1. New Movements in America
Chapter 8, Section 1

2. Religion Sparks Reform
Charles Grandison Finney
Led revivals (meetings) to revive (awaken) religious feelings
Hundreds to thousands of people would embrace his teachings

3. The Second Great Awakening
Reform movement in the 1820s and 1830s
Led by Finney and many other preachers
Took place all over the United States, but mainly in the North
By 1850, two times as many Americans attended church than they had when America was founded

4. The Second Great Awakening
Many preachers were Protestant
Preachers told people that “their destiny lay in their own hands”
People were urged to live well and work hard
Through dedication and hard work they could create a kind of heaven on earth

5. The Reform Era The Reform Era lasted from 1830-1860
The Second Great Awakening helped launch this
Americans wanted to reshape American society
People who participated are called reformers

6. The Temperance Movement
Wanted to reduce the use of alcoholic beverages
Temperance means moderation
Reformers linked the evils of alcohol to sickness, poverty, and the breakup of families
1851-Maine outlawed alcohol, 12 states followed them

7. Reforming Education
1840s most schools were private schools or common schools
Common schools were public schools that taught basic reading, writing, and math
Teaching in common schools was generally poor, but most families could not afford private school

8. Common School Movement
People wanted more children to be educated
Educated people make better decisions and this would be important in a democracy
Common school movement wanted to extend and improve public schools

9. Horace Mann A very influential leader of the Reform Era
First Secretary of Education in Massachusetts
Wanted all states to fund and supervise locally controlled schools
Advocated compulsory attendance
Started normal schools—schools where teachers are trained

10. Horace Mann Mann transformed education in Massachusetts
1839-Created the first normal school
1852-Passed first compulsory attendance law in the United States
By 1860 six in ten white children attended school in the US
Did not help Native American children or African American children

11. William McGuffey Well known education reformer
Wrote textbooks for different grade levels
Taught reading and moral and intellectual values

12. Reforming Prisons
Dorothea Dix campaigned for humane treatment of prisoners and mentally ill
Before reform—mentally ill and nonviolent criminals were confined with violent criminals
Prisons were horribly crowded and unsanitary
Prisoners were abused by their jailers

13. Reforming Prisons
Dix petitioned Massachusetts state legislature for better conditions
Created state-supported institutions to house and treat mentally ill people
By the time she died more than 100 institutions were built throughout the country to treat the mentally ill

14. Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism – the belief that knowledge is found not only by observation of the world, but also through reason, intuition, and personal spiritual experiences
By transcending (going beyond) observation, people can have a deeper and truer understanding of the world

15. Ralph Waldo Emerson Leading transcendentalist
Gave sermons and lectures and wrote essays and poems
Belief that people should be self-reliant and trust their intuition
All people and all of nature are connected

16. Henry David Thoreau Major transcendentalist
Believed in power of self-reliance and individual thought
People should act according to their own beliefs even if that meant breaking the law
“Civil Disobedience” an essay that beliefs are were used in modern times
Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi

17. Utopianism
Believed in creating new communities that would be free of social ills
Utopia – a perfect society
Led by Robert Owen – created New Harmony, but society failed within 3 years
Brookfarm – Utopian community in Massachusetts that emphasized equality
Failed because of debts