator who introduced reforms that significantly altered the system of public education (1796-1859)