During the Antebellum era, between the War of 1812 and Civil War, many social, political, and economic problems came up. These problems lead to a plethora of reforms led by inspired idealists, followers of evangelical religion. A Second Great Awakening pushed Americans towards to Puritan vision of a perfect, model society. These reformed problems in public education, women’s rights, and the prison system, all lead by private citizens and organizations. Many Americans were excluded from government activity and political processes before this Age of Reform. Minority groups such as women and blacks were disenfranchised and most states still had property requirements for voting. In addition, bad economic conditions plagued the country due mainly
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In 1830, 100s of people were in jail for being less than one dollar in debt. In order to resolve issues like this, the people most affected banded together and abolished debtors prison by winning the ballot in state legislatures. The total number of capital offenses were since reduced and many brutal punishments like whipping were banned. It was the European idea of prison reform that spread to the US and led to jails trying to make improvements to rehabilitation. There was also improvement to the treatment of the mentally insane patients. Though prior to the movement mental illness was thought to be a curse or evil spirit, Dorothea Dix petitioned in 1843, after examining many patients with mental illness, that mental illness was linked to a physical, scientifically provable phenomenon. Despite her efforts, many regions still did not accept the establishment of mental health facilities. Lewis Dwight was another reformer for prison systems who founded the Boston Prison Discipline Society which ended up eventually spread the Auburn system to jails – a system that promoted group work during the day and silent work at …show more content…
In the nineteenth century, women were considered lesser than men, were limited to their homes and kitchens, could not vote, could not retain property after marriage, were thought to be both physically and emotionally weak ad unstable, and believed to have many artistic abilities. The women’s sphere was the home, the symbol of the cult of domesticity. There were many reformers in this movement. Catherine Beecher pushed women to get jobs as teachers and in education in order to be good housewives. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan b. Anthony, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, and the Grimke sisters became leaders in the fight for women's rights. Stanton was the first to publicly suggest suffrage for women. Margaret Fuller was the first female in the field of medicine and graduated from medical school, previously forbidden for women. At the Seneca Falls Women’s Convention in 1848, all these and many more women's rights activists met. There, Stanton wrote and read the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions which used the Declaration of Independence’s format to declare women as equals to men. One resolution demanded for a ballot for females, beginning the long path of the women’s rights movement. The grassroots movement for women only had limited success in that it made colleges and universities more accepting of women, but women were still not seen as equal to men. Women only gained suffrage much after blacks in
In 1830, 100s of people were in jail for being less than one dollar in debt. In order to resolve issues like this, the people most affected banded together and abolished debtors prison by winning the ballot in state legislatures. The total number of capital offenses were since reduced and many brutal punishments like whipping were banned. It was the European idea of prison reform that spread to the US and led to jails trying to make improvements to rehabilitation. There was also improvement to the treatment of the mentally insane patients. Though prior to the movement mental illness was thought to be a curse or evil spirit, Dorothea Dix petitioned in 1843, after examining many patients with mental illness, that mental illness was linked to a physical, scientifically provable phenomenon. Despite her efforts, many regions still did not accept the establishment of mental health facilities. Lewis Dwight was another reformer for prison systems who founded the Boston Prison Discipline Society which ended up eventually spread the Auburn system to jails – a system that promoted group work during the day and silent work at …show more content…
In the nineteenth century, women were considered lesser than men, were limited to their homes and kitchens, could not vote, could not retain property after marriage, were thought to be both physically and emotionally weak ad unstable, and believed to have many artistic abilities. The women’s sphere was the home, the symbol of the cult of domesticity. There were many reformers in this movement. Catherine Beecher pushed women to get jobs as teachers and in education in order to be good housewives. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan b. Anthony, Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, and the Grimke sisters became leaders in the fight for women's rights. Stanton was the first to publicly suggest suffrage for women. Margaret Fuller was the first female in the field of medicine and graduated from medical school, previously forbidden for women. At the Seneca Falls Women’s Convention in 1848, all these and many more women's rights activists met. There, Stanton wrote and read the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions which used the Declaration of Independence’s format to declare women as equals to men. One resolution demanded for a ballot for females, beginning the long path of the women’s rights movement. The grassroots movement for women only had limited success in that it made colleges and universities more accepting of women, but women were still not seen as equal to men. Women only gained suffrage much after blacks in