Reform movements are a key characteristic in the Antebellum period. Many groups sought to reform and uplift society in many ways, with many ideals in mind. Some main ideas that motivated and inspired this effort to remake and reform American society during the antebellum years are: the perfecting of our institutions; equal rights; religion; helping the young generation rise; war; and women’s rights. Multiple topics occur when you begin to talk about the Antebellum Reforms. One of the most important issues (in my opinion) is the elevation of our people and the perfection of our institutions. Andrew Jackson gave a speech in 1828 stating how the ultimate purpose of the “elevation our people and perfection our institutions” is so that we (the …show more content…
U.S.) can become more endowed with divinity throughout our character, democracy, etc. through the Lord Jesus Christ. Jackson’s perspective gives you a sensation as though he is bluntly saying, “we cannot do anything without the Lord being involved in every aspect of our lives; because without him, we can not reach a certain point of perfection.” Another issue of the Antebellum Reforms period was equal rights; William Lloyd Garrison published a book called The Liberator in 1831, which clearly supported the subject of enfranchisement of the slave population. The primary motivation for Garrison’s establishment of this book in Boston was so that numerous individuals would hear his voice, and his perspective of the enfranchisement of the slave population. He also wanted to reassure to the people of America that all men were created equal with certain unalienable rights (life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness) . Religion was another enormous contribution to the list of things that inspired reformation. Religion has been the basis of the most important American settlements. According to Francis Grund, religion was the inspiration behind Americans’ “civil and political” reforms; religion has assisted the United States throughout history. Religion has played a major role in the lives of all citizens during the building and expansion of the United States into the West. Its greatest influence occurred upon not only the attitudes of people, but also their actions. Evangelicalism was the main religion which people lived by during the 1800s as its influence in the Second Great Awakening. Relating back to what I was talking about earlier (elevating our people and perfecting our institutions through Jesus Christ) , we must prepare the children of our great nation (the United States) by developing their knowledge through education, instill the fruits of the spirit in their lives, and teach them to reverence for the many things that are sacred and holy.
The only way we can do this is through Jesus Christ, because no one on this earth is perfect, therefore stating that no living being can teach another individual something to the extent of perfect Godliness, as God himself. This document (document #4) relates to document #1 because both of the documents talk openly about how God is the only way to any wise opportunity in life, including politics and the governing of this fine nation. War—no, not the war in Iraq—the Mexican War; it occurred from 1846-1848 and it was concerning the Republic of Texas, and how it was annexed by the United States (this was the underlying cause of the war) . The problem was that Mexico objected to …show more content…
annexation, holding that Texas was still part of that country, even though Texans had fought and won their independence nearly ten years earlier and had been formally recognized as a sovereign nation by the United States, Great Britain, France, and other countries. According to Theodore Parker, a Massachusetts Unitarian minister, war was an utter violation of Christianity…Parker’s opposition to the Mexican War and wider involvement for world peace occurred because Parker knew that (supposedly to the Christians) war was a horrible and dreadful thing to be included in during the 1800’s. The final and major issue that directly affected the Antebellum Reformation years is women’s rights.
The “Declaration of Sentiments” was issued by the women’s rights convention at Seneca Falls, NY in July 1848; the main goal was to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of American women. The Declaration of Sediments clearly states that all men and women are created equally, and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. It also states that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of those who are suffering from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new government. One of the main ideas suggested here as a motive behind the women’s rights movement is the fact that women were suffering; they were not treated as they should have been treated. Women back in the day could not have a voice or say in anything. Their jobs just consisted of cooking, cleaning, etc. for their entire lives. They were not allowed to vote, or have a verbal opinion of politics, or whatever was currently going on that was important to men. However, when the “Declaration of Sentiments” was issued by the women’s rights conventions, and multiple valid points were made, it was then that people started to realize the seriousness and importance of our American women. They then reconsidered the issues and rights of the women, and gave them more freedom (slowly but surely)
. In conclusion, the forces or ideas that motivated and inspired this effort to remake and reform American society during the Antebellum years were: the perfecting of our institutions; equal rights; religion; helping the young generation rise; war; along with women’s rights. There are many different debates that can be used within these topic regions, but in my opinion, religion is the most important factor of all because it deals with our relationship to God; if our (America as a whole) relationship with God is correct, then everything would equally balance out, to some extent. The world would not be in the dreadful state that it is today, if our leaders (president, government, etc.) were in the right relationship with God. Maybe, just maybe their self absorbed self conscious would not be as big, and they would start considering other people for a change. In other words, if people had the correct relationship with God that they ought to, then we (America) probably would not have to worry about the problems that we have today because God would take care of the problems instead of man trying to “fix” or “reform it” himself.
The Antebellum Era between the years of 1825 to 1850 was abundant with many reform movements that signified great change within the people of the nation. Although many of these changes were good and lasting reforms, extremists’ stark views did the contrary and inhibited change. Luckily, reform movements such as the women’s rights movement, the abolition of slavery, and temperance all led the nation in the right direction towards the expansion of democratic ideals. These ideals encompass the belief that all citizens are equal and are entitled to certain unalienable rights.
... points in social reform from Jacksonian Democracy was abolition. The logic was that social reform also applied to slavery and almost more than any other institution. The reasoning behind this was that slaves resisted their own enslavement. Slavery was opposed in the 18th century by Quakers and few other whites, even though the American Revolution with its rhetoric about equal and universal rights called slavery into serious question. The Northern States abolished it and the Southern slave owners (upper south mind you) thought about liberating slaves. However it wasn’t until the 1830s that a number of middle class Norteños (northerners) began to demand immediate emancipation of slaves for their incorporation as equals in the Republic. Just as other social reforms had taken root with mostly radical Norteño Whigs, abolitionism soon found its way to them. This was a basis for the middle class revivals of the 1820s and 1830s.
The Antebellum period was a time of reform and improvement. After the War of 1812, America went through a period of westward expansion, patriotism and an economic emergence as a world power. Their new found power as a country inspired reformation. Abolitionists worked to end the institution of slavery through protests, rallies, and the formation of societies; women’s rights activists advocated in a similar way. Simultaneously, many Americans supported the government’s efforts to remove Native Americans from their own land. Americans during the Antebellum period were ambitious, but contradictory in their activism; while many activists fought for the rights of slaves and women, others sought to curtail rights of Native Americans.
In the 1840’s, most of American women were beginning to become agitated by the morals and values that were expected of womanhood. “Historians have named this the ’Cult of True Womanhood’: that is, the idea that the only ‘true’ woman was a pious, submissive wife and mother concerned exclusively with home and family” (History.com). Voting was only the right of men, but women were on the brink to let their voices be heard. Women pioneers such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott wrote eleven resolutions in The Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments; this historical document demanded abolishment of any laws that authorized unequal treatment of women and to allow for passage of a suffrage amendment.
During America's early history, women were denied some of the rights to well-being by men. For example, married women couldn't own property and had no legal claim to any money that they might earn, and women hadn't the right to vote. They were expected to focus on housework and motherhood, and didn't have to join politics. On the contrary, they didn't have to be interested in them. Then, in order to ratify this amendment they were prompted to a long and hard fight; victory took decades of agitation and protest. Beginning in the 19th century, some generations of women's suffrage supporters lobbied to achieve what a lot of Americans needed: a radical change of the Constitution. The movement for women's rights began to organize after 1848 at the national level. In July of that year, reformers Elizabeth Cady Stanton(1815-1902) and Lucretia Mott (1793-1880), along with Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) and other activists organized the first convention for women's rights at Seneca Falls, New York. More than 300 people, mostly women but also some men, attended it. Then, they raised public awar...
While some citizens of the United States, between 1825 and 1850, believed that reform was foolish and that the nation should stick to its old conduct, reformists in this time period still sought to make the United States a more ideally democratic nation. This was an age of nationalism and pride, and where there was pride in one’s country, there was the aspiration to improve one’s country even further. Many new reformist and abolitionist groups began to form, all attempting to change aspects of the United States that the respective groups thought to be unfair or unjust. Some groups, such as lower and middle class women and immigrants, sought to improve rights within the county, while other reformers aspired to change the American education system into a more efficient way of teaching the county’s youth. Still other reform groups, particularly involved in the church and the second great awakening, wanted to change society as a whole. This was a time and age of change, and all these reforms were intended to contribute to the democratic way our country operated.
Sixty- nine years after the Declaration of Independence, one group of women gathered together and formed the Seneca Falls Convention. Prior and subsequent to the convention, women were not allowed to vote because they were not considered equal to men. During the convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton delivered the “Declaration of Sentiments.” It intentionally resembles the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal…” (Stanton, 466). She replaced the “men” with “men and women” to represent that women and men should be treated equally. Stanton and the other women in the convention tried to fight for voting rights. Dismally, when the Equal Rights Amendment was introduced to the Congress, the act failed to be passed. Even though women voiced their opinions out and urged for justice, they could not get 2/3 of the states to agree to pass the amendment. Women wanted to tackle on the voting inequalities, but was resulted with more inequalities because people failed to listen to them. One reason why women did not achieve their goals was because the image of the traditional roles of women was difficult to break through. During this time period, many people believed that women should remain as traditional housewives.
The years after the civil war left one half of America, the north, satisfied and the other half, the south, mostly dissatisfied. Therefore the last third of the nineteenth century, 1865-1900, was a time period in which America was mending, repairing, improving, reshaping, and reconstructing its society, economy, culture, and policies. Basically it was changing everything it stood for. This continual change can be seen in the following events that took place during this time. These events are both causes and effects of why America is what it is today. These are some examples: the reconstruction of the south, the great movement towards the west, the agricultural revolution, the rise of industrialism, the completion of the transcontinental railroad, and America's growth to gaining world power. All of these are reasons and events that characterize America as being an ever-changing nation.
At Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, Stanton helped draft a Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions. In it, the advocates of women's rights accused "mankind" of "repeated injuries and usurpations" toward women. They said that men had "oppressed them on all sides." And they demanded equal access to education, the trades, professions, and an end to the double standards that existed for men and women. Only by doing away with laws that "restricted women's freedom or placed her in a position inferior to men" could women achieve equality (153).
Stanton and Mott were infuriated with the rejection of women, so they decided to hold a women’s rights meeting. This meeting was considered a Women’s Rights convention and was held in Seneca Falls. This was the very first meeting and was held in New York. Stanton then composed “The Declaration of Sentiments.” The text proposed that women should receive the right education, and changes to the law to raise the status of a “lady.”
American reform movements in the early to mid 1800’s strived at improving our developing society. America was growing larger, and with the expanding population, many new ideas sprang up. Conflicting opinions between the people of the United States caused the emergence of an Age of Reform, where people tried to change things such as the educational system and women’s rights. These movements were the result of our nation’s self-determination and interest in improving the society we live in.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions in order to convince the men her time that women should be equal and have the right to vote. She uses the Declaration of Independence to attract readers which makes it much easier for her to explain her purpose. She is trying to explain that, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, depriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Her purpose is clear; she takes the time to show how wrongly men of this time treated women and what should be done to resolve that. She explains that women should have the right to vote and have other responsibilities in government. She shows other examples from the Declaration of Independence and resolutions on how to make man and woman equal. She is trying to show how important it is to create a balance between genders and how each can learn from each other.
The Age of Reform throughout 1825-1850 was a great turning point for American society. The ideas and beliefs throughout the reform movements greatly expanded the democratic ideals. Reform movements in the United States sought to express ideas through religion and education, start movements through abolition and temperance acts, expand beliefs by caring for the insane, and take a stand by speaking up for personal rights .
With all good intentions, comes hatred. The backlash began seemingly as soon as the women mentioned voting rights. The media shamelessly discredited the Declaration of Sentiments, embarrassing and attacking every person who signed the Declaration. Most women stood strong. What was not anticipated was the positive impact the criticism had on people of highly populated cities and small towns alike, alerting men and women about the rights a woman should have.
For many years leading up to the “Declaration of Sentiments”, women were only responsible for having and taking care of the children and keeping the house clean. They had no voice in politics, but they also had no voice at home. On July 13th, 1848, a group of women, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, were fed up with injustice and began discussing their frustrations over tea. They felt the strong need for a change, like many other women during this time, because they believed that they had positive influences for the society and deserved for them to be heard. This powerful group of women gathered with others and created a form of “The Declaration of Independence” that included female rights as well, which they called, “The Declaration of Sentiments”.