Notes from October 7

Evangelicalism

Protestant
Belief that the Bible is the authority on God, not any church
Belief that having faith in God is the only thing needed to get into Heaven
“Second Great Awakening”
Like the early colonial era, many in the US attended religious affairs
Camp meetings
Church plantings
Protracted meetings

Not evangelical:

Unitarians and deism
The Enlightenment: a “benevolent master architect” God
Slavery
Charles Finney
Ran revival meetings throughout Western New York
Instead of predestination, taught that everyone could overcome sins
“The Burned-Over District” of WNY became an area known for revivals, conversions, and movements
Millennialism: belief in hastening the end times

Reform Movements

The “benevolent empire” often worked closely with revivals, churches, each other
Foreign religious missions
Anti-prostitution
Taking Back Sunday
Temperance against hard liquor
American Peace Society (anti-war)
Women's suffrage and (some) equal rights
American Anti-Slavery Society vs. the American Colonization Society

Beecher Family
Lyman Beecher (1820s): started New England revivals based on Puritan beliefs
Catherine Beecher (daughter): built many women's colleges and seminaries
Edward Beecher (son): Educator, preacher, started Illinois' first abolition society
Harriet Beecher Stowe (daughter): wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin
Henry Ward Beecher (son): famous preacher, writer, lecturer on social ills
Isabella Beecher Hooker (daughter): founded Connecticut Women Suffrage Association
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (great-granddaughter): socialist feminist, published Women and Economics in 1898

“Cult of Domesticity”

The male “sphere” involved working and controlling the world outside the home.
Industry, commerce, government
The female “sphere” involved women working and controlling life in the home
Child-rearing, housekeeping
Supporting the family structure: joining church groups and reform efforts, teaching and educating children
Poorer families often compromised “spheres”

Education Reform

School was not mandatory Children of farmers and immigrants worked rather than go to school.
Local schools were small and underfunded, with poorly trained teachers
Schools became centers for teaching discipline, citizenship, and moral values
Horace Mann:
Pushed for public education for all in Mass.
Believed schools could give opportunity and bridge gaps between rich and poor
Emphasis on “child-based” education

Mental Health

Mentally ill people were housed in basements, barns, and jails
Dorothea Dix traveled New Jersey to research mistreatment of the insane
Her efforts led to the first state asylum

Utopianism

Utopia:
Based on a book about a perfect society
Utopian socialism led to the creation of special communities, many religious
All tried to create a perfect society; most died quickly
Shakers: Communal ownership, celibacy, dance
Oneida: free love
Both reinterpreted the second coming of Jesus
Transcendentalism:
belief that the soul can overcome obstacles in the physical world
Achieved through the individual, not a church