1. Religion Sparks Reform
Ch 8 Sect 1

2. Charles Finley Father of modern revivalism
Most famous preacher of the era
Lectured on the depth of the conversation experience
Convert’s duty was to spread the word about personal salvation.
Participated in Second Great Awakening
Focus on the possibility for salvation for all on an individual basis.

3. Types of Reform Women’s rights, school reform, and abolition
Emerged as responses to rapid changes in American Society
Industrial growth, migration, and immigration
Impulses toward reform were rooted in the revivals of the religious movement Second Great Awakening.

4. Second Great Awakening
revivals – an emotional meeting designed to awaken religious faith with impassioned preaching and prayer
Last 4 – 5 days
In the day, studied the bible and examined their souls.
At night, heard emotional preaching that could make them cry out & bust into tears.

5. Second Great Awakening
Brought Christianity on a large scale to enslaved African Americans
Belief that all people whether black or white belonged to the same God
Slaves in the rural south participated in segregated worship in the same churches as the slave owners.
Africans interpreted God’s word as a promise of freedom.
In the east free Africans worshiped in separate churches like Richard Allen’s Bethel African Church.
The church became a political, cultural, and social center for African Americans.

6. Transcendentalism
Many reform-minded individuals sought alternatives to religious reform.
Ralph Waldo Emerson led a group practicing transcendentalism.
A philosophical and literary movement that emphasized living a simple life & celebrating the truth found in nature, emotion, & imagination.
Read pg 243

7. Unitarians
Emphasized reason and appeals to conscience as the paths to perfection
Wealthy and educated following
Believed conversion was a gradual process.
Purpose of Christianity was “the perfection of human nature”
utopian communities – or perfect place.

8. Shakers Shakers shared their goods with each other
Believed men & women are equal, and refused to fight for any reason.
Shakers vowed not to marry or have children.
Depended on converts and adopting children to keep up their communities.
In 1999, only about 7 Shakers remained in the U.S.

9. Other Reforms Alexis de Tocqueville Dorothea Dix Horace Mann
Reformed prisons (mentally ill)
Horace Mann
Reformed the education system
Developed curriculum
Developed teacher training programs

10. Answer the following questions
What was the Second Great Awakening?
How did the Second Great Awakening affect African Americans?
What did transcendentalism teach?
What did Unitarians believe?
What were the goals of the nation’s utopian communities?
What views did the Shakers hold?
How did reformers attempt to improve the nation’s prisons?
In what ways did reformers seek to improve the country’s education system?
What role did Horace Mann play in education reform?