http://www.learner.org/courses/amerhistory/units/8/video/ See first 23 minutes of video above for introduction to Religion, Intellectual Growth and Reform in Antebellum America http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t62fuzjvjos&list=pl8dpuualjxtmwmepbjtsg593eg7obzo7s&index=15 Crash Course US History 19 th Century Reforms (Episode 15) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm1czs_vydi&index=16&list=pl8dpuualjxtmwmepbjtsg593eg7obzo7s Crash Course US History Women in the 19 th Century (Episode 16)
The religious revival known as the 2nd Great Awakening beginning in the 1820 s 1840 s sparks nationwide reform movements
The emotional appeal of new style religious leaders of the 2 nd Great Awakening connects with the Common Man in the new industrial age
The New Religious Philosophy of the 2 nd Great Awakening Charles G. Finney and other evangelical Protestant ministers of 2 nd Great Awakening stress free will & good works in order to perfect mankind on earth instead of just hoping for salvation that was predestined. They preach that people are moral free agents with free will to do good works and spark a benevolent empire of new social reform movements that aims at perfectionism on earth. Women play a greater roll in these efforts to reform & perfect their families and society as a whole.
Outdoor evangelical Camp Meetings are a popular new strategy aimed at the common man who lived in rural areas New Protestant Denominations Grow During the 2 nd Great Awakening Ex: Unitarian, Episcopalian & Presbyterian Churches in the North Methodist & Baptist Churches in the South
A famous example of the evangelical fervor of the era was the so-called Burned Over District Western NY (along the Erie Canal) that was figuratively ablaze with revivalism Each dot represents a camp style revival meeting during the 1830 s & 1840 s
What were some major Antebellum Intellectual and Literary Developments? Example: Lyceums
Example: Ralph Waldo Emerson & Transcendentalism Transcendentalism was (and is) difficult to categorize, as it could be viewed as a: Spiritual movement Philosophical movement & Literary movement Emerson himself provided a fairly open definition in his 1842 essay The Transcendentalist : The Transcendentalist adopts the whole connection of spiritual doctrine. He believes in miracle, in the perpetual openness of the human mind to new influx of light and power; he believes in inspiration, and in ecstasy. He wishes that the spiritual principle should be suffered to demonstrate itself to the end, in all possible applications to the state of man, without the admission of anything unspiritual; that is, anything positive, dogmatic, personal. Thus, the spiritual measure of inspiration is the depth of the thought, and never, who said it? And so he resists all attempts to mimic other rules and measures on the spirit than its own.
Example: Henry David Thoreau & Walden - A reaction to industrialization Another Definition of Transcendentalism: A 19th-century idealistic, philosophical and social movement stressing that divinity pervades all nature. Transcendentalists believed key to happiness was for people to follow their own individual, intuitive beliefs above scientific and empirical evidence. In this way, individuals can transcend authority and tradition to find their own truth by examining nature and the human spirit
Example: Walt Whitman Non Conformist, transcendentalist inspired poet A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books. I say to mankind, be not curious about God. For I, who am curious about each, am not curious about God - I hear and behold God in every object, yet understand God not in the least. Be curious, not judgmental. Freedom means to walk independently and know no superior. Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.
Other major antebellum American literary figures including Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville were split on support of transcendentalism
Antebellum Religious Evangelism & Intellectualism Spawns New Social Activism Example: the Benevolent Empire
Ex: Temperance Movement
Institutional Reform (Schools, Prisons & Hospitals) Ex: Dorothea Dix and Insane Asylums
Women reformers realize that to change society in a great way, they need to vote leading to the Suffrage Movement Example: Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony at Seneca Falls Convention - 1848
However, the anti-slavery movement (Abolitionism) becomes the most widespread reform effort of the antebellum period Abolitionists were very diverse in motivations & goals Examples: American Colonization Society (Conservative) Gradualists (Moderate) Immediate Abolition & Social Equality for Africa-Americans (Radicals) All oppose slavery, but solutions differed greatly
Most well known Radical Abolitionists: Frederick Douglass William Lloyd Garrison
Harriet Beecher Stowe Abolitionist Strategies Include: Appeal To Public Opinion
Political Pressure
Help slaves escape Exaple : Underground Railroad Map 12.3 The Underground Railroad in the 1850s (p. 356)
Violent Uprising Example: Turner s Rebellion - 1831
Stronger Abolition Movement Triggers Even Stronger Defense of Slavery Historical, Economic, Religious, Social & Racial arguments from those who saw the peculiar institution not as a necessary evil, but a positive good Example: John C. Calhoun of South Carolina becomes the major antebellum voice in Congress for slavery & states rights
Religious Revivalism and a backlash against industrialization spark the creation of many unique American utopian communities that separate from society instead of trying to reform it. Examples Mormons Shakers Oneida Brook Farm
Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and Mormon Exodus to Utah Map 12.2 The Mormon Trek, 1830-1848 (p. 350)
Short Lived Transcendentalist Brook Farm Community in Mass.
Simplistic Religious Utopian Community The Shakers
John Humphry Noyes and the Oneida Free Love Community in upstate NY
Chapter 11 HW: Antebellum Social & Intellectual Reformers Lyceum Activity Starting on Friday this week we will simulate a lyceum in class. This activity will mimic the teach-in style events popular in many parts of the United States during the later antebellum period. Before TV or the internet, lyceums were a way for average citizens to learn about new ideas by listening to traveling lecturers who gave talks and answered questions on various subjects. The format for the lyceum activity in our class will be similar to that of a modern talk show. You will come up with questions and answers in the voice of a significant intellectual or reformers from the antebellum period. You need to blend information from both primary & secondary sources in your lyceum questions & answers. Homework Assignment - DUE Friday 10/23 Read the primary source document posted on RHS website you are assigned, Chapter 11 and relevant websites. Write thought provoking questions for your reformer on their: Background (Context), Motivation (Point of View), Goals (Purpose) and Actions (Audience). Your questions should help listeners understand the reformers beliefs and impacts on American society during the 19 th Century and beyond. Write answers to the questions you create (a thoughtful paragraph each) in the first person. Include some direct quotes from the primary source reading as well as appropriate outside information in your answers. Historical Figure Reform or Intellectual Movement Primary SourceReading Henry David Thoreau Transcendentalism Walden Shakers Utopian Religious Community War & Peace A Shaker Viewpoint Frederick Douglass Abolitionism The Meaning of July 4 th for the Negro Elizabeth Cady Stanton Women s Rights Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions Dorothea Dix Institutional Reform Report to the Massachusetts Legislature
Dorthea Dix Background (Context) Motivation (Point of View) Goals (Purpose) Actions (Audience)
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Background (Context) Motivation (Point of View) Goals (Purpose) Actions (Audience)
Henry David Thoreau Background (Context) Motivation (Point of View) Goals (Purpose) Actions (Audience)
Frederick Douglass Background (Context) Motivation (Point of View) Goals (Purpose) Actions (Audience)
Shaker Community Member Background (Context) Motivation (Point of View) Goals (Purpose) Actions (Audience)