The Different Cataclysmic Changes in Society During the Great Awakening

From 1825-1850, the major reforms in slavery, women’s rights, crime prevention, education, and other aspects of the revivalist movement sought to expand democratic ideals greatly through the reflection of equality, opportunity, and the pursuit of happiness. In the late 1790’s, The Second Great Awakening began, though it did not truly flourish or gain followers until after 1820 Starting in New England, it quickly initiating the many reform movements that would spread throughout the nation as The Awakening gave people an individual relationship with God, leading to the expansion of freedoms, thinking, and equality. Temperance authors were constantly producing and publishing work alongside the state legislature during this time period in order to provoke abstinence, limit alcohol consumption, and lower crime rates.

In Document 4, the economic and social costs of drinking are expressed in order to spread the temperance ideals. Drinking made laborers far less efficient and almost idiotic which meant less work got done leading to less opportunity to create the ideal life for individuals. Alcoholism opposed the democratic and revivalist ideals for an improved family and or independent lifestyle. As real workers entered state legislature, cruel punishments were restricted and charging for petty crimes became less common, while major crimes were dealt with In Document 1, William Lloyd Garrison, an American abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer, created a Declaration of the National AntirSlavery Convention and gave it to the people of the country in order to present the possibility of overthrowing slavery.

He expressed how the corrupt mistreatment of slaves was far too brutal and the slave owners should be considered criminal. The democratic ideals birthed the concept of helping criminals reinvent themselves and learn from past mistakes, rather than sending them to be punished with no lesson learned. Education was highly valued by Democrats as it was necessary for living life to it’s fullest extent and expanded opportunity through knowledge. In Document 2, Ralph Waldo Emerson lectured the Mechanic Apprentices’ Literary Association in Boston on the significance of fresh ideas and the uselessness of following past generations exactly. Emerson, the lecturer/poet who would later lead the transcendentalist movement, intended to promote moral, social, and literary improvement through his lecture. The youth were seen as the future and Emerson’s words further the idea that society can only improve through learning and revising.

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In Document 3, Horace Mann wrote to the Massachusetts Legislature explaining that education should be provided for all, as it is the key to the diffusion of knowledge and culture While this document serves to promote equality, it also acts to better the world and paves the way for new opportunities, a major democratic ideal. Among the fights for equality was the abolitionist movement which sought to abolish the mistreatment of slaves and other minorities, and grant them the right to a pursuit of happiness. In Document 1, Garrison declared that no human should be treated so horribly because of their complexion. Though abolition was far from successful, the voices of the slaves were finally being heard. In Document 5, Dorothea Lynde Dix, an American activist on behalf of the indigent insane, explained to the General Assembly of North Carolina that mentally ill Americans should be cared for and taught to function normally rather than restrained and punished.

While this was not necessarily an issue of race, there was a group of humans being abused, and Dix was determined to abolish this mistreatment Democratic ideals sought to improve the lives of all minorities- blacks, poor, mentally ill, females, etc.- and grant them the right to a pursuit of happiness. The women’s suffrage movement, particularly the Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention of 1848, was a huge part of this Lime period. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the American suffragist, social activist, and abolitionist who composed the Declaration of Sentiments in 1848. In this declaration, and in Document 6, she highlighted that men and women were created equal, and demanded equality with men before the law, in education and employment from the government. This was a major step towards gender equality which was necessary for the democratic ideal of equality In Document 7, Frances Cage reflected on the Sojourner Truth speech, explaining how Truth stressed the courtesy and respect that should be shown to women.

Cage, as an African American women, was not shown this She repeated the phrase, “ain’t l a woman,” reflecting on how women of all races should be treated with respect, furthering the fight for both gender and racial equality While women’s rights suffragists fueled the flame, the gender equality regarding politics and voting was not granted until 1920. In 1890, 2 groups merged to form the woman suffrage association, a group quite similar to the suffragists of the 1840s However, the message had shifted from “women should vote because they are equal to men,” to “women should vote because they are different from men” World War 1 proved that women were just as patriotic as men and they were eventually given the right to vote shortly after, in 1920.

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