Chapter 15
Reviving Religion:
Thomas Paine, writer of common sense, was uncommon in
his religious practices compared to other Americans. Thomas
Paine practiced Deism, a study centering on science
compared to god.
Deists didn’t deny the presence of a superhuman being but
more-so didn’t believe in the god traditionally found in
Christianity. This practice stemmed Unitarianism, a practice
that believed god only existed in one person.
In the 1800’s the Second great awakening swept across the
nation, reenforcing religious believes that had been lost
since the times of the colonys. Women took a large part and
role in this transformation.
Denominational Diversity:
America had already gone through much divide with
Federalist vs Republicans, Tories vs Loyalists and now after
the Second great awakening, divisions between classes and
religions
Better of Eastern conservatives were hardely effected by the
second awakening. Presbytarians were one of the wealthier
religions while Methodists came from poorer states in the
South.
Just like other issues, the topic of slavery began to divide the
Churches apart, separating brothers, fathers and cousins.
A Desert Zion in Utah:
Even increasing the divide between religions, The Mormon
religion was created by Joseph smith, a prophet who was
said to have deciphered the Book of Mormon, when he was
handed the power by god.
After Joseph Smith was killed, Brigham Young as in BYU led
the Mormons across the US to Utah, to escape death and
avoid prosecution by others who were not open to the
religion
Free Schools for a Free People:
From 1812-1815 the American people finally recognized the
significance of the wellbeing of the education of their youth
and began to focus on how to educated children.
Their was some significant barriers in the way of educating
American youth as their was little adults who knew how to
teach, and their was lack of funding for public schools
Horace man was an early politician who recognized the lack
of formal education in the US system and campaigned
heavily for the implementation of a better school system.
An Age of Reform:
Along with transformations of religion, increases in
education, the American prison system was also changed
in a wave of reformations that swept though the US in the
early 1800’s.
Former prisoners and believes in rehabilitation believed
that the current prison system was inhumane, and when
criminal codes were reduced, the data of less crimes
supported the reasoning to rehabilitate instead of punish
A large amount of attention was also brought to Asylums
and places to assist mentally ill people, as conditions their
were despicable and inhumane, leading to a wave of
reforms aimed at improving conditions.
Demon Rum:
The American people began to suffer the consequences of
Alcohol as people began to rely heavly on the drink to assist
with the troubles of their daily lives
Worker productivity decreased dramatically and family
structure suffered greatly. Congress was strafed with
politicians who suffered with Alcohol so they passed a bill
pleading with Americans to stop drinking
Seeing the ineffective nature of the bill, Neal Dow the
“father” of Prohibition petitioned in Maine for the Maine Law
of 1851 which banned the sale of Liquor. Alcohol was
eventually permanently banned with the 18th amendment.
Women in Revolt:
Alcoholics were not alone in their discrimination as women
faced heavy prejudice and limiting of their abilities and
rights. Women were unable to vote, and not retain property.
Gender differences were expanded with Industrialization as
women were thought of as smart and household workers,
when men were regarded as strong and fierce
To touch on these differences, women met in Seneca falls at
the Woman Rights Convention of 1848 to discuss the
discrimination they faced and to form plans on how to
combat this.
The Dawn of Scientific Achievement:
Americans became fascinated on how to make their lives
quicker and easier, even to the smallest extent with the use
of technology such as cleaning items that would save a few
seconds
To accomplish this, Americans turned to the Europeans to
lead the way, taking lots of inspiration from their inventions
and using it for the basis of American innovation
Medicine in the US was very primitive compared to the
outside world, with little focus being placed on the subject.
Doctors finally harnessed the power of laughing gas and
ether to use as an anesthetic.
Artistic Achievements:
The federal style can be widley found in pre-nineteenth
century architecture recognizable be the symmetry balance
and restraint give to the style by architects who perfected
their craft.
From 1820-1850 a new style of architecture swept the nation
with the Greek revival replacing formed federal style. This
style can be described as American made European Ideas
The states began to divide even more over the basis of
slavery and its ethics with the Confederation choosing the
song Dixie to represent them in battle, preluding to the
horrible times that were about to descend on the US.
The Blossoming of a Natural Literature:
Before the 1900th century almost all of Americas books and
works of literature came from the UK and the US was
completely reliant of the British for their arts
Following the War of 1812, America began to chip away at
the dependency especially with the arrival of Romanticism, a
new genre that allowed readers to escape to a life they could
never posses
Both Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper were
influential to bringing American literature and ideals to the
world stage and establishing Americas credibility.
Trumpeters of Transcendentalism:
A wave of self-reliance and independence struck the US as
transcendalists began to appear in large numbers across the
nation
These believes thought that knowledge is elevated above
the senses and that it cant just be found by observation, one
must be able to be independent and able to take care of
themselves
Ralph Emerson urged Americans to forget about the British
and began to focus on American instrests. Henry Thorea
believed that bodily desires were vain and that truth is what
we should pursue now
