1. A Religious Revival Click the mouse button to display the information. In the mid-1800s, many Americans worked to reform various aspects of society.  Dorothea Dix worked for improved treatment of the mentally ill.

2. Religious leaders organized to revive the nation’s commitment to religion in a movement known as the Second Great Awakening.  An important advocate of this movement was Charles G. Finney, who helped found modern revivalism.  A number of new religious denominations emerged from the new religious revival.  These included the Unitarians and the Universalists. A Religious Revival (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

3. Joseph Smith, a New Englander, founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, whose followers are known as the Mormons.  After being harassed, the Mormons moved to Illinois.  After the murder of Joseph Smith and continued persecution, the Mormons settled in Utah. A Religious Revival (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

4. Lyman Beecher was instrumental in establishing associations known as benevolent societies.  Although they were first begun to spread God’s teaching, these societies also sought to combat social problems.  Women were particularly active in the revivalist movement, and became extremely active in the religious-based reform groups. A Religious Revival (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

5. What religious denominations emerged during the time of the Second Great Awakening? Unitarians, Universalists, and the Mormons emerged during the time of the Second Great Awakening. Click the mouse button to display the answer. A Religious Revival (cont.)

6. A Literary Renaissance Click the mouse button to display the information. One notable group of philosophers and writers in New England were the transcendentalists.  Transcendentalism urged people to transcend the limits of their mind and let their souls embrace the beauty of the universe.  Some influential transcendentalist writers included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and Henry David Thoreau.

7. Other writers created works that were uniquely American, focusing on the nation’s people, history, and natural beauty.  They included James Fenimore Cooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Edgar Allan Poe, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. A Literary Renaissance (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

8. One of the most influential new writers was Walt Whitman, who pioneered a new kind of poetry, free verse, in his poetry collection Leaves of Grass.  His work exalted nature, the common people, democracy, and the human body and spirit. A Literary Renaissance (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

9. The early 1800s saw the rise of mass newspapers.  Before the early 1800s, most newspapers catered to well-educated readers.  As more Americans learned to read and write and gained the right to vote, publishers began producing inexpensive newspapers that included the news people wanted to know. A Literary Renaissance (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

10. General interest magazines, such as Godey’s Lady’s Book, Atlantic Monthly, and Harper’s Weekly also emerged. A Literary Renaissance (cont.)

11. Why did the early 1800s see the emergence of mass newspapers? More and more Americans had learned to read and write and received the right to vote. These Americans wanted to know certain kinds of news, and these newspapers catered to their wishes. These newspapers were also inexpensive to publish. Click the mouse button to display the answer. A Literary Renaissance (cont.)

12. Social Reform Click the mouse button to display the information. Optimism about human nature and the rise of religious and artistic movements led some people to form new communities.  The people who formed these communities believed that the way to a better life and freedom from corruption was to separate themselves from society to form their own utopia, or ideal society.

13. The communities were characterized by cooperative living and the absence of private property.  Social Reform (cont.) Utopian communities included Brook Farm in Massachusetts and small communities established throughout the country by a religious group called the Shakers. Click the mouse button to display the information.

14. Many reformers argued that the excessive use of alcohol was one of the major causes of crime and poverty.  These reformers advocated temperance, or abstinence from alcohol.  Several temperance groups joined together in 1833 to form the American Temperance Union.  Temperance groups also pushed for laws to prohibit the sale of liquor. Social Reform (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

15. Some reformers focused on improving prison conditions in the nation. Social Reform (cont.)

16. Why did some reformers advocate temperance? These people believed that the excessive use of alcohol was the cause of various social problems, such as crime and poverty. Click the mouse button to display the answer. Social Reform (cont.)

17. Educational Reform Click the mouse button to display the information. In the early 1800s, educational reformers began to push for state-backed schools for a number of reasons.  New technology requiring better- educated workers, an increasing number of immigrants, and a surge in the voter roles all required broader public education.

18. Horace Mann pushed for more public education and backed the creation of a state board of education in Massachusetts.  At the same time, many reformers pushed for the establishment of public elementary schools, which gained widespread support in the Northeastern states and soon spread to other parts of the country. Educational Reform (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

19. The South was slower to support public education, and even then it was for white children.  African American children were entirely excluded. Educational Reform (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

20. Education reformers generally had men, not women, in mind.  However, some women worked to create more educational opportunities for women.  Emma Willard founded a girls’ boarding school that taught academic subjects, which were rarely taught to women then.  Mary Lyon founded the first institution of higher education for women only. Educational Reform (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

21. The Women’s Movement Click the mouse button to display the information. In the 1800s, people began dividing their life between the home and the workplace.  Men generally went to work, while women took care of the house and children.  Most people at that time believed that home was the proper place for women.  Catherine Beecher argued that women could find fulfillment in a responsible position at home.

22. Many women saw themselves as partners with their husbands, and as such believed that they should be treated equally. The Women’s Movement (cont.)

23. Many women began to believe that they had an important role to improve society.  Some began to argue that they needed greater rights to promote their roles.  Other women also argued that equal rights for men and women would end many social injustices. The Women’s Movement (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

24. In 1848 Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Seneca Falls Convention, a meeting to focus on equal rights for women and one that marked the beginning of the women’s movement.  The statement they distributed, the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, called attention to their cause. The Women’s Movement (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

25. Throughout the 1850s, women organized more conventions to promote greater rights for women. The Women’s Movement (cont.)

26. What was the significance of the Seneca Falls Convention? It called for equal rights for men and women, and it was the start of the women’s movement. Click the mouse button to display the answer. The Women’s Movement (cont.)

27. The Abolitionist Movement Click the mouse button to display the information. The movement calling for abolition, or the immediate end to slavery, polarized the nation and contributed to the Civil War.  Many Americans had opposed slavery, and there had been opposition to slavery since the Revolutionary War.

28. Some antislavery societies believed that ending slavery would not end racism.  They believed that the best solution was to send African Americans back to Africa.  Some societies formed the American Colonization Society (ACS) to move African Americans to Africa. The Abolitionist Movement (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

29. The ACS acquired land in West Africa, chartered ships, and moved some free African Americans to a colony in West Africa that eventually became the nation of Liberia.  Colonization, however, was not a realistic solution.  The cost of transporting was high.  Also, most African Americans regarded the United States as their home and had no desire to migrate to another continent. The Abolitionist Movement (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

30. In the 1830s, the development of a large national abolitionist movement was largely due to the work of William Lloyd Garrison.  He founded the Liberator, an antislavery newspaper.  With an increasing following, he founded the American Antislavery Society in 1833. The Abolitionist Movement (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

31. Free African Americans also played a prominent role in the abolitionist movement.  The most prominent was Frederick Douglass, who published his own antislavery newspaper, the North Star.  Sojourner Truth was another important African American abolitionist. The Abolitionist Movement (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

32. Many Northerners, even those who disapproved of slavery, opposed abolitionism, viewing it as a threat to the existing social system.  Many warned that it would produce conflict between the North and South.  Others feared a possible huge influx of African Americans to the North.  Still others feared that abolition would destroy the Southern economy, and thereby affect their own economy. The Abolitionist Movement (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

33. Most Southerners viewed slavery as essential to their economy, and therefore opposed abolition.  Some defended slavery by claiming that most enslaved people had no desire for freedom because they benefited from their relationship with slaveholders. The Abolitionist Movement (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

34. In 1831 Nat Turner led a revolt by enslaved people that killed more than 50 Virginians.  Southerners demanded the suppression of all abolitionist publications.  Southern postal workers refused to deliver such publications, and the House of Representatives, under pressure from the South, shelved all abolitionist petitions. The Abolitionist Movement (cont.) Click the mouse button to display the information.

35. What was the Northern reaction to the abolitionist movement? Many Northerners opposed abolitionism, fearing that it would disrupt the social system. Some feared that it would result in an influx of African Americans. Others feared that abolition would destroy the Southern economy. Click the mouse button to display the answer. The Abolitionist Movement (cont.)