Social Reform in the 1830s

Jul 26, 2024

Social Reform in the 1830s Lecture

Introduction

  • Overview of various social reform movements of the 1830s.
  • Previous discussions:
    • Temperance movement (largest, most effective)
    • Abolitionist movement (smaller, controversial)
  • Today's focus: Smaller movements, how they targeted barriers to perfectionism, and responses to the market revolution and Second Great Awakening.

Second Great Awakening

  • Group of evangelical Christians aiming for personal and societal perfection.
  • Goal: Perfect society to bring about the second coming of Christ.

Key Areas of Focus

  • Impediments to Perfectionism: Barriers each movement targeted.
  • Responses to Market Revolution: How social reformers, utopian communities, and romantic authors reacted.
  • Defining Romanticism and Transcendentalism: Key authors and ideas.

Evangelical Church Growth

  • Disorienting changes caused by the market revolution led to evangelical churches’ rise during the Second Great Awakening.
  • Example: Baptists growing from a small, persecuted group to a major denomination.
  • New middle class: Differentiation from working-class through religion and temperance.
  • Technological advancements (steam presses, stereotype plates) increased printing efficiency, aiding evangelical message spread.

Religious Newspapers Growth

  • 1790-1830: Increase from 14 to over 600 religious newspapers.

Regional Reforms

  • South: Evangelical Baptist and Methodist churches encouraged temperance and the cult of domesticity; focused on discouraging dueling.
  • North: More radical reforms among believers in perfectionism (Finney's doctrine: Redeemed Christians could be free of sin, perfect in this life).

Jacksonian Context

  • Jacksonian democracy: Policies to represent the common white man vs. perceived elite rule.
  • Example: Jackson's removal of the Bank of the United States seen as a reform from his viewpoint.

Reformers' Goals

  • Seek societal perfection but often meant controlling other people's behavior.

Conclusion

  • Examination of how far American social movements went in response to market revolution changes and attempts to control behavior.

Proceed to the next part of the lecture for further exploration of these themes and movements.