Second Great Awakening, Reform Movements, and American Literature

saved

The spiritual state of being redeemed or converted by God's grace, a central goal for attendees of the massive revivals during the Second Great Awakening.

anxious bench

A front pew in revival meetings where sinners, troubled by their spiritual state, could sit to await conversion and receive special prayers. Popularized by Charles Grandison Finney.

Burned-Over District

A region in western New York that experienced such frequent and intense religious revivals during the Second Great Awakening that there was 'no fuel left to burn.' It was the birthplace of Mormonism and other new sects.

First the churches split, then the political parties split, and then the Union split.

A quote summarizing the fracturing effect of the slavery issue on American society, starting with major Protestant denominations (Baptists, Methodists) in the 1840s and leading to the Civil War.

Come, Come, Ye Saints

A famous Mormon hymn reflecting the deep commitment and resilience of followers during their difficult trek westward to Utah under Brigham Young.

Taxation for education was an insurance premium that the wealthy paid for stability and democracy.

The argument made by Horace Mann for tax-supported public schools, necessary to prevent crime, ensure social stability, and create an informed electorate.

Schoolmaster of the Republic

The nickname given to Noah Webster for his immense influence on American education; his famous dictionary standardized the American language and spelling.

they'll be educatin' cows next

A skeptical quote reflecting popular resistance to compulsory, tax-funded education in the early 19th century, often from poor farmers who felt their children were needed for labor.

reformatories

Institutions established during the Antebellum reform era, intended to reform and rehabilitate criminals and wayward youth, reflecting a societal shift toward improvement.

In the almshouse, two females in stalls . . . ; lie in wooden bunks filled with straw; always shut up. One of these subjects is supposed curable. The overseers of the poor have declined giving her a trial at the hospital, as I was informed, on account of expense.

A quote from Dorothea Dix's report on the horrific conditions in asylums and poorhouses, leading to a movement for improved care for the mentally ill.

the law of Heaven Americanized

A phrase used by followers to describe the Mormon practice of polygamy (plural marriage), which they believed was divinely commanded.

Cold Water Army

A children's organization formed to promote the temperance movement (against alcohol consumption). They would pledge to abstain from liquor ('cold water').

with a reasonable instrument

A phrase referring to the sewing machine, which reformers like Amelia Bloomer believed would free women from the drudgery of hand-sewing, enabling them to pursue other activities.

Suzy Bs

A popular nickname for the followers of Susan B. Anthony, the most prominent and militant advocate for women's suffrage in the 19th century.

bloomers

A type of dress-reform garment for women (full trousers gathered at the ankle under a shorter skirt) advocated by Amelia Bloomer as a symbol of female independence.

plain living and high thinking

The motto of the Transcendentalist movement, especially associated with Henry David Thoreau at Walden Pond, emphasizing a simple, non-materialistic lifestyle to pursue intellectual and spiritual growth.

complex marriage

The unique, non-monogamous marriage system practiced by the Oneida Community (a utopian society), where every man was married to every woman.

Bring out your dead!

A line used to satirize the ignorance and quackery prevalent in early 19th-century American medicine, referencing the dire state of public health and diagnosis.

if the medicines were thrown into the sea, humans would be better off and the fish worse off

A satirical statement, often attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes, reflecting the widespread skepticism and dangerous ineffectiveness of medical practices (like bleeding and purging) in the early 1800s.

terrible Turk

The nickname given to Peter Cartwright, the most famous of the itinerant Methodist 'circuit riders' during the Second Great Awakening, known for his rough and physically intimidating preaching style.

...he would not give a sixpence for a bust of Phidias or a painting by Raphael.

A quote embodying the anti-intellectual, utilitarian spirit of the American frontier, which valued practical utility over European art and refinement.

Old Folks at Home

A famous song by Stephen C. Foster, an American songwriter who wrote music rooted in American tradition, often featuring plantation life and minstrel themes.

Who reads an American book?

A sneering question from a British critic in the early 19th century, spurring American writers to create an original, respected national literature.

The Sketch Book

The first ambassador whom the New World of letters sent to the Old, describing Washington Irving's book; Irving was the first internationally recognized American writer.

Natty Bumppo

The quintessential American literary hero, created by James Fenimore Cooper in the Leatherstocking Tales. He represents a virtuous, simple frontiersman, bridging nature and civilization.

natural men

The virtuous, uncorrupted individuals (like Bumppo) whom American writers saw as superior to those corrupted by European civilization and materialism.

the Athens of America

A nickname given to Boston, Massachusetts, due to its concentration of intellectual and literary talent, especially the Transcendentalists.

The American Scholar

An influential 1837 lecture by Ralph Waldo Emerson that urged American writers to stop imitating Europe and create their own original, distinctly American literary tradition.

barbaric yawp

A phrase from Walt Whitman's poem Song of Myself, reflecting his unique, unrestrained, and loud expression of the self and the American experience.

The Song of Hiawatha

A famous epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow based on Native American legends, bringing American themes and folklore to a wide audience.

A whale ship was my Yale College and my Harvard

A quote from Herman Melville's Moby Dick, reflecting the American theme of finding education and meaning through practical experience and adventure, not just formal institutions.

Father of American History

The title given to George Bancroft, an American historian who wrote a massive, nationalistic history of the United States.

made in New England

A phrase referring to the Transcendentalist movement and many of the literary and reform movements of the Antebellum era, which were largely centered in and driven by New England intellectuals.

Enlightenment - Second Great Awakening

The Enlightenment's emphasis on reason led to a reaction in the form of the Second Great Awakening's emphasis on emotion and revivalism.

Enlightenment - Deism

Deism (belief in a distant 'clockmaker' God) was the religious expression of the Enlightenment, rejecting supernatural biblical revelation.

Enlightenment - Unitarianism

Unitarianism was a liberal religion influenced by the Enlightenment; it stressed the essential goodness of human nature and faith in reason.

First Great Awakening - Second Great Awakening

Both were periods of revival, but the Second Great Awakening emphasized free will and directly spurred the reform movements.

Charles Grandison Finney - Peter Cartwright

Both were key evangelists. Finney was educated and used 'new measures' (anxious bench), while Cartwright was the rough 'terrible Turk' circuit rider.

Jonathan Edwards - George Whitefield

The most influential preachers of the First Great Awakening.

Joseph Smith - Brigham Young

Smith founded Mormonism; Young led the followers to Utah after Smith's death.

Horace Mann - Noah Webster

Mann was the advocate for public schools (taxation for education), and Webster was the 'Schoolmaster of the Republic' who standardized the language taught in them.

UNC-CH - UVA

Two early, prominent examples of state-chartered public universities in the South.

Troy - Mount Holyoke - Oberlin

Key early institutions for women's higher education (Troy, Mount Holyoke) and the first coeducational college (Oberlin).

Emma Willard - Mary Lyon

Pioneers in women's education, founding the Troy Female Seminary and Mount Holyoke, respectively.

Libraries - Lyceum

The Lyceum movement was a popular organization for adult public education, featuring speakers, often leading to the establishment of libraries.

feminization of religion

The phenomenon where women became the majority of church members and a driving force behind Antebellum reform movements.

THREE SISTERS of REFORM

The three major, interconnected social reform movements: Temperance, Abolitionism, and Women's Suffrage.

T.S. Arthur - Neal S. Dow

Both were major figures in the Temperance movement (Arthur wrote Ten Nights in a Bar-Room; Dow championed the Maine Law of 1851).

Elizabeth Cady Stanton - Lucretia Mott

Key organizers of the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, which launched the modern women's rights movement.

Suzy Bs - Lucy Stoners

Nicknames for the followers of Susan B. Anthony (suffragists) and Lucy Stone (advocates for women's rights who also kept their maiden names).