19th Century U.S. Religious Reforms Summary

Oct 11, 2024

Crash Course U.S. History: Religious and Moral Reform Movements in 19th Century America

Introduction

  • Host: John Green
  • Focus on sex and 19th-century reform movements
  • Discussion on utopian communities and broader reform efforts

Utopian Communities

  • Response to industrialized market economy
  • Shakers:
    • Famous for furniture
    • Celibate, focused on equality of sexes
    • Peaked at 6,000 members; only 3 remain today
  • Latter-day Saints (Mormons):
    • Persecuted, moved from NY to Utah
    • Bible & Book of Mormon as scriptures
  • Brook Farm:
    • Founded by Transcendentalists in 1841
    • Mixed manual labor and intellectual engagement
    • Influenced by Charles Fourier
  • Utopia, Ohio and Modern Times, New York:
    • Created by Josiah Warren
    • Advocated unregulated and voluntary marriage

Religious Reform Movements

  • Second Great Awakening:
    • Revival meetings in 1820s-1830s
    • Led by Charles Grandison Finney
    • Increased Christian ministers from 2,000 to 40,000 by 1845
    • Emphasized individualized salvation and personal relationship with Jesus
  • Burned Over District in NY:
    • Joseph Smith and the Oneida Community

Key Features of 19th-century Reformers

  • Overwhelmingly Protestant
  • Believed in perfectionism
  • Freedom seen as self-discipline and self-control

Temperance Movement

  • Aimed to limit/ban alcohol
  • Controversial, especially among Catholic immigrants

Asylums and Education

  • Construction of asylums and homes for outcasts
  • Growth of compulsory state-funded education
  • Common Schools:
    • Promoted by Horace Mann for moral character and knowledge
    • Widespread in North by 1860; less common in South

Abolitionism

  • Largest reform movement
  • Early colonizationists proposed sending former slaves to Africa (Liberia)
  • Radical abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass
    • Garrison: harsh and uncompromising; burned the Constitution
    • Douglass: eloquent spokesperson for equality
  • Resistance to abolition often violent
    • Examples: Mob violence, Gag Rule in Congress

Literature and Culture

  • Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
    • Highlighted racial issues and abolition
    • Banned in the South
  • Contributions of black abolitionists to the argument for equality

Conclusion

  • Abolitionism influenced other reform movements
  • Many abolitionist voices were female, influencing women's roles

Additional Notes

  • Interconnectedness of religious revival and reform movements
  • Influence of market economy on religious and moral movements
  • Production:
    • Directed by Stan Muller
    • Written by Raoul Meyer and John Green
    • Graphics by Thought Cafe
  • Encouragement to participate in discussions in comments and provide feedback

"Don't forget to be awesome." - John Green