1800's Social Reform Movements

• In the early 1800's education was mainly for those who could afford it, and it also differed by state

Education Reform

• Desire to raise school standards increased in the 1830's, which lead to arguments for changes in education
• Horace Mann was a major leader of the Education Reform
• He was an educational reformer who believed education should be accessible and promote opportunities for all

Temperance Movement

• The Temperance Movement aimed to decrease alcohol use to solve issues like poverty, high crime, family violence, and missed work to create a better society
• Carrie Nation was a major leader of the Temperance Movement
• Supporters of the Temperance Movement believed that alcohol led to crime, poverty, violence and a number of family problems
• The Temperance Movement impacted women and their role in social reform, by expanding the participation of women in social reform

Women's Rights/Suffrage Movement

• The first wave occurred mainly in the 19th and early 20th centuries and focused on legal issues like women's suffrage (right to vote), as well as other basic civil rights
• Recognition increased as women were denied fundamental rights that men were afforded
• Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott were major leaders of the Women's Right's Movement
• The Declaration of Sentiments, written at the Seneca Falls Convention by leaders of the Women's Rights Movement, was modeled after the Declaration of Independence and it called for change and equal rights for women.
• The 19th amendment gave women the right to vote

Transcendentalism

• Transcendentalism was a 19th-century American philosophical, literary, and social movement
• It emphasized individualism and self-reliance
• Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson were authors involved with the movement
• The Hudson River School were artists involved with the movement
• The Hudson River School produced landscape art of nature in America and it instilled inspiration about nature and American identity

Abolitionist Movement

• The goal was to end slavery, bring awareness to the horrible conditions on plantations, and free all enslaved people
• Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, William Lloyd Garrison, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, were major leaders of this movement
• The 13th Amendment (outlawed slavery) was a major legislation passed as a result of the successes of abolitionist leaders

Prison and Disability Reform

• The prison reform movement aimed to make prison conditions more sanitary and humane
• Results included states stopping the practice of putting debtors in prison, created special systems for children in the justice system, and outlawed cruel punishments
• The disability movement called for better conditions and more humane treatment for the mentally ill, which lead to better hospitals for the treatment of the mentally ill
• Dorothea Dix was a major leader of the Prison and Disability Reform
• Major successes/impacts included the opening of mental-health facilities to treat patients (separating the mentally ill from prisoners); and improved prison conditions

Labor Reform

• Pushed for better conditions in factories including lower hours, better wages, and better conditions overall
• Lowell Girls were major leaders of the Labor Reform movement
• Major modern day impacts include legal protection for employees/workers, safer working conditions, labor unions, the 40 hour work week, weekends, etc.

Second Great Awakening

• The idea that doing good deeds would lead a person to heaven
• This led to reform movements to improve society

First Amendment & Social Reform

• People involved in various reform movements used their 1st amendment right of free speech to advocate for their cause

Civil Disobedience

• It means the refusal to comply with certain laws as a form of peaceful protest eg sit-ins, boycotts, marches, etc

Labor Union

• Labor Union is a group of workers in an organization formed to advocate for better working conditions, pay, treatment, etc