Abolitionist Movement Thesis

hroughout the mid-nineteenth century in the United States, the reform movements that swept through the nation led to a great expansion of democratic ideas through increased rights and the betterment of the quality of life. Since the birth of the US through the early nineteenth century, the primary goal of all citizens and governmental leaders was to establish a solidified nation and to secure the laws and rights outlined in the Declaration of Independence and later, the US Constitution. Jumping forward to the 1820s, the young country faced numerous challenges to the prosperity of its citizens, bringing forth a slew of reform movements to do just that. One of the main reform movements to ravage the country was that of civil rights. As slavery

Slavery itself is the complete antithesis of any form of democratic ideals. The institution itself goes against everything that democracy pledges to include, such as equal rights and representation, hence why the Abolitionist Movement was one that fought to secure those ideals, and successfully so, with the ratification of the 13th Amendment. Although the United States had to fight a bloody Civil War to get there, the Abolitionist Movement brought about the end of slavery, a magnificent leap forward in democratic ideals. The second civil rights issue was that of women’s rights. The Suffrage Movement and the fight for gender equality took a head in the 1840s, with female activists from Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Sojourner Truth beginning to speak out against the civil disparities that existed between males and females. As seen in both Documents #6 and #7, the aforementioned women’s rights activists sought to empower the female citizen, blatantly expressing how women ought to be granted the same God-given rights that men have, as outlined in the Constitution. With the

Through the education, prison, and Temperance movements, the Antebellum time period prior to the Civil War introduced many democratic ideals that we now hold dear, ranging from public education to fair mental healthcare. Horace Mann, the leader of the education reforms, sought to provide public education to all citizens, as his state of Massachusetts was heavily focused on enhancing education, according to Document #3. Since before the United States became its own independent nation, Puritan beliefs included an emphasis on education, a clear precursor to this time period. From the implementation of schools with the Old Deluder Act, to the current education reform, the education system was in need of a reform in order to be made available to all — Mann’s main point he was trying to convey. As with the Temperance Movement, the banning of alcohol sparked wild controversy. Officials wanted the prohibition to eradicate crime and preserve the sanctity of the population, as seen in the illustration of alcohol's eventual downward spiral in Document #4. The illustration was made during the heart of the Temperance Movement to protest the “Alcoholic Republic.” Furthermore, Dorothea Dix’s fight against mental institution care and prison facilities led to yet another reform. The poor