Antebellum Renaissance
The Second Great AwakeningThe 2nd Great Awakening took place from the 1790s to 1860s. One Presbyterian minister named Charles G. Finney spread the word in New England, while Methodist and Baptist ministers preached in the South and West. Many Americans had converted after this religious revival and it also led to more social movements.
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Utopian SocietiesThere were non-Protestant groups who wanted to separate themselves from the society they didn't like, so they made communal societies, religious and nonreligious. Their goal was to be in a society close to perfection, including everything and everyone.
Shakers -The Shakers were in a utopian community called Brook Farm, which was established between 1830 and 1850. Their leader was "Mother" Ann Lee and they were know for their shaking while they were in church, as they felt the spirit of God. However, due to the forbidding of sexual intercourse, they all died out.
Oneidas -The Oneida Commune was founded by John Humphrey Noyes in 1848. They were known for equality, as they shared everything, including spouses. After Noyes' death, the Oneidas die out.
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Movements
Temperance Movement
Many converted people believed in perfectionism, the idea that people could reach perfection. They believed America as a nation, needed to be healthier so in the mid 1820s, they created the American Temperance Society. Their goal was to limit the drinking of alcohol because they saw alcohol as a negative influence. Also, Sylvester Graham and Harvey Kellogg started the ideas of diets and being healthy.
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Asylum/Prison ReformDorothea Dix emphasized the importance of taking good care of the mentally ill. She reformed mental institutions and also tried to change the penal system. As a result, some prisons instituted programs teaching prisoners job skills and increased access to religious services.
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AbolitionismThe Abolition Movement was an anti-slavery movement. They believed slavery was sinful and should be stopped. In the early 1830s, William Lloyd Garrison published a newspaper dedicated to ending slavery and founded the American Antislavery Society. Due to Garrison insisting of women being allowed to participate led to a division among the group: The Liberty Party, which allowed women participation, and the Foreign Antislavery Society, which didn't. There was also the Underground Railroad that helped slaves escape.
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Cult of DomesticityFrom the 1820s to 1860s, women weren't needed to work in the fields anymore. As the industry grew, men were moved from the fields into factories. Women's roles became know as housewives, taking care of the home and children.
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Women's MovementThe "cult of domesticity" led to the women's movement. There was a convention held in Seneca Falls, New York to discuss women's rights in 1848.
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Birth of American Culture
Ralph Waldo Emerson wanted America to be unique, having its own culture. Artists, authors and architects started to develop their own American style. Artists from the Hudson River School painted landscapes that emphasized the beauty of America. Authors like the Knickerbockers, wrote stories based on existing ones but with an American twist. Lastly, architects imitated ancient forms of Rome and Greece for landmarks.
sources: Kaplan AP U.S. History Test Prep Book