Temperance Movement
TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT
Alcohol abuse was common in the early 1800s, especially in the West and among urban workers. Reformers blamed alcohol for poverty, the breakup of families, and crime. They called for temperance, drinking little or no alcohol. Temperance crusaders used lectures, pamphlets, and revival-style rallies to warm people of the dangers of alcohol. The movement gained a major victory in 1851, when Maine passed a law banning the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. Other states passed similar laws, but most were repealed within several years.
Alcohol abuse was common in the early 1800s, especially in the West and among urban workers. Reformers blamed alcohol for poverty, the breakup of families, and crime. They called for temperance, drinking little or no alcohol. Temperance crusaders used lectures, pamphlets, and revival-style rallies to warm people of the dangers of alcohol. The movement gained a major victory in 1851, when Maine passed a law banning the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages. Other states passed similar laws, but most were repealed within several years.
EDUCATION REFORM
A major reform movement that won widespread support was the effort to make education available to more children. The man who led this movement was Horace Mann, "the father of American public schools." As a boy in Massachusetts, he attended school only 10 weeks a year. The rest of the time, he had to work on the family farm.
Few areas had public schools--schools paid for by taxes. Wealthy parents sent their children to private school or hired tutors at home. On the frontier, 60 children might attend a part-time, one-room school. Their teachers had limited education and received little pay. Most children simply did not go to school. In the cities, some poor children stole, destroyed property, and set fires. Reformers believed that education would help these children escape poverty and become good citizens.
In Massachusetts, Horace Mann became the state's supervisor of education. The citizens voted to pay taxes to build better schools, to pay teachers higher salaries and to establish special training schools for teachers. In addition, Mann lengthened the school year to 6 months and made improvements in school curriculum. By the mid-1800s, most states had accepted three basic principles of public education: that school should be free and supported by taxes, that teachers should be trained and that children should be required to attend school.
By 1850, many states in the North and West used Mann's ideas. But America still did not offer education to everyone. Most high schools and colleges did not admit females. When towns did allow African Americans to attend school, most made them go to separate schools that received less money. Education for women did make some progress. In 1837, Ohio's Oberlin College became the first college to accept women, in addition to men. In 1837, Mary Lyon founded Mount Holyoke, teh nation's first permanent women's college.
Some reformers focused on teaching people with disabilities. Thomas Galludet, who developed a method to education people who were hearing impaired, opened the Hartford School for the Deaf in Connecticut in 1817. At about the same time, Dr. Samuel Howe advanced the cause of those who were visually impaired. He developed books with large raised letters that people with sigh impairments could "read" with their fingers. Howe headed the Perkins Institute, a schools for the blind, in Boston.
Few areas had public schools--schools paid for by taxes. Wealthy parents sent their children to private school or hired tutors at home. On the frontier, 60 children might attend a part-time, one-room school. Their teachers had limited education and received little pay. Most children simply did not go to school. In the cities, some poor children stole, destroyed property, and set fires. Reformers believed that education would help these children escape poverty and become good citizens.
In Massachusetts, Horace Mann became the state's supervisor of education. The citizens voted to pay taxes to build better schools, to pay teachers higher salaries and to establish special training schools for teachers. In addition, Mann lengthened the school year to 6 months and made improvements in school curriculum. By the mid-1800s, most states had accepted three basic principles of public education: that school should be free and supported by taxes, that teachers should be trained and that children should be required to attend school.
By 1850, many states in the North and West used Mann's ideas. But America still did not offer education to everyone. Most high schools and colleges did not admit females. When towns did allow African Americans to attend school, most made them go to separate schools that received less money. Education for women did make some progress. In 1837, Ohio's Oberlin College became the first college to accept women, in addition to men. In 1837, Mary Lyon founded Mount Holyoke, teh nation's first permanent women's college.
Some reformers focused on teaching people with disabilities. Thomas Galludet, who developed a method to education people who were hearing impaired, opened the Hartford School for the Deaf in Connecticut in 1817. At about the same time, Dr. Samuel Howe advanced the cause of those who were visually impaired. He developed books with large raised letters that people with sigh impairments could "read" with their fingers. Howe headed the Perkins Institute, a schools for the blind, in Boston.
PRISON and ASYLUM REFORM
One day in 1841, a Boston woman named Dorothea Dix agreed to teach Sunday school at a jail. What she witnessed that day changed her life forever. She was horrified to see that many inmates were bound in chains and locked in cages. Children accused of minor thefts were jailed with adult criminals. She wanted to find out if the conditions were this bad everywhere else.
To find out, she visited hunderds of jails and prisons throughout Massachusetts. She also visited debtors' prisons, or jails for people who owed money. Most of the thousands of Americans in debtors' prisons owed less than $20. While they were locked up, they could not earn money to repay their debts. As a result, they were imprisoned for years.
What shocked Dorothea most of all was the way mentally ill people were treated. Most people who were judged "insane" were locked away in dirty, crowded prison cells. If they misbehaved, they were whipped. Dorothea and other reformers believed that the mentally ill needed treatment and care, not punishment. Massachusetts had one private asylum, or hospital for the mentally ill. But only the wealthy could afford to send a family member there.
For two years she quietly gathered firsthand information about the horrors she had seen, preparing a detailed report for the Massachusetts state legislature. "I come as the advocate of helpless, forgotten, insane and idiotic men and women," she said. "I proceed, gentlemen, briefly call to call your attention to the present state of insane persons, confined...in cages, closets, cellars, stalls and pens! Chained, naked, beaten with rods, and lashed into obedience!" Shocked by her report, lawmakers voted to create public asylums for the mentally ill.
Out Of An Insane Asylum: A Patient’s Account
Inspired by her success, she visited prisons in other states as well. After she prepared reports demanding justice for the mentally ill, those states also created special mental hospitals. She continued campaigning for reform for the rest of her life. By the time she died in 1887, state governments no longer put debtors in prison. Most had created special justice systems for children in trouble. And many had outlawed cruel punishments, such as branding people with hot irons. By 1835, America was considered to have two of the "best" prisons in the world in Pennsylvania. Astonishingly, reformers from Europe looked to the new nation as a model for building, utilizing and improving their own systems. Advocates for prisoners believed that deviants could change and that a prison stay could have a positive effect. It was a revolutionary idea in the beginning of the 19th century that society rather than individuals had the responsibility for criminal activity and had the duty to treat neglected children and rehabilitate alcoholics.
To find out, she visited hunderds of jails and prisons throughout Massachusetts. She also visited debtors' prisons, or jails for people who owed money. Most of the thousands of Americans in debtors' prisons owed less than $20. While they were locked up, they could not earn money to repay their debts. As a result, they were imprisoned for years.
What shocked Dorothea most of all was the way mentally ill people were treated. Most people who were judged "insane" were locked away in dirty, crowded prison cells. If they misbehaved, they were whipped. Dorothea and other reformers believed that the mentally ill needed treatment and care, not punishment. Massachusetts had one private asylum, or hospital for the mentally ill. But only the wealthy could afford to send a family member there.
For two years she quietly gathered firsthand information about the horrors she had seen, preparing a detailed report for the Massachusetts state legislature. "I come as the advocate of helpless, forgotten, insane and idiotic men and women," she said. "I proceed, gentlemen, briefly call to call your attention to the present state of insane persons, confined...in cages, closets, cellars, stalls and pens! Chained, naked, beaten with rods, and lashed into obedience!" Shocked by her report, lawmakers voted to create public asylums for the mentally ill.
Out Of An Insane Asylum: A Patient’s Account
Inspired by her success, she visited prisons in other states as well. After she prepared reports demanding justice for the mentally ill, those states also created special mental hospitals. She continued campaigning for reform for the rest of her life. By the time she died in 1887, state governments no longer put debtors in prison. Most had created special justice systems for children in trouble. And many had outlawed cruel punishments, such as branding people with hot irons. By 1835, America was considered to have two of the "best" prisons in the world in Pennsylvania. Astonishingly, reformers from Europe looked to the new nation as a model for building, utilizing and improving their own systems. Advocates for prisoners believed that deviants could change and that a prison stay could have a positive effect. It was a revolutionary idea in the beginning of the 19th century that society rather than individuals had the responsibility for criminal activity and had the duty to treat neglected children and rehabilitate alcoholics.
Women's Movement
The organized movement for women's rights was sparked by the friendship between Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The two women met in 1840 at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London and were shocked to find that women were not allowed to speak at the meeting. Eight years passed before they met again back home when they decided to send a notice to a local newspaper announcing a women's convention in Seneca Falls, New York.
On July 19, 1848, almost 300 people, including 40 men, arrived for the Convention. The organizers modeling their proposal for women's rights, the Declaration of Sentiments, after the Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident," the document began, "that all men and women are created equal." Just as the DOI listed King George's acts of tyranny over the colonists, the new declaration listed acts of tyranny by men over women. This convention helped to create an organized campaign for women's rights.
Excerpts from Declaration of Sentiments
On July 19, 1848, almost 300 people, including 40 men, arrived for the Convention. The organizers modeling their proposal for women's rights, the Declaration of Sentiments, after the Declaration of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident," the document began, "that all men and women are created equal." Just as the DOI listed King George's acts of tyranny over the colonists, the new declaration listed acts of tyranny by men over women. This convention helped to create an organized campaign for women's rights.
Excerpts from Declaration of Sentiments
WORKER'S RIGHTS
Many of the early textile factory owners employed large numbers of children. Some of these children were apprentices and many were often orphans who were sent to factories from the large towns. The factory owners paid overseers to make sure the children worked as hard as they could. The more work the children did the more the overseers were paid, which was why many of them were given whips. Children were also used to fix machines, as they were smaller and could fit in tight spaces, as a result, injuries were common.