An Age of Reform

Overview (1800-1848)

• Context: Market Revolution shifts and expanded democracy fostered a sense of individual agency and personal responsibility for social improvement.

Religious Reform

• Mormonism: Founded by Joseph Smith in the 1840\text{s} based on the Book of Mormon. Due to persecution and Smith’s death, Brigham Young led the group to the Utah Territory.

Temperance

• Goal: Reduction of alcohol consumption (5 gallons per capita annually).

• American Temperance Society (1826): Established to curb social issues and enhance worker productivity, gaining significant support from the Protestant church and businessmen.

Abolitionism

• Goal: Eradication of slavery, viewed by many as a moral sin influenced by the Second Great Awakening.

• Key Figures:

  • William Lloyd Garrison: Published The Liberator and advocated for immediate emancipation.

  • Frederick Douglass: An escaped slave whose oratory and writing highlighted the dehumanization of both the enslaved and the enslaver.

Women's Rights

• Seneca Falls Convention (1848): Organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott to challenge the "Cult of Domesticity."

• Declaration of Sentiments: Asserted that "\text{all men and women are created equal}," listing grievances against systemic disenfranchisement.

Conclusion

• Early 19\text{th}-century reforms were driven by moral obligation and a quest for equity, profoundly shaped by economic and religious shifts.