Reforming American Society

In the Mid-1800’s, several reform movements worked to improve American Education

and Society.

Key Vocabulary and Key People

Key Terms Revival

Second Great Awakening

Temperance Movement

Labor Union

Strike

Key People Horace Mann

Dorothea Dix

Re-Wake Up Call

During the Second Great Awakening preachers used Revivals urging a renewal of religion and the power of salvation

Revivals in the Frontier and East led people to be unselfish, to help others, and to reform American Society

Temperance Tantrums As Women became upset that wages were being

used for alcohol, they joined The Temperance Movement aimed at stopping alcoholic consumption

Temperance workers used pamphlets, plays, and pledges to help curb the consumption of Alcohol

Business owners in New England also supported the Temperance movement because it affected production in Factories

By 1855 13 states had banned the sale of alcohol, which was also repealed, but the Temperance Movement would last into the 1900’s

Strike Force As Factories became more unsafe, workers

began to organize labor unions

Labor Unions in Lowell Massachusetts banded together against Higher rents and went on strike to change their conditions

Workers also wanted Better Hours and better wages

Labor unions Would earn some changes, including a 10 hour work day, but as the panic of 1837 set in, work was scarce and Labor Unions Lost Power

You got Schooled In 1837, Horace Mann Started the Public Education

Movement to provide free education to children

High Schools and Colleges were opened up along the East coast and Midwest under this movement

Colleges for women also began to open up, but were rare, as few women earned an education

As Public education spread, African Americans found themselves banned from education in the North and South

Few African Americans would go on to earn a college degree but there were some exceptions

Personal Improvement plans

Through the work of Dorothea Dix, treatment of the mentally ill improved from being put into prisons to hospitals for the mentally ill

Schools for the Deaf and Blind were also started in the 1800’s

The Prison System also changed as children began going to separate prisons and rehabilitation became a focus of the prison system

Extra, Extra…Read all about it

As technology improved the spread of information through penny papers led to the nation wide spread of ideas

Magazines also became popular and spread the opinions of groups of people

Movers and Shakers As some people tried to change society, Utopian

Communities aimed to start over working for food and other necessities

Religious Groups like shakers also formed communities to work in cooperation for the good of the community

Shakers vowed not to marry or have children, but to live together in harmony without fighting.

The shaker movement would eventually die out, but some of their contributions to society would remain

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