Describe the major reform movements of the early 19th century: what were their goals and methods? Discuss at least three examples in detail. The Age of Reform, also known as the 19th century endured many influential changes in American Society. Our textbook highlights religious revival, woman’s rights and abolition as examples of reformations during that time. The United States being a new nation, would go through an influential phase where old ideologies and the pursuit of life, liberty, and freedom would clash. Themes such as perfectionism, feminism, and anti-slavery developed major roots and it’s no surprise why this era is coined the “Age of Reform.” One of the first reforms to take place embarked a religious direction. Fueled by the …show more content…
The Union had just about every edge over their counterparts and interestingly, held population and industrialization advantages. This would enable them to produce more goods such as weapons or other highly demanded industrialization driven products. The Civil War was also driven by major gains in technology; the introduction of non-wooden ships or ironclads, railroads, grenades and trench warfare with long rang rifles introduced an unorthodox, but new way to edge competition. Another edge in mobilization that the Union had was the lack dependency on importing goods. The cotton driven south would attempt to accommodate Union efforts to blockade goods by transitioning to nontraditional crops. Ultimately this dependency would allow the north to be best fed and supplied military. Early success was credited to Confederate victories such as the Battle of Bull Run. They were considered better trained and organized, but the south would prove to be too weak of an opponent for the massive Union led armies. In the end, attrition warfare would prolong the war, but after four long years the Confederacy surrendered and the Union would eventually become a “nation.” (Foner,
The years between 1825 to 1850 was a time for society to transform. Society was offering more opportunities to those who were below the white males on the social pyramid; which were women, child, blacks, and immigrants. The statement, “Reform movements in the United States sought to expand democratic ideals,” is a not valid for this time period because the reform movements were to benefit those who were fighting for equality, whereas, the democratic ideals were only benefitting the rich white males in society. Document C shows a picture of a slave chained to the ground with the quote, “Am I not a not a woman and a sister?” This is trying to say that the women were gaining more rights that was building up their social status to the men.
Already they were at an advantage number-wise. As if this were not already enough, the Union also had clever, sly generals in place. Throughout the war, the Union continued to build railroads, they used this to their advantage. By using these new railroads, it became far easier to distribute rations and weapons to the Union soldiers. Furthermore, the Union used an anaconda tactic, which stopped the Confederate rations from getting to their soldiers.
To what extent did reform movements in the United States from 1825 to 1850 seek to expand democratic ideals? From 1825-1850 America was on the verge to Manifest it’s destiny as a national super power. From the increased industrialization of the north, to the social changes in the south, and to the expansion to the west, America finally took its first steps to become a self-sufficient country. Important events such as The Second Great Awakening and the Transportation Revolution occurred during this time.
In the 18th century, during the years of 1825 to 1850 America was going through Reform movements. The Reform movement sought to expand democratic ideals in the United States. The Reform movement had social, economic and political changes or events in America. Out of all of these three things, the Reform movement had a lot more social changes and events than the other two. As the Reform movement was more of a social movement that aim to make gradual changes in society or at least some parts of society.
The age of Reform lasted from 1820-1860, so about 40 years give or take a few. The age of reform changed how many Americans lived. Two major parts of the reform where the Temperance reform, and the start and end of utopian societies. Utopian societies didn’t last very long because the economy didn’t usually last very long. All utopian societies were based off the idea that if any man or woman followed a set of guidelines in their life, they could live longer or better.
The Failures of the 1800’s Reform Movements America was a country created for democracy, equality, and freedom. However, in the 1800’s these ideals were still far from reality. Because of this, many reform movements arose to change the United States to include really represent these ideals. Andrew Jackson, a man of the people, got more people to vote. Women like Lucretia Mott or Elizabeth Cady Stanton argued for women’s voting rights.
The United States faced many serious social problems in the early 19th century that concerned the reformers during the time. These problems not only gradually broke the society apart, but also eroded the democratic foundation of the nation. Understanding the seriousness of the problems, leaders from different areas expressed their serious concerns over social issues, including lawlessness, violence, immortality and poverty. These problems happened across the nation. For example, crime rates in New York City including juvenile delinquency and mob violence rose rapidly.
In the early 1800's, the Era of reform occurred for two main reasons. Firstly, churches changed what they taught about how people's destinies were decided. Previously, churches taught that whether someone went to Heaven or not was determined at birth and unaffected by one's actions. This caused people to show indifference toward their actions and how they treated others because it did not affect where they went whatsoever. However, churches soon changed their ways of teaching saying that good works could get someone into heaven.
The union who was of the north was for abolishing slavery which many felt were wrong even though they still didn’t consider them equal. The south was comprised of the confederacy which was a bunch of plantation owners who owned many slaves that tilled their fields. The north was losing at first two years after the start of the war the union allowed for runaway slaves and freed slaves to join its ranks. This was a major turning point now since white men fought alongside black men they were equal on the battlefield but not in pay. The union used the railway system they had to transport troops and food a lot easier than the south was able to.
The Union had more railroad lines and they had the telegraph system. The telegraph system was a huge advantage for the Union because they could now send messages thousands of miles away in less than a minute. President Abraham Lincoln could now command the Union’s generals in the safety of his own office. The railroad lines gave the Union a big advantage because they could transport resources faster than the Confederate
Reform movements spread throughout the country during the nineteenth century like wildfire alongside and often in conjunction with the Second Great Awakening. During this era the abolitionist movement, struggle for women’s and worker’s rights and the temperance movement came with the desire for social betterment and reform. Many of these societies and movements involved the ideology of the American Revolution with ideas of individual freedom, liberty, equality and also the respect for personhood. While many of the social reform movements in the first half of the nineteenth century had an element of moralism the temperance movement was steeped in it. It was believed that with drinking came “poverty, crime, illness, insanity, battered and broken
In the beginning of the war, the North had control of 90 percent of the nation’s industrial capacity and they also had dozens of facilities for the production of war materials where the South only had one. Northern farms could produce more meat and vegetables than the South. The railroads of the North were twice as large as the railroads in the South. The Confederacy also had
The North had an excellent Navy that had the ability to blockade things that were headed to the Southern states. The South desperately needed food, weapons, and ammunition but weren’t able to get their supplies because the North had blockades that stopped the supplies they needed. The North also had gun factories, shipyards, and coal readily available at anytime which puts them at a huge advantage over the South. They had more money and were just more advanced in their industry, which helped them win the civil war.
North held many advantages over the south during the war and its population was more then south. The south lacked the number of factories and industries. The north had better transportation network mainly highways, canals and railroads which was useful to the supply of the military forced. The source of money in the south was the cotton crops not factory.
The nineteenth century was a busy time in America. Many things occurred, from the abolishment of slavery to technological advancements such as the first sewing machine. But with the Second Great Awakening and different moral values came new ideas for the government and society. The main reforms were temperance, prison, education, and women’s education. All of these have led to good advancements in society, but also have come with drawbacks.