Jackson's Presidency: 1828-1836 Jacksonian Democracy expressed itself in many ways. One way was through reform movements. The years 1830 to 1850 are sometimes called the Age of American Reform. In this lecture we will seek to understand why so many people involved themselves with intentional reform movements over societal problems such as drinking, prostitution, and slavery). We will also consider what overall impact those reforms had on American history. It is not a stretch to purport that the shape of our modern institutions—schools, hospitals for the mentally ill, prisons, etc.—is a legacy of this period. Granted, the later Progressive movement of the early 20th century refined and brought government intervention into these movements, but they had their beginning during this time period. American Reform - Why Now? First, why? Why at this particular time in history? Why didn’t this reforming impulse come earlier? One answer might be that the era of Jackson (he was president from 1828 to 1836) brought on a greater participatory democracy than the country had ever seen. It is true that with the emergence of universal manhood suffrage a sense of greater participation in national life followed. Many even saw this greater egalitarianism as a natural continuation of the gains of the Revolution. · Participatory Democracy · Universal Manhood Suffrage · Maturing Enlightenment Philosophy Some have argued that the maturing of Enlightenment Philosophy during this time called for the rejection of things like the inevitability of poverty and other social ills. And since Enlightenment thought does not stress man’s sinfulness per se one can see how thoughtful reflection within the parameters of this philosophical system would tend to focus on man’s ability to improve more and more. Religious Impulse: Unitarianism (Liberalism) and Revivalism (Evangelicalism) A major impulse that drove American Reform was religious. Two particular expressions of faith informed these 19th century movements. One was liberalism, more specifically Unitarianism—a movement especially in New England that, among other things, denied the Trinity and man’s sinfulness. The other was Evangelicalism - more specifically Revivalism born of what is called the 2nd Great Awakening—which had its own departures from orthodoxy. First let’s look at Unitarianism. A New England minister named William Ellery Channing (1780-1742) was the leading Unitarian of his day. He stressed in his preaching (and this is a common tenet of Unitarianism) man is innately good. He said that the purpose of Christianity was “the perfection of human nature.” Central to this view is a denial of original sin. If man is not a sinner and he is naturally good, then if follows that he is perfectible. Many Unitarians, especially in New England, got involved in reform movement based on this premise of man’s perfectibility. Unitarianism (a form of liberalism) · New England · Denial of Trinity · Wil ...

1. Jackson's Presidency: 1828-1836
Jacksonian Democracy expressed itself in many ways. One way
was through reform movements. The years 1830 to 1850 are
sometimes called the Age of American Reform. In this lecture
we will seek to understand why so many people involved
themselves with intentional reform movements over societal
problems such as drinking, prostitution, and slavery). We will
also consider what overall impact those reforms had on
American history. It is not a stretch to purport that the shape of
our modern institutions—schools, hospitals for the mentally ill,
prisons, etc.—is a legacy of this period. Granted, the later
Progressive movement of the early 20th century refined and
brought government intervention into these movements, but they
had their beginning during this time period.
American Reform - Why Now?
First, why? Why at this particular time in history? Why didn’t
this reforming impulse come earlier? One answer might be that
the era of Jackson (he was president from 1828 to 1836) brought
on a greater participatory democracy than the country had ever
seen. It is true that with the emergence of universal manhood
suffrage a sense of greater participation in national life
followed. Many even saw this greater egalitarianism as a
natural continuation of the gains of the Revolution.
· Participatory Democracy
· Universal Manhood Suffrage
· Maturing Enlightenment Philosophy
Some have argued that the maturing of Enlightenment
Philosophy during this time called for the rejection of things
like the inevitability of poverty and other social ills. And since
Enlightenment thought does not stress man’s sinfulness per se
one can see how thoughtful reflection within the parameters of

2. this philosophical system would tend to focus on man’s ability
to improve more and more.
Religious Impulse: Unitarianism (Liberalism) and Revivalism
(Evangelicalism)
A major impulse that drove American Reform was religious.
Two particular expressions of faith informed these 19th century
movements. One was liberalism, more specifically
Unitarianism—a movement especially in New England that,
among other things, denied the Trinity and man’s sinfulness.
The other was Evangelicalism - more specifically Revivalism
born of what is called the 2nd Great Awakening—which had its
own departures from orthodoxy.
First let’s look at Unitarianism. A New England minister
named William Ellery Channing (1780-1742) was the leading
Unitarian of his day. He stressed in his preaching (and this is a
common tenet of Unitarianism) man is innately good. He said
that the purpose of Christianity was “the perfection of human
nature.” Central to this view is a denial of original sin. If man
is not a sinner and he is naturally good, then if follows that he
is perfectible. Many Unitarians, especially in New England, got
involved in reform movement based on this premise of man’s
perfectibility.
Unitarianism (a form of liberalism)
· New England
· Denial of Trinity
· William Ellery Channing (1780-1842)
· Denial of imputation of original sin
· Man is basically good and perfectible
· "perfection of human nature"
Evangelical Revivalism, especially as it manifested itself within
certain movements of the 2nd Great Awakening, had a powerful
impact on American reform—possibly the most powerful. The

3. 2nd Great Awakening was not confined to one place. It was as
varied in geography as it was in class. Awakenings broke out at
Yale University in the early part of the century under the
preaching of that institutions president, Timothy Dwight but
also in the Cane Ridge backcountry of Kentucky under men like
Peter Cartwright and James McGreedy.
· Evangelical Revivalism
· 2nd Great Awakening
· Wide geographic and class appeal
· Timothy Dwight - Yale
· Peter Cartwright and James McGready - Cane Ridge, KY
Charles Finney and the "New Measures'
· Father of Modern Revivalism
· Height of Preaching Career
· Oberlin College
· Lectures on Revivals (1835)
· New Measures: Alter Call / Anxious Bench
But the most important figure of the 2nd Great Awakening was
Charles Finney (1792-1875). He has been called the “Father of
Modern Revivalism.” After studying law from 1818 to 1821,
experienced a sudden conversion. By 1824 the Presbyterian
denomination issued him a license to preach. The height of
Finney’s revivalist career was between 1824 and 1835. Finney
was later a professor and President of Oberlin College. In 1835
he published his famous Lectures on Revivals in which he sets
forth a prescription for having a revival--a sort of “how to”
book on revivalism. This work is still widely read and used
today.
Finney was known for introducing what were called “New
Measures” in his revivals. For example, he is credited by some
with institutionalizing the now common alter call. Prior to
Finney, it was very rare to have a segment of the service

4. specifically set aside to call people forward for spiritual
counsel. He placed what was called an “anxious bench” at the
front where those who needed prayer or simply needed to
meditate on their spiritual need would come. Finney was
heavily criticized for his new measures. One reason behind
these criticisms was the belief by some that Finney placed too
much emphasis on human ability in salvation.
Perfectibility
· Utopianism
· John Noyes and the Oneida Community
The influence of both the Unitarians and the Finney
Evangelicals played a key role in initiating and carrying out all
sorts or reform in the 19th century. The Unitarians believed
that man was perfectible because he was basically good. The
Finney evangelicals certainly did not take it that far, but in the
main they also believed in a theoretical perfectibility. Man’s
perfectibility or at least his great potential for positive change,
was the principal impulse toward reform in America.
Finney’s revivals seemed to influence some in this direction.
One example of this is the Oneida community in New York
State. John Noyes was converted in a Finney Revival and in his
subsequent study of Scripture he concluded that Christ had
already returned and that in order for Christ to set up his earthly
kingdom, people had to stop sinning. He decided that he would
contribute his part to the effort by setting up a community
where sinless perfection would be the ultimate goal. The
problem was that he began to redefine sin. He believed that
private ownership of property was wrong and should be
avoided. Thus, their community was communal in nature.
Real-estate was not the only thing they shared. Noyes instituted
what was called “complex marriage.” This meant that every
man was married to every woman in the community. Exclusive
relationships were prohibited.

5. Women and Reform
· Prostitution
· Magdalene Societies
· New York Moral Reform Society
Most of the people influenced by Liberalism or this new
Evangelicalism found service reform more rewarding than
inwardly focused communal living. Women were especially
prominent leaders of reform. Women found a new freedom of
expression in the newer evangelical methods (women were very
active in the Finney crusades, for example) and this
involvement would work its way into various areas of social and
moral reforms.
Women were the primary reformers involved in trying to stem
the disturbing tide of prostitution. Magdalene societies were
formed beginning in the 1830s for this purpose. The New York
Moral Reform society had 15,000 members by 1837. One way
this organization combated prostitution was that they would
post members outside houses of ill repute and take the names of
men who frequented them. They would then take the names to
the local newspaper for publication. Needless to say, this could
be an effective deterrent.
Women and Reform: Temperance
· American Society for the Promotion of Temperance (1826)
· 1820: 7 gallons of pure alcohol
· 1840: 2 gallons of pure alcohol
Women were especially involved also in Temperance reform.
The first formal organization was called the American society
for the Promotion of Temperance formed in 1826. By 1835
memberships in the various temperance organizations stood at
around 1.5 million. In a day when liquor was a common as
coffee, the social ramifications of drinking were evident. On
the frontier one evangelist noted that “a house could not be

6. raised, a field of wheat cut down, nor could there be a log
rolling, a husking, a quilting, a wedding, or a funeral without
the aid of alcohol.” By 1820 American adults consumed more
than 7 gallons of absolute pure alcohol a year. By 1840 that
number went to 2 gallons. Today it is around 2.6. So, you can
see the effectiveness the Temperance movement had.
Crime and Punishment
· Criminal Rehabilitation
· Prison Reform
· Mentally Ill
· Dorothea Dix
Criminal rehabilitation was another focus of the Reform
movement. During this time the penal institutions began to
move from punishment to correction. Prisons should help
correct the problem, not just react to it. You will note that most
state penal institutions are called Departments of Correction.
That came largely from this time period. Some very interesting
spin-off problems surfaced when greater investigation was made
of prisons. Dorothea Dix (1802-1887), who had begun to teach
bible lessons in a women’s penitentiary soon discovered that
many in the prison were mentally ill. This led her to start and
lead a crusade for the mentally ill in America.
Education Reform
Calvin Stowe - "unless we educate our immigrants they will be
our ruin. It is no longer a mere question of benevolence, of
duty, or of enlightened self inters," he said, "we are prompted to
it by the instinct of self-preservation."
Another very important area of reform was in education. Greater
stress began to be placed on the need for an enlightened
citizenry. Education, for example, can help keep children from
becoming criminals. Northeastern cities had begun to see an
alarming rise in juvenile gangs and preventative measures
needed to be taken. Much of the concern came from the rise in

7. immigration. Calvin Stowe (husband of the more famous
Harriet Beecher Stowe) said that “unless we educate our
immigrants they will be our ruin. It is no longer a mere
question of benevolence, of duty, or of enlightened self
interest,” he said, “we are prompted to it by the instinct of self-
preservation.” One man who led the way in educational reform
was Horace Mann (1796-1859) lawyer, legislator, and educator
from Massachusetts. Mann helped to establish and served at
the head of America’s first state board of education. Be sure to
listen the video presentation for more information on Horace
Mann.
Abolitionism: Colonialism
· Growth of Slavery
· Cotton Kingdom
· Colonization
One area of reform that spoke as much about the transition
America was going through was that of Abolitionism. The
abolitionist movement dealt with the existing problem of
slavery in America. By 1804 nine state north of Maryland and
Delaware had either emancipated their slaves or adopted gradual
emancipation plans. England emancipated its slaves in 1833
and France in 1848. But slavery was not dying. It was the
dominant labor force throughout South America and also the
American South. The 1830s saw a surge of international cotton
sales, a reality that created what we call the “Cotton Kingdom.”
The most widely held idea in the north for slavery reform came
in the form of Colonization—the belief that the best way to end
slavery was to colonize slaves, preferably on a foreign shore.
The principal idea behind colonization was the belief that
blacks and whites could not co-exist.
Abolitionism: Immediate Emancipation
· William Lloyd Garrison

8. · The Liberator: " I am in earnest - I will not equivocate - I will
not excuse - I will not retreat a single inch - and I will be
heard."
'
The more radical expression of Abolitionism was not the norm,
but it was the loudest. William Lloyd Garrison was the most
prominent of this movement. One can get a taste of Garrison’s
style by reading a statement he made in the first issue (1831) of
his militant magazine The Liberator. On the front page he
wrote, “I will not equivocate—I will not excuse—I will not
retreat a single inch---And I will be heard.” Sometimes he
would open meetings by burning a copy of the Constitution
calling it “a covenant with death and an agreement with Hell.”
Garrison believed in immediate and unconditional
emancipation. One reason this type of reform was not appealing
to the average northerner was due in part to the fear of a mass
immigration of former slaves to the North. Garrison was
greatly despised by many in the north. In fact, he was almost
hanged on Boston Common for his agitations in 1835. Several
of the more Garrisonian type abolitionists faced severe
resistance. Northern mobs attacked the homes and businesses of
abolitionist merchants, destroyed abolitionist printing presses,
and—in their retaliatory fervor—sometimes attacked northern
black neighborhoods. During anti-abolitionist rioting in
Philadelphia in October of 1834, white mobs destroyed 45
homes in the city’s black community.
Southern Response
· State of Georgia offered $5000 reward for Garrison's arrest
· Vast promulgation of abolitionist literature
· Gag Rule 1836-1844
If radical abolitionism was disliked by the common northerner,
it was doubly despised and feared in the South. Upon
publication of the first issue of Garrison’s Liberator the state of
Georgia offered a $5,000 dollar reward for his arrest. By 1835

9. there were about 200 anti-slavery societies in the North. Of the
1 million pieces of literature published in the mid 1830s, some
20,000 made their way in the South. The issue became so
controversial that the U.S. Postal Service for a time refused to
deliver abolitionist literature. Between the years 1836 and 1844
the U.S. House of Representatives adopted a Gag Rule that
disallowed the discussion of abolition on the House floor.
Move Toward Political Action
· Disagreement over method
· Frederick Douglas
· The North Star
Garrison did not believe in resorting to politics to promulgate
his message. He was about writing, speaking, persuading—
general agitation. Some who otherwise were in agreement with
Garrison believed that political action should be a part of the
movement. There was an eventual division within the
movement—especially between those who believed in political
action and those who did not. Frederick Douglass, the most
famous of the black abolitionists, broke with Garrison over this
very issue. He eventually published his own magazine, The
North Star and placed a more political action spin on the
movement.
The Politics of Abolition
· Liberty Party
· Anti-Slavery Democrats (Barnburners)
· Anti-Slavery Whigs (Conscience Whigs)
· All of the above combined to form the Free Soil Party in 1848
Those of a more political bent formed the Liberty Party and ran
presidential candidates both in 1840 and 1844. In 1848 a
combination of the Anti-slavery Democrats (barnburners—
called that because they were willing to burn down the
Democratic barn over the slavery issue), Anti-slavery Whigs

10. (called ‘Conscience Whigs), and people from the Liberty Party
formed the Free Soil Party.
The Mexican War
· New Territories
· Expansion of Slavery
This mix did have the result that Garrison had feared, it
lessened the radical-ness of much of the abolitionist movement.
The Mexican War had a lot to do with this change of emphasis
as well. Once vast territories were opened up in the West, the
focus on slavery in the South shifted a great deal to the question
of whether or not slavery would be allowed to expand. In other
words, Political Abolitionism took on more defensive posture so
as to prevent the spread of slavery in the territories. At best,
this was a surrender to Garrison.
The Reform Movement's True Beliver
· John Brown
· Another Joshua
But there was a true believer left, and he was not a writer or
speaker. John Brown of Connecticut saw no hope in political
action. In his younger days he raised his hand and swore in a
church meeting that he would dedicate his life to the absolute
and unequivocal abolition of slavery. He was good to his word.
Brown, it is said, was an avid reader of the Old Testament and
saw himself as a sort of reincarnated Joshua placed on earth to
lead the slaves to the promise land.
Radicalism in Action
· Bleeding Kansas
· Harper's Ferry
· Ralph Waldo Emerson - "He made the gallows glorious like
the cross."

11. During the time of Bleeding Kansas (1856)—a localized civil
war over the very issue of the expansion of slavery there—John
Brown and a small band went to Kansas and cold bloodily killed
five people for one reason, they were pro-slavery. He went
back to New England, for financial reinforcement, and returned
in 1857 to continue his campaign. Finding the controversy
subsided; he looked elsewhere for a cause. Eventually he
received more funding from a group of northern businessmen
and settled upon the idea of starting a slave revolt in Virginia
hoping that it would develop in critical mass throughout the
South leading eventually to the freedom of all slaves.
Although Brown’s 1859 attack was not successful (he was
thwarted by Robert E. Lee and a detachment of U.S. Marines)
and he was eventually hanged, the fear that there might be other
John Browns seemed to grip the South. The response of
northern radicals over John Brown’s death no doubt intensified
the fear in the South. Ralph Waldo Emerson said that Brown
made “the gallows glorious like the cross.” Henry David
Thoreau compared Brown to Jesus as well. This type of
response, even if it was a minority in the North, could well have
caused some in the South just how far northerners would go in
justifying such an act.
Southern Reaction
· Secession: "Perceived Resistance to an American Utopian"
Vision?
Prior to Brown’s raid most southerners were probably not in
favor of disunion. But Brown’s raid did help to change that.
Listen to this statement in the Richmond Whig (a newspaper in
Virginia) concerning Brown’s raid: “…Recent events have
wrought almost a complete revolution in the sentiments, the
thoughts, the hopes, of the oldest and steadiest conservatives n
all the southern states…. There are thousands upon…thousands
of men in our midst who, a month ago, scoffed at the idea of a
dissolution of the Union as a madman’s dream, but who now

12. hold the opinion that its days are numbered, its glory perished.”
If this statement is anywhere close to reality, one can well see
the sea change in thinking that took place with people who
otherwise were not bent toward secession.
A major importance of the American Reform movement is the
eventual role it played in the nation going to war, especially in
so far as Abolitionism was a catalyst toward that conflict. Of
the many and varied reasons the Civil War took place, radical
reform born of religious fervor certainly was part of the
equation. Fear of slave revolts had been ubiquitous since
colonial days in the south and few winked at the possibility of
the destruction that another John Brown might bring. As one
considers the role of American Reform on the eventual Civil
War, one cannot help but wonder just how much that awful
conflict was in reality, at least in the minds of some, a struggle
over the last obstacle to an elusive American utopia.
Horace Mann
Prior to Mann, churches and families educated the youth.
Control of school was
Mann created state beuocracies and state standards for
education
Mann created the idea of civic education
Mann attended Browne University
He was elected as Senate President
1836-1848 Secretary of the State Board of Education
Established taxes for funding of schools
He was first public official to create schools for teachers
He served two terms in Congress as a radical abolitionist
President of Antioch College: first to admit blacks, whites,
women and men on equal standing.
Chapter 11: Slaves and Masters 1793-1861
Key Events

13. 1793 Eli Whitney invests the contain gin, p 312
1800 Gabriel Prosser leads abortive slave rebellion in
Virginia, p 297
1822 Denmark Vesey conspiracy uncovered in Charleston,
SC, p 297
1829 David Walker publishes Appeal, calling for blacks to
take up arms against slavery, p 291
1831 Slaves under Nat Turner rebel in Virginia, killing
almost 60 whites, p 297
1832 Virginia legislature votes against gradual
emancipation, p 307
1835-1842 Blacks fight alongside Indians in the Second
Seminole War, p 297
1849 Cotton prices rise, and a sustained boom commences,
p 312
1852 Harriet Beecher Stowe's antislavery novel Uncle
Tom's Cabin becomes a best-seller, p 304
1857 Hinton R. Helper attacks slavery on economic
grounds in The Impending Crisis of the South;
the book is suppressed in the southern states, p 309
1860 Cotton prices and production reach all-time peak, p
312
Key Terms
Vesey conspiracy: p 297 A plot to burn Charleston, SC and
thereby initiate a general slave revolt, let by a free African
America, Denmark Vesey, in 1922. The conspirators were
betrayed before the plan was carried out, and Vesey and 34
others were hanged.
Underground Railroad: p 297 A network of safe houses
organized by abolitionists (usually blacks) to aid slaves in their
attempts to escape slavery by traveling North to Canada
Yeoman: p 305 A southern small landholder who owned no
slaves, and who lived primarily in the foothills of the

14. Appalachian and Ozark mountains. These farmers were self-
reliant and grew mixed crops, although they usually did not pro
due a substantial amount to be sold on the market.
American Colonization Society: p 307 Founded in 1817 this
abolitionist organization hoped to provide a mechanism by
which slavery could gradually be eliminated. The society
advocated the relocation of free blacks (followed by freed
slaves) to the African colony of Monrovia, present day Liberia.
Cotton gin: p 312 Invented by Eli Whitney in 1793, this device
for separating the seeds from the fiber of short-staple cotton
enabled a slave to clean fifty times more cotton than by hand,
which reduced production costs and gave new life to slavery in
the South.
What factors made living conditions for southern blacks more or
less difficult? p 292
Living conditions were difficult because southern black slaves
performed many types of labor. Some worked from sunup to
sundown in gangs; others maintained more work control through
the "task system"; and urban slaves and free blacks had even
more autonomy. The bonds of family and community helped
ease slave life, while some slaves resisted oppression through
running away, sabotage, and even occasional armed rebellion.
What were the division and unities in white southern society? p
300
While great planters, those owning hundreds of slaves, were a
tiny minority of the population, they set the tone for white
southern society, propagating the ideology of "paternalism" that
slaves were children who required a stern but loving parent.
Most whites owned few or no slaves, but a political system of
"white man's democracy" and the ideology of white supremacy
united them with large slaveholders.

15. What was the relationship between slavery and economic
success in the South? p 309
The economy of the South was dominated by slavery: Tobacco
gave way to the internal slave trade itself as the biggest
business in the upper South, while the cotton gin made it
possible for large-scale staple agriculture to become a booming
economic machine in the Deep South, fueling the growth of a
world textile industry and making the planter class very
wealthy.