Religious Reforms

Second Great Awakening

• New religious fervor swept through US in 1830s

–Concentrated in upstate NY

What caused it?• Reaction to changing times

–Industry & growth of cities–Immigration–Transportation–Communications

Evangelism• Responsibility to share religion

by giving testimony/witnessing

• Highly emotional type of religion

Revivalism• Large religious gatherings

–Often too many people there for town – go out to a campmeeting

• Argued for political change–Led to reform movements

Religions that began then

• Mormons (Latter-Day Saints)• Church of Christ• Jehovah’s Witnesses• 7th Day Adventists

African-American Church

• Churches & revivals (in north) often open to whites & blacks–Children of the same God

• Slaves in S often went to church with master (but sat separately)

African Methodist Episcopals

• Founded by free blacks• Fought for end to slavery• Became center of black culture

• 1st national black convention–Looked at how to help escaped

slaves to freedom

Transcendentalism

• Appealed to people turned off by revival religions – too public

• Philosophical movement–Simple life–Truth & beauty in nature–Personal emotion & imagination

Transcendentalism

• Ralph Waldo Emerson• Henry David Thoreau

–Optimism / freedom / self-reliance–Follow your “inner voice”–Civil Disobedience – follow your

conscience

Unitarianism• Popular with northern rich, well

educated people

• No emotion – only calm reason–Also believed in political reform

Utopian communities

• Experimental settlements–Trying to create perfect society

• Most places didn’t last–People had to work more than

they thought they would

Shakers• Men & women equal

–But couldn’t marry or have kids

• Died out pretty soon–Members only converts & orphans

Prison reform• Earlier, jails were very brutal

–Lots of abuse–Solitary confinement for very

long periods of time–Kept mentally ill with prisoners

Dorothea Dix • Prison reformer

• Move mentally ill to hospitals

• Try to rehabilitate–Train prisoners to

return to society

Public schools• PA – set up first state public

elementary schools

–Rich against it – they could pay for private school for their kids

– Immigrants against it – ethnic pride

Public schools• Most states didn’t have well run

public schools until late 1800s

• Most kids in 1 multi-grade class• Most dropped out by age 10