The Second Great Awakening sparked religious revivalism and the growth of utopian societies in early 19th century America. Mass camp meetings attracted thousands to hear preachers call for spiritual renewal. Reforms also aimed to address social problems through temperance, education, abolition, and women's rights movements. The era saw a rise in religiously-inspired reformers advocating for causes like banning alcohol, establishing public schools, and ending slavery.

1. AMERICAN SOCIETY &
ECONOMY TRANSFORMED

2. Second Great Awakening
Began in New England in the 1790s, but spread
across the country
Camp meetings became common:
 Large audiences listened to many different preachers
 Speakers called on worshippers to ask for forgiveness &
prepare for the Second Coming
 Largest meeting took place in Kentucky in 1801

3. Second Great Awakening
Charles Finney:
 Former lawyer & gifted
speaker
 Used language that all
could understand
 Advocated that anyone
could achieve salvation
 Argued that human nature
was not necessarily
dominated by sin
 Eventually became
president of Oberlin College

4. Religious & Utopian Societies

5. Shaker Society
Established a number of
communities in several
states
Hoped to be self-sufficient &
became known for their
furniture & handicrafts
The movement peaked
between 1820-1860

6. Era of Reform
There were many groups
attempting to improve
society, including followers
of:
 Temperance
 Public Education
 Abolition
 Women’s Rights

7. Alcohol & Temperance
Alcohol abuse was
seen as a major
problem
Religious reformers
saw alcohol
consumption as
immoral
Factory owners
complained about
productivity & quality

8. Alcohol & Temperance
The American Society for the
Promotion of Temperance
began in 1826:
 Encouraged abstinence pledges
 Lobbied states for the
prohibition of alcohol
Rates of alcohol consumption
had dropped in half by the
1840s

9. Public Education
For many years, public
education was considered to
be a family’s responsibility &
was not required
Horace Mann became a
leading reformer in
Massachusetts & the US

10. Mann’s Education Reforms
School attendance was
made mandatory & the
school year was extended
Curriculum was standardized
& began to emphasize
practical education
Many states adopted similar
reforms in order to educate
children & assimilate
immigrants

11. Abolition
Quakers advocated the
abolition of slavery in the
years following the American
Revolution
American Colonization
Society called for the removal
of free blacks from the US

12. American Colonization Society
Founded in 1817
Believed in the following:
 Gradual emancipation of slaves
with compensation for slave
owners
 Former slaves should be
transported to the African nation of
Liberia
 Slavery was wrong, yet blacks
were inferior to whites

13. American Colonization Society
Paul Cuffe provided ships &
money to former slaves
hoping to travel to Liberia
Not many slaves earned
their freedom – it was very
expensive
Many former slaves had no
desire to live in Africa

14. Abolition
Black abolitionists such as
David Walker, Sojourner
Truth, & Frederick Douglass
were also active
William Lloyd Garrison called
for the immediate abolition of
slavery

15. Women in the Abolition Movement
Angelina Grimke was born to
a slave-holding family in
South Carolina
She & her sister spoke to
anti-slavery audiences
Some criticized the Grimke
sisters for speaking to mixed
audiences

16. Women’s Rights
Margaret Fuller received an
education in the classics
Wrote that women must be
allowed to develop their own
intellectual abilities
Other women’s rights
advocated included Lucretia
Mott & Elizabeth Cady Stanton

17. Seneca Falls Convention
Held in Seneca Falls,
NY in 1848
Participants protested
women’s lack of
property rights &
suffrage
Created a Declaration
of Sentiments – “All
men & women are
created equal”