Antebellum Social Reforms:Temperance

Public EducationPrisons and Asylums

Labor

Temperance•Goal?•To eliminate the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Temperance•Rationale?•Excessive use of alcohol caused social ills including poverty, crime, and the mistreatment of women and children.

Temperance•Details?•Many women were active in the temperance movement because alcohol tended to cause domestic abuse.

Temperance•Details?•One of the first temperance laws was passed in Maine. The Maine Law of 1851 was copied in other states.

Temperance•Details?•Temperance met fierce resistance. The Maine Law was repealed in 1856. Many others did not survive court challenges.

Temperance•Details?•The Temperance Movement continued after the Civil War, culminating in ratification of the 18th Amendment in 1919.

Public School Movement•Goal?•To provide tax-supported schools for all children.

Public School Movement•Rationale?•In the early 19th century, most American children received little formal schooling. Reformers cited informed citizenship and religious training among the benefits of increased literacy.

Public School Movement•Details?•Horace Mann of Massachusetts was among the leading reformers for public education.

Public School Movement•Details?•By the 1850’s, all states had some form of tax-supported schools. They were most-numerous in the states of the northeast and most-accessible to white children.

Public School Movement•Details?•More practical curricula (reading, writing, and arithmetic), early textbooks (McGuffey’s Readers), and better teacher-preparation became more widespread.

Prison and Asylum Reform•Goal?•More humane treatment of prisoners and the mentally ill.

Prison and Asylum Reform•Rationale?•To apply Christian principles to the treatment of social deviants and to achieve social benefits by stressing rehabilitation over punishment.

Prison and Asylum Reform•Details?•Prisons housed social “deviants,” including criminals and the mentally ill. Both tended to receive similar treatment: physical punishment, restraint, and isolation.

Prison and Asylum Reform•Details?•One of the most active reformers was Dorothea Dix, who investigated prison conditions and raised public awareness of the need for more enlightened policies.

Prison and Asylum Reform•Details?•Dix and other reformers helped improve the treatment of incarcerated criminals and establish asylums for the mentally ill.

The Labor Movement•Goal?•To improve industrial working conditions

The Labor Movement•Rationale?•Factory work paid low wages and was often dangerous.

The Labor Movement•Details?•America’s industrial revolution was in its infancy in the early 19th century, but as work shifted from the farm to the factory, industrial labor conditions became a concern.

The Labor Movement•Details?•Workers began to organize labor unions and press for concessions.

The Labor Movement•Details?•The labor movement had little public support. Its most important accomplishments would happen in the early 20th century.