Reform Movements In The 1800's

Reform movements in the United States sought to expand democratic ideals from the quarter century time period of 1825-1850 also known as the Second Great Awakening. These democratic ideals included voting for everyone eighteen and older (with the exception of minors, women, insane, and criminals), freedom of expression, press, speech and religion, election of officials, property rights, free and public education, more than one political party, equal rights, equality before the law entitling a person to due process, separation of church and state, tolerance of diversity,

During the time period between 1825-1840, ideals such as equality, liberty and the pursuit of happiness defined democratic ideals. The reforms during this period of time were based on the craving to make America a utopian society. In addition, the 2nd Great Awakening expanded much of the democratic ideals by increasing church membership, especially in women also it inspired social reforms such as prisons, slavery, alcohol, education, women rights, and mental ill. Furthermore, it increased religious diversity. So the Reform Movements in the period of 1825-1850 did much to expand democratic ideals on abolition of slavery, women's rights movement, and American Temperance.

The statement “Reform movements in the United States sought to expand democratic ideals” is proven valid in context to every reform in the time period 1825-1850 except the naturalization act, The only movement in that period contradicting democratic ideals. Besides this act, every other act displayed grand interest in civilizing the United States and emphasizing equality and liberty for all, the core democratic ideals. The nation eventually picked up and expanded all of these, but only after the effect of these reforms took their toll

Gender inequality and slavery were the two biggest evils that reformers tried eliminating in the time period. The abolition of slavery had many reformers behind it. Two very important men trying to achieve this were Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, a white man, going to show there was support from all types of people. Two of the women’s rights advocates were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Sarah Grimke. They both achieved great things to help out their cause. Although slavery and gender equality are arguably the most important evils in the time period there were still many other. One of these was alcohol. During the time period the Temperance

While some citizens of the United States, between 1825 and 1850, believed that reform was foolish and that the nation should stick to its old conduct, reformists in this time period still sought to make the United States a more ideally democratic nation. This was an age of nationalism and pride, and where there was pride in one’s country, there was the aspiration to improve one’s country even further. Many new reformist and abolitionist groups began to form, all attempting to change aspects of the United States that the respective groups thought to be unfair or unjust. Some groups, such as lower and middle class women and immigrants, sought to improve rights within the county, while other reformers aspired to change the American education

The early 1800’s was a very important time for America. The small country was quickly expanding. With the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition, America almost tripled in size by 1853. However, even with the amount of land growing, not everyone was welcomed with open arms. With the expansion of the country, the white Americans decided that they needed the Natives out.

American society began to change in the late 1800s with movements like the Grange and Alliance. These reform movements resulted in a new idea of populism-reformation in the interest of the farmer. The late 1800s in American society gave way to challenges like the farmers role in society, railroad regulation for crop transportation, and economic problems about coinage that created discontent among the American farmers; culminating in the Populist movement were reform efforts like Munn vs. Illinois and the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890.

The degree of success for reforms in 1800 to 1860 varied in urban and rural areas. Reforms that called for institutional changes were, for the most part, successful in reaching their goals however; reforms that dealt with only institutional changes were less significant and successful than reforms that called for institutional and individual changes.

In my opinion, the most important reform during the Progressive Era was his antitrust policy. Monopolies and trust, most of the time are very bad for consumers. First, because their is only one company controlling them, they can set any price they choose regardless of the demand, because they know that the consumer has no other choice whatsoever. Considering this, they will raise cost for consumers leading to inflation. Now, one of the many problems caused by this marketing controlling, is that sadly, they have no economic reason to improve or revolutionize their product, which means that as long as they are up, consumers will not have any new product coming from them. Being so, when Teddy Roosevelt created the antitrust act, he immediately

During the 1840s, America saw increasingly attractive settlements forming between the North and the South. The government tried to keep the industrial north and the agricultural south happy, but eventually the issue of slavery became too big to handle, no matter how many treaties or compromises were formed. Slavery was a huge issue that unraveled throughout many years of American history and was one of the biggest contributors leading up to the Civil War (notes, Fall 2015). Many books have been written over the years about slavery and the brutality of the life that many people endured. In “A Slave No More”, David Blight tells the story about two men, John M. Washington (1838-1918) and Wallace Turnage (1846-1916), struggling during American slavery. Their escape to freedom happened during America’s bloodiest war among many political conflicts, which had been splitting the country apart for many decades. As Blight (2007) describes, “Throughout the Civil War, in thousands of different circumstances, under changing policies and redefinitions of their status, and in the face of social chaos…four million slaves helped to decide what time it would be in American History” (p. 5). Whether it was freedom from a master or overseer, freedom from living as both property and the object of another person’s will, or even freedom to make their own decisions and control their own life, slaves wanted a sense of independence. According to Blight (2007), “The war and the presence of Union armies

Society has been significantly revolutionized since the beginnings of the United States. The very history of the country has been cursed with racism and the harsh oppression of minorities. In fact, America’s power and economy were founded on a Marxist theory of a two-class system. On the top of that system were the slave owners, and at the very bottom were the slaves themselves (Balkaran, 1999). Slavery and segregation used to be huge components in the lives of Americans. During those times, “Americans” were white, landowning men; obviously that principle has been altered a great deal. People of color, women, and the poor actually have been given suffrage by amendments in the Constitution. Although the United States’ culture and society

During the 19th Century there were many reform movements that took place. Reform movements were movements that were organized to reform or change the certain way of things. Reform movements did not always work but the ones that did greatly changed the way our nation operates today. There were three major reform movements that have altered the nation; the abolitionist movement, the temperance movement and the women 's suffrage movement. Without these movements, and the great leaders involved, many common rights would not exist today.

Although slavery is now abolished and we have come a long way in the way that our nation treats African Americans, Willie Lynch’s letter: Making a Slave, is still relevant in some way to this day. When Lynch delivered his points were made as solutions as to how slave owners can control their slaves. However, when it comes to the gender roles among the slaves, this mindset has not died. Instead, this mindset is found in today's generation of African American adult and children. Through the high rate of African American males being incarcerated, women have been forced to become more independent. In the letter Lynch states that the woman has been “left alone, unprotected, [with her perception of] the male image destroyed.” Even when women have

The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave details the progression of a slave to a man, and thus, the formation of his identity. The narrative functions as a persuasive essay, written in the hopes that it would successfully lead to “hastening the glad day of deliverance to the millions of [his] brethren in bonds” (Douglass 331). As an institution, slavery endeavored to reduce the men, women, and children “in bonds” to a state less than human. The slave identity, according to the institution of slavery, was not to be that of a rational, self forming, equal human being, but rather, a human animal whose purpose is to work and obey the whims of their “master.” For these reasons, Douglass articulates a distinction

Democracy is a form of government in which power is put in the people whose decisions are passed on to the elected representatives. As a young college American citizen, I feel that our freedoms have been expanded. For example, in todays’ world of sports, the NFL is being widely criticized for most teams’ players kneeling for the national anthem. Even though they are being heavily criticized for their actions, they are carrying out their right of the first amendment which is the expression of their freedom. Being able to express the first amendment as a citizen plays a huge part in our freedoms. Our freedoms have been expanded by people who use their right as the first amendment and the other many amendments. The American dream today is also being widely chased and achieved due to the many opportunities America has to offer and due to President Trump’s, many recent job creations.