Unit 4 Part 3: Reform Era – The Second Great Awakening
Alexis de Tocqueville – Democracy in America Analyzed pros & cons of American democracy Noted the strength of religion in America Due to separation of church & state “Despotism may govern without faith, but Liberty cannot.”
Second Great Awakening Reaction against enlightenment & deism Again trying to get more people to go to church More emotional and evangelical faith Charles Finney Emphasized personal role in salvation Led tent revivals throughout the North
Perfectionism Faith in human capacity to achieve a better life through conscious acts of will
Millerites Believed that Christ would return by March 22, 1844 Thousands gave away their belongings in anticipation Also climbed on roofs & hills to be closer to heaven Movement gave rise to Seventh Day Adventists & Jehovah Witnesses
Mormon Trek Joseph Smith founded Mormonism in NY (1830) Church moved to IL Attacked by locals for practicing polygamy Joseph Smith killed by a mob; Brigham Young took over Led Mormons on a trek to Utah
Utopian Communities Some wanted to create a perfect society where people shared goods, labor, or family life Brook Farm Transcendentalists combined philosophy and plain living New Harmony Model factory town Oneida Universal marriage
Shakers Followers of Mother Ann Lee (followers thought she was a female Christ) Community with no marriage, no physical intimacy, & social equality Guess why they died out?
Transcendentalism Intellectual movement in New England They wanted to transcend (or rise above) reason Leader was Ralph Waldo Emerson “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind”
Basics of Transcendental Thoughts Nonconformity Fitting in with society will let you be corrupted by the evils of that society Self-reliance The only one you can trust to stay true to yourself is yourself; follow your instincts Free Thought Don’t blindly follow what others tell you to do, especially with religion
Basics of Transcendental Thoughts Confidence Don’t question your instincts or who you are; do everything with a bold confidence Importance of Nature Becoming one with nature will let you remove yourself from reality and transcend the realm of rational thought
Henry David Thoreau Wrote Walden while living in a cabin. Wanted to connect with nature Also wrote “Civil Disobedience” & refused to pay taxes Essay said that we have a responsibility to push back against things our gov. does that are unjust, like slavery or war
Other famous American authors Edgar Allan Poe wrote dark gothic horror stories; wanted to make you tense Emily Dickenson wrote poetry about life, death, loneliness, and God Herman Melville wrote Moby Dick, about an obsessed captain and a white whale
Washington Irving James Fenimore Cooper Nathaniel Hawthorne Wrote about upstate NY Rip van Winkle & Sleepy Hollow James Fenimore Cooper Struggle between wilderness & civilization on the frontier Last of the Mohicans Nathaniel Hawthorne Oppression of Puritanism The Scarlet Letter
Hudson River School Group of American artists who painted landscapes of the American wilderness.