The Reform Movements

1. The Reform Movements 1820 - 1860

2. Locofocos • Named for the matches that they used to light their candles after the “mainstream” Democrats cut off the gas supply for their lanterns - stood for many things. • Opposed Monopolies • Opposed Banks and Corporations • Supported a repeal of “Limited Liability” for stockholders • Hard Money (specie) • For: Free Trade, Labor Unions, Free Public Education, abolition of jail terms for debtors

3. The Early Labor Movement • Work in a “frenzy,” American workers were more productive than most in the European factories and mills • The union movement began in the 1830s – looking for shorter hours, better conditions, higher wages • The first union was the National Trades Union • In New York, laborers also wanted free public education, an end to chartered banks, abolition of debtor’s prisons, and an end of monopolies • (Sound Familiar?)

4. Solutions to the Labor Issues • George Henry Evans suggested, “Let us emancipate the white laborer by restoring his natural right to the soil.” • The Homestead Act of 1862 would try to give this a chance – most laborers had neither the money or skills necessary to make it on the farm. • Capitalism also fostered competition – not cooperation with potential competitors – tearing the fabric of pre-industrial America

5. Voting Rights • In 1800 only VT, NH, and KY allowed all white men to vote – the rest had to meet property or tax payment requirements • In 1860 only in MA, NH, ME, VT could free Blacks vote • Arguments against universal manhood suffrage – northern workers that voted would only give more power to their employers • For the most part, these arguments were defeated, and by 1840 only VA, LA and RI retained these qualifications

6. Dorr’s Rebellion • You have the rebellion part in your definitions • You missed the next part – even though he was convicted of treason against RI, the Governor pardoned him in 1842, and a new Constitution took effect in 1843, extending voting rights to many more white men.

7. Cultural Changes with Jackson • Silks and powdered wigs were out, cotton and wool were in • Trousers and short hair for men were the new style – adopted from revolutionary France • Hotels were abandoning reservations, room service, and “first-class” rooms • Other businesses that catered to the public got rid of any distinctions that reflected wealth or social class

8. Economic Implications • People began to reject common ideas about job qualifications, advanced training, or anything resembling professionalism • Even as doctors began to push for minimal medical training – the legislatures and Congress pushed back against them • In an industrializing nation, this was a dangerous path to follow

9. Religious Reform • Main Ideas: • Individual Free Will • Individual Salvation • Optimism • Any Christian could achieve salvation • Key Figure: • Charles Grandison Finney

10. A Women’s Awakening • The new preaching gave women – particularly young ones between 15 – 25, a sense of identity and purpose • Men often followed wives and mothers along the path to conversion Charles G. Finney: 1792 - 1875

11. European Progress American Style: Perfectionism • The new style taught of the possibility of attaining perfection and the abolition of sin. • Finney argued that Jesus had taught his disciples to “be perfect,” not to just try, but to actually attain perfection. • Methodists and Baptists were particularly enthusiastic • A district of upstate New York was known as the “burned over” district because of its religious fire and zeal

12. Shakers • Predate the Jackson Era • Believed that Jesus would return shortly – therefore there was no need for children • Through a sacred dance, followers shook themselves free of sin – hence their name • Believed in simplicity – their furniture reflects this goal

13. The Mormons • In 1830 Joseph Smith published the Book of Mormon • Transcribed from gold plates that he claimed had lain on a mountain for 1,000 years • His new book taught that all adherents to the new teaching were saved, and made all adult white males priests Joseph Smith of Palmyra, NY

14. The Mormons’ Basic Teachings • It was something new: • It declared the sanctity of all secular achievements • Created a “community of saints” – reflecting the desire for a return to community that many Americans were pushing for • Promoted the achievements of the “unsuccessful and neglected”

15. The Mormons’ Journey • Smith moved them first to Ohio, then to Illinois • They received legal sanction and founded a city called Nauvoo, which became a self-sufficient religious community • A gradual accession of power led to jealousy and suspicion. • The practice of polygamy was the last straw. The state arrested Smith and his brother – and they were quickly murdered in prison.

16. “A New Zion” • The next “president” of the church was Brigham Young • He took the Mormons out of the US into uninhabited Mexican territory around Great Salt Lake • The Mormons worked hard to become self-sufficient • They considered themselves Americans and asked for admission to the US • After renouncing polygamy in 1890, they were admitted in 1896 Brigham Young

17. Spiritualism and the Fox Sisters • Whenever the two younger Fox sisters went into their house, a strange tapping sound could be heard. • Three sisters convinced a ready audience that they could communicate with the next world in their house through a code system – tapping on the walls in response to the tapping of these “spirits.” • The press got hold of the story – and two younger sisters who could “communicate” became famous.

18. The Sisters Continued • Their older sister became their manager and arranged “demonstrations.” • As time went on the story got even better – when the room was dark other manifestations of the spirits could be heard – and people were ready to believe in the spirits. • At last, evidence that supported the supernatural. • In their later years the sisters admitted that the stories were a hoax – the original tapping noises were the result of their toe joints clicking as they walked.

19. The Methodists • This new denomination preached free will, emotional revival, morality of self-discipline, industry, thrift, and good works – helping one’s fellow human being. • This new group was especially popular among the working poor and the farm workers of the frontier. John Wesley – Founder of the Methodist Church

20. Secular Communitarianism • New Harmony: Robert Owen • Established a community in Indiana modeled after New Lanark in Scotland • It was based on an environmental theory of human nature: if the environment were good, the people would be good too. • It featured common ownership of property and common rules of society • His goal: eliminate selfishness and want • The experiment failed – the conclusion was that in a country that preached individualism, it was hard to get communalism accepted

21. Nashoba • The goal of the Nashoba community was to free the nation’s slave population • Selected slaves would work the land and earn enough money to buy their freedom • They would then be located outside the US • The group also believed in free love and sexual equality • Few in the US supported the group and it failed. Fanny Wright, founder of Nashoba

22. Brook Farm and the Transcendentalists • Members were New England intellectuals, including Hawthorne, Margaret Fuller, George Ripley, and Ralph Waldo Emerson • This was a major incubation spot for Transcendentalism • Transcendentalists believed that it is the mind that is the ultimate reality Nathaniel Hawthorne

23. Transcendentalism • Core beliefs included: • Abolition of Slavery • Abolition of institutions that got in the way of individual and corporate perfection. • Self-reliance and originality • Semi-private/secluded life to get close to nature God The Transcendental Triangle Nature Man

24. The Transcendentalists • The world of material goods was not the major force of life, therefore they rejected the material and consumer lifestyles of the day. • They also believed that if humankind were to pursue the proper studies that they could eventually eliminate evil and perfect humanity – and no longer would bad things happen.

25. Their Opposites: The Anti-Transcendentalists • These writers believed that bad things happen (slavery) and will continue to happen. • Human nature dictates that someone will always try to take advantage of others, and no amount of education will stop this. • Major adherents to this philosophy included Poe and Herman Melville. Edgar Allan Poe

26. The Oneida Community • This society became known for its superior manufactured goods such as Oneida Silver. • They also strove to promote equality in all areas of life – including sexuality. • They believed in something that they called complex marriage.

27. The Oneida Community • This complex marriage was an attempt to eliminate the idea that a woman belonged to a man. • Everyone was considered married to every member of the opposite sex – and rotated partners. • Children were raised in community nurseries, and everyone was responsible for raising them.

28. Social Reform • Social Reform movements needed for AP include the following: • Abolition • Temperance • Women’s Rights

29. Abolition • There were two main manifestations of this movement. • One – led by Garrison, advocated immediate emancipation and complete equality between races • The other wanted emancipation followed by deportation

30. Issues with Emancipation • For Southerners • It would mean a complete change in lifestyle, attitudes, and the economy • It was opposed by poor and wealthy alike • This was a part of your homework • For Northerners • Paying laborers in the cotton fields meant higher costs for raw materials • This would translate in less competitive pricing when compared with British goods.

31. Temperance • Demon Rum the “Old Deluder” • Excessive drinking – by both genders, created many problems for American society • Faced with a somewhat dull and monotonous life, many were drinking simply to relieve boredom

32. Demon Rum • Weddings and funerals often became drunken brawls • Labor issues: • Danger around machinery • Lost productivity • Societal Issues: money and spousal/child abuse • One of the most prominent writings of the time: T.S. Arthur’s 10 Nights in a Barroom • 2nd in sales only to Uncle Tom’s Cabin

33. Temperance or Prohibition?? • What worked best – cutting back to a moderate level or removing all temptation and abolishing the sale of liquor? • Neal S. Dow – the “Father of Prohibition” – get rid of all sales • By 1857 a dozen or more states had prohibition laws on the books • Many were declared unconstitutional • By the Civil War (1860) drinking had been curbed – especially among women

34. Women’s Rights • The “Cult of Domesticity” reigned in the early part of the 19th century • These ideas began to fade as the century progressed • If poor, uneducated men could vote and have their say – why couldn’t educated women?

35. Women as Defenders of Morality • Men were considered such brutes that it was deemed necessary for women to keep their significant men under control. • If God created individuals, and made them able to control men’s passions – why, then, could they not have an official say in the workings of the country? • Key spokespersons: Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

36. The Reformers and Seneca Falls • These two, along with Susan B. Anthony loudly pushed for suffrage for women • Margaret Fuller in “The Dial” was also a voice for reform • In 1848 women held a conference in Seneca Falls, NY

37. Education • If humanity were going to perfect itself, then they would all have to be educated properly to ensure the distribution of quality traits, knowledge, and the ability to be creative • To accomplish this, all Americans had to be educated – and the public would need to pay for it

38. “A civilized nation that was both ignorant and free,” according to Jefferson, “never was and never will be.” • Most schools were of the one room variety – with students of all ages in the same place with the same teacher • Teachers were often ill trained, ill paid, and ill tempered. They were also mostly men. • Horace Mann campaigned for better facilities, training, and pay for the education system

39. Horace Mann • Pushed for longer school terms, better school houses, higher pay for teachers, and expanded curriculums • These curriculums included Webster’s Readers, Civics, and Arithmetic • William McGuffey – McGuffey’s Readers

40. Higher Education • Colleges offered traditional fare: Greek, Latin, Math, and Moral Philosophy • These schools did not push creativity or the development of new ideas • This had to change during this era of intellectual ferment and advancement • UVA – endowed by Jefferson pursued a new path – with a wider variety of subjects and approaches

41. Women’s Higher Education • Women’s education was “frowned upon” during the 19th century. • Too much learning injured the female brain, undermined health, and made a woman unfit for marriage. • Early colleges to admit female undergraduates included Oberlin, Troy (NY) Female Seminary, and Mount Holyoke Seminary (college)

42. Public Libraries • In order for adults to learn after working hours, libraries were necessary. • Lyceum lecture societies were also common – these allowed people to attend lectures about subjects of their choosing so that they could increase knowledge about moral philosophy, literature, and/or science.

43. Authors You Need To Know • Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, and Herman Melville • Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman • Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, William Cullen Bryant • Knickerbocker group • Longfellow, Whittier, Lowell, Holmes, Louisa May Alcott, Emily Dickenson • William Gilmore Simms

44. Kansas-Nebraska Act The Peace Was Shattered

45. Events of 1854 • Kansas-Nebraska Act • Incorporated the Spirit of Popular Sovereignty • Led to widespread movement to Kansas Terr. • There was much bloodshed in the areas of Lawrence and Lecompton

46. The Frenzy to Settle • Both northern and southern sympathizers funded massive influxes to Kansas • Kansas was also a key location for a new trans-continental railroad

47. Groups Looking to Settle • The New England Emigrant Aid Company paid for the resettlement of Free-soilers to Kansas • They also arranged for the shipment of “Beecher’s Bibles” a/k/a breech loading rifles, to Kansas

48. In 1855 . . . • Two rival governments formed, one pro-slavery, the other anti-slavery • Neither side recognized the other • Quickly fighting broke out between the two sides

49. Enter — John Brown • John Brown and seven followers (four were his sons), in retaliation for a pro-slavery raid on Lawrence, KS, responded at Pottawatomie Creek • Hacked five pro-slavery farmers to death with broadswords

50. The Federal Government Takes Notice • In 1856, Congress sent a fact finding mission to Kansas • They also authorized the dispatch of Federal Troops to restore order • It wasn’t until 1861, on the eve of war, that Congress finally approved the admission of Kansas as a state