Reform Movements

     Reform movements are social movements that aim to change something gradually, not rapidly. They are much more low-key than revolutionary movements. Different institutions did different things to support or not support certain movements. An institution is an organization made for religious, educational, social, or a similar cause. Some individuals spoke out about the cause they believed in, and some communities joined together to try to change people's minds about different circumstances.

Temperance Movement

     In the early 1800s churches began to support the Temperance Movement. The Temperance Movement was a campaign to stop the drinking of alcohol. It began in Georgia in the late 1820s. Churches supported the Temperance Movement by helping people  Many women were involved. They handed out pamphlets to support not drinking alcohol. Some were involved in plays displaying the harms of alcohol. In 1826 the American Temperance Society was formed. 6,000 local temperance groups in many states were running in the 1830s. In Connecticut, blacks had a part in the Temperance Movement. Jehiel C. Beman formed the Connecticut State Temperance Society of Colored People, the CSTSCP, in 1836. By the mid-1850s, laws prohibiting the manufacture of alcohol and sale, other than for medical reasons, had passed in several states. The first state-wide success for the temperance movement was in Maine. The law passed on June 2nd, 1851. This motivated some people, but worried others. In Ohio on January 13, 1853, temperance supporters held a women's temperance convention. The Civil War weakened the temperance movement in 1865. After this, the movement was slowly forgotten.

Slavery

     Abolition was the movement to end slavery. Many people worked to abolish slavery in the states. By 1804, most Northern states had banned slavery. In 1807 Congress forbid the importing of slaves into the United States. Abolitionists wanted to end slavery in the south. Two people who worked very hard to squelch slavery were Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth. They both spoke from their own experiences.

     Frederick Douglass was the son of a black mother and a white father. He published an autobiography about his own slave experiences in 1845. He went to Great Britain and Ireland to escape becoming recaptured. He also changed his last name. When he returned he bought his freedom and started publishing an antislavery newspaper.

     Sojourner Truth began her life as a slave in New York State. She ran from her owners and went to live with Quakers, who set her free in 1827. Once free, she won a court battle to reclaim her son, who was sold illegally into slavery. Many came to watch when she spoke about abolition.

     Harriet Tubman is one of the most iconic figures who stood for the abolition of slavery. She was born into slavery in Maryland. In 1849, she learned that her owner was about to sell her, but she escaped before she could be sold. After she escaped she made 19 journeys to help free slaves who had escaped their owners. Harriet carried a pistol to scare off slave hunters. She also had medicine to quiet crying babies. There was a $40,000 reward for her capture, but no one caught her.

"I never run my train off the track and I never lost a passenger."

-Harriet Tubman

     She was speaking of the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a way for slaves seeking freedom to escape the harsh living conditions. They traveled on foot to various safe houses, making their way to the north, where they would be free from slavery. It's estimated that 40,000 to 100,000 people used to Underground Railroad to gain their freedom.



Dorothea Dix

      Dorothea Dix was a very influential reformer. Her work led to prison reform and improved treatment of the insane. She helped changed the way mentally ill were treated. She left her family at the age of 12 to live with her grandmother. At age 14 she founded a school for young children, and taught there for the next two decades. In March 1841, at the age of 39, she held a prayer hour for women in the East Cambridge Jail. She had noticed that the cells of the mentally ill were very dirty and cold. She reported the living situations to the local court and efforts were made to improve the mentally ills living conditions. She investigated every prison and poorhouse to analyze their living conditions. In 1843 Dorothea presented an address to the state legislature to persuade the expansion of the state hospital for the insane at Worcester.

   One major setback for Dorothea was when she pushed for a federal land grant to endow state mental hospitals, but failed. In April 1861 Dorothea gave her services to the union army, and was appointed Superintendent of female nurses in June. She did all of her work without pay.

 She died on July 18, 1887 in Trenton, New Jersey.

Worker's Rights

Workers Protesting

     Workers in the 1830s decided they weren't being treated as they should. To speak their minds they formed a labor union. A labor union is a group of workers who band together to seek better working conditions. In 1836, mill owners raised rent of company owned boarding houses, where all the women lived. Around 1,500 women went on strike because they wanted better conditions. Other workers wanted shorter hours with higher pay. Over 140 strikes took place in the years 1835-1836. In 1837 jobs were scarce and workers were scared to cause trouble. After that the labor movement fell apart. But still, their efforts led to the President ordering a ten hour workday for government workers.

Women's Rights

     Women didn't have many rights in the 1800s. Some women stood out trying to get the message out. One woman who fought strongly for women's rights was Abigail Adams. She believed that women should have the right to own property and have an education. She said,

 "Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands. Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could."

     Another woman who fought for women's rights was Lucretia Coffin Mott. She grew up inspired by women's rights. She had a major role in the women's suffrage movement throughout her life.

     Julia Ward Howe is known for writing the Civil War anthem, which is called Battle Hymn of the Republic, and co-founding the American Woman Suffrage Association. She edited the Woman's Journal, for 20 years, and also led major women's clubs and suffrage organizations. 





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