Reform Movement Dbq

During the mid-1800’s, a series of reform movements swept across the United States. These movements included the fight for women’s rights, slave’s rights, and the prohibition of alcohol. These reform movements spread by the use of writings, protests, and conventions.

One of the reform movements in the United States was that of the women’s rights movement. Women across the country were pushing for the right to vote and the right to wages and property. At the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote in the Declaration of Sentiments wrote that “He has denied her the facilities for obtaining a thorough education, all colleges being closed against her.” (Document 1). Stanton explains that colleges and schools were closed to women by men, who thought that women did not need an education. Stanton also included the plea for women’s suffrage at the end of this declaration. In document 5, another women’s rights activist, Susan B. Anthony, wrote a speech arguing for an end to women being taxed. She made this argument by asking why women are still taxed when they have no power or rights.

A second reform movement during this time period was that of slave’s rights and ethics in slavery.

In Document 2, the life of a slave is depicted as a difficult and inhumane life, where they worked long hours and were frequently beaten. In Document 3, Frederick Douglass describes his life as a slave saying that “My master would at times seem to take great pleasure in whipping a slave.” (Doc 3). Douglass described the treatment of slaves as being cruel and inhumane, prompting reform movements. Slaves were held captive for their entire lives, unless they escaped to the North via the Underground Railroad. Slavery was legal in the southern states, and outlawed in the North. Document 6 shows a map of the Underground Railroad, and the way that the slaves escaped their

captivity.
A third reform movement was the Temperance movement, or the prohibition of alcohol. Alcohol was seen as a bane to society that caused many conflicts. In document 4, alcohol is described as being associated with “Immorality, diseases, ignorance, profanity, and violence,” (Doc 4). Alcohol was believed to be a danger to public safety, making it so that many wanted it to be banned.
The attitudes of people and groups come into conflict when people have a difference of opinion. These attitudes can sometimes be channeled into movements such as these that aim for a change in society. A missing voice that would have been helpful in describing these movements would have been that of a person involved in the Temperance Movement. This person could have provided a specific story about why alcohol should be prohibited in society, and how it impacts people poorly.