The period of time between 1820 and 1933 saw a surge in reform movements in the United States. This period of reform was ignited by the Second Great Awakening, a religious revival that occurred during the early 1800s. Individuals who were inspired by the Second Great
Awakening wished to improve society, and thus set up several reform movements. The movement to abolish slavery was spearheaded by radical abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison. The abolitionist movement would ultimately conclude with the Union’s victory in the
Civil War. Another reform movement begun as a result of the Second
Great Awakening was the temperance movement, which opposed the consumption of alcohol. The temperance movement achieved its goal with the 18th Amendment
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Alcohol also caused some men to become abusive and left women and children at their mercy. In the later 1800s, these women who supported temperance banded together and formed the Women’s
Christian Temperance Union. Their most effective leader was educator and reformer Frances Willard who lobbied for the abolition of alcohol from society. In addition, as the Industrial Revolution progressed, more and more factory owners and employers supported temperance, as that would increase workplace productivity and efficiency. The temperance movement had grown so strong that in 1919, the Progressives enacted the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act, prohibiting the production, distribution, and sale of alcohol. Prohibition was begun, however, it lacked complete support especially in many urban areas.
Many immigrant groups and religious minorities such as Catholics held on to their traditional habits regarding the consumption of alcohol.
While Prohibition did decrease the total amount of alcohol consumption in the United States, by no means did it completely eradicate it, as it
U.S. Hist. & Gov. Rating Guide – June ’16 [9] Vol. 1
Anchor Paper – Thematic Essay—Level 5 – A sought to do. In fact, prohibition increased lawlessness and a lack
Enacting prohibition in a culture so immersed in alcohol as America was not easy. American had long been a nation of strong social drinkers with a strong feeling towards personal freedom. As Okrent remarks, “George Washington had a still on his farm. James Madison downed a pint of whiskey a day”. This was an era when drinking liquor on ships was far safer than the stale scummy water aboard, and it was common fo...
“The connection between the revivals of the Second Great Awakening and abolition was so strong that it would hardly be an overstatement to say that the revivals were responsible for antislavery becoming a radical national movement.” During the time period, evangelical religion underlay the culture of America to such an extent that the revivals of the 1830s resulted in “tangible” structures for social reform — the revivals touched many aspects of political and social life. The revivals implicitly created political obligations and led to a demand for an activist
In order to truly understand Canadian prohibition the prior temperance movement must be examined. During the 19th century, alcohol was seen as a great evil (citation needed). This evil harmed the family unit and society. This was the view of the teetotalers who abstained from alcoholic beverages on a moral basis (citation needed). The teetotalers thought that their morals came from the Judeo-Christian God, and that curing society from the evil of alcohol was necessary for “Social Salvation.” (Citation needed)
The Second Great Awakening was extremely influential in sparking the idea of reform in the minds of people across America. Most people in America just accepted things the way they were until this time. Reforms took place due to the increase of industrial growth, increasing immigration, and new ways of communication throughout the United States. Charles Grandison Finney was one of the main reasons the Second Great Awakening was such a great success. “Much of the impulse towards reform was rooted in the revivals of the broad religious movement that swept the Untied State after 1790” (Danzer, Klor de Alva, Krieger, Wilson, and Woloch 240). Revivals during the Second Great Awakening awakened the faith of people during the 1790s with emotional preaching from Charles Finney and many other influential preachers, which later helped influence the reforms of the mid-1800s throughout America.
It is a basic rule of human nature that Homo Sapien needs permanency. In times of great social upheaval, people will often turn to the familiar arms of religion in search of that permanency. The 1830s through 1850s were no exception to the rule. The nation was hit by wave after wave of moral reform movements as the people turned to organized religion for stability in the midst of the Industrial Revolution. But why did these moral reform movements happen, why were they so concentrated in that era, and what gave them force? The Industrial Revolution caused a massive social upheaval as business markets expanded and interpersonal relationships became more numerous. In the midst of all this change, people sought stability in religion and moral reform movements grew directly out of those religious convictions.
The antislavery movement before 1830s was menial, partially slow and not well supported. The antislavery movement before the 1830s was the spark of fire that led to the abolitionist acts after the 1830s. Abolitionism of the 1830s and on led to a great movement in America. The division of a country came at hand, leading up to various riots white men themselves killing each other over the freeing of slaves. The subjugated Negros fighting for a true place in American society under the hands of various abolitionist leaders who gave it all to stand up for the African Americans. They were to be heard all over the union causing divisions and discomfort throughout a close to dividing nation. Abolitionist movement after the 1830s had a greater impact on the nation as a whole with a spark of the antislavery acts before the 1830s and the failure of this movement, the very well spoken and praised leaders, and the well spoken and touching propaganda against slavery.
The real reason the Prohibition Act was passed is not because the Legislation had voted for it, but rather the large amount of supporters it had. 33 out of 48 states had already passed the laws within 1920. The direct support was mainly coming from the South, which the number grew from 1820’s to 1840’s. These groups mainly campaigned against the outcome of drinking alcohol. Woman’s groups were behind many temperance movements for they were targets of abuse due to drunken husbands. Many times drinking was blamed upon the economics and the changes it has undergone.
Although the temperance movement was concerned with the habitual drunk, its primary goal was total abstinence and the elimination of liquor. With the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, the well-organized and powerful political organizations, utilizing no holds barred political tactics, successfully accomplished their goal. Prohibition became the law of the land on January 16, 1920; the manufacturing, importation, and sale of alcohol was no longer legal in the United States. Through prohibition, America embarked on what became labeled “the Nobel Experiment.” However, instead of having social redeeming values as ordained, prohibition had the opposite effect of its intended purpose, becoming a catastrophic failure.
Abolitionism was an issue between the North and South and had been debated in Congress long before the Second Great Awakening. The Second Great Awakening was like a wake up call that slavery was morally wrong and that something had to be done a soon as possible to correct it. The Awakening inspired northerners to take a stand on slavery and confront southerners about this problem. Before, Northerners really did not care about what was going on in the south, as long as they got their cotton to use in the textile mills and could work they were fine. They did not care about slavery because it...
In the 1830's, 1840's, and beyond, There is a Second Great Awakening. The Second Great Awakening had a decided impact on American society. In the following I will describe what the Great Awakening was and how it changed life in America.
Reform movements including religion, temperance, abolition, and women's rights sought to expand democratic ideals in the years 1825 to 1850. However, certain movements, such as nativism and utopias, failed to show the American emphasis on a democratic society. The reform movements were spurred by the Second Great Awakening, which began in New England in the late 1790's, and would eventually spread throughout the country. The Second Great Awakening differed from the First in that people were now believed to be able to choose whether or not to believe in God, as opposed to previous ideals based on Calvinism and predestination.
Prohibition came to an end during the Great Depression with the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Twenty-First Amendment. Prohibition originated in the nineteenth century but fully gained recognition in the twentieth century. The Prohibition was originally known as the Temperance Movement. In the 1820s and 1830s, a wave of religious revivalism developed in the United States, leading to increased calls for temperance, as well as other reform movements such as the abolition of slavery (“Prohibition”). These reforms were often led by middle-class women.
During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, many saw alcohol as a cause of instability among communities. To counteract the effects of alcohol on American society, The Temperance Movement, Prohibition Party and many others sought to enact anti-liquor laws that would prohibit the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol. On January 19, 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment had taken effect and a nationwide ban on alcohol was enacted. This was thought of as a solution to the many problems that America had at the time, but it only made matters worse. The American society had been greatly affected by the Eighteenth Amendment in many negative aspects such as increasing crime and violence, worsening the economy, and much more.
The temperance movement at the time used a minimum drinking age to gradually bring about the ban of alcohol altogether. In 1919 the temperance movement got what they wanted and the 18th Amendment was created banning the sale of alcohol in America. This ultimately failed, resulting in increased gang violence and bootlegging. In 1933, due to a change of public opinion, the ban was lifted with what is called the 21st Amendment. After prohibition, what was left of the temperance movement was to make sure that a minimum drinking age remained.
The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century was a religious revolution that occurred within the Christian Church, which resulted in the establishment of Protestant Churches, who began breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church. Originally the movement was started by Martin Luther, who was a monk, a priest and a Professor of Biblical study at the University of Wittenberg (Fisher 335). Luther, with his great political influence as well as his prolific writing, most notably his 95 Thesis, began a movement intended to address the abuses of wealth within the church. Although there were many people who realized that the church needed reformation, at the time, Luther really had no intention to split the church. The Protestant Reformation was an intellectual, cultural, religious, and political, upheaval that would separate Catholic Europe and set in place the structures and beliefs that would define the continent. In Christianity’s history, the Protestant Reformation was one of the most significant religious revolutions.