Social Reform Movements Chapter 9 Section 2
Bell Ringer: What could you have done to have improved your test score?
Alcohol Alcohol was blamed for society’s problems. Temperance Movement: aimed to persuade others to limit alcohol consumption. Women eventually created the American Temperance Union. Demanded Prohibition as early as Maine was the first to outlaw alcohol. By the mid 1800’s consumption had declined greatly.
Women Believed that they were the moral leader of the family and deserved to acquire the education and training to do so. Catherine Beecher was a leader fighting for this reform. Believed women had the ability and obligation to influence the men in their lives to become moral citizens. Emma Willard: Founded the Troy Female Seminary in 1821, to school women in math and philosophy.
Education Mostly Private Schools, public schools were few and poorly funded. In 1837, Horace Mann united school districts in Mass. Into a state system, raised teacher’s salaries, lengthened the school year, and argued for increased budget. First public high school opened in Little to no effect on the South.
College Reform 1800’s opportunities for women and African Americans to attended college expanded. Oberlin College was the first to admit women and African Americans starting in 1862: Mary Jane Patterson was the first African American woman to receive a degree.
Institutions Mentally Ill: Reform was fought for by Dorothea Dix. Found mentally ill in “cages, closets, cellars, stalls, pens” and were “chained, naked, beaten with rods, and lashed.” Rise of Penitentiaries: Where law breakers could be placed to be rehabbed.
Prisions Juveniles were treated the same way as adults. Sought to change behavior through education not just punishment.
Poor Houses Increase in poverty from city growth and immigration Establishment of poor houses would keep poverty stricken clean, fed, and motivated to work. Kept them protected and productive
Homework: Read Chapter 9 Section 2. Questions 1, 2, 4