Jacksonian Reforms Antebellum Revivalism & Reform

In France, I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom pursuing courses diametrically opposed to each other; but in America, I found that they were intimately united, and that they reigned in common over the same country… Religion was the foremost of the political institutions of the United States. -- Alexis de Tocqueville, 1832 The Rise of Popular Religion The Rise of Popular Religion

The Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening “Spiritual Reform From Within” [Religious Revivalism] Social Reforms & Redefining the Ideal of Equality Temperance Asylum & Penal Reform Education Women’s Rights Abolitionism Kicks off the Pursuit of Perfection in America!

Where did the movement begin?

The “Burned-Over” District Upstate New York Many NE Puritans had settled there

Second Great Awakening Revival Meeting Spread to the masses on the frontier by multi-day camp meetings

The ranges of tents, the fires, reflecting light…; the candles and lamps illuminating the encampment; hundreds moving to and fro…;the preaching, praying, singing, and shouting,… like the sound of many waters, was enough to swallow up all the powers of contemplation. Charles G. Finney (1792 – 1895) “Soul-shaking” conversion! 2 nd Great Awakening led to the feminization of religion – women make up majority of Church membership and move into charity work in the reform movements it sparked.

The Mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) Joseph Smith ( )  1823  Golden Tablets  1830  Book of Mormon  1844  Murdered in Carthage, IL  Why?

Violence Against Mormons Why were the Mormons persecuted?

The Mormon “Trek” Why Utah?

The Mormons  Led by Brigham Young  Salt Lake City, Utah  Frontier theocracy  Later flouted what laws in UT? Brigham Young Brigham Young ( )

Mother Ann Lee ( )  “If you will take up your crosses against the works of generations, and follow Christ in the regeneration, God will cleanse you from all unrighteousness.  If you improve in one talent, God will give you more.” The Shakers  God is dual sided – Christ is male side / Mother Ann Lee is female side

Shaker Meeting Religious fervor is sign of inspiration from God!

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'Tis the gift to be free, 'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be, And when we find ourselves in the place just right, 'Twill be in the valley of love and delight. When true simplicity is gained To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed, To turn, turn will be our delight, 'Till by turning, turning we come round right. Men / women equal spiritually Celibacy So how did they survive so long? Longest lasting sect – until 1940……. Shaker Beliefs

Shaker Simplicity & Utility

Utopian Communities

Robert Owen ( ) ( ) Utopian Socialist New Harmony - “Village of Cooperation”New Harmony - “Village of Cooperation” To be a model of the "New Moral World"To be a model of the "New Moral World" But will dissolve in less than 3 years.But will dissolve in less than 3 years.

Original Plans for New Harmony, IN Believed an individual's character was shaped by his or her environment, therefore, by controlling the environment, superior character could be developed.

New Harmony, IN First American kindergarten and free public school

BROOK FARM West Roxbury, MA 1841 George Ripley ( ) “Plain Living & High Thinking” Transcendentalists Nathaniel Hawthorne was a resident; eventually it burns down.

The Oneida Community New York, 1848 John Humphrey Noyes ( )  Millenarianism --> the 2 nd coming of Christ had already occurred.  Humans were no longer obliged to follow the moral rules of the past.  All residents married to each other  Carefully regulated free love  Silver plate, steel traps

The Oneida Community Birth control, eugenic selection of parents, communal care of childrenBirth control, eugenic selection of parents, communal care of children Noyes had to flee to Canada to escape prosecution for adulteryNoyes had to flee to Canada to escape prosecution for adultery Survive for 30 years (silverware!) and then change in 1880 – no more communism / became monogamousSurvive for 30 years (silverware!) and then change in 1880 – no more communism / became monogamous

Temperance Movement Frances Willard Lyman Beecher & the Beecher Family American Temperance Society “Demon Rum”!

Annual Consumption of Alcohol

“The Drunkard’s Progress” From the first glass to the grave, 1846 What social problems were attributed to alcohol?

NEAL DOW ■ Father of Prohibition ■ MAINE LAW, 1851 – First U.S. Law to ban the manufacture and sale of alcohol. ■ Temperance is the most widely supported, least sectional and most successful of all the reform movements ■ What groups will be most resistant?

“Father of American Education” Horace Mann ( ) Children were clay in the hands of teachers and school officials Children should be “molded” into a state of perfection Discouraged corporal punishment Established state teacher- training schools (“normal schools”)

Educational Reform Religious Training Secular Education More people have right to vote, so more need for educationMore people have right to vote, so more need for education Also, many immigrants to be Americanized!Also, many immigrants to be Americanized! MA – 1 st state to establish free public education – tax supportedMA – 1 st state to establish free public education – tax supported However, many communities unwilling to tax to raise the $ neededHowever, many communities unwilling to tax to raise the $ needed Lots of private, religious schools - did not want to pay taxes to support public onesLots of private, religious schools - did not want to pay taxes to support public ones By 1850 – free public ed. in most of North; even some high schoolsBy 1850 – free public ed. in most of North; even some high schools Better teacher trainingBetter teacher training Mostly women as teachers – CATHERINE BEECHER; didn’t have to pay them as much as menMostly women as teachers – CATHERINE BEECHER; didn’t have to pay them as much as men

The McGuffey Eclectic Readers Used religious parables to teach “American values.” Teach middle class morality and respect for order. Teach “3 Rs” + “Protestant ethic” (frugality, hard work, sobriety)

Noah Webster ■ “ American Spelling Book” ■ Encouraged ■ Encouraged Americans to respect their own literature ■ Later, ■ Later, dictionaries

Dorothea Dix Penitentiary Reform Prisons are an American creationPrisons are an American creation Reformers hope to help prisoners “repent” & learn to lead normal lives, reflect on sins, become better citizensReformers hope to help prisoners “repent” & learn to lead normal lives, reflect on sins, become better citizens Horrid conditions existed; sane & insane togetherHorrid conditions existed; sane & insane together DOROTHEA DIX gets prison reforms & gets insane out of prisons; mental asylums establishedDOROTHEA DIX gets prison reforms & gets insane out of prisons; mental asylums established Will be appointed as Superintendent of Nurses forWill be appointed as Superintendent of Nurses for Union forces in Civil War

Dorothea Dix Asylum

TWO TYPES OF PRISONS DEVELOP: Auburn SystemAuburn System First in 1821, Auburn, NYFirst in 1821, Auburn, NY Congregate systemCongregate system Congregate work by day BUT in total silenceCongregate work by day BUT in total silence Solitary at nightSolitary at night ■ Pennsylvania System ■ Individual system ■ Isolates inmate for entire stay ■ Blindfolded on admittance, etc. ■ Overcrowding a problem

Early 19 th Century Women –Rights? Unable to vote Legal status of a minor. Single  could own her own property. Married  no control over her property or her children. Could not initiate divorce. Couldn’t make wills, sign a contract, or bring suit in court without her husband’s permission.

“Separate Spheres & the “Cult of Domesticity” Separate spheres: men off to work to support family, woman’s place is in the homeSeparate spheres: men off to work to support family, woman’s place is in the home  to be a refuge from the cruel world outside  Her role was to “civilize” her husband and family – had great moral power.  Seen as physically/emotionally weak….but also as artistic and refined. Popularized in newspapers, magazines, etc.Popularized in newspapers, magazines, etc.

What It Would Be Like If Ladies Had Their Own Way!

Cult of Domesticity = Slavery The 2 nd Great Awakening inspired women to improve society – many began with abolitionism! Angelina & Sarah Grimke Lucy Stone American Women’s Suffrage Assoc.

Women’s Rights 1840  split in the abolitionist movement over women’s role in it. World Anti-Slavery Convention London  World Anti-Slavery Convention Lucretia Mott, a Quaker Elizabeth Cady Stanton Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments 1848  Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments Susan B. Anthony

Seneca Falls Convention, 1848 What did the Declaration of Sentiments call for? Who attended?

Landsdowne Portrait George Washington, 1796 Portrait of George Washington, 1796 Artistic Achievements Gilbert Stuart, an AMERICAN painter

Charles Wilson Peale Portraits of Washington

■ Hudson River School of Art – Romantic, grandiose AMERICAN landscapes ■ Thomas Cole, The Oxbow ROMANTICISM IN ART AND LITERATURE

TranscendentalismTranscendentalism  Individualism in religion! understanding reasoning  Man can be liberated from understanding and the cultivation of reasoning.”  TRUTH “TRANSCENDS” THE SENSES! SOUL  Man can “transcend” the limits of intellect and allow the emotions, the SOUL, to create an original relationship with the divine.

■We should live close to nature, for it is our greatest teacher. ■People are at their best when they are self-reliant and independent. ■Society and social institutions such as organized religion and political parties corrupt the purity of individuals. ■God is everywhere and in everything, so there is no need for specific religions or churches. ■Man is divine: Since Nature is divine, and we are literally creatures of Nature, we are also divine. Therefore, we have a direct relationship with God. In a sense, we are God or particles of God. ■The vast majority of transcendentalists were nonconformists and eccentrics Transcendentalists believed in the interconnectedness of all living things. NATURE

Transcendentalist Leaders Intellectuals/Writers Concord, MA Transcendentalist Leaders Intellectuals/Writers Concord, MA Ralph Waldo Emerson Henry David Thoreau Nature (1832) Walden (1854) Essay on Civil Disobedience (1849) Self-Reliance (1841) “The American Scholar” (1837)

TheTranscendentalistAgendaTheTranscendentalistAgenda ■ Give freedom to the slave ■ Give well-being to the poor and the miserable. ■ Give learning to the ignorant. ■ Give peace and justice to society.

-Their pursuit of the ideal led to a distorted view of human nature and possibilities: * The Blithedale Romance A Transcendentalist Critic: Nathaniel Hawthorne ( ) -One should accept the world as an imperfect place: * Scarlet Letter * House of the Seven Gables Hawthorne also held minor political offices under Van Buren, Polk, Pierce

Overview of Period Authors: ■ Pessimists - a dark view of human nature: ■ Edgar Allen Poe – Short story – Terror, darkness – The Raven ■ Herman Melville – Human psychology & struggles – Moby Dick ■ Nathaniel Hawthorne – Also focused on human struggles – Fascination with New England Puritans – The Scarlett Letter ■ James Fennimore Cooper – American themes – Leatherstocking Tales ■ Walt Whitman – Rambling, free-verse poetry – Leaves of Grass ■ Ralph Waldo Emerson – Evolved the essay ■ Henry David Thoreau – Activity in nature – Walden

THE END OF THE AGE OF REFORM? Caused by westward territorial expansion which brings what issue to the forefront and takes over politics?SLAVERY!