Dbq Txt

Kevin Oh

APUSDBQ

Prior to the nineteenth century, traditional beliefs held a firm grip on the way society functioned. However, as times changed, the American people began to feel unrest; They felt tied down. The existing societal conditions were no longer enough to appease the progressive attitude that the people of this era had begun to believe in. Several intellectuals and reform-minded individuals emerged to pave the way for reform. A multitude of individuals such as Henry David Thoreau and Horace Mann led the way in their respective fields of reform, and aided in creating a national culture that was dedicated to lifting the existing restraints on the human spirit. A multi-faceted charge toward reform had begun. The national atmosphere of reform was indeed, a nation-enveloping atmosphere, not an isolated mindset amongst a limited group of individuals. Reform in this era can be organized into two rough categories: tangible and intangible. There were physical reforms that dealt with the systems of the nation: schools, churches, and mental health facilities were all challenged in their ways. On the other hand, reform manifested as intangible change in the mindset of the American people: traditional stances on issues like temperance, slavery, and women's suffrage. One spectrum of reform dealt with mostly physical changes. Now, as mentioned above, this time was not only a period of reforming that which was wrong with society, but also a period in which progress, on all levels, was encouraged. In terms of education, the current system had a curriculum that was irrelevant, strict, and worse yet, nearly unavailable to the majority of youth in the United States. Horace Mann was firm in his goals of bettering the schools of the nation, in both the quantity of schools, as well as quality of education, and many shared his opinions. (Doc. H.) Men like Noah Webster and William McGuffey all made benchmark contributions to this movement's progress, like providing the first dictionary, and creating the first set of textbooks. Another progressive rather than corrective sort of movement was the reforms in religion. The importance of religion had died down in the time period preceding the 19th century. (Doc. A). Society had turned its face from religion, and it's importance had begun to wane. Hedonistic tendencies tainted the behavior of the people. (Doc D.) Noting this, individuals like Charles Grandison Finney and James McGready took to changing the role of religion in society. Utilizing such inspirational devices such as revivalist camp meetings and revivals, the efforts of the religious reform movement yielded many followers, and church attendance increased. Revivalist camps, as depicted in Document I, were events in which speakers spread their beliefs on God, family, etc. (Doc A & I). As church attendance increased, so did the emphasis on morality. The self-centered mindset before this era had begun to become the norm, but as religion spread, so did the spread of ideas of selflessness, sharing, and family. This brings us to the last of the three main hubs of physical reform: mental health facilities. Dorothea Dix, the primary reformer associated with the mental health reform, sought to seek better conditions for those who were considered “insane” in the United States. (Doc. E). Currently, those who were mentally unstable were chained like animals in jails, deprived of their human rights, and abused without a second thought. Dorothea Dix was the first to flesh out and even establish the prototype of a “mental asylum,” in which rehabilitation, rather than mere suppression, was the main idea. All of these reforms were attempts to create a national shift in perspective, and remove some of the restraints that had been, for so long, chaining down the human spirit. Things such as ineffective schools, hedonistic, secular beliefs, and in the most literal sense, the chains in mental asylums, were all restraints on the human spirit that these reforms sought to remove or if possible, destroy. As mentioned before, the spirit of reform was multi-faceted. Aside from the more tangible progressions such as more schools and mental asylums, there were also reforms in the beliefs of the American people. Issues such as temperance, women's suffrage , and overall societal “perfection” were all tackled with full force.

From a broad standpoint, a movement known as the “Utopian” movement began to spread ideals as to how a perfect society would be run. They preached to others about the beauty of a Utopia in which love, sharing, and a sense of community was at the heart of the society. (Doc. C). Dreamily, they advertised their stance on a “perfect” society to the people. They envied the simplistic lifestyle of the Shakers, and strived to pursue a similar lifestyle that placed emphasis on family, love, and overall wholesome values. As far as effects on reform go, the Utopians valued family and brotherhood very dearly, which in turn bolstered the motives behind the temperance movement. Temperance, or abstinence from drinking, was the proposed solution to the men's reckless drinking. As Document B describes, alcoholism affected many, and made men's “resolution fail[s], and his mental energy, and his vigorous enterprise; and nervous irritation and depression ensue.” (Doc. B). Men affected by the bottle were severe risks to their wives' and children's' health. Almost tyrannical in their methods, drunk fathers would behave irrationally and violently. With their moral efforts boosted by the religious revivals that were occurring 'round the nation, reform leaders such as Susan B. Anthony and Benjamin Rush created the Women's Christian Temperance Union, and the fight against the bottle raged on, seeking to tame the craziness that alcohol had introduced to society. The aforementioned religious revivals yielded more than just an increased emphasis on morality. The very nature of religious revival meant an increased spirituality of the people. Almost in concordance with the religious movement, a set of beliefs known as transcendentalism began to spread throughout this time period. Transcendentalism was a protest of intellectuals against the traditions of society, regarding government and human rights. Led by such powerful intellectuals such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, transcendentalism had it's roots in spiritualism, and an obedience to nature. Being intelligent, advocates of transcendentalism would eloquently publish their ideas regarding such themes as nature, the human, and government. (Doc. F & G). Often, government was the target at which their publications were aimed. Though not necessarily created with the tone of accusation, they criticized the governments shortcomings, saying that government can sometimes be more of an obstacle to reform than a benefactor. (Doc. G). Document F cites one such example, naming the importance of placing women in their proper place in society, an indirect point of the finger toward the American government. This brings us to suffrage. Women's rights were another dominant issue. It is a well-known fact that women were traditionally considered to be below men. This, of course, bore it's fruit in the political system, depriving women of the right to vote or any political voice, for that matter. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton stood boldly against these beliefs, and lobbied for change. They wished to banish the laws that suppressed the spirit of the woman, and to grant the women of society their deserved right of representation in government. (Doc. L.). The early 19th Century was a period of overwhelming reform, change, and progress. They challenged the pre-existing restraints that had been put into place by somewhat primitive traditions and out-dated beliefs. Each with their proposed plan of progressive action, the individuals that spearheaded these movements were committed to releasing those tethers that had for so long limited the human spirit, whether it be with a chain, with a repressive threat from a drunken father, or with an outdated legal document that denied one their human rights.