Reform after the Revolution
Although the United States gained independence after the Revolution from Britain, it was not without issues that needed to be addressed in order to promote a better way of life for the people. With the approaching new age came reformers that wanted to ensure that various improvements would occur in their country in order to enhance their lives. To the people, the only way to get the problems recognized on a national level was to organize social movements. Reformers sought answers to the problems within the prison system and also for the insane. Efforts were made to take the punishment out of the prison and use rehabilitation instead. Religious reformers opposed alcohol since they believed alcohol had effects on the work force and the family. Another effort of reform was the Antimasonry movement. Since it excluded women, it was believed by the reformers to be threatening to the family by encouraging men to use alcohol while neglecting their families. Since the Mason's were made up of prominent middle and upper class men, it was believed to be a secret fraternity with antirepublican views. This was a very short-lived political movement. Although these issues did not accomplish the goals of the reformer
During the nineteenth century, women were subjected to stereotypes that limited what their gender was thought to be capable of. Those who were against abolishing slavery often went to extreme lengths to stop the immediatist's efforts. Teaching soon became a woman's role as an extension of the home, which at the time was a women's place to begin with. Upon abolitionists employing their constitutional right to petition Congress for the discontinuance of slavery, the "gag rule" was adopted. These hours were primarily before or after regular school hours for the boys or during the summer months when the boys tended the fields. Although not all reformers believed in the immediate discontinuance of slavery, others tended to favor the gradual approach. In the 1830's, along with a small minority of white reformers, William Lloyd Garrison's morals drove him to demand "immediate and complete emancipation" (Norton 242) of slavery. This meeting resulted in the Declaration of Sentiments, which listed the injustices that women suffered. Incidents such as the murder of Elijah P. Approximately as to which 300 men and women were in attendance. It was due to Garrison's efforts, such as distributing The Liberator, that antislavery became a national issue among reformers. Women, through their churches, formed antislavery societies and their goal was to improve the lives of others and then to secure rights for themselves. Those who advocated immediate emancipation saw slavery as a moral issue, a sin on the American nation. The rights and privileges that the women believed they should have as citizens of the United States such as the ability to vote, advancement in education and property rights were listed.
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Acceptance Essays
