During the time from 1825 to 1855, the United States experienced a great expansion of democratic ideals. This expansion owes its efforts to the Second Great Awakening, a religious revival movement of the early decades of the nineteenth century in reaction to the growth of secularism and rationalist religion. With a heightened view on moral standards pushed by Newfoundland religious devotion, people wanted to create a society that more accurately fit democratic ideals. In 1825 to 1855, woman rights, increased awareness on social issues, issues with both the education and prison systems, and people in slavery systems became aware of the short comings society has had according to the ideals of democracy. These moments emphasized the democratic …show more content…
During 1825 to 1855, this issue was amplified. The primary role of women was described as the Cult of Domesticity, the act of women remaining at home with their primary focus on caring for the children and keeping household running. This served as a way to keep women out public matters and strip them of their democratic rights. Aware of these injustices, many women began to demand that they get basic rights such as the right to divorce, own property, or vote in local elections or national elections. This was emphasized in document 6, when Elizabeth Cady Stanton appealed to the court during the Declarations of Rights and Sentiments. However, not every women was in support of this movement; a handful had appeared content with the Cult of Domesticity. During this period, the idea that all women were dainty and not considered strong enough was broken. As seen in document 7, Francis Gage describes her great strength due to constant back breaking work as a salve and her ability to eat near the same amount of food as a man. The authors purpose of document 7 was to go against the common belief that all women were too dainty and unable to partake in physical activities, proving that women were just as capable as …show more content…
Many men would disregard their family after working and go out drinking all night, leaving women in charge of caring for the children 24/7. Unfortunately, this constant alcohol abuse would cause many men to loose a downhill battle, possible even leading them to their death. Document 3 emphasizes the journey of the alcohol abuse: beginning with just having a good time following dependency and leading to death, leaving a widow and fatherless children behind. This has caused the idea of Temperance to occur, the banning of alcohol. The author of document 3 is disgusted by the effects of alcohol and believes that it tears families apart. It is evident that the author is most likely a temperance supporter and strives for the banning of
The Great Awakening was a superior event in American history. The Great Awakening was a time of revivalism that expanded throughout the colonies of New England in the 1730’s through the 1740’s. It reduced the importance of church doctrine and put a larger significance on the individuals and their spiritual encounters. The core outcome of the Great Awakening was a revolt against controlling religious rule which transferred over into other areas of American life. The Great Awakening changed American life on how they thought about and praised the divine, it changed the way people viewed authority, the society, decision making, and it also the way they expressed themselves. Before the Great Awakening life was very strict and people’s minds were
“The connection between the revivals of the Second Great Awakening and abolition was so strong that it would hardly be an overstatement to say that the revivals were responsible for antislavery becoming a radical national movement.” During the time period, evangelical religion underlay the culture of America to such an extent that the revivals of the 1830s resulted in “tangible” structures for social reform — the revivals touched many aspects of political and social life. The revivals implicitly created political obligations and led to a demand for an activist
However, the writers of the Constitution had omitted women in that pivotal statement which left women to be denied these “unalienable” rights given to every countryman. Gaining the support of many, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the leader of the Women’s Rights Movement declared at Seneca Falls that women had the same rights as men including the right to vote and be a part of government. The Women’s Rights movement gained support due to the years of abuse women endured. For years, men had “the power to chastise and imprison his wife…” and they were tired of suffering (Doc I). The new concept of the cult of domesticity supported women’s roles in society but created greater divisions between men and women.
Women have had it rough throughout history. Their declining position in the world started during the Neolithic revolution, into Rome, and past the Renaissance. However, at the turn of the twentieth century, women began advocating for equality no matter their governmental situation. This promotion of women's rights is evident in communist nations during the twentieth century and their fight against hundreds of years of discrimination. It can be seen that women were brainwashed into believing that their rights were equal with the male population through the use of propaganda, yet this need for liberation continued despite government inadequacy at providing these simple rights. Women in communist countries struggled for rights in the twentieth
The Second Great Awakening was extremely influential in sparking the idea of reform in the minds of people across America. Most people in America just accepted things the way they were until this time. Reforms took place due to the increase of industrial growth, increasing immigration, and new ways of communication throughout the United States. Charles Grandison Finney was one of the main reasons the Second Great Awakening was such a great success. “Much of the impulse towards reform was rooted in the revivals of the broad religious movement that swept the Untied State after 1790” (Danzer, Klor de Alva, Krieger, Wilson, and Woloch 240). Revivals during the Second Great Awakening awakened the faith of people during the 1790s with emotional preaching from Charles Finney and many other influential preachers, which later helped influence the reforms of the mid-1800s throughout America.
In the 1840’s, most of American women were beginning to become agitated by the morals and values that were expected of womanhood. “Historians have named this the ’Cult of True Womanhood’: that is, the idea that the only ‘true’ woman was a pious, submissive wife and mother concerned exclusively with home and family” (History.com). Voting was only the right of men, but women were on the brink to let their voices be heard. Women pioneers such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott wrote eleven resolutions in The Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments; this historical document demanded abolishment of any laws that authorized unequal treatment of women and to allow for passage of a suffrage amendment.
The Second Great Awakening started the was a religious revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States, it sparked the building and reform of the education system, women's rights and the mental health system. It was also the start of many different denominations of churches such as the, Churches of Christ, Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the Evangelical Christian.
While some citizens of the United States, between 1825 and 1850, believed that reform was foolish and that the nation should stick to its old conduct, reformists in this time period still sought to make the United States a more ideally democratic nation. This was an age of nationalism and pride, and where there was pride in one’s country, there was the aspiration to improve one’s country even further. Many new reformist and abolitionist groups began to form, all attempting to change aspects of the United States that the respective groups thought to be unfair or unjust. Some groups, such as lower and middle class women and immigrants, sought to improve rights within the county, while other reformers aspired to change the American education system into a more efficient way of teaching the county’s youth. Still other reform groups, particularly involved in the church and the second great awakening, wanted to change society as a whole. This was a time and age of change, and all these reforms were intended to contribute to the democratic way our country operated.
During the Second Great Awakening, a mass revival of American society took place. Reformers of every kind emerged to ameliorate women’s rights, education and religious righteousness. At the forefront of the movement were the temperance reformers who fought for a change in alcoholism, and abolitionist who strived for the downfall of slavery.
Reform movements including religion, temperance, abolition, and women's rights sought to expand democratic ideals in the years 1825 to 1850. However, certain movements, such as nativism and utopias, failed to show the American emphasis on a democratic society. The reform movements were spurred by the Second Great Awakening, which began in New England in the late 1790's, and would eventually spread throughout the country. The Second Great Awakening differed from the First in that people were now believed to be able to choose whether or not to believe in God, as opposed to previous ideals based on Calvinism and predestination.
“Honey, you’re not a person, now get back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich!” If a husband were to say these words to his wife today, he would likely receive a well-deserved smack to the face. It is not until recently that Canadian women have received their status as people and obtained equal rights as men. Women were excluded from an academic education and received a lesser pay than their male counter parts. With the many hardships women had to face, women were considered the “slave of slaves” (Women’s Rights). In the past century, women have fought for their rights, transitioning women from the point of being a piece of property to “holding twenty-five percent of senior positions in Canada” (More women in top senior positions: Report). The Married Women’s Property Act, World War I, The Person’s Case, and Canadian Human Rights Act have gained Canadian women their rights.
Sixty- nine years after the Declaration of Independence, one group of women gathered together and formed the Seneca Falls Convention. Prior and subsequent to the convention, women were not allowed to vote because they were not considered equal to men. During the convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton delivered the “Declaration of Sentiments.” It intentionally resembles the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal…” (Stanton, 466). She replaced the “men” with “men and women” to represent that women and men should be treated equally. Stanton and the other women in the convention tried to fight for voting rights. Dismally, when the Equal Rights Amendment was introduced to the Congress, the act failed to be passed. Even though women voiced their opinions out and urged for justice, they could not get 2/3 of the states to agree to pass the amendment. Women wanted to tackle on the voting inequalities, but was resulted with more inequalities because people failed to listen to them. One reason why women did not achieve their goals was because the image of the traditional roles of women was difficult to break through. During this time period, many people believed that women should remain as traditional housewives.
Throughout the first half of the 19th century, and especially after the War of 1812, America has taken on yet another revolution. In this time period, the country saw a rapid expansion in territory and economics, as well as the extension of democratic politics; the spread of evangelical revivalism; the rise of the nation’s first labor and reform movements; the growth of cities and industrial ways of life; a rise in abolitionism and reduction in the power of slavery; and radical shifts in the roles and status of women.
Hatch’s notion that democratization stemmed from the Revolution does not lend enough light and clarity to The First Great Awakening of the 1740s. Like Paul Johnson, he sees it as the inverse of the Second Great Awakening. And yet, if the Revolution gave rise to the Second Great Awakening, then the First Great Awakening gave rise to the Revolution. It planted the first fruitful seeds of authoritarian struggle. For example, the way in which people worshipped denoted a social reality. The gentry sat up in front at church and the lower classes would sit closer to the back. This all changed with the Great Awakening. Social order deteriorated because worship was moved to a field to accommodate the masses of people who would listen to itinerant like George Whitfield. Whitfield created an open market for people about what or who they thought was best for their salvation of their soul. He believed that authority needed to be in alignment with the people’s notion of orthodoxy. His was a “market-based revivalism”. Despite the populous still submitting to authority in a particular sense, the revival was lead by ministers; they had begun to examine personal spiritual impulses and their value. Thanks to Whitfield, primacy was given to those who had divine inspiration rather than those who could get it. He began to subvert the social order since anyone could be an itinerant. Still, all of the socio-political manifestations of the First Great Awakening happened unknowingly. Those who led it never saw it through a secular lens and used it as a way to create chaos and gain power; there is no Nietzsche here. The revival of religiosity was always the primary goal. The Great Awakening looks back as much as it looks forward. It was never simply the Revolution working into religion, but a revolution that was set into motion almost forty years
In order to regain the sense of comfort that America once had, many people, especially women, created and sought after societies of reform. They felt very inspired, considering the Second Great Awakening just ended. In doing so, the control of the nation's future slowly returned to the citizens of the United States.