New Movements in America

Chapter 14

ImmigrationImmigration

• increased dramatically 1840- 1860increased dramatically 1840- 1860• IrishIrish

largest grouplargest group1.5 million1.5 millionpoor, starving due to Irish potato faminepoor, starving due to Irish potato faminelow paying factory jobs , manual labor (canals low paying factory jobs , manual labor (canals and RR’s, domestic servantsand RR’s, domestic servants

QUESTION #1 a, 2

ImmigrationImmigration

• GermansGermans1 million1 millionfailed democratic revolution….economicsfailed democratic revolution….economicsbought farms and businessesbought farms and businessesNY, PA, and the Mid-WestNY, PA, and the Mid-West

QUESTION 1 b, 2

Impact of ImmigrationImpact of Immigration

• Changed the character of the country Changed the character of the country (languages, customs, religions -most Irish and (languages, customs, religions -most Irish and half Germans were Catholic)half Germans were Catholic)

Immigrants Face PrejudiceImmigrants Face Prejudice

• In the 1830’s and 1840’s anti-immigrants In the 1830’s and 1840’s anti-immigrants feelings rosefeelings rose

• Why?Why?changing the country too muchchanging the country too muchtaking jobs from “real” Americanstaking jobs from “real” Americansbrought crime and disease to citiesbrought crime and disease to cities

Immigrants Face PrejudiceImmigrants Face Prejudice

• People opposed to immigration were known People opposed to immigration were known as NATIVISTSas NATIVISTS

• The nativists formed a secret anti-Catholic The nativists formed a secret anti-Catholic society and new political partysociety and new political party

• This new political party was the AMERICAN This new political party was the AMERICAN PARTY but came to be known as the “KNOW-PARTY but came to be known as the “KNOW-NOTHING PARTY”NOTHING PARTY”

• stricter citizenship laws (5-21 yrs) and ban stricter citizenship laws (5-21 yrs) and ban foreign born from holding public officeforeign born from holding public office

QUESTION # 4

Cities Come of AgeCities Come of Age• Growth of factories and trade…growth of Growth of factories and trade…growth of

citiescities• Industrial towns grew quickest (rivers and Industrial towns grew quickest (rivers and

streams)streams)• Older cities (New York, Boston, Baltimore) Older cities (New York, Boston, Baltimore)

became centers of commercebecame centers of commerce• Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Louisville profited Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Louisville profited

from their locations from their locations

QUESTION #5

Cities and Towns in the early Cities and Towns in the early 1800’s1800’s• Buildings made of wood or brickBuildings made of wood or brick

• Streets, sidewalks unpavedStreets, sidewalks unpaved• Barnyard animals in the streetBarnyard animals in the street• Overcrowding…tenementsOvercrowding…tenements• No indoor plumbingNo indoor plumbing• No sewers to carry waste and dirty water awayNo sewers to carry waste and dirty water away• Disease (yellow fever epidemic in Philly, 1793; Disease (yellow fever epidemic in Philly, 1793;

Cholera in NYS 1832 and 1849)Cholera in NYS 1832 and 1849)• Fire dangerFire danger• CRIMECRIME• POSITIVE: Variety of jobs, steady wages, libraries, POSITIVE: Variety of jobs, steady wages, libraries,

shops, museumsshops, museums

QUESTION #6

AMERICAN ARTSChapter 14- Section 2

Cultural Changes

• The changes in American society influenced American art and literature.

• Previously, inspiration for painters and writers came from Europe but beginning in the 1820’s American artists developed their own style and explored American themes.

The Reforming Spirit

• The men and women who led the reform movement wanted to spread the American ideals of freedom and liberty to all Americans.

• They believed that the US should live up to the noble goals states in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution

• The Reform Era brought changes in American religion, politics, education, art, and literature.

The Reforming Spirit• Some reformers sought to improve society by forming

UTOPIAS (communities based on an perfect society).• New Harmony, Indiana established in 1825 was one

such utopian society. It was dedicated to cooperation rather that competition from its members.

• Few utopian communities last more that a few years. • The Shakers, The Mormons, and other religious groups

also built communities.• Only the Mormons established a stable, enduring

community

QUESTION #2

The Transcendentalists• The American spirit of reform influenced a

group known as transcendentalists.• Transcendentalists thought that people could

transcend or rise above the material things in life. They believed that people should depend on themselves and their own insights, rather than on outside authorities.

• Writers such as Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau were leading transcendentalists.

QUESTION #1

The Transcendentalists

• Fuller, in her writings, supported rights for women.

• Emerson urged people to listen to their inner voice and breaks the bonds of prejudice.

• Thoreau out his beliefs into practice through civil disobedience- refusing to obey laws he thought to be unjust. In 1846, Thoreau went to jail rather than pay a tax to support the Mexican War.

American Romanticism

• Ideas about simple life and nature also inspired painters and writers in the mid-1800’s

• Romanticism involved a great interest in nature; an emphasis on individual expression.

• American artists painted American landscapes; wrote historical fiction, and American based poetry

QUESTION #3

Other Writers• The transcendentalists were not the only

important writers of the time.• Many classic American poets flourished…Henry

Wadsworth Longfellow…Walt Whitman…and Emily Dickinson… Edgar Allan Poe. Novelists like Hawthorne (The Scarlet Letter) and Melville (Moby Dick)

• Women writers of the time were not taken seriously yet were the authors of the most popular fiction.

• Harriet Beecher Stowe and Uncle Tom’s Cabin

End 14-2

Question #4

Reforming Society

Chapter 14

Section 3

The Religious Influence

• In the early 1800’s, a wave of religious fervor swept the nation.

• The is known as The Second Great Awakening• Revivals (Charles Finney)• The SGA:

increased church membershipinspired people to do missionary workinspired people to join reform movements; to right the wrongs they saw in society

Question #1

The Temperance MovementThe war against alcohol

• Religious leaders led this movement.• in the 1800’s, public drunkenness was

common• Alcohol abuse was common; especially in the

West and among urban workers• Alcohol abuse was blamed for:

poverty the breakup of familiescrime insanity

QUESTION #2

The Temperance Movement• Movement used lectures, pamphlets and

revival-style rallies to tell against the evils of alcohol

• Maine passed a law which forbid the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages

• Other states passed similar laws.• People resented these laws and most were

repealed after several years• The US Constitution was amended to prohibit

the manufacture and sale of alcohol (18th Amendment in 1919; repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933

Reforming Education• In the early 1800’s, only New England had free

public elementary schools.• In other areas, parents had to pay a fee or

send their children to a school for the poor- a choice some parents refused our of pride.

• The leader of education reform was HORACE MANN (head of the Mass. Bd. of Education)

• Mann improved school curriculum, doubled teachers salaries, developed ways to better train teachers, and lengthened the school year to six months

Reforming Education

• By the 1850’s, most states had accepted three basic principles of public education

1. Schools should be free and supported by taxes

2. teachers should be trained3. children should be required to attend school

QUESTION # 3

Reforming Education (exceptions)• Most females received a limited education• Many parents believed that a woman’s role

was as wife and mother and, therefore, girls did not need an education

• When girls did go to school, they often studied music or needlework rather than science, math and history (these were considered “men’s subjects”)

• In the West, people lived so far apart there were no schools to attend.

Higher Education• Dozens of new colleges were created during

the age of reform.• Most admitted only men.• many were founded by religious groups.• Slowly, higher education was made available

to those who had been denied it. Mount Holyoke (1837) was the first permanent women’s college. Ashmun Institute (later called Lincoln University) was the first college for African-Americans (1854- Pennsylvania)

People with Special Needs

• Thomas Gallaudet developed a method to teach people who were hearing impaired, and opened the Hartford School for the Deaf in 1817.

• Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe advanced the cause of those who were visually impaired. Books with raised letters…Perkins Institute in Boston

Dorthea Dix

• Dorthea Dix was a school teacher who began visiting prisons in 1841.

• She found the prisoners living in inhumane conditions—chained to the walls with little or no clothing, often in unheated cells

• Dorthea Dix made it her life’s work to educate people on the poor conditions of prisoners and the mentally ill.

African-American Communities• A-A in the north generally lived in segregated

communities• A-A were also influenced by the SGA• - pressed for racial equality and education• African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME)

broke away from the Methodist Church because of poor treatment from whites

• A-A in the North and Mid-West had improved opportunities to get an education

Question # 4

African- American Education

• Philadelphia one of the first cities to end segregation…followed by Boston

• 1835 Oberlin College admitted blacks…soon followed by Harvard.

• African-American colleges began opening. (Avery College 1849 Philly)

• The limited opportunities that existed in the North and Mid-West did not exist for blacks in the South

The Movement to End Slavery

Chapter 14Section 4

The Abolitionists

• The spirit if reform sweeping the US in the early 1800’s was not limited to improving education and expanding the arts.

• It also including the members of a growing group called abolitionists.

• Abolitionists wanted to abolish or put an end to slavery.

• NW Ordinance, Constitutional Convention, Mo Compromise

Question #1

The Abolitionists• The religious revival and the reform

movement of the early and mid-1800’s gave new life to the anti-slavery movement.

• Many American had come to believe the slavery was wrong. As new territories were added the question of slavery was continuing to be raised more often.

• Many of the early abolitionists came from the Quaker faith, like Benjamin Lundy who founded a newspaper to spread the anti-slavery message.

Differences Among Abolitionists

• Religious reasons (Quakers, etc.)• Declaration of Independence (All men are

created equal…country was founded on liberty)

• How much equality? • Same as whites?• Some were against fill social and political

equality

QUESTION # 2

The American Colonization Society

• The first large scale anti-slavery movement was not aimed at abolishing slavery but at re-settling African-Americans in Africa or the Caribbean.

• The ACS, founded in 1816, bought enslaved workers and sent them abroad to start new lives.

• The ACS acquired land on the west coast of Africa and called it Liberia (place for freedom)

• Some 12-20,000 AA were re-settled in Liberia• Small %...most AA did not want to go

QUESTION #3

Change in the Movement

• Reformers soon began to realize that the gradual approach to end slavery had failed (see cotton boom)

• Beginning in about 1830, the abolition of slavery became the most pressing social issue for reformers

QUESTION #3– next several slides

Famous Abolitionists…William Lloyd Garrison

• William Lloyd Garrison- founded an anti-slavery called “The Liberator”. He called for the immediate emancipation of slaves. “I will not retreat a single inch –AND I WILL BE HEARD!

• WLG started the New England Anti-Slavery Society and the American Anti-Slavery Society. By 1838, these societies had more than 1,000 local chapters.

The Grimke Sisters• Sarah and Angelina Grimke were born into a

slave holding family in South Carolina• They moved to Philadelphia in 1832 and

lectured against slavery• Immediately freed their families slaves when

they inherited the plantation.• American Slavery: As It Is one of the most

influential abolitionists publications• Tried to recruit other Southern women in

pamphlet Appeal to Christian Women of the South

African-American Abolitionists• The abolition of slavery was an important goal

of many free African-Americans in the North.• Fredrick Douglass

escaped slavery…powerful speaker…editor of The North Star…spoke in the US and Europe…advisor to Lincoln

African-American Abolitionists

• Sojourner TruthBorn as “Belle”…she escaped slaveryworked in the abolitionist and women’s movements

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD• Some abolitionists risked imprisonment and

even death by secretly helping slaves escape.• The Network of escape route from the South

to the North became known as “The Underground Railroad”

• No trains, not underground• traveled at night, rested at safe houses

(stations) during the day• Conductors were whites and African-

Americans who helped guide the runaways to freedom

Question #5

Harriet Tubman

• After her escape from slavery, Harriet Tubman became the most famous conductor on the Underground Railroad

• Known as the “Moses” of her people, Ms. Tubman made 19 trips back into the South to help others escape.

• $40,000 award for her cpature

CLASHES OVER ABOLITIONISM• Many Southerners, slave and non-slave

holders, opposed abolition• Many people in the North also opposed

abolition• Even in the North, abolitionists never

numbered more than a small fraction of the population

• Many Northerners saw it as a threat to the nation’s social order, that it could tear the country apart and that freed blacks could never blend into American society

QUESTION # 6…part 1

Violence over abolition

• In the 1830’s, a Philadelphia mob burned the city’s anti-slavery headquarters to the ground and set off a race riot

• In Boston, an angry mob threatened to hang William Lloyd Garrison

• Three times angry whites destroyed the presses of Elias Lovejoy, editor of an anti-slavery newspaper

Violence over abolition

• Each time, Lovejoy would install new presses and resume publication.

• The fourth time, the mob set fire to the building. When Lovejoy came out of the burning building he was shot and killed.

[it is like] a fireball in the night, which awakened and filled me with terror I considered it at once as the knell of the Union. It might be put to rest for a time. But this is a reprieve only, not a final sentence . . . . we have the wolf by the ears and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale and self-preservation is in the other.

- Thomas Jefferson on the Missouri Compromise

Federal Government Obstructs Abolitionists

• 1836- 1844 U.S. House of Reps. Had a “Gag rule” on the issue of slavery

• Gag rule forbid member of Congress from discussing slavery even though they had received thousands of anti-slavery petitions

• Problem?• Overturned by rep. and former president JQA

The South reacts..in defense of slavery

• South claimed that slavery was essential for the South

• allowed whites to reach a higher level of culture

• Southerners treated enslaved people well• African-Americans were better off under

white care than their own• Conflict between slavery and anti-slavery

forces continued to mount.End 14-4

#6…part 2

Women’s Rights

Chapter 14Section 5

The Women’s Movement

• Many involved in the abolition movement were women. They also began to question their position in society.

• LUCREATIA MOTT- a Quaker, she gave lectures in Philadelphia calling for temperance, peace, workers’ rights and abolition.

Question # 1, 2 next several slides

The Seneca Falls Convention

• In July 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton , Lucretia Mott, and a few other women organized a women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, NY

• About 200 women and 40 men attended• The convention issued a “Declaration of

Sentiments and Resolutions” modeled after the Declaration of Independence

Declarations of Sentiments and Resolutions

• “We hold these truths to be self-evident…”• called for:

*an end to all laws that discriminated against women* women to be allowed to enter the all-male world of trades, profession and businesses*the most controversial issue concerned suffrage (the right to vote)

Paving the way…

• The Seneca Falls Convention paved the way for the growth of the women’s movement

• Many reformers- male and female- joined the movement

• SUSAN B. ANTHONY- equal pay, temperance, and co-education

• 1890 women get the right to vote in Wyoming…1920 US elections

QUESTION # 3

More opportunities…

• early pioneers believed that women should be educated for their traditional roles in life (wives, mothers, and housekeepers)..Milwaukee College for Women

• Troy Female Seminary taught math, history, geography, and physics as well as homemaking subjects

• Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (1837) modeled its curriculum on Amherst College

Legal gains…

• 1800’s, women made some gains in marriage and property laws

• Several states recognized the right of women to own property after marriage (NY,PA, IN, WI, MISS., CA)

• Indiana allowed women to divorce their husbands if he was a chronic abuser of alcohol

Breaking barriers…

• 1800’s women had few career choices- elementary school teachers (paid less than

men)• women had a difficult time breaking into all

male professions• They had just begun a long struggle that

continues today.

Opposition to Women’s Rights• Some women did not believe they did not

need new rights• They were not equal to men; only different• Some people thought that women lacked the

physical or mental strength to survive without the protection of their husbands or fathers

• Women could not “cope” with the outside world therefore a man should control a woman’s property

QUESTION # 4