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History of slavery
Slavery and civil rights movement
History of slavery
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The United States was in a period of social and political adjustment in the early 1800s. Reform movements during this time period aimed to increase public awareness about their issues and to create social and political change. Groups such as blacks and women continued to be oppressed, so they created The Abolitionist Movement and The Women’s Rights Movement respectively, which aimed to fight for the rights that political leaders in the 19th century neglected. In the 1800s, the democratic values that most reform movements planned to obtain were free voting and public education. Most reform movements in the United States sought to achieve core democratic values such as liberty in different ways. The Abolitionist Movement aimed to emancipate all …show more content…
Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, two leaders of the fight for women’s rights, called the Seneca Fall Convention to express the views of oppressed women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton expresses her views in the Seneca Falls Declaration when she remarks, “to declare our right to be free as a man is free”. Stanton believes that the Women’s Rights Movement must achieve the democratic ideal of liberty to be successful, so she women can only gain liberty when they have the same rights as men. The Constitution of the Brook Farm Association also portrays many of the goals of the Women’s Rights Movement, especially on education when the document writes, “the benefits of the highest physical, intellectual and moral education”. The Brook Farm Association strives for equal education opportunities for all people, which gives women an ability to pursue a job. The Women’s Right Movement sought to achieve very specific democratic values because they valued voting rights and …show more content…
However, some reform movements did not attempt to progress democracy, and these movements instead vied to adjust religious and social norms such as the Temperance Movement, which went against the consumption of alcohol. A reform movement’s need for a clear plan to achieve their goal was essential in the success of the movement. The Women’s Rights Movement was very successful in its fight for democratic ideals because women gained suffrage in 1920. However, the abolitionists were unsuccessful in ending racial discrimination and achieving voting rights until the middle of the 20th century. The fight for liberty was often the driving force behind reform movements in the early
Women played a huge role in the reform movements. Black women were probably the worst treated at the time (Document C). Women who were immigrants or in the poorer class also had it bad. But all women were not allowed the right to vote and there was barely any property rights for them. A movement to expand the democratic ideal of equality was the Seneca Falls Convention. (Document
Some of the evils that the reformers of the period 1820-1860 were attempting to eliminate was the increased alcohol usage in that time period. The temperance movement was important because many people living in the northern United States were operating machinery and factory owners did not want their employees drunk while operating heavy machinery. Another evil that the reformers of the period were trying to eliminate was slavery. Many of the abolitionist came from the northern United States and believed that blacks should have equal rights to whites. Another evil that the reformers were attempting to eliminate was the inequality of women. Similar to slavery, many reformers believed that women should have equal rights to males in terms of pay for work, political rights, and social conventions. Next, the reformers were attempting to reform the education system. The reformers were attempting to make the education more public and with a more comprehensive curriculum. Lastly, another reform was a religious reform in which preachers were attempting to spread Christianity and inspire people to become more involved in Christianity.
Reform movements in the United States sought to expand democratic ideals. Assess the validity of this statement with specific reference to the years 1825-1850.’ Reform movements in the United States sought to expand democratic ideals from the quarter century time period of 1825-1850 also known as the Second Great Awakening. These democratic ideals included voting for everyone eighteen and older (with the exception of minors, women, insane, and criminals), freedom of expression, press, speech and religion, election of officials, property rights, free and public education, more than one political party, equal rights, equality before the law entitling a person to due process, separation of church and state, tolerance of diversity, institutional uncertainty, protection of minority rights, and no special privileges. Teaching them the habits of thrift, orderliness, temperance and industry was a way to not only better their lives but a way to instill certain so-called democratic values and advance the perfection of the whole of society.
However, the writers of the Constitution had omitted women in that pivotal statement which left women to be denied these “unalienable” rights given to every countryman. Gaining the support of many, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the leader of the Women’s Rights Movement declared at Seneca Falls that women had the same rights as men including the right to vote and be a part of government. The Women’s Rights movement gained support due to the years of abuse women endured. For years, men had “the power to chastise and imprison his wife…” and they were tired of suffering (Doc I). The new concept of the cult of domesticity supported women’s roles in society but created greater divisions between men and women.
Various reform movements and revolutions occurred in the time period between the years 1825 through 1850. Justice, freedom, liberty, equality, and the purist of happiness are all democratic values considered to enforce the reform movements of this time period. The democratic ideals tried to cut the social separation and discordance present in America mainly between the south and north sections. Originating from the Second Great Awaking with vast religious reinforcement democratic ideals spread through the new reform movements. Main movements that supported the democratic views included the Second Great Awaking revival, antislavery reform and more equal rights movements for women and men.
More than three hundred citizens came to take part in one of the most important documents written in women’s history during the Women’s Right’s Convention in upstate Seneca, New York, led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott on July 19-20, 1848 (Ryder). Stanton became persistent when she included a resolution supporting voting rights for women in the document, intimidated by this notion her loyal husband threatened to boycott the convention. “Even Lucretia Mott warned her, ‘Why Lizzie, thee will make us ridiculous!’ ‘Lizzie,’ however, refused to yield” (Rynder). As Mott dreaded, out of eleven resolutions the most argumentative was the ninth–women’s suffrage resolution. The other 10 resolutions passed consistently. “According to Cady Stanton’s account, most who opposed this resolution did so because they believed it would compromise the others. She, however, remained adamant” (Rynder). When the two-day convention was over, one hundred men and women signed the historical the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments to...
In early nineteenth century there was the antislavery movement which was a failure. This people who were fighting for antislavery did not have a great support. They were nice gentle people who argued with an expression of moral disapproval but did not participate in an exert of activities. Organizations were formed to help support the freeing of slaves but these organizations did not have enough economical support to help with the thousands and thousands of slaves reproducing in America. They were able to free some slaves and tried returning some of them to their home lands in Africa but that was a failure because the amount of money need it to ship the Africans back to Africa was a high cost compared to the economical support that they had. There was even resistance from some Afr...
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.
Carter G. Woodson: Negro Orators ansd Their Orations (New York, NY, 1925) and The Mind of the Negro (Washington, DC., 1926).
Between the years 1776 and 1876, many people from different backgrounds and religions joined the fight for women's rights. Among them were some of today's most memorable female activists, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was also a mother of seven children. She was first influenced by a Quaker woman, named Lucretia Mott, who she met outside of a world antislavery convention in 1840. Eventually, Stanton joined Susan B. Anthony, who was a fearless "militant lecturer for women's rights," in "a more strident, drive for divorce liberation, sexual freedom, and reproductive control for women. Other crusaders for women's rights include Amelia Bloomer, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, and even the second first lady, Abigail Adams. Those who opposed the suffragists believed women to be inferior and "irresponsible" beings who were "physically and emotionally weak, but also artistic and refined." They also had "finely tuned morals" and were the "keepers of society's conscience." On the other hand, men were thought of as "strong but crude" and with a natural tyrannical and savage nature that needed to be "guided by the gentle hands of their loving ladies." Abigail confirms the male's natural desire for arbitrary power in Document B, for she stated, "[...] all Men would be tyrants if they could."
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.
“Compare and contrast women’s suffrage movements of the late nineteenth and early centuries with the European feminist movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s.”
Susan B. Anthony who was a Quaker, was therefore opposed to the immorality slavery but also played a role in the movement calling for equality and rights of women. Anthony was inspired by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was also active in both movements, but very famous for her aggressive action in the Women's Movement, which can be shown by Document I. Elizabeth Cady Stanton played a very important role in The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848. This convention also sought to expand democratic ideals, and more radically than perhaps any other event of any movement. They produced a declaration which stated that all men and women are created equal, and should therefore be treated equal. Stanton believed that women should be equally "represented in the government" and demanded for the right to vote.
The temperance movement advocated for the containment and/or prohibition of alcohol. Protestant religious organizations saw an increase in size during this movement, and their influence was spread to Western and Rural sections of the country. Women played a huge role, laying the groundwork for the womens’ movement. With abolitionists, their main concern was abolishing slavery and not allowing it in new states. Slavery and its expansion became an important political issue during this time. Women also played a big role in this movement. Public school reformers worked for required schooling of children through free schools supported by taxpayers and staffed by trained teachers. Education became a right for all children and improved the quality
Beginning in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century women began to vocalize their opinions and desires for the right to vote. The Women’s Suffrage movement paved the way to the nineteenth Amendment in the United States Constitution that allowed women that right. The Women’s Suffrage movement started a movement for equal rights for women that has continued to propel equal opportunities for women throughout the country. The Women’s Liberation Movement has sparked better opportunities, demanded respect and pioneered the path for women entering in the workforce that was started by the right to vote and given momentum in the late 1950s.