Topic+Outline+(8)

8. Religion, Reform, and Renaissance in Antebellum America [Chapter 12]
a) Evangelical Protestant revivalism b) Social reforms c) Ideals of domesticity d) Transcendentalism and utopian communities e) American Renaissance: literary and artistic expressions

**Transcendentalists** - Group of New England writers and philosophers striving to find reason and understanding of the universe.

Key People:
**Ralph Waldo Emerson** Leader of a group of transcendentalists in Concord, Massachusetts Left Church in 1832 to devote himself to writing/teaching Most important intellectual of his age **Henry David Thoreau** Went further than Emerson; refusing to accept the forces of society Went to jail because he refused to pay poll tax Didn't believe in giving financial support to the government **Shakers** - Focused on gender roles/traditional sexuality Practiced most of the power Greater number of woman than men Social discipline > personal freedom Sexual equality major key **Mormons** - Church of Jesus Christ Attempt to establish New Jerusalem Practiced polygomy Major oppositions; migrated to different places

The many different reforms

 * **Temperance** - Many married men began turning to alcohol and the consumption of alcohol sky rocketed which caused domestic problems and economic problems.
 * **Education -** Horace Mann[1st secretary of Mass. Board of Education] Many schools were built to let people access education to become more successful in life
 * **Asylum/Prison -** Separating the mentally ill from the criminals in prisons.
 * **Abolitionism -** The attempt to abolish slavery, gained more support and some slaves could even buy their freedom
 * **Feminism -** The right for equal rights as men; Declaration of sentiments, Seneca Falls Convention
 * **Romanticism -** The idea that individuals should give their full "inner spirit" to work to change/for good
 * **Transcendentalism -** Individuals should distinguish the different between reason/understanding
 * **Health -** More natural remedies, new diets, developments of vaccines

[|Brinkley, A. (2007) A Survey American History New York, NY: McGraw Hill Co]