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One American's Story

Religion Sparks

Reform

When Charles Grandison Finney preached, his listeners

shrieked, moaned, and fainted. The most famous preacher of

the era, Finney inspired emotional religious faith, using a

speaking style that was as much high drama as prayer or ser-

mon. Converted at the age of 29, Finney traveled by horse-

back to deliver his message. Finney seated the most likely

converts in his audiences on a special “anxious bench,” where

he could fasten his eyes upon them. He lectured on the depth

of the conversion experience.

A PERSONAL VOICE CHARLES GRANDISON FINNEY

“ I know this is all so much algebra to those who have never felt it.

But to those who have experienced the agony of wrestling, prevailing

prayer, for the conversion of a soul, you may depend upon it, that soul . . .

appears as dear as a child is to the mother who brought it forth with pain.

”

—Lectures on Revivals of Religions

The convert’s duty was to spread the word about personal salvation to others.

This religious activism—or evangelism—was part of an overall era of reform that

started in the 1830s. Reforms of the period included women’s rights, school reform,

and abolition, the movement to outlaw slavery. All of these movements emerged

as responses to rapid changes in American society such as early industrial growth,

increasing migration and immigration, and new means of communication.

The Second Great Awakening

Much of the impulse toward reform was rooted in the revivals of the broad

religious movement that swept the United States after 1790, known as the

Second Great Awakening. Finney and his contemporaries were participants in

240 C

HAPTER 8

Terms & Names

MAIN IDEA

WHY IT MATTERS NOW

•Charles Grandison

Finney

•Second Great

Awakening

•revival

•Ralph Waldo

Emerson

•transcendentalism

•Henry David

Thoreau

•civil disobedience

•utopian

community

•Dorothea Dix

A renewal of religious

sentiment—known as the

Second Great Awakening—

inspired a host of reform

movements.

Many modern social and political

reform movements grew out of

the reform movements of 19th-

century America.

▼

Charles Grandison

Finney

p0240-245aspe-0208s1 10/16/02 4:01 PM Page 240

Page 1 of 6

Reforming American Society 241

the Second Great Awakening. These preachers rejected the

18th-century Calvinistic belief that God predetermined

one’s salvation or damnation—whether a person went to

heaven or hell. Instead, they emphasized individual respon-

sibility for seeking salvation, and they insisted that people

could improve themselves and society.

Religious ideas current in the early 19th century pro-

moted individualism and responsibility, similar to the

emphasis of Jacksonian democracy on the power of the

common citizen. Christian churches split over these ideas,

as various denominations competed to proclaim the mes-

sage of a democratic God, one who extends the possibility

of salvation to all people. The forums for their messages

were large gatherings, where some preachers could draw

audiences of 20,000 or more at outdoor camps.

REVIVALISM

Such a gathering was called a revival, an

emotional meeting designed to awaken religious faith

through impassioned preaching and prayer. A revival might

last 4 or 5 days. During the day the participants studied the

Bible and examined their souls. In the evening they heard

emotional preaching that could make them cry out, burst

into tears, or tremble with fear.

Revivalism swept across the United States in the early

19th century. Some of the most intense revivals took place

in a part of western New York known as the burned-over

district because of the religious fires that frequently burned

there. Charles Finney fanned these flames, conducting

some of his most successful revivals in Rochester, New York.

The Rochester revivals earned Finney the reputation of “the

father of modern revivalism.” Revivalism had a strong impact on the public.

According to one estimate, in 1800 just 1 in 15 Americans belonged to a church,

but by 1850, 1 in 6 was a member.

THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHURCH

The Second Great Awakening also brought

Christianity on a large scale to enslaved African Americans. There was a strong

democratic impulse in the new churches and a belief that all people—black or

white—belonged to the same God. Thus,

the camp meetings and the new Baptist

or Methodist churches were open to

both blacks and whites. Slaves in

the rural South—though they

were segregated in pews of their

own—worshiped in the same

churches, heard the same ser-

mons, and sang the same hymns

as did the slave owners. Enslaved

African Americans, however,

interpreted the Christian mes-

sage as a promise of freedom for

their people.

In the East, many free African

Americans worshiped in separate

black churches, like Richard Allen’s

Bethel African Church in Philadelphia,

which by 1816 would become the African

This early-19th-

century tray

depicts Lemuel

Haynes preaching

in his Vermont

Congregational

Church.

MAIN IDEA

Analyzing

Effects

How did the

Second Great

Awakening

revolutionize the

American religious

tradition?

MODERN REVIVALISM

Evangelical Christianity reemerged

in several different religious organ-

izations in the late 20th century.

One example is the Christian

Coalition, a religiously based

citizen-action organization with

almost 2 million members.

As with the Second Great

Awakening, members of these

religious organizations often are

active in political movements that

spring from personal religious be-

liefs. Indeed, some of the organi-

zations use television much like

Finney used the revival meeting

to encourage believers to act on

their faith.

▼

A. Answer

It taught that

individual

responsibility

was the way

to salvation.

Revivalism was

one effect of the

Second great

Awakening.

p0240-245aspe-0208s1 10/16/02 4:01 PM Page 241

Page 2 of 6

Methodist Episcopal Church. Allen inspired his congregation to strengthen its

faith as well as to fight against slavery.

A PERSONAL VOICE RICHARD ALLEN

“ Our only design is to secure to ourselves, our rights and privileges to regulate

our affairs temporal and spiritual, the same as if we were white people, and to

guard against any oppression which might possibly arise from the improper preju-

dices or administration of any individual having the exercise of Discipline over us.

”

—quoted in Segregated Sabbaths

Membership in the African Methodist Episcopal Church grew rapidly. It

became a political, cultural, and social center for African Americans, providing

schools and other services that whites denied them.

Eventually the African-American church developed a political voice and

organized the first black national convention, held in Philadelphia in September

1830. Richard Allen convened the meeting, in which partici-

pants agreed to explore the possible settlement of free African

Americans and fugitive slaves in Canada. Allen’s convention

was the first of what would become an annual convention of

free blacks in the North. The African-American church gave its

members a deep inner faith, a strong sense of community—

and the spiritual support to oppose slavery.

Transcendentalism and Reforms

Many reformed-minded individuals sought an alternative to

traditional religion but found revivalism too public a forum

for religious expression.

TRANSCENDENTALISM

By the mid-1800s, some Americans

were taking new pride in their emerging culture. Ralph

Waldo Emerson, a New England writer, nurtured this pride.

Emerson led a group practicing transcendentalism—a

MAIN IDEA

Summarizing

How did the

African-American

church support its

followers?

History Through

A VIEW OF THE MOUNTAIN

PASS CALLED THE NOTCH OF

THE WHITE MOUNTAINS

(CRAWFORD NOTCH)

(1839)

This painting by Thomas Cole is

an example of the Hudson River

school. Like the transcendental-

ists, its painters celebrated the

beauty of the American land-

scape, and the truth found in

personal emotion.

What relationship between

humans and nature does Cole's

painting portray?

B. Answer By

giving its mem-

bers a sense of

community, an

inner faith, and

the spiritual and

political support

to oppose

oppression.

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Page 3 of 6

philosophical and literary movement that emphasized living a simple life and cel-

ebrated the truth found in nature and in personal emotion and imagination.

Exalting the dignity of the individual, the transcendentalists spawned a liter-

ary movement that stressed American ideas of optimism, freedom, and self-

reliance. Emerson’s friend Henry David Thoreau put the idea of self-reliance

into practice. Abandoning community life, he built himself a cabin on the shore

of Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts, where he lived alone for two years.

(See Literature of the Transcendentalists, page 246.) In Walden (1854), Thoreau

advised readers to follow their inner voices.

A PERSONAL VOICE HENRY DAVID THOREAU

“ I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the

direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he

will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. . . . If you have built cas-

tles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put

the foundations under them.

”

—Walden

Because Thoreau believed in the importance of individual conscience, he

urged people not to obey laws they considered unjust. Instead of protesting with

violence, they should peacefully refuse to obey those laws. This form of protest is

called civil disobedience. For example, Thoreau did not want to support the

U.S. government, which allowed slavery and fought the War with Mexico. Instead

of paying taxes that helped finance the war, Thoreau went to jail.

UNITARIANISM

Rather than appealing to the emotions, Unitarians emphasized

reason and appeals to conscience as the paths to perfection. In New England,

Unitarians quickly attracted a wealthy and educated following. In place of the dra-

matic conversions produced by the revivals, Unitarians believed conversion was a

gradual process. William Ellery Channing, a prominent Unitarian leader, asserted

that the purpose of Christianity was “the perfection of

human nature, the elevation of men into nobler beings.”

Unitarians agreed with revivalists that individual and social

reform were both possible and important.

Americans Form Ideal

Communities

Some of the optimism of religious and social reform also

inspired the establishment of utopian communities,

experimental groups who tried to create a “utopia,” or per-

fect place. These communities varied in their philosophies

and living arrangements but shared common goals such as

self-sufficiency. One of the best-known utopian communi-

ties was established in New Harmony, Indiana. Another was

Brook Farm, located near Boston.

In 1841 transcendentalist George Ripley established

Brook Farm to “prepare a society of liberal, intelligent and

cultivated persons, whose relations with each other would

permit a more wholesome and simple life than can be led

amidst the pressure of our competitive institutions.” A fire

destroyed the main building at Brook Farm in 1847, and

the community immediately disbanded. Most utopias last-

ed no more than a few years.

Reforming American Society 243

MAIN IDEA

Contrasting

How did the

Unitarians’

approach to re-

ligious experience

differ from the

revivalists’?

MAIN IDEA

Synthesizing

In what way

did Thoreau’s

experience at

Walden reflect

transcendentalist

beliefs?

ANOTHER

HAWTHORNE AT

BROOK FARM

New England writer Nathaniel

Hawthorne spent about six

months at Brook Farm in 1841.

He hoped to find solitude in

which to write, but instead spent

close to ten hours a day working

in the barns and fields. He was

forced to conclude that life there

was “unnatural and unsuitable”

for him.

Ten years after he left Brook

Farm, Hawthorne, now consid-

ered an established author, wrote

The Blithedale Romance (1852).

A fictional account of communal

life based on Brook Farm, the

book suggests that striving for

perfection may yield unexpected

results.

C. Answer

Transcendental-

ists stressed

self-reliance

and the ability

to be close to

nature. Thoreau

showed both

qualities when

he lived alone

for two yers at

Walden Pond.

D. Answer

The Unitarians

believed con-

version was

achieved

through a grad-

ual process

using reason,

rather than

through an emo-

tional moment in

a revival.

p0240-245aspe-0208s1 10/16/02 4:01 PM Page 243

Page 4 of 6

The failure of the utopian communities did not lessen the zeal of the reli-

gious reformers. Many became active in humanitarian reform movements,

such as the abolition of slavery and improved conditions for women.

SHAKER COMMUNITIES

Religious belief spurred other ideal communi-

ties. The Shakers, who followed the teachings of Ann Lee, set up their first

communities in New York, New England, and on the frontier. Shakers

shared their goods with each other, believed that men and women are

equal, and refused to fight for any reason. When a person became a Shaker,

he or she vowed not to marry or have children. Shakers depended on con-

verts and adopting children to keep their communities going. In the 1840s,

the Shakers had 6,000 members—their highest number. In 1999, only about

seven Shakers remained in the entire United States.

Schools and Prisons Undergo Reform

By the mid-19th century, thousands of Americans holding a variety of

philosophical positions had joined together to fight the various social ills

that troubled the young nation. Some social reformers focused their atten-

tion on schools and other institutions.

REFORMING ASYLUMS AND PRISONS

In 1831, French writer Alexis de

Tocqueville had visited the United States to study its penitentiary system.

Observing prisoners who were physically punished or isolated for extended

periods, de Tocqueville concluded that “While society in the United States gives

the example of the most extended liberty, the prisons of the same country offer

the spectacle of the most complete despotism [rigid and severe control].”

Reformers quickly took up the cause.

Dorothea Dix was compelled by personal experience to

join the movement for social reform. On visiting a

Massachusetts house of correction, Dix was horrified to

discover that jails often housed mentally ill people.

A PERSONAL VOICE DOROTHEA DIX

“ I proceed, gentlemen, briefly to call your atten-

tion to the present state of insane persons con-

fined within this Commonwealth. . . . Chained,

naked, beaten with rods, and lashed into obedi-

ence! . . . Injustice is also done to the convicts: it

is certainly very wrong that they should be doomed

day after day and night after night to listen to the

ravings of madmen and madwomen.

”

—Report to the Massachusetts Legislature

In 1843 she sent a report of her findings to the Massachusetts

legislature, who in turn passed a law aimed at improving conditions.

Between 1845 and 1852, Dix persuaded nine Southern states to set

up public hospitals for the mentally ill.

Prison reformers—and Dorothea Dix in her efforts on behalf of the mentally

ill—emphasized the idea of rehabilitation, treatment that might reform the sick or

imprisoned person to a useful position in society. There was, as revivalists sug-

gested, hope for everyone.

IMPROVING EDUCATION

Before the mid-1800s, no uniform educational policy

existed in the United States. School conditions varied across regions. Massachussetts

and Vermont were the only states before the Civil War to pass a compulsory school

244 C

HAPTER 8

▼

Dorothea Dix

(ca. 1846)

▼

These fine oval

wooden boxes

were made in the

Shaker village in

Canterbury, New

Hampshire. They

were used for

storing small

items.

MAIN IDEA

Analyzing

Effects

How did the

reformers change

the treatment of

the mentally ill

and prisoners?

E. Answer They

emphasized

rehabilitation

rather than

imprisonment.

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Page 5 of 6

attendance law. Classrooms in the early schools were not

divided by grade, so younger and older pupils were thrown

together. Few children continued in school beyond the age

of ten.

In the 1830s, Americans increasingly began to demand

tax-supported public schools. For example, in 1834

Pennsylvania established a tax-supported public school sys-

tem. Although the system was optional, a storm of opposition

erupted from well-to-do taxpayers. They saw no reason to sup-

port schools that their children, who were mostly enrolled in

private schools, would not attend. Opposition also came from

some German immigrants who feared that their children

would forget the German language and culture. Within three

years, however, about 42 percent of the elementary-school-

age children in Pennsylvania were attending public schools.

One remarkable leader in the public school reform

movement was Horace Mann of Massachusetts. After a

childhood spent partly at work and partly in poor schools,

Mann declared, “If we do not prepare children to become

good citizens, . . . if we do not enrich their minds with

knowledge, then our republic must go down to destruction,

as others have gone before it.” In 1837 he became the first

secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education. In 12

years of service, Mann established teacher-training pro-

grams and instituted curriculum reforms. He also doubled

the money that the state spent on schools.

Other states soon followed Massachusetts’s and

Pennsylvania’s good example. By the 1850s every state had

provided some form of publicly funded elementary schools.

In states in the far West and in Southern states, however, it

took years before public schools were firmly established.

Reforming American Society 245

MAIN IDEA

Summarizing

What efforts

were made to

improve education

in the 1830s?

MAIN IDEA

2. TAKING NOTES

In a web similar to the one shown,

fill in events and ideas that relate to

the Second Great Awakening.

Why did revivalism catch hold in the

early 19th century?

CRITICAL THINKING

3. SYNTHESIZING

Consider the philosophical and

religious ideas expressed during the

Second Great Awakening and other

religious reform movements. What

were the key values and beliefs that

guided 19th-century reformers’

actions? Think About:

• concepts of individualism and

individual salvation

• attitudes toward social responsi-

bility

• the viewpoints of Finney,

Channing, and Emerson

4. ANALYZING ISSUES

How do you think the 19th-century

reform movements in schools,

prisons, and asylums might have

influenced reform movements today?

5. COMPARING

Why might the idea of utopian

communities appeal to the

transcendentalists?

•Charles Grandison Finney

•Second Great Awakening

•revival

•Ralph Waldo Emerson

•transcendentalism

•Henry David Thoreau

•civil disobedience

•utopian community

•Dorothea Dix

1. TERMS & NAMES For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.

HISTORICAL

MCGUFFEY’S READERS

If you attended school during the

mid-to late-1800s, you probably

would have used a McGuffey’s

reader. William H. McGuffey, a

teacher and preacher in Ohio, first

published his popular grade-school

reading books in the 1830s.

The readers, which had sold

more than 60 million copies by

1879, taught reading, writing,

and arithmetic, as well as the

democratic cultural values of

hard work, honesty, and love of

country. They also contained little

moral lessons to live by, such as

“Idleness is the nest in which

mischief lays its eggs.”

F. Answer

States began to

establish tax-

supported pub-

lic schools, cur-

riculum changes

were made, and

teachers

received better

training.

Second Great

Awakening

individual

responsibilities

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