Social Studies Survey

Temperance and Prison Reforms

Social Reforms

Temperance Movement Temperance-

moderation in the consumption of alcohol

Been active since the late 1700’s advocating evils of alcohol

1833- group formed the American Temperance Movement

1851- Maine passed the first state prohibition law

Prison Reform One of society’s strongest

needs, as many prisoners of various types were housed together

Began to change around 1816 when states enacted laws to replace old facilities

Focused on rehabilitation instead of being merely locked up

Early champion and national figure was Louis Dwight

Public Education and Women’s Rights

Educational/Suffrage Reforms

Public Education Democracy demands an

informed and educated electorate

Began to push states to fund schools in early 1800’s

Early leader and advocate was Horace Mann in the mid 1800’s

1850’s- tax-supported elementary schools had gained popularity

North was more willing to reform quickly; South lagged drastically behind (by 1860, only 1/3 of Southern white children were enrolled in public school )

Women’s Rights (Education and Suffrage)

Schooling usually was meant for only males during the early 1800’s

1814- Emma Willard found girl’s boarding school

1837- first higher education institute

1848- Seneca Falls Convention by Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton (Seneca Falls Declaration that proposed that men and women created equal; women should get the right to vote)

Abolitionist MovementAnti-slavery movement

Anti-Slavery Movement

Abolition- immediate end to slavery

Emancipation- freeing of enslaved people

Most divisive and polarizing because it directly pitted North against South

Began in religious groups such as Quakers and Baptists

1830’s- gained momentum because of William Lloyd Garrison

1833- American Antislavery Society established by Garrison

Frederick Douglas and Sojourner Truth, free African Americans, as well as Women’s Right groups also fought for abolition

1854- anti-slavery activists found the Republican Party (with first President being Abraham Lincoln

Labor Unions

Labor Movement

Labor Unions Labor Unions- groups of workers

who press for better working conditions and member benefits

1820’s-1830’s have around 300,000 people

Local and focused on single trade, but will expand as factories and industries expand

1827- labor union created for craft within a city for first time (Mechanics’ Union of Trade Association in Philadelphia)

1830’s- workingmen’s parties helped to spur reform for equal rights

1840- Martin Van Buren reduces federal employees workday

1842- Commonwealth vs. Hunt makes strikes within workplace legal

1852- first nationwide labor union created (International Typographic Union)