The Antebellum Era: Major Social Reform Movements Essay

Antebellum South Carolina was a period considered to be between 1790 and the American civil war in 1861. In 1786 the cotton gin was created causing the cotton industry to increase its labor demand due to the increased harvest size on the plantations. Not only was the cotton industry in high demand but also so was rice harvesting causing South Carolina to become a heavily slave populated state. Image A and B both represent two periods of slavery during the antebellum South Carolina. Image A shows an advertisement for a slave sale in Charles Town South Carolina on the Ashley Ferry river, while image B shows an illustration of elderly domestic house servants looking after both white and black children. Image A was taken before the start of

As Americans entered an era of transition and instability, they sought to expand democratic ideals in the society. In response to sudden changes occurring and traditional values being challenged, various reform movements during 1825-1850 began to focus on democratic ideals. The rise of religious revivals, movements for equal rights and protecting liberties of different social groups, want to advance society technologically, and desire to bring order and control helped reform the society to live up to the nation’s founding ideals. Teaching them (I don’t get who “them” is) the habits of thrift, orderliness, temperance and industry was a way to not only better their lives but a way to instill certain democratic values and advance the

American Reformers, 1815-1860 goes into the social and political issues surrounding the Jackson Presidency. Ronald G. Walters effectively chronicalizes the reformation and radicalization of the main issues prevalent in early 19th century. These issues included slavery, alcoholism, women’s rights, religion and science. He explains how these issues led to the transformation of our country into what it is today and explains the reformers responsible for such radical change. He emphasizes the idea that every individual during this time period had some sense of radical reform ideology. These antebellum reformers worked to resolve the social and political issues plaguing the nation through reform and Ronald G. Walters eloquently depicts the reform movements of the early-mid 19th century. His work is very accurate and progressive in every sense.

Between the years 1825 and 1850, the US underwent a series of social and political reforms which attempted to democratize American life. Reform movements during this period of Jacksonian Democracy attempted to dissolve disunity in the social ladder and pushed for equal rights among all citizens. Stemming from the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century, many of these reforms were backed by religious ideals over democratic principles. At the forefront of the cause, however, was the hope for a more democratic system in which there was not only popular sovereignty, but a sense of social leveling.

The validity of the statement, “Reform movements in the United States sought to expand democratic ideals” can be assessed regarding many reformations in the time period of 1825-1850 including the American temperance movement, the women’s rights movement, and the abolitionist reform. All of which very much expanded core democratic ideology, such as equality, liberty for all, and the pursuit of happiness. All these reforms share the qualities necessary to attempt to make the United States a more civilized, utopian society. Social reform was a necessity when it came to expanding democratic ideals.

African American’s first legal sight of freedom came in 1799 with the Gradual Emancipation of slaves that were born on or after 1799. Many whites against slavery helped with their efforts in bring the Gradual Emancipation’s approval. The Quakers were the first to help the slaves fight for freedom. The New York Manumission Society contributed the most for the emancipation of slaves, but let’s not give all the credit to the whites. Black efforts undeniably helped in the process of gradually abolishing slavery as well.

Africans first arrived in the area that later became the United States of America in around 1619 in the Chesapeake area. The large amount of fertile land in the area gave the settlers their biggest cash crop, which was tobacco. As time went by, more and more tobacco was being exported to England. Because of this, more labor was needed. This need for more labor was not only in the north, but in the south as well due to their mass production of cotton. This movement started the institution of slavery in America. Then, the colonies and other countries started to trade slaves and it became a business. The Royal African Company was the first slave trading company, which was started in 1672. The slaves were transported by the Middle

Then change in the 1730’s a religious group called the Quakers would inspire the Great Awakening which abolished slavery and demanded that slave holders across the colonies to do the same. That they would start to happen after the American Revolution by 1820’s and the north was on a path to end slavery for good and allowed blacks to live free in the north for the first time in American history, but that did not change for the south. The south offering liberties to white plantation owners have offered a few rights to blacks they would develop the ⅗ compromise that would determine how slaves would be counted as far as tax and legislative representation. While slavery started to get essentially worse in the southern states. It seems that the American Revolution did not do anything for the Africans for “freedom” besides what they did in the northern states by 1804. Every northern state either abolished slavery or passed a law to eliminate it

Meanwhile, in the south, Free blacks were still at risk and lived under the shadow of slavery.Free blacks were at risk of being captured and sold as a slave to wealthy plantation owners. Their

The Abolitionist movement during the Antebellum period, was a critical time in American history. The goal of this movement was to emancipate all slaves immediately, and end discrimination, as well as segregation. The brave men and women involved in this movement were called abolitionists and antislavery advocates. The antislavery advocates stood for freeing slaves gradually, and abolitionists wanted slavery gone immediately. No matter how fast, these people all wanted to spread opposition against slavery across the United States. Northern churches started liking this whole idea of abolishing slavery, which started conflict between the North and South. These arguments led up to the Civil War.

As far back as 84 years before the war, legal changes to slavery were already beginning to occur in the Northern states. From 1777 to 1804, majority of the north adapted one of three lawful ways of freeing slaves. Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts chose to abolish slavery all together. While New York, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey opted for the gradual emancipation, the states on the south of their borders chose something else. In Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware, where slaves were still a vital part of their workforce, only individual cases of emancipation were granted to some. (Roark et al., p. 259) At around the same time in 1793, the Southern states were introduced to a new invention that successfully altered their whole economy. The creation of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin made production of cotton easier and faster. This in turn, enabled the owners of the machine the ability to cater to the high demands of cotton worldwide. Unfortunately for the slaves in the South, cotton gins still required operation by an actual person, and the cotton gins was only used for one step (although separating the seeds from the cotton was the most difficult) out of the many steps

Throughout history, political, social, and economical issues have erupted and caused society to reform. These reform movements are created in order for the people of America to have the ability to resolve the issues they see in their communities. Some of the movements that have been most prominent in the united States during the early 19th century are the Women’s Reform Movement, the Prison Reform and the Education reform. All of these developments allowed awareness to be created about the problems that everyday citizens were experiencing and how they were going those change problems into resolutions.

The United States of America experienced several reform movements from 1825 to 1850. The reformers sought to improve religion, rehabilitation of criminals and mental patients, education, slavery, and women’s rights. Each demonstrated democratic ideals to the extent that the reformers sought to incorporate the values of liberty and equality into their reform movements to improve the quality of life but did so at the expense and dismay of others.

Throughout the history of the United States there have been many reform movements that have molded the culture we live in today. The rights that we as Americans enjoy today can be credited to the people who fought for more rights and a better way of life. Two reform movements that have changed America for the better are the Abolitionist Movement and the Civil Rights Movement. Around the 1820’s the feeling of legal slavery was changing in the United States.

In 1761 the Quakers believed it was a christian duty to end slavery. All quakers on both sides of the Atlantic were banned from owning slaves. If you were caught still owning a slave you were disowned from the group. It was not until 1783 when the Quakers came together and presented a petition to the House of Commons against the slave trade. The quakers received three hundred signatures from other quakers. After looking at the amount of signatures they set up a formal committee. The committee had the original nine quakers plus three Anglicans; Granville Sharp, Philip Sansom, and Thomas Clarkson. Once Thomas Clarkson joined the committee he took matters into his own hands and started to get more public attention.