Reform Movements Elijah and Easton period 5

The foundations of reform included the second great awakening. This was a revival of religious feeling in the 1820's and it also emphasized the roles individuals played in their societies. Another movement was Transcendentalism which was a belief that men were good. A Transcendentalist leader was Henry David which encouraged people challenge laws which became known as Civil Disobedience.

The Abolitionist revolution began some time in the revolutionary era in response to the inhuman treatment of slaves. Abolitionists were people that spoke out against slavery. They believed that in order for the US to keep its promise for " liberty and equality for all". Some famous abolitionists were William Loyd, Angelina and Sarah Grimke, Fredrick Douglass, and Sojourner Truth. One of the most famous was Hariet Tubman which was a conductor on the Underground Railroad.

Two women named Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton weren't allowed to talk about slavery due to their gender and were outraged. So they decided to hold a national women's right convention due to the lack of political and legal rights women had. They then proposed the declaration of sentiments on the Declaration of Independence. The convention demands equality for women at school, work, church, and suffrage. Some other notables were Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Stone which also propelled the women's rights movement

Dorothea Dix began to teach a Sunday school class inside a jail as a favor to her friend. Dix thought that the punishment of the prison inmates was terrible and unbearable. Dix was very disturbed by how they treated the mentally ill; they beat them and whipped them for their bad behavior. Dix wrote to the legislature and told them about the terrible conditions in the jail. Lawmakers then after Dix's report, voted to create mental hospitals for the mentally ill.

Alcohol abuse was very popular in the 1800's among men, women, and children. Alcohol was linked to crime, the breakup of families, and mental illness. Maine was the first state to actually start the temperance movement, they banned selling alcohol and then after they started to enforce there ban, other states followed suit. Even though the laws would be repealed, the temperance movement would soon start back up.

In the mid-1800's few children went to school because the cost was way to expensive. Horace Mann started the practice to allow every child to go to public school for free. Mann became the head state board of education in Massachusetts and spoke about the importance of education for children. Under Mann, the citizens of Massachusetts voted to pay taxes to begin a public education for everyone. While public schools were coming up everywhere in the U.S., still not everyone would be able to attend a public school.

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