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Guided Reading Activity netw rks

The Spirit of Reform, 1828–1845

Lesson 3 Reforming Society

Review Questions: Identifying Supporting Details

DIRECTIONS: Read each main idea. Use your textbook to supply the details that support
or explain each main idea.

A. Main Idea: The reform movement stemmed from the revival of religious fervor.

1. Detail: Dorothea Dix led a movement to improve conditions for the

Mentally Ill
______________. Through her efforts more than a dozen states created
Asylums
___________________________.
2. Crime
Detail: The abuse of alcohol caused _________, Disorder
___________, and
Poverty
_____________. In 1833 temperance groups formed the American Temperance Union
___________________,
laws prohibiting liquor sales
which worked for ________________________________.
3. Detail: The spirit of reform extended to prisons with new facilities called
Solitary Confinement
penitentiaries that used techniques such as _____________ and
silence_____________
on work crews to give prisoners a chance to think about their
wrongdoings.
4. public education Reformers focused on
Detail: Horace Mann led a movement for _______________.
elementary the basics Reformers who worked for women’s education
education to teach ________.

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___________
were Catherine Beecher _______________,
_______________, Emma Willard Mary Lyon
______________, and
Elizabeth Blackwell
______________.

B. Main Idea: The Industrial Revolution separated home from the workplace and eventually
led to the women’s movement.

1. Detail: Christian revivalism looked upon raising children as a solemn responsibility

__________________.
models
Ideals of “true womanhood” were that women should be __________. of piety and virtue
2. Detail: Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the
Seneca Falls Convention which was the beginning of the organized
__________________, womens movement
________________________
__________________________.

Summary and Reflection

DIRECTIONS: Summarize the main ideas of this lesson by answering the question below.
In what ways did the reform movements of the nineteenth century change the
United States?

Reforming the justice system of the Temperance Culture reforming curriculum women's
__________________________________________________________________
advancement women's rights campaign
__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________
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Reading Essentials and Study Guide

The Spirit of Reform, 1828–1845
Lesson 3 Reforming Society

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Can average citizens change society? How did reforms of this era
increase tensions between North and South?

Reading HELPDESK
Academic Vocabulary
*institution an established organization or corporation
*imposition something established or brought about as if by force

Content Vocabulary
benevolent society an association focusing on spreading the word of God and combating social
problems
temperance moderation in or abstinence from consuming alcohol
penitentiary prison whose purpose is to reform prisoners

TAKING NOTES: Outlining

ACTIVITY As you read about the growth of the United States, use the major headings in the lesson to
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

create an outline similar to the one below about American reform efforts in the first half of the
nineteenth century.

Reforming Society
I. The Reform Spirit
A. The Temperance Movement
B. Prison Reform
C. Educational Reform
D. Womens Education
II.
A. The Early Womens Movement
B. Women Seek Greater Rights

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Reading Essentials and Study Guide

The Spirit of Reform, 1828–1845
Lesson 3 Reforming Society, continued

IT MATTERS BECAUSE
The Second Great Awakening created an environment for social change. New interest in religion
developed. So did a growing belief in the power of individuals to help society. As a result, reform
movements arose.

The Reform Spirit

Guiding Question What motivated reformers to tackle society’s problems?
In 1841 a clergyman asked schoolteacher named Dorothea Dix to lead a Sunday school class at a local
prison. The experience shocked her. Mentally ill people were left neglected in dirty, unheated rooms.
Dix left teaching. She devoted herself to improving conditions and treatment for the mentally ill.
In 1843 Dix wrote a letter to the Massachusetts legislature. She called for a new approach to mental
illness. She said the mentally ill should be given more care and respect. She told the story of a mentally
ill woman who had been severely mistreated for several years. She was considered a “raging maniac.”
Dix explained that the woman had been taken in by a local couple. They had treated her kindly and
with respect. As a result, the woman’s behavior had been calmed. Dix’s work was successful. More
than a dozen states made laws about prison reforms. They created special institutions, commonly
called asylums, for the mentally ill.
The reform movements of the mid-1800s grew mostly from the revival of religious feeling. Revivalists
preached about the power of individuals. They said individuals could improve themselves and the
world. Lyman Beecher was an important minister. He said that true reform must come from the
voluntary actions of the people. Beecher and other religious leaders helped people form associations

Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

known as benevolent societies in cities and towns across the country. At first, they wanted to spread
the word of God. They tried to convert nonbelievers. Soon, however, these societies also began to work
against social problems.
Many of the people working in the reform movement were women. In those times, the future for
many unmarried women was uncertain. Some turned to religion as a foundation for their lives. As they
turned to the church, many also joined religious-based reform groups. These groups focused on
particular social issues. These issues included drunkenness, prisons, and education.

The Temperance Movement

Many reformers argued that alcohol abuse was the main cause of crime, disorder, and poverty. Not
everyone agreed that alcohol was the main cause of these problems. However, no one doubted that
heavy alcohol use was widespread in the early 1800s. Groups were formed to promote temperance, or
moderation in the use of alcohol. Members preached about the evils of alcohol and worked to
convince heavy drinkers to give up liquor. In 1833 several of these groups united to form the American
Temperance Union.
Temperance groups pushed for laws forbidding the sale of liquor. In 1851 Maine passed the first
state prohibition law, outlawing the sale of liquor. A dozen other states passed prohibition laws by
1855. Other states passed “local option” laws. These laws allowed towns and villages to prohibit liquor
sales within their boundaries.

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Reading Essentials and Study Guide

The Spirit of Reform, 1828–1845
Lesson 3 Reforming Society, continued

Prison Reform
Some people tried to improve living conditions for prisoners, the mentally ill, and the poor. Many
states replaced their overcrowded prisons with facilities aimed at reforming prisoners rather than
simply locking them away. By the beginning of the Civil War, most states had also built public mental
institutions to keep mental health patients out of the prison system.
Prison officials used strict discipline in order to rid prisoners of the “laxness” they believed had
led them to commit crimes. Solitary confinement and the imposition of silence on work crews were
meant to give prisoners the chance to think about their crimes. Reformers called these new prisons
penitentiaries. The name expressed the idea that prisoners should achieve penitence. In other words,
they should repent or feel sorry for what they did.

Educational Reform
In the early 1800s, many reformers worked to set up a system of public education. They wanted
government-funded schools open to all citizens. Many people believed that large numbers of new
voters and new immigrants created a need for public education. Most U.S. leaders and social reformers
believed that the survival of a democratic republic depended on having well-educated voters.
Horace Mann was a leader of the movement for public education. Mann was president of the
Massachusetts Senate. He helped create a state board of education in 1837. Then he left the state
senate to serve as secretary of the new board. Mann worked 12 years in this job. In this position he
doubled teacher’s salaries, opened 50 new high schools, and created training schools for teachers.
Massachusetts quickly became a model for other states. Mann spoke out for public education
throughout the nation. In a report he said that it was dangerous to have a republican form of
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

government without a good way to educate the people. Without education, the republic would be
founded on ignorance and selfishness.
In 1852 Massachusetts passed the first law making school attendance mandatory. New York passed
a similar law the next year. Reformers focused on creating elementary schools that would teach all
children the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. They would also teach children about the
importance of work. These schools were open to all children and were supported by local and state
taxes along with tuition.
By the 1850s, the Northeastern states had many tax-supported elementary schools. Other parts of
the country began to set up tax-supported elementary schools as well. However, schools did not spread
as quickly in rural areas, because children in rural areas helped their families with farm work for many
months of the year. Reformer Calvin Wiley took the lead in North Carolina. In 1839 North Carolina
began giving aid to local communities that established tax-supported schools.

Women’s Education
People who talked about educating voters were talking about educating men. Women still were not
allowed to vote in the early 1800s. Nonetheless, female reformers such as Catharine Beecher pushed
for more educational opportunities for girls and women.
Emma Willard was another educational reformer. She founded a girls’ school in Vermont in 1814.
Her school covered the usual subjects for young women, including cooking and etiquette. In addition,
Willard’s school taught academic subjects such as history, math, and literature. Other schools rarely
taught these subjects to women. In 1837 Mary Lyon opened Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in
Massachusetts, the first institution of higher education for women.

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Reading Essentials and Study Guide

The Spirit of Reform, 1828–1845
Lesson 3 Reforming Society, continued

New opportunities for higher education helped many women. In 1849 Elizabeth Blackwell became
the first woman to earn a medical degree. In 1857 she founded the New York Infirmary for Women
and Children. The hospital staff was entirely made up of women.

Reading Progress Check

Determining Cause and Effect What behaviors did the temperance movement hope to
eliminate?
The temperance movement advocated for moderate drinking and opposed
heavy drinking. They expected heavy drinkers to abstain from consuming
alcohol. They thought that alcohol was a cause of violence and hunger.

The Early Women’s Movement

Guiding Question How do you think the lives of women changed from the colonial period to
the mid-1800s?
In the early 1800s, the Industrial Revolution began to change the economic roles of men and women. In
the 1700s, most economic activity took place in or near the home because most Americans lived and
worked in a rural farm setting. Husbands and wives had different jobs on the farm, but they shared the

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goal of maintaining the farm. By the mid-1800s, this situation was changing, especially in the
Northeastern states. The development of factories and other work centers made the home and the
workplace separate in people’s lives. Men often left home to go to work, while women took care of the
house and children. This development led to the first women’s movement.

“True Womanhood”
As the nature of work changed, many Americans began to divide life into two areas of activity. One area
was the workplace, and the other was the home. Many people believed that women belonged in the
home because the outside world was too immoral and dangerous for women. Popular ideas about the
family also caused people to think women belonged in the home.
The Christian revivalism of the 1820s and 1830s had a big influence on the American family. For
many parents, raising children was a serious responsibility. Parents were preparing young people to
lead a disciplined Christian life. Women were often viewed as more moral and charitable than men,
and therefore were expected to be models of religious belief and virtue to their families.
The belief that women should be homemakers and take responsibility for developing their children’s
characters developed into a definition of “true womanhood.” In 1841 Catharine Beecher, a daughter of
minister and reformer Lyman Beecher, wrote a book called A Treatise on Domestic Economy. The book
said that women could find fulfillment at home. It also gave instruction on child care, cooking, and
health matters.

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Reading Essentials and Study Guide

The Spirit of Reform, 1828–1845
Lesson 3 Reforming Society, continued

Women Seek Greater Rights

Many women did not feel that the ideas of true womanhood limited them. Instead, they felt that the
new ideas made wives partners with their husbands. In some ways these ideas suggested that women
were morally superior to men. Women were seen as the conscience of the home and society.
The idea of a woman’s role in building a virtuous home soon extended to making society more
virtuous. Women became involved in the moral reform movements of the time. Some began to argue
that they needed greater political rights to promote their ideas.
Margaret Fuller supported more rights for women. Fuller argued that every woman had the right
and the ability to form her own spiritual relationship. She believed men and women should be treated
equally. She said that equal treatment would end injustice in society.
In 1848 Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, two women active in the abolition movement,
organized the Seneca Falls Convention. Women reformers came together at this convention, which
marked the beginning of an organized women’s movement. The convention issued a “Declaration of
Sentiments and Resolutions.” The Declaration stated that society should recognize that women are
equal to men. Some of the women at the convention were shocked that the Declaration called for
women to work to gain the right to vote. Nonetheless, many people think of the Seneca Falls
Convention as the unofficial starting point in the fight for women’s voting rights.
Throughout the 1850s, women continued to organize conventions to gain greater women’s rights.
The conventions had some success. By 1865, for example, 29 states had passed laws allowing wives to
hold property in their own names. Most importantly, these conventions prepared for a stronger
women’s movement to grow after the Civil War.
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Reading Progress Check

Summarizing What developments sparked the first women’s movement?
The first women's revolution arose as a result of the growth of factories and job
centers. Men would go to work while women stayed at home.