An Era of Reform

Chapter 18

What Was the Second Great Awakening?

Religious fervor that swept the nation in the 1820s1830s. Different from the 1st Great Awakening in that this one, preachers claimed anyone could be saved, not just those who were predestined. Also, Christians could be saved through good works. Charles Finney inspired many to oppose slavery.

What Was Transcendentalism?

A philosophy which taught that people should go beyond logical thinking to reach true understanding with the help of emotion and intuition. Ralph Waldo Emerson; Henry David Thoreau

What Were Model Communities?

1841, George Ripley; Brook Farm. Almost like communes. Brotherly cooperation instead of competition. Do you think these actually worked out?

Who Was Dorothea Dix?

1841 reformer of prisons and insane asylums (mental hospitals). Got states to create more mental hospitals, to do away with debtors prison, to create juvenile detention centers, and to outlaw cruel punishments.

Who Was Horace Mann?

The father of American public schools. 1820s Got Mass. to pay taxes to build better schools, pay teachers higher salaries, and est. special training schools for teachers. Many schools in the N. and W. followed this model, but guess who high schools and universities wouldnt admitladies. By the 1860 most public Us did accept women.

What Was the Abolitionist Movement?

Slavery had been opposed since the first slaves arrived; by 1792, every northern state had anti-slave laws. Many Northerners tolerated slavery, the ones who did not were called abolitionists. Many black abolitionists preferred to fight slavery without the help of whites.

Who Was Frederick Douglass?

A freed slave that became a northern abolitionist. Wrote a famous autobiography and later started his own newspaper.

When/How did Women Get Involved?

Many women took to the cause through the 2nd Great Awakening. Most prominent female abolitionists: Sojourner Truth, Sarah and Angelina Grimke. Leads to the crusade for womens rights.

What Was the Womens Rights Movement?

Ironically, women were fighting for the rights of blacks, when they themselves had little rights. Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton met at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840 and were shocked when they learned they couldnt speak at the meeting.

What Was the Seneca Falls Convention?

The 2 ladies met 8 years later and decided to organize a convention for womens rights in Seneca Falls, NY. They wrote the Declaration of Sentiments (after the Declaration of Independence). Who do you think the womens King George was? Frederick Douglass attended and inspired the women to demand the right to vote, which most were afraid to do. They didnt get it for a long time of course, but they asked for it. Susan B. Anthony became one of the most prominent spokeswomen for the movement.