Social Reform: The Antebellum Period

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After the Industrial Revolution, many people saw that structure and organization can actually benefit the society. Therefore, people began to question if the societies of America can also be reformed through that process too. Furthermore, a group of people, named the Reformers believed that through diligence and order, the societies of America can be made to perfection. Therefore, during a period of time known as the Antebellum period, the United States went through a series of changes. The views and ideals of the society began to change between the people of the society. There were many successes and failures in the political and social reform movements during that period. More specifically, abolition and temperance were considered as a …show more content…

During the time period, alcohol consumption became extremely popular amongst the men in the country. This lead to growing crime rates and domestic abuse. So, in order to prevent that from happening, women in the United States decided to stop these situations from happening again. Furthermore, in 1826, the American Temperance Society was formed and it soon became extremely popular. For instance, “Reformers launched a highly successful campaign against alcoholism, reducing consumption by nearly 70% between 1831 and 1841”(History 1). This shows how successful the movement was, and this movement brought the society to a better state. With the reduction in alcohol consumption, it improved the United States’ reputation for the other countries. This is because the alcohol consumption caused many violent outbreaks in the country which depicted the country as a chaotic and uncivilized country. Afterall, the development of antebellum benefited the social reform of the …show more content…

Initially, women were considered as the temptation of the public world which meant that they were only allowed to work at home and take care of the children. However, when women finally entered the workforce they were paid half as much as the men who did the same jobs. Furthermore, “in the 1800’s, women could not vote or serve on juries. Married women could not own property or win custody of their children in a divorce”(History 1). This shows how there was no improvement of women’s rights during the Antebellum period. Since the unfair treatment that women received lead to many rebellions in the country, many people have argued that this was the start of the Women’s Rights Movement. This movement would become one of the most important and famous movement that had ever happened in the United States. Therefore, this showed the impact that the Antebellum period brought to the people. To conclude, the Antebellum period was a period of time that altered the views of the Americans. There were many changes that occurred and most of them lead to a positive impact, but some of them did not contribute to the society at all. For instance, the abolition movement and development of temperance in the country was considered a success. However, the attempt to improve women’s rights improved minimally. Overall, the Antebellum period made America a more developed country than it was

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