Name:___________________________________Date:___________Period:_____
Reforming American Society in the 19th Century:
Can individual people improve a nation’s problems?
While America was undergoing a "time period (era) of good feeling" in the mid-1800s,
there were many problems lying just under the surface of what appeared to be the
formation of an extraordinary country.
These problems, called social ills, were trying to be changed by individuals called social
reformers. Their reform movements were successful in many ways because they believed
that America could do anything if the country put its mind to it.
There were five major reform movements in the 1800s:
1. Abolition
2. Women's Rights
3. Temperance
4. Prison Reform
5. Education Reform
****************************************************************
Important Vocabulary: Fill in the words as they are revealed in the reading.
_____________ (n) a period of time marked by distinctive characteristics and events
_____________ (v) To improve the condition of something by the adjustment or correction
of an error; to change. (adj.) change; improvement (as in reform movement)
_____________ (n) (generally) self-control; (as a movement) total self-denial or abstinence
from alcoholic liquors or drinks.
_____________ (n) a series of actions or activities that intend on bringing about a
particular end
_____________ (n) anything handed down from the past, to the next generation (posterity)
1. Abolition:
In the 1830s, Americans who were against slavery, called
abolitionists, gained momentum in their battle to end this
inhuman practice. Abolitionists believed that slavery was a
national sin, and that it was the moral obligation of every
American to help rid it from this land. Not all Americans
agreed, however, and views on slavery varied state by state,
even among family members and neighbors.
Many Americans—Northerners and Southerners alike—did not support abolitionist goals.
They believed that the anti-slavery movement created economic unsteadiness and
threatened the traditional racial social order. However, abolitionists did not give up and
eventually their legacy was one of freedom for the black race. Ultimately, in the long run,
this led to equal rights for all races but that did not happen until the 20th century.
2. Women's Rights:
Some who worked for equal rights for blacks also fought to win
equality for women. Denied admission to the World Antislavery
Convention in London in 1840, abolitionists Lucretia Mott and
Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the nation’s first women's rights
convention. The convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York, in
1848. It issued "Declaration of Women's Rights.” The legacy of
these women, and many others, includes women’s suffrage,
employment and college opportunities for women and equal pay for
equal work.
3. Temperance: The temperance movement was an attempt
to get rid of the selling and drinking of alcohol. Mostly the
same women involved in the women's rights movement were
also involved in this effort.
These women felt they needed to save the American family
by trying to get alcohol declared illegal. Alcoholism was a
serious problem in the United States, particularly in a time
when women had no right to control their own earnings and
an entire family could starve because of a drunken father. Several organizations worked
to get rid of too much drinking and eventually to pass the 18th Amendment making the
selling and drinking of alcohol illegal. This was reversed with a later amendment. The
legacy of this movement includes educational programs for school-aged students about
the dangers of drug and alcohol use and strict laws setting a legal drinking age and
outlawing drunk driving.
4. Education:
Led by Horace Mann, a great educational reformer, this
movement was led to create mandatory public education in
America and to require the training of qualified teachers. It
was eventually successful, which is the legacy of this
movement. He helped improve schools, curricula, and
instructional methods throughout the Northeast. As
secretary to the Massachusetts Board of Education, he
argued for reforms in reports submitted to the state
legislature.
5. Treatment of the Mentally Ill and Prisoners:
Reformers led by Dorothea Dix led the way to more modern
treatment of the mentally ill and prisoners. Born in Maine,
Dorothea was a supporter of education and became a
teacher, which led her to teach those in prison. Within the
walls of jails in the 19th century, criminals and the mentally
ill were all placed together in unheated, filthy cells with no
furniture to sit or lie on.
The mentally ill did not receive any treatment to help them,
and instead some were placed in chains and beaten. Because of Dorothea’s efforts, the
first mental hospital in the nation was built in the state of Massachusetts. The legacy of
Dorothea Dix’s work is that treatment programs, housing and jobs are now available in all
states for people who suffer with mental illness. Families have help in learning how to
help their mentally ill relatives instead of being ashamed to even admit that they know
someone with a psychological disorder. Medical research is constantly being done to find
more and more ways to improve the lives of those with mental illness, just as it is done
for those with physical illness. Prisons now offer educational opportunities, exercise,
counseling and transitional services so that inmates are treated justly and given “a sense
of hope” in order to return to society as a law-abiding citizen.
Textbook Chapter 14: As you skim Chapter 14 and play the activities on Classzone,
keep these questions in mind:
•
•
•
•
•
•
What was the cause of the specific reform movement? What was the legacy of each reform movement?
What is the meaning of freedom and how has it changed over time?
How do individuals and groups demonstrate control over others?
Why do people’s actions sometimes not agree with their beliefs?
What role does leadership play during times of great change?
Guess Who?
These are seven famous Americans from the Reform Movement Era.
All of them are discussed and shown in Chapter 14. However, the picture shown may not
be the same exact one shown in the book. Can you still recognize the person?
As you read, try to identify them. Put your guesses below.
1.
4.
2. 5. 1. ___________________________
3.
6. 4. _______________________
7.
6. _______________________
2. ___________________________
5. ________________________ 7. _______________________
3. ___________________________
Which reform movement would you have chosen to work on if you had lived in the
19th century? Explain why in at least three sentences.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Definitions
Era: (n) a period of time marked by distinctive characteristics and events
Reform: (v) To improve the condition of something by the adjustment or correction of an
error; to change. (adj.) change; improvement (as in reform movement)
Temperance: (n) (generally) self-control; (as a movement) total self-denial or abstinence
from alcoholic liquors or drinks.
Movement: (n) a series of actions or activities that intend on bringing about a particular
end
Legacy: (n) anything handed down from the past, to the next generation (posterity)