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The Second Great Awakening
In the Second Great Awakening, the religious feelings of the nation were revived. The people could now be forgiven for their sins, and good deeds would be rewarded. No longer were people's fate decided prior to birth. -
The Abolition Movement
People began to ask the question "If we're the land of the free, why do we have slavery?" Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglas were the pioneers of the movement to end slavery. The slave trade ended in 1808 but slavery still existed in the south. In 1830, slavery faded out in the north, but they still accepted cheap cotton from slave planatations. Finally, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclaimation in 1863, freeing all American slaves. Image: Public Domain via Wikicommons -
Rights for Women
Women had very few rights before 1840. Their husbands had control over them, and they could not hold office or vote. Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton knew this was unfair and set out to change it. They decided to have a convention for women who felt the same way. Image via: commons wikimedia -
Dorthea Dix: Justice in the Prison Systems
Dorthea Dix was a woman who taught Sunday School in a prison. Upon her arrival in the prison, she realized that the prison system was inhuman and flawed in many ways. Children and the mentally ill, along with adult criminals were being treated the same, no matter the crime. She campaigned the lawmakers for better prison conditions. Dix searched for suppport for most of her life. Image via: Wikimedia commons (Public Domain) -
The Seneca Falls Convention
Women abolitionists, lead by Stanton and Mott, met in Seneca Falls for a convention. Here they wrote a Declaration of Sentiments based upon the Declaration of Independence. It stated that women deserved equal rights and the ability to vote. Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain. -
Educational Reform
Horace Mann saw a problem in the education system, and he wanted to fix it. Only wealthy children attended schools and usually were privately tutored. Commoners who attended the few public schools suffered from overcrowding and poorly trained teachers, and only for a couple months a year. Mann knew there had to be a different type of public schools. schools open to white males, and for a good part of the year. Image via Wikimedia commons, public domain -
Dorthea Dix Dies
Dix, a pioneer in prisoner treatment, died in 1887. She left a legacy behind. She managed to remove debtors from prisons and cruel punishements were no more. Seperate facilities for children, acults and the mentally ill were created to be most humane. Image via Wikimedia Commons public domain.
