16

The Ferment of Reform and Culture

Reviving Religion

Attending Church was a regular ritual for 3/4 of the 23 million Americans in 1850

Thomas paine - The age of reason - promoted deism
deism - relied on reason and not the bible, denied the divinity of Christ
Unitarianism - believed that god existed only in 1 person and that salvation could be reserved through good works
2nd great awakening left behind multiple sects, converted souls, and reorganized or destruction of churches
Methodist and Baptist gained more people to their religion

Charles grandison finney - greatest revival preacher - denounced slavery and alcohol

Denominational diversity

Millertist or Adventists - god would return to earth on Oct. 22, 1844
Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Unitarians arose mainly from the wealthy
Methodists and Baptists arose from the poor - south and west

A desert Zion in Utah

Joseph smith - established the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints(Mormons)
due to persecution and the death of Joseph smith the Mormons were collapsing but were saved by brigham young
in Utah the Mormons delayed the statehood of Utah because of their peculiar marital ways until 1896

Free schools for a free people

Americans knew that if they did not pay taxes to support public schools then their children would become no good people with voting rights
school teachers were ill-trained, ill-tempered, and ill-paid
usually teacher writing, reading, and arithmetic's

horace mann- helped build better schools, longer school terms, higher pay for teachers, and a expanded curriculum
in 1860 there were only 100 public secondary schools

Higher goals for higher learning

liberal arts colleges formed to satisfy local pride rather than to advance the cause of learning
first state university originated from the south
in the 1820’s women's secondary schools began to obtain respectability

The age of reform

reformers promoted rights for women, communal living, polygamy(having many wives) celibacy, rule by prophets, and guidance by spirits
most reformers were smart, inspired idealists
legislatures gradually abolished debtors prison and capital offenses were decreased
the mentally disabled were treated with cruelty

Dorothea Dix - n.e. teacher, convinced people threat the demented were mentally ill and not perverse

demon rum-the "old deluder
everyone from women to members of the congress drank hard liquor
heavy drinking decreased efficiency labor, safeguard of machinery, and increased the danger of accidents at work
the American temperance society(1826) urged drinkers to stay away from liquor

neal s. dow- "father of prohibition" promoted law of 1851- prohibited any manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquor

Women in revolt

beginning of the 19th century- women could not vote, they could be beaten, and once married had to give up property to husband
at the time of the civil war 10% of adult women were not married
women - responsible for correctly raising up their children
women were treated as they were because men taught that the y could not produce any economic benefits
rape in America was punishable with death
at the midpoint of the century women reformers started to gain strength
these female reformers demanded women’s rights, fought for temperance and abolition of slavery
women's rights convention (1848) - women demanded that they should be treated on the same level as men
decade before the civil war- women started to be admitted into colleges and in some states they could own property

Robert brown- founder of a communal society seeking human better ness
brook farm- started by intellectuals - committed to transcendentalism(no evil exist in the world)
oneida community- practice of free love

The dawn of scientific achievement

Artistic achievements

public buildings followed the models of Europe
university of Virginia- remains as one of the finest examples of classic architecture
Thomas Jefferson was the best architect of his generation
the art of painting didn’t really progress because the wealthy class was limited
painters had to go to England

The blossoming of a national literature

Americans gave little encouragement to literature
Amer. lit. obtained a boost from nationalism that resulted from the war of independence, war of 1812

Washington Irving - first American to win international recognition as a literary figure

Trumpeters of Transcendentalism

Transcendentalism preened itself as the Athens of America
The ideas of transcendentalism were the following. They believed that the human soul could not be in touch or couldn’t see god but they had to transcend to be in touch with god

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a best known transcendentalist that lived from 1803 to 1882
Emerson was a great spoke man and he would give speeches. For twenty years he would go on a winter tour. His best known speech was the one he gave at Harvard college in 1837

Glowing Literary Lights