Transcript The Age Of Jackson 1824-1844

CULTURAL & SOCIAL
MOVEMENTS
IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA
Amelia
Galloway
APUSH per. 4
THE SECOND GREAT AWAKENING:
RELIGION
INTRODUCTION
 Par tly as a reaction to rationalism (a
belief in human reason coined during
the Enlightenment period) a dramatic
influx of religions swept through the
US during the 19 th centur y.
 Second great awakening began among
educated people at fir st, and then
spread to the less -educated.
 Successful protestant preachers appealed
to all types of audiences. Uneducated, and
educated people alike could easily
understand the message.
 Idea that all were entitled to salvation.
THE SECOND GREAT AWAKENING:
RELIGION
NEW YORK - 1 823 & T HE “BURNED -OVER
DISTRICT”
 Charles G. Finney - in upstate New York ,
he star ted a series of religious revivals.
 Instead of giving sermons that were
based on more conceptual things, he
gave sermons that appealed to people’s
emotions- making them fear eternal
damnation
 Preached about universal salvation - all
people were entitled to salvation if they
worked hard and declared their new faith.
 Referred to as the “burned-ever district”
because they had converted so many people
that they had run out of “fuel” (which
consisted of the unconverted population) to
“burn” (the already converted population).
= “Burned-over district”
THE SECOND GREAT AWAKENING:
RELIGION
METHODIST S AND BAPTIST S
 By 1 850, the Baptists and Methodists had
become one of the most prominent
protestant faiths in the US.
 Peter Car twright- famous circuit preacher
 Preacher s would go on preaching circuits - in
which they would travel and teach people
their religion.
 Dramatic revival sermons attracted thousands to
come hear their words.
 Outdoor revivals- e.g. camp meetings
 Methodist and Protestant preacher s star ted
in the south and then their influence spread
to the western frontier.
THE SECOND GREAT AWAKENING:
RELIGION
MORM ONS
 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -Day
saints was established in 1 830 by Joseph
Smith.
 Based the religion off of a book of scripture that
Joseph had found- The Book Of Mormon.
 The Mormons were per secuted for their
beliefs, ultimately resulting in the murder of
their prophet - Joseph Smith, and the
migration of the Mormon Saints to Utah.
 Mormons moved from New York, to Ohio, then
Missouri, and then Illinois where Joseph Smith was
shot by a mob.
 Led by Brigham Young, the Mormons travelled to
Utah to worship freely.
THE SECOND GREAT AWAKENING:
RELIGION
SUM M ARY
 All over the countr y, the Second Great Awakening caused separations
between older protestant churches, and sects of evangelical churches.
 In nor thern states - movement in social reform
 The activist religious groups that were zealously participated in and organized
provided a basis for well-developed and voluntary society that was the beginning of
the many reform movements in the Antebellum Era.
LITERATURE, THE ARTS AND IDEAS
INTRODUCTION
 During the early year s of the 19 th centur y, Europe was going through
a “romantic movement.”
 Art & literature resulted in feelings of intuition, individual acts of heroism,
and the study of nature.
 From 1820- 1 860, this romantic movement also took place in the
United States.
 Transcendentalists- best representation of this era in America
 Utopian Societies- people withdrawing from society to create their own new
and improved one- away from others
 Arts and Literature- democratic reforms from the age of Jackson influenced
ideas of individuality that then transferred to the arts (painting, architecture,
and literature.)
LITERATURE, THE ARTS AND IDEAS
TRANSCENDENTALISTS
 Suggested that ar tistic expression should be
valued higher than the pur suit of wealth.
 Ralph Waldo Emer son- (1 803-1882)
 best known transcendentalist. Leading critic of
slavery & supporter of the union during the war.
 1837- address @ Harvard expressed feelings of
nationalism to the American public, urging them to
“not imitate European Culture, but create an
entirely new and original American culture.”
 His literary works accurately reflect the
individualistic moods of the time.
 Self- reliance, valuing spiritual matters over material
ones, individual thinking, etc.
LITERATURE, THE ARTS AND IDEAS
TRANSCENDENTALISTS
 Henr y David Thoreau - (1 817-1862)
 Considered today to be a pioneer conservationist.
 Tested the theories and values of the
transcendentalists by living by himself in the
woods for two years
 Wrote Walden about his experiences and truths about
the universe he had discovered while in the
wilderness.
 “On Civil Disobedience” – ideas suggesting that
people didn’t have to abide by unjust laws.
Nonviolent protests = good! 
 Ideas on nonviolent protests would later become
crucial in historical events such as the civil rights
movement, and the movement in India led by
Mohandas Ghandi.
LITERATURE, THE ARTS AND IDEAS
TRANSCENDENTALISTS
 Excerpt from Walden:
 “I went to the woods because I wished to live
deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and
see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not,
when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did
not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor
did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite
necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the
marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan -like as to
put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and
shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to
its lowest terms.”
-Henr y David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods
LITERATURE, THE ARTS AND IDEAS
COMMUNAL EMPERIMENTS/ UTOPIAN COMMUNITIES
 While the idea of detaching from conventional society and star ting
anew in an ideal setting was not a new idea, the amount of
communal experimentation dramatically increased in the
antebellum period.
 The early Mormons - an example of religious communal ef for ts
 Brook Farm- intellectual and humanistic communal experiment.
 While many attempts at utopian societies were rather shor t, they
reflect the diverse reform ideas of the period.
LITERATURE, THE ARTS AND IDEAS
COMMUNAL EMPERIMENTS/ UTOPIAN
COMMUNITIES
 Brook Farm A communal experiment founded by George Ripley
in 1841 in efforts to create “more natural union
between intellectual and manual labor.”
 Served as a central living place for intellectual
leaders of the time
 Ralph Waldo Emerson- well known transcendentalist
 Margaret Fuller- influential feminist
 Nathaniel Hawthorne- theologian and radical
reformer. Author of famous works: The Scarlet Letter,
Young Goodman Brown, etc.
 Theodore Parker- writer
 1849- due to financial issues and a devastating
fire, The Brook Farm was forced to an end
 Still remembered for its creative and artistic
atmosphere that appealed to many of New
England’s philosophical and intellectual elite.
LITERATURE, THE ARTS AND IDEAS
COMMUNAL EMPERIMENTS/ UTOPIAN COMMUNITIES
 New Harmony
 In an effort to solve societal problems of inequality and alienation that were
a result of the Industrial Revolution, a non -religious communal experiment
was formed.
 Robert Owen- a Welsh reformer and industrialist. Started the experiment in
Harmony, Indiana
 Wanted to create a free society that abolished social classes, and allowed for free
education.
 Re-named the town “New Harmony”
 Unfortunately, the utopian experiment failed due to financial and contention
among the members
LITERATURE, THE ARTS AND IDEAS
COMMUNAL EMPERIMENTS/ UTOPIAN
COMMUNITIES
 Oneida Community
 After his conversion, John Humphrey started the
Oneida community in New York.
 Believed in a perfect form of social and economic
equality
 Everyone shared property
 Everyone even shared marriage partners.
 Reproduction was planned out
 Controversial because of the planned reproduction
and child rearing policies contradicted ideas of
“free love” and were seen as sinful.
 Community managed to prosper economically by
selling fine silverware.
LITERATURE, THE ARTS AND IDEAS
THE ART S AND LITERATURE
 With Jacksonian democratic reforms regarding
individual wor th, and belief in the common man,
changes in architecture, painting and literature
also occurred.
 Painting - Genre painting (por trayals of ever yday
life). People became fascinated with the American
landscape and lifestyle.
 Arc hitecture - adapted ancient Greek styles during
the Jacksonian era in and attempt to glorify the
democratic spirit of the time. (e.g. the White
House, congress building, etc.)
 Literature - writer s tried to create literature that
had a more nationalist and American themes to
them.
 The Scarlet Letter
 Moby -Dick
 The Pathfinder
REFORMING
SOCIETY
INTRODUCTION
 Reform during the Antebellum Era was a process that went
through several stages in its evolution.
 Leaders of the reform movements hoped to persuade the people into
developing better behavior by moral persecution.
 Sermons, pamphlets, other forms of propaganda
 Ended up taking political action to get the desired ideas to take hold
in the general publics’ minds.
REFORMING
SOCIETY
TEMPERANCE AND ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
 The average amount of liquor consumed per person annually
was roughly 5 gallons in 1820
 Societal reformers blamed the many social problems on the
immense amount of alcohol consumption.
 People who were concerned with the alcoholic influence on
society joined with other groups of people to create
temperance organizations
 Within ten years, there were over 8,000 local groups
REFORMING
SOCIETY
TEMPERANCE AND ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
 American Temperance Society
 Tried to convince drinkers to abstain from
alcohol by using morals to back up their
arguments
 Within ten years of its foundation, more than
1,500,000 members had taken the pledge.
 Most successful in the northern states due to
its association with the abolitionist movement.
REFORMING
SOCIETY
TEMPERANCE AND ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
 By the 1840’s, alcohol was becoming less and less common
in middle-class households
 Temperance measures reduced poverty, crime, and
increased the workers’ output while on the job.
 1851- Maine puts a tax on liquor
 While this movement eventually dwindled down to an
afterthought due to the Civil War, it would again pick up
speed in the 1807’s and achieve success with the passing
of the 18 th amendment.
REFORMING
SOCIETY
PUBLIC ASYLUMS
 Criminals, the poor, and the mentally disabled were usually
kept away from society in disgusting, unsanitary cells.
 This came to attention in the 1820’s and 1830’s and
humanitarian ef forts were made to give these peoples a
more structured and humane way of living
REFORMING
SOCIETY
PUBLIC ASYLUMS
 Dorothea Dix
 Former school teacher
 Dedicated the rest of her adult life to helping
improve the living conditions for those who were
mentally handicapped
 Traveled around the country in order to persuade
state legislatures to build new institutions and
mental hospitals, or improve the already existing
ones.
 Because of Dix, mental patients began to receive
state-funded professional treatment
REFORMING
SOCIETY
PUBLIC ASYLUMS
 Prisons:
 Unsanitary and crude jails were replaced with an experimental form
of jail- the penitentiary. They placed the prisoner in solitary
confinement to “reflect on their sins and repent.”
 Experiment ultimately failed because a lot of the prisoners ended up
committing suicide,
 Auburn system, New York- provided work programs, and moral
instruction while maintaining orderly discipline.
REFORMING
SOCIETY
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
 This reform movement started in the Jacksonian era
 Claimed that free public schools should be available for
children of all classes
 Middle class reformers were worried by the growing amount
of uneducated poor people threatening the ef ficiency of the
Republic.
REFORMING
SOCIETY
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
 Horace Mann
 Leading advocate of the common school
movement
 1840’s- press for tax-supported school quickly
spread to the other states of the US
 Secretary for the Board of Education in
Massachusetts
 Improved attendance for all children, increased
teacher preparation, and a longer school year
REFORMING
SOCIETY
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
 Schools were also teaching the children
moral principles in addition to basic literacy.
 William Holmes McGuffey - created as series of
school books that taught important moral
principles such as hard work, patriotism, sobriety,
and punctuality
 These books were sometimes referred to as Eclectic
Readers. They often contained poems, songs and
essays in support of such ideas.
REFORMING
SOCIETY
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
 Due to the Second Great Awakening, the growth of private
colleges increased.
 A variety of protestant groups formed small private colleges
in the early 1830’s.
 Especially popular in the newer western states
 Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, etc.
 Lyceum lecture societies furthered adult education.
 Well known speakers could come to small towns and give lectures
REFORMING
SOCIETY
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
 Hudson River School First official school of art
 Thomas Cole was the founder of the Hudson
River School
 Consisted of a group of landscape painters
who painted images of the Hudson River
Valley, being influenced by romanticism.
 Tried to depict America’s natural beauty.
 Eventually expanded to other areas, such as
New England and the Maritimes.
REFORMING
SOCIETY
WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND THE AMERICAN FAMILY
 Due to the Industrial Revolution, the once majorly rural
American society slowly started to turn to a more urban life.
 Family and societal gender roles were redefined as a result
of more factory and of fice jobs becoming prevalent.
 Men=left home to work
 Women= left at home to take care of children and the housework
 Industrialization reduced the number of children born to the
average middle-class family
 Declined from about 7 family members (1800) to 5 (1830)
 Af fluent women = more time devoted to religious and moral
causes.
REFORMING
SOCIETY
WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND THE AMERICAN FAMILY
 Men’s and women’s roles were drastically dif ferent.
 This view of women as the “moral leaders in the home and
educators of children” was labeled as a cult of domesticity
 Women reformers, especially those who were involved in the
antislavery movement, did not approve of the way that the
men would not let them fully participate in political
discussions and gave them lesser roles to fill based of f of
their sex.
 Sarah and Angelina Grimke
 Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
 However, the push for women’s rights was stagnated during
the Civil War
REFORMING
SOCIETY
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
 Sarah Grimke
 One of the first women to support both anti slavery movements and women’s rights
 Wrote her Letter on the Condition of Women and
Equality of the Sexes in 1837
 Joined with her sister in the American AntiSlavery Society
 Felt like she had found a place where she belonged,
but was ridiculed for speaking to mixed audiences.
 Called a poor “spinster” who was just trying to
display themselves for the attention of any man.
REFORMING
SOCIETY
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
 Letter on the condition of Women and
Equality of Sexes:
 “I believe it will be found that men, in the
exercise of their usurped dominion over
women, have almost invariably done one of
two things. They have either made slaves of
the creatures whom God designed to be their
companions and their coadjutors in ever y
moral and intellectual improvement, or they
have dressed them like dolls, and used them
as toys to amuse their hours of recreation...”
( L et te r o n t h e c o n di ti on o f Wo m e n a n d E q u a l i ty o f S exe s ,
1 8 37 )
REFORMING
SOCIETY
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
 Lucretia Mott & Elizabeth Stanton:
 Mott organized the Philadelphia Female Anti Slavery Society in 1833
 Mott and Stanton met at an anti-slavery
convention, and were angry that they were
denied participation due to their gender.
 Eight years later, in July of 1848 they organized
the First Women’s Rights Convention.
 Also held the Seneca Falls Convention
REFORMING
SOCIETY
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
 Seneca Falls Convention
 Leading feminists met at this convention in 1848
 First women’s rights convention in American
history
 Issued document closely related to the format of
the Declaration of Independence (see next slide)
 After the convention, Stanton, and Susan B.
Anthony led a campaign for equality in voting,
legal and property rights for women.
 Called for equality in:
 Property rights
 Divorce and child custody rights
 Education
REFORMING
SOCIETY
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
 Declaration of Women’s Rights
“…He has created a false public sentiment by giving to the world a
different code of morals for men and women, by which moral
delinquencies which exclude women from society, are not only
tolerated, but deemed of little account in man.”
“He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead.”
“He has compelled her to submit laws, in the formation of which she
had no voice.”
“He has taken her from all right in property, even to the wages she
earns…”
Excerpts from the Declaration of Women’s Rights, 1837
REFORMING
SOCIETY
ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT
 The Second Great Awakening per suaded
many nor therner s to view slaver y as a sin
 American Colonization Society:
 Promoted the idea of transporting freed slaves to
an African colony
 This idea sounded good to anti-slavery reformers
and most politicians because a large majority of
white people had racist attitudes towards the
African-Americans and hoped to remove them
from U.S. society.
 Never proved to be a very practical option
because of the vast number of slaves was far too
much to be able to transport.
REFORMING
SOCIETY
ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT
 The American Antislaver y Society  William Lloyd Garrison began the publication of the
famous abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator. (1831)
 Garrison was stubborn and advocated very firmly for the
abolition of slavery in every state and territory owned by
the U.S. without compensating the owners of the slaves.
 Condemned and burned the constitution, claiming it to be a
“pro-slavery document.”
 1883- founded the American Antislavery association
 Argued for no Union slaveholders until they freed their
slaves to repent of their sins.
REFORMING
SOCIETY
ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT
 Liberty Party  Because Garrison was so radical in his efforts
to support the anti-slavery movement, a split
formed in the abolitionist movement.
 A group of northerners who believed that
political action was a more practical way to
deal with the freedom of the slaves formed
the Liberty Party. (1840)
 James Birney was elected the president of the
party in 1840.
 Their one campaign pledge was to “bring about
the end of slavery by political and legal means”
REFORMING
SOCIETY
ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT
 Black Abolitionists
 Among the most outspoken and convincing critics of
slavery were those who were free blacks and
escaped slaves
 Frederick Douglass was an escaped slave who
spoke from experience about the terrible brutality
of slavery
 Was an early follower of Garrison, and wanted both
political and direct action to end slaver y.
 Started the antislaver y journal called The North Star in
1847.
 Other black leaders who were influential in
organizing the efforts to assist fugitive slaves
escape to free lands where slavery was not allowed
are:



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Harriet Tubman
David Ruggles
Sjourner Truth
William Still
REFORMING
SOCIETY
ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT
 Violent Abolitionists
 Some of the most radical reformers in the north were
two black men, Henry Highland Garnet and David
Walker.
 Argued that slaves should take action themselves
and revolt against their masters.
 1831- Nat Turner, a black slave, turned against his
master and led a revolt that resulted in the death of
55 whites. In turn, white people brutally killed
hundreds of blacks and put down the revolt.
 After this uprising, the fear of future uprisings put
talk of antislavery to a stop.
REFORMING
SOCIETY
OTHER REFORMS
 American Peace Society  primary focus was to abolish war. This group’s
views later affected New England reformers into
opposing the Mexican War
 Dietary Reforms ideas of specific nutritional diets in order to
improve one’s health. (ex. eating whole wheat
bread and Sylvester’s Graham crackers)
 Reform in Dress for Women  wearing Amelia Bloomer’s pantalettes instead of
the traditional long skirts
 Phrenology  the study of one’s skull to asses their abilities
and persona
REFORMING
SOCIETY
SOUTHERN REACTION TO REFORM MOVEMENTS:
 While the ef fects of the reform movements dramatically
influenced the northern and western states, the southern
states were minimally impacted.
 Southerners were more focused on tradition and not quick to
support many humanitarian ef forts
 Above all, they viewed the antislavery movements in the north
as a conspiracy against southerners and their ways of life.
MAIN IDEAS
IMPORTANT TERMS AND EVENTS:
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A n te b e l l um p e r i o d
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S e c o n d G r e a t Aw a ke n i n g
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Rev i va l is m
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Rev i va l m e et i n g s
T h e C h u r c h O f J e s u s C h r i s t o f L a t te r D ay 
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Saints (Mormons)
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Joseph Smith
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B r i g h a m Yo u n g
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N ew Z i o n
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Ro m a n t i c m o v e m e n t
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Tr a n s c e n d e n t a l i s t s
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R a l p h Wa l d o E m e r s o n & “ T h e A m e r i c a n
Scholar:
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H e n r y D av i d T h o r e a u, Wa l d e n , a n d “ O n
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C i v i l D i s o b e d i e nc e . ”
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B r o o k Fa r m
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G e o r g e R i p l ey
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Fe m i ni s t s
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U to p i a n C o m m uni t i e s
Ro b e r t O w e n
N ew H a r m o ny
O n e i d a C o m m un i t y
J o s e p h H e n r y N oye s
Hudson River School
N a t h a n i e l H aw t h o r n
Te m p e r a n c e m o v em e n t
A m e r i c a n Te m p e r a n c e S o c i et y
A s y l um m o v em e n t
D o r ot h e a D i x
Pe n i te n t i a r i e s
A u b ur n S y s tem
Horace Mann
P u b l i c s c h o o ls m o ve m e n t
M c G uf fey r e a d e r s
Wo m e n ’ s r i g h t s m o ve m e n t
S a r a h a n d A n g e l i n a G r i m ke
Lu c r et i a M o t t
MAIN IDEAS
IMPORTANT TERMS AND EVENTS:
 L e t te r o n t h e C o n d i t i o n o f Wo m e n a n d
t h e E q u a l i t y o f t h e S exe s
 E l i z a b et h C a d y S t a n to n
 S e n e c a Fa l l s C o nv e n t i o n ( 1 8 4 8 )
 A m e r i c a n C o l o ni z a t io n S o c i et y
 A m e r i c a n A n t i s l ave r y S o c i et y
 A b o l i t io n i s t s
 W i l l i a m L l oy d G a r r i s o n & T h e L i b e r a to r
 Liberty Party
 Fr e d e r i c k D o u g la s s & T h e N o r t h S t a r
 William Still
 H a r r i et Tu b m a n
 D av i d Ru g g l e s
 S j o ur n e r Tr u t h
 H e n r y H i g hl a n d G a r n et
 D av i d Wa l ke r
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N a t Tu r n e r
A m e r i c a n Pe a c e S o c i et y
A m e l i a B l o o me r
S y l v e s te r G r a h a m
CITATIONS
 www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2361 393 -walden , accessed Nov. 1 8,
2013. from Goodreads Inc.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_ River_ Sc hool , accessed Nov. 10,
2013, copyright, Oct. 2, 201 2.
 images found on: www.google.com/images , (Various sites were used to
supply the images used in this presentation)
 United States Histor y: Preparing for the Advanc ed Placement Examin ation,
John J. Newman, John M. Schmalbach, copyright 2010 AMSCO publications,
Ch. 14, Reform Movements in Antebellum America.