By the mid-19th century, the U.S. was growing in size and complexity.
Most Americans were excited by these changes, but many were concerned about the problems that accompanied these changes.
This led to movements to "reform" the nation.
These reform movements were sparked by:
The rise of more democratic and individualistic beliefs
A direct response to rationalism/Deism
Changes in society caused by the Market Revolution
Greater social and geographic mobility which spread awareness
The ideas of the Second Great Awakening leading to belief in the perfectibility (improvement) of society
Visions of Utopia
Historians call these "utopian" communities.
These communities differed in structure and motivation, most (but not all) arose from religious conviction.
About 100 reform communities were established in the decades before the Civil War.
Notable communities included:
These communities sought to reorganize society on a cooperative basis, restoring harmony to an increasingly changing and challenging world.
The Shakers:
Believed the two sexes were spiritually equal.
Men and women lived separately in celibacy.
Oneida:
Founded by John Humphrey Noyes.
Did away with private property and traditional marriage.
New Harmony:
Robert Owen’s vision of communal living with social and educational equality.
Recruited many academics, early feminists.
Brook Farm:
George Ripley’s experimental Transcendentalist community.
Intellectuals and farmers living and working together for a simpler yet more intellectually stimulating life.
The Temperance Movement
It was rooted in the increasing consumption of alcohol and closely tied to the Second Great Awakening.
The Temperance Movement was the most widely supported and successful movement of the Age of Reform.
This sparked the founding of the American Temperance Union in 1826 (Lyman Beecher).
This union used lectures, pamphlets, rallies, and other methods to persuade people to “sign the pledge” not to drink liquor, the “demon rum.”
1820s: per capita consumption of hard liquor was 7 gallons (over twice that of today!)
Temperance Movement claimed 1 million members, including:
Women (large number of members)
Factory owners
Religious people (Nativist sentiments as well)
Cold Water Army for children
The movement sparked bitter opposition but was enormously successful in the end (Federal Prohibition in 1920!)
By the 1840s, reformers had secured legislation in many states that imposed heavy liquor taxes and allowed some local towns and counties to ban the sale of alcohol entirely.
In 1851, Maine became the first “dry” state.
More states, especially in the Northeast and West, would follow.
The Abolitionist Movement
Initially, the movement attracted few followers (too radical) and then splintered over the approach: should slavery be abolished gradually or immediately?
Most significant and provocative: the abolitionist movement, which called for an end to slavery; included men, women, black, white, free and fugitive activists.
William Lloyd Garrison of MA was an “immediate” abolitionist.
1831: he established a newspaper, The Liberator.
“I will not equivocate—I will not excuse—I will not retreat a single inch—and I will be heard.”
He was radical in his views, even among abolitionists, and burnt copies of the Constitution at his New England Anti-Slavery Society events (called it a corrupt document because it protected slaveholders’ “property”).
Earlier generation of activists focused on repatriation to Africa (American Colonization Society): Monrovia, Liberia.
The first prominent black abolitionist was David Walker, who wrote Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World (1829), considered to be a root of the modern black nationalist movement.
He was born free and had experienced racism in both the South and the North.
He denounced white talk of democracy and freedom as pure hypocrisy.
Advocated for violent revolt against enslavers if needed.
Frederick Douglass, born into slavery in Maryland, was one of the most prominent black figures of the 19th century.
His 1845 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass gripped white and black readers across the North.
He insisted that freedom should go beyond merely emancipation and should extend to full equality politically, socially, and economically.
Also published an abolitionist newspaper, The North Star.
In 1838, a mob burned Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Hall to the ground to prevent an anti-slavery meeting from occurring.
The movement provoked significant backlash.
Mobs in the North frequently broke up anti-slavery gatherings.
The movement was so controversial that in 1836 (repealed 1844), Whigs and Democrats passed an unprecedented restriction on political expression known as the gag rule, which prohibited all discussion of abolitionist petitions in the House of Representatives.
While it would take the Civil War to ultimately bring an end to slavery, the Abolitionist movement played a role in pushing the issue of slavery into the national political landscape and expanding support for its cause.
The Women's Rights Movement
Many women were involved in the temperance and abolitionist movements and thus began to question their own place in American society: was it right that only “all men were created equal?”
The question of slavery related to another major reform of the era, the crusade for women’s rights.
Among the first advocates for women’s rights were Sarah and Angelina Grimké.
They were sisters who abandoned their native state of South Carolina (and the domestic sphere) to devote themselves to speaking out against slavery; soon also advocated for women’s rights.
Became Quakers.
In 1840, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton traveled with their husbands to London for the first World’s Anti-Slavery Convention.
However, when they arrived, the women were not allowed to speak or vote and could only listen from the gallery.
The 1848 Seneca Falls Convention was the first woman's rights convention and was attended by 300 people.
They then subsequently organized their own women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848.
Two hot days in July: 100 people (68 women and 32 men) signed the Declaration of Sentiments, which outlined grievances and set the agenda for the women’s rights movement.
Focus: Voting rights, greater access to higher education and professional work, equal wages, and the end of coverture (legal practice of treating married women’s possessions and body as property of the husband).
The beginning of the women’s rights movement in US
Black women became increasingly involved as well.
It was at one such convention where famous abolitionist Sojourner Truth delivered her “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech.
This sparked the First National Women’s Rights Convention, held in Massachusetts in 1850 with more than 1,000 participants.
National Conventions were held yearly through 1860.
It did, however, add Susan B. Anthony to its ranks, who would play a major role in reinvigorating the movement later in the century.
Very few practical results for women resulted during the Age of Reform, as the movement was interrupted by the Civil War.
This was “the single most important factor in spreading news of the women’s rights movement around the country in 1848 and into the future.” - Historian Judith Wellman
Other Notable Reformers
Horace Mann: Education reform: Free Common Schools, standardized curriculum, compulsory education and teacher education.
Mary Lyon: Higher education for women (Mount Holyoke); Elizabeth Blackwell (1st female doctor).
Dorothea Dix: Prison and Asylum reform.
Amelia Bloomer and M. Angeline Merritt: Dress reform.
Sylvester Graham and Bronson Alcott: Dietary reform/vegetarianism.
Sarah Bagley and Seth Luther: Labor reform.
Key Takeaways
[1] The rise of democratic and individualistic beliefs, a response to rationalism, and changes to society caused by the market revolution, along with greater social and geographical mobility, contributed to moral and social reforms and inspired utopian and other religious movements.
[2] Americans formed new voluntary organizations that aimed to change individual behaviors and improve society through temperance and other reform efforts.
[3] Abolitionist and anti slavery movements gradually achieved emancipation in the North, contributing to the growth of the free African American population, even as many state governments restricted African Americans’ rights. All the while, antislavery movements increased in the North.
[4] A women’s rights movement sought to create greater equality and opportunities for women, expressing its ideals at the Seneca Falls Convention.