Age of Reform

Chapter 15Sections 1-3

What is reform?

Reform – make changes to improve somethingSocial Reform – an organized attempt to improve what is unjust or imperfect in society

What is the “Second Great Awakening”?

Def. a religious movement that swept the country in the early 1800s; taught that ppl could choose to save their souls by their own actionsPeople attended revivals (huge outdoor meeting)Preachers taught mass amount of ppl while traveling around and advertising through pamphlets, newspapers and word of mouth

What is Mental Health Reform?

Mentally ill ppl were chained to beds, beaten into obedience, locked in small unheated rooms and sometimes mixed in with criminalsDorothea Dix: school teacher who led the fight for better treatment of the mentally ill

Inspected jails in many states and wrote reports on the conditions

Some states will create separate buildings for the mentally illNot a lot will be done for several years until mental illness is understood better

What is Prison Reform?

Most jails held drunks, thieves, murderers and debtors in one large roomPoor conditions (strict silence, guards beat prisoners, food was gross, dirty & unhealthy)Reformers campaigned for better conditions in 1830s and 1840s based on the view that prisoners could be rehabilitated

Eliza Farnham: warden of a women’s prison in NY state believed in treating prisoners fairly

Allowed prisoners to talkOpened a prison libraryEstablished a school inside the prison to teach prisoners to read and write

What is the Temperance Movement?

Def. a campaign against alcohol abuseWomen led this movt

Knew that “demon rum” could lead to wife beatings, child abuse and breakup of familiesAlso thought to led to unemployment, ruin people’s health and promote “ungodly” behavior

Some groups will urge less drinking and others will want to end drinking altogether

What is Education Reform?

Few students (mostly wealthy kids) attended school, teachers were poorly trained and not paid wellHorace Mann: fought to provide free public elementary school to every child; also created colleges to train teachers

Schools for African-Americans-Tried to build schools but received less money than white schoolsIn north, African-Americans opened schools to educate their childrenOften met with resistance

Schools for ppl w/disabilities –School is opened for the deafSchool is opened for the blind

What was the fight for Women’s Rights?

Def. sought to gain equal rights as menHad very few rights:

Getting married? All your property becomes solely your husbandsWork outside of home? All paychecks go to husbandHusbands have the right to hit his wife as long as he does not seriously injure her

Sojourner Truth: born into slavery as Isabella and gained her freedom later

Believed God wanted her to fight slaveryVowed to sojourn, or travel, across the land speaking the truth… gets her nicknameGreat speakerRidiculed, or made fun of, the idea that women were inferior, or less worthy, than men

Lucretia Mott: Quaker and motherQuiet speaker but was great at persuasive logicUsed organization skills to put petition drives together in the North

Elizabeth Cady Stanton: fought for women’s rights

father was disappointed she was a girlMarried Henry Stanton- took the “obey” out of their vows

Seneca Falls Convention: an 1848 meeting at which leaders of the women’s rights movt called for equal rights for women

200 women and 40 men attendApproved Declaration of Sentiments, modeled after Declaration of IndependenceDemanded equality for women at work, school & churchThought about listing the right to vote but many were not bold enough to take that step but it does pass

Women’s Right Movt: organized campaign for equal rightsSusan B. Anthony: traveled and spoke about equal rights for women even when she was heckled and eggs were thrown at her

Some changes will be made in certain states but the fight for women’s rights will take MANY years

What was the Abolitionist Movement?

Def. sought to end slavery in the USFrederick Douglass: African-American abolitionist

Born into slaveryIgnored Black Codes and learned to readEscaped to the northSpoke at an anti-slavery meeting, very movingDespite the risk of getting caught, he continued to speak out against slavery.Wrote the newspaper “The North Star”

William Lloyd Garrison: white abolitionistWrote The Liberator, the most influential antislavery newspaper

Underground RailroadA secret passageway, above ground, that slaves who escaped from the South would follow to the North (many go to Canada)Organized by black and white abolitionists“conductors” guided runaways to “stations” where they could spend the night

Harriet Tubman: escaped slave who returned to the south 9 more times to help other slaves escape.

Led more than 300 slaves to freedom. Slaves owners offered $40,000 reward for her capture

**Read Page 442 in the textbook as a class.

Recruiting PosterWith a partner, sign up for one the following reforms. Only one group can sign up for each reform.

Create a recruiting poster for your reform movement.

Second Great Awakening (Religion)Mental Illness ReformPrison ReformTemperance MovementEducation Reform

Abolitionist MovementWomen’s Rights

Recruiting Poster• On the poster the following information must be included:

– Who was involved? (include leaders and types of people) – you might consider putting them as the contact people

– What did the reformers do to try to bring about change? (list past actions) – you might want to say things the reformers have done in the past

– Why did they think a change was necessary? (list reasons why they wanted reform) – this is where you will really “sell” the idea of the reform and why it is necessary

– What was the outcome of their work? (list results of their work) – this is where you many want to celebrate your reformers success so people will see you are making a difference.

• Remember, this is an advertisement, you are trying to encourage people to support your movement so be creative.

• Also remember that posters that are super wordy are boring. Make sure that you use both words and images along with a layout that flows with the information.