Social Reforms of the 1800s

1. Social Reforms of the 1800s

2. American Society • All of the changes to our nation during the Industrial Revolution obviously affected our society too • People were forced to adjust their lives to the changing economic and social realities • Just like the political leaders and business leaders of their time, the social leaders left society both divided and united behind their various agendas

3. Second Great Awakening • One of the starting points for all these social reforms came in the form of a religious revival called the Second Great Awakening • One of the earliest events that sparked this was the Cane Ridge Revival in Kentucky • This was where around 10-15,000 people or so gathered in the countryside meeting for a few days praying, singing, and in some cases, dancing • It was important because it marked the beginning of a more charismatic version of Christianity • It also showed that this revival would be more about refining one’s personality rather than simply just more people going to church

4. Spread of Revival • In addition to Cane Ridge, there were countless examples of revivals across the country, especially in one area of upstate New York • This was called the ‘Burned Over District’ because of the various revivals that swept over the area • Eventually, the movement coincided with westward migration

5. What were they all about? • Revivalists, especially by the 1820s and 30s, saw a number of social ills that needed to be fixed • Some of these were slavery, alcoholism, women’s rights, prison conditions, and the social structure as a whole • They preached that these changes started with the individual, and once that individual was ‘saved’ they could impact the rest of society • How did this compare to the ‘First Great Awakening’? • It was more evangelical in nature and stressed one’s ability to overcome their problems as opposed to stressing God’s wrath • Soon, millions of Americans were caught up in the effort to address these issues

6. Temperance • Perhaps the most important of the reforms that occurred was temperance • The average American in the 1820s drank more than 7 gallons of pure alcohol a year (more than 70 gallons of beer) • Temperance referred to ‘tempering’ the amount of alcohol that one consumed, not complete elimination • Others saw it as complete prohibition- how is that different? • One unique aspect of this reform was that women got heavily involved in it – why do you think that was the case? • Factory owners also got involved because they knew their workers would be productive if they were not drunk

7. Stories • There was a good deal of differences between the different groups • The Washingtonians (over 600,000 members) focused on the individual alcoholic to recover • The American Temperance Society and Anti-Saloon League wanted to forbid the sale of alcohol • Churches, especially Protestant denominations, substituted wine with grape juice during Communion • Soon, some states outlawed the sale of alcohol- Maine being an early example

8. The Drunkard’s Progress

9. Women’s Rights • Up until the 1800s, women’s roles were mostly found in the household doing chores and raising families • By and large women could not vote, hold public office, own property, get a divorce, charge spousal abuse, or even speak in public situations • Education was also hard to come by because most colleges and universities only admitted men

10. Changes • Early feminists such as Margaret Fuller began advocating that women have access to greater educational opportunities • The idea of educating women was seen as turning society upside down • Women also began questioning men’s superiority over their lives • In 1837, Oberlin College in Ohio was the first college to admit women- four of them • Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts was the one of the first college that was exclusively for females in the US • However, this was a rare occurrence and even after the Civil War there were few colleges that were co-educational

11. Seneca Falls • In the summer of 1848, two women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, organized the first convention dedicated to promoting women’s rights • A few hundred people attended, and Stanton’s husband chaired the convention • Stanton composed the Declaration of Sentiments which famously said ‘all men and women are created equal’ • One hundred people, including Frederick Douglass, signed the document • Although it was small, soon other conventions started popping up across the Northeast

12. Women Get Involved • Mott, Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony began including themselves in other reform movements such as abolitionism, temperance, and education reform • Why would women be closely associated with temperance and abolitionism? • However, the one idea that they pushed for the most was suffrage- which means what? • In their eyes, especially after the passing of the 14th amendment, this was the one thing that they desperately wanted- why? • Several women, including Susan B. Anthony, would be arrested for voting in elections • In 1869, Wyoming was the first state to allow women to vote and a year later allow women to serve on juries • The right to vote wasn’t granted until the 19th Amendment in 1920

13. Utopianism • Some religious leaders sought to reform society by forming independent communities that would result in a perfect society • Some of these communes or phalanxes sought to completely isolate their members from outside influences • Some groups, such as the Shakers, sought to get a closer connection to God and had strict rules regarding relationships between men and women • Others like Brook Farm in Massachusetts, gave out equal pay to men and women and encouraged people to do the work together to better the community • Most of these died out after a few decades because of either divisions within the communities or their strict rules regarding procreation

14. Oneida • One community that stood out was Oneida, in western New York • It was founded on the principle of bringing ‘heaven on earth’- or creating a perfect society • This included ideas such as complex marriage and mutual criticism • Mutual criticism involved being brought before a committee or the entire community for doing something wrong • Complex marriage was the idea that no one was exclusively married to one person or another

15. Health Reforms • Yet another issue that reformers sought to fix was the rather primitive medical treatments and knowledge that existed during the period • Medicine had not progressed much for centuries • Soon, universities began formal training for doctors and studying disease • Still, the idea of micro-organisms was not present and some interesting ideas came about such as blood letting, leeches, and hydrotherapy

16. Diets • One other thing that health reformers noticed was the terrible diet that most people had • Advocates such as Sylvester Graham and John Harvey Kellogg all advocated that one’s health was connected to one’s diet • They advocated a diet of grains, fruits, and vegetables (vegetarianism)- no meat • Graham was credited with inventing the Graham cracker • Kellogg and his brother founded the Kellogg brand of cereal and invented Corn Flakes

17. Mental Health • One other issue that reformers saw as a problem was the treatment of the mentally ill • It was not uncommon for the mentally ill to be placed in prisons alongside violent criminals • Soon, people like Dorothea Dix pushed for the creation of state run asylums that were dedicated to helping the mentally ill • Most of these state hospitals, although good in their intentions, probably didn’t adequately serve their needs either • At the same time, it was an important step in recognizing that mental illness was indeed an illness and not something criminal or religious in nature

18. Prison Reforms • Before reforms, prisoners were not separated based on the crimes they committed • However, soon people realized that ex-convicts had a very difficult time adjusting to society upon release • So new prison ‘systems’ were put in place that both sought to rehabilitate and encourage remorse on the part of the prisoners

19. Prisons, cont’d • Two of these new models for prisons were the Pennsylvania System and the Auburn System • The Pennsylvania System taught that discipline and hard work would reform the prisoners • The Auburn System believed in silence, work groups, and ‘lock step’ where prisoners were chained together and marched in step • How does this reflect on the reform culture that permeated the US?