The Prison Reform Movement

Following the War of 1812, America entered a period known as the Antebellum Era, meaning "before the Civil War," which lasted from 1815 to 1861. This period was characterized by the Market Revolution, which saw the birth of American capitalism and caused major social and economic change. From the year 1815 to 1850, slavery remained an established institution, economic change in the North East led to industrialization which in turn caused other economic and social changes, and a shift in America's social climate caused the growth of the abolitionist movement.

The Underground Railroad was helpful to slaves because it helped them escape and be free. Slaves not only wanted to be free they also wanted their families to be free. The Underground Railroad did just that. The Underground Railroad was not underground nor a railroad it was just called underground because of its secretive nature and railroad because of the emerging transportation.

The Underground Railroad was a system of abolitionists that assisted runaway slaves on their path to freedom. The Underground railroad was started by abolitionist and former slave, Harriet Tubman. Once Tubman obtained her freedom, she decided to go back into slave states and help other slaves achieve freedom. On the railroad were conductors, or people that aided slaves on the railroad by providing them shelter and safety. Abolitionists, such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, wrote about the Underground Railroad and spread awareness of the hardships slaves face. Many different people helped on the underground railroad including Harriet Tubman, conductors, and abolitionists.

Undoubtedly, Harriet Tubman was the most influential abolitionist of the early to mid-1800s.  Born a slave in 1820, Tubman escaped her plantation in 1849, and returned 19 times to rescue over 300 enslaved people.  Tubman was called “Black Moses” because she, like Moses of the Old Testament, led her people out of persecution and into freedom. She had narcolepsy (a mental disorder that causes one to fall asleep randomly) but still served as a nurse, a scout, and a spy for the Union during the Civil War.  Firstly, Tubman took the risk of returning to her old plantation 19 times to rescue upwards of 300 slaves, and didn’t lose a single one in the process.  This shows legitimate bravery because she could’ve easily been captured, or worse, killed,

Harriet Tubman often said, “We got to go free or die. And freedom’s not bought with dust.” The actions of her and many others relate to the theme of freedom and sacrifice as illustrated by this quote. Harriet Tubman knew very well of freedom and sacrifice because she helped many slaves acquire freedom through serving as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. By the same token, Thomas Garrett’s endeavors to aid the underground railroad also relate to the theme illustrated by Tubman’s statement. Similarly, William Still’s commitment to helping slaves and recording their stories connects to the same theme. Overall, the underground railroad consisted of several selfless people who devoted their time to assist slaves.

Stanton is famous for writing about women’s rights in the Declaration of Right and Sentiments in 1848 (Document 6). Stanton’s argued that if it is in the constitution that equality be a democratic ideal, the nation should abide by. She specifically pointed out certain rights men had but women did not have, even though the constitution preaches equality and freedom. “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal...” (Document 6). The purpose of Elizabeth Stanton’s Declaration was to help achieve change is the treatment of women during this era. This is relevant because her goal was to create change during this reformation, and the expansion of women’s rights falls right in line with the expansion of democratic ideals. During this time, men had the right to submit to laws in the formation of government, but women were not allowed in the voting booths on Election Day. The women’s rights movement, or reformation, adds credibility to the statement that reformations from 1825-1850 sought to expand democratic ideals. Stanton was seeking to expand the core democratic value of equality of the two genders. Although women did not receive the right to vote immediately after Stanton attempts, female suffrage in the United States was eventually introduced. Like Stanton, a man named Horace Mann was also advocating

First, Harriet Tubman helped bring about change in the civil rights movement by being involved in the abolitionist movements. Harriet Tubman took a large step in joining movements to stop slavery, oppression, and segregation. Abolitionist movements work to help give all races, genders, and religions equal rights. Harriet Tubman’s speeches and actions were one of the building blocks for civil rights in the U.S. Harriet’s devotion and determination resulted in a stronger and more well-rounded country. “In the late 1850’s she spoke at anti-slavery gatherings and a women’s rights meeting in 1860” (Harriet Tubman). This means that not only did she fight for racial equality, but for women’s rights also. She was a help to multiple movements in a matter of years. To sum up, being a part of the abolitionist movements was one of the most important

It also revived the emotional side of religion which led to Transcendentalism. This was a philosophical and literary movement in response to rationalism and the enlightenment. It was centered around Ralph Waldo Emerson. Transcendentalists were critics of own society. They thought that society corrupted the purity of an individual. The Transcendentalists' dissatisfaction with their society was focused on policies and actions of the United States government. The Transcendentalists opposed the treatment of Native Americans, the war with Mexico, and the continuing and expanding practice of slavery. Transcendentalists urged that each person find, in Emerson's words, “an original relation to the universe” Transcendentalists the best way to experience “intuitive insights” was to return to God’s direct creation: nature. They also believed in independent thought, civil disobedience, and

The definition of optimism is, “A disposition to expect the best possible outcome or to emphasize the most positive aspects of a situation.” Many people in history have shown optimism in the face of a challenge. One very important person for instance is Harriet Tubman. Tubman was a Civil Rights Activist who helped hundreds of slaves escape slavery even though she could have been killed for it.

The antislavery movement wanted specifically, a gradual removal of all slaves from the United States. The reason being that in the event of an immediate removal of all slaves, there would be a massive void in the workforce which would cause the economy to crash. They didn’t want this and resorted to slowly shipping groups of slaves via boat to places such as the British West Indies and Liberia. Most antislavery leaders believed in shipping slaves outside the United States, but there were a few members that wanted Congress to purchase land bordering the southwestern cotton line and transform it into slave “territory.” However, this idea of an American slave community lost traction and their man focus was planted into moving the slaves to Africa. In 1822, the United States bought the territory of Liberia and ensued shipping slaves there. antislavery leaders believed that in transporting workers there, the African territory would be revitalized, but they were completely wrong. On the other hand, the abolitionists movement saw an immediate and complete abolition of slavery as the only solution to the slave problem. They wanted full political and social equality for all blacks as presented in the The Liberator, an abolitionist newspaper written by William Lloyd Garrison. Garrison was know as the “abolition’s golden trumpet” and rightly so. He preached the

Most people do not know of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, but much to people’s surprise, she was just as important in Women’s Rights Movement as Susan B. Anthony, if not more important. Elizabeth Cady Stanton helped to create remarkable strides in the Women's Rights. During her life, Elizabeth was an American suffragist, social activist, abolitionist, writer, lecturer, and chief philosopher of the women’s rights movement. She also organized the Seneca Falls Convention with Lucretia Mott whose aim was to obtain equal rights for women. During the Convention, Cady Stanton wrote the “Declaration of Sentiments” which declared that American women should have the same civil and political rights that American men had, including the right to vote. In 1870, Elizabeth Cady Stanton would establish the National Women's Suffrage Association, with Susan B. Anthony.

Slavery was an important time period that is still affecting American society today. For 400 years, Africans were enslaved by Americans and were forced to do hard labor in harsh conditions. They were forced to pick cotton, harvest and plant rice and build railroads. Slavery began in America in 1619 when countries in Europe would kidnap Africans and send them to America on boats. This time period is important due to the devastating actions that happened to Africans and what they did to change the course of history. There were many different approaches to slavery and some were violent. Nat Turner, among other violent African slave rebellionist, gathered weapons and men and began to start a rebellion to slavery. Although, most slaves took a violent approach others like Harriet Tubman began to free slaves through the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman was a major contribution to the freeing of slaves through her background, her escape, her influence in the underground railroad and her legacy.

In Adam Goodheart’s article “Moses’ Last Exodus,” he tells Harriet Tubman’s story of the Underground Railroad. He explains how her leadership skills and hopefulness allowed her to be successful in making twelve dozen trips to North in order to save her family and fellow slaves. In Paul Donnelly’s article “Harriet Tubman’s a great raid,” he told us about fellow abolitionists who supported Harriet Tubman’s abolition movement and they played a role in the emancipation proclamation. Such as Thomas Higginson, governor John Andrews of Massachusetts, David Hunter, General Rufus Saxton, Lincoln , Robert E. Lee, Captain Brayton, and Captain Hoyt. After reading these two articles, I found out more about how certain events led up to the Emancipation

Woman rights movement began in 1850s in New York when Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a young woman with her four female friends were taking tea. The women discussed the challenges facing and the limitations they encountered in while demanding for their democratic rights. Stanton observed that women were not enjoying democratic as compared to the men counterparts yet they fought for the democracy in the same magnitude. Stanton and friends agreed to plan a large meeting with likeminded women who wanted to change the status quo. After two days, they held a convention with fellow to address issues affecting in the social-political and religious matters. During the gathering, the women having common interest to improve women conditions in the new republic

Freedom to me is doing what you love most in your daily life. When I think of freedom I think everyone gets to do what they want. It used to be in our world there was not all freedom there was lots of slavery. Slavery means when people are someone else's property in an unfriendly way.