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Dbq Transcendentalism

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Recommended: How did the second great awakening influence abolitionism and the cult of domesticity

William Carrasco
AP US History 1
Mr. Maniscalco
May 3, 2023

Question: To what extent did Transcendentalism impact the growing abolitionist movement in the United States?
DBQ: Transcendentalism and Abolition

After the War of 1812 an American identity started to take hold which led to Manifest Destiny which in turn led to the Mexican American War. As the United States gained more land and pushed westward many felt that religion was not being properly practiced in these new western states and territories. In turn the Second Great Awakening was born which caused the belief that the church and bible was at the center of religion to be extremely popular. Another belief that became popular is that no one knows God. Many people in New England …show more content…

Many transcendentalists were also important figures in fighting social reforms including women's suffrage, to some degree religious freedom, and abolition. Transcendentalism had a large impact on the growing abolition movement through transcendentalist beliefs spreading abolitionist ideas, and by many transcendentalists taking action against slavery. Transcendentalism helped greatly to spread the ideas of abolition across New England. At an address Ralph Waldo Emerson made on the anniversary of abolition of slavery in the British West Indies he talked about how in America everyone is promised equal rights, yet these slaves are denied these rights and are instead kept in horrible conditions. He speaks about how these conditions make him sick and that he believes everyone should get what they are promised (Document A). With Emerson speaking out about this it shows how he was a prominent figure in the abolitionist movement as he was chosen for this important speech. Being chosen for this speech he made sure to use it to continue to spread the ideas of the abolition movement, sharing the horrors of slavery to show why it should end. He also utilized the declaration of independence to show how slavery shouldn’t …show more content…

Theodore Parker dedicated a large portion of his life to transcendentalism and fighting for abolition and women’s suffrage. In particular he fought against the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 which made it so states had to help other states arrest runaway slaves. He also served as minister-at-large to fugitive slaves in Boston (Document B). By leading the opposition in Boston against the Fugitive Slave Act he helped show that the abolition movement was powerful and growing, especially in New England, where transcendentalism was prominent. By being minister at large to fugitive slaves he was able to provide and show the strength of the abolition movement. Another person who greatly helped the slave abolition movement was Amos Bronson Alcott. He was a transcendentalist who was also an author and an

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Although the United States was going through a moral reform, reformers continued to make every effort to abolish slavery in order to unify the nation. Reformers swept through the United States before the Civil War in a movement known as the Second Great Awakening to influence citizens to change their previous moral standards. Slavery continued to expand in the South, and reformers’ agendas continued to fail because of the denial of Southern plantation owners wanting to keep their slaves. Many reformers attempted to promote the abolition of slavery, however, their religious beliefs, poster propaganda, and questioning the morality of slavery were the most effective ways to influence the nation to unify.     Religious beliefs contributed to the

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Abolitionism was a well-known movement around the time of the Civil War and its aim was to put an end to slavery. The people of the early nineteenth century viewed the elimination of slavery in numerous ways. Some fought against the end of slavery, some appeared to mildly support the cause and yet others wholeheartedly supported the ending of slavery until their dying day. Charles Finney was a religious leader who promoted social reforms such as the abolition of slavery. He also fought for equality in education for women as well as for African Americans.

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Slavery is unarguably repulsive and wrong, Harriet Beecher and Frederick Douglass communicated this profoundly. The abolition movement was initiated in 1800 to end slavery. With all the hate and divisiveness, the abolition movement was one of the causes of the civil war but also put an end to slavery. Even with all the disgust and horrid parts of the movement, people created change like Harriet Beecher and Douglass they both were two of many who contributed to the movement. Harriet being a former advocate for women’s rights moreover a daughter of church leaders and Fedrick Douglass a past slave both were well prepared to lead and inspire people to change or create change.

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Abolitionism Abolitionism was and is a cruel and inhuman act that should not occur today. Slavery was abolished on February 1st, 1865. More than three million slaves were set free after this date. It was abolished in the United States, however, many other countries are struggling with it to this day, and are striving to abolish it. Abolitionism is an important part of our country today because it demolishes the cruelty of slaves, it creates equality among humans, and it retains countries from wars or massacres.

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The fight to abolish slavery lasted almost a century and was a never-ending conflict. There were hundreds of attempts to end slavery, but the Pennsylvania Society, the African Methodist Episcopal, Fredrick Douglas, and the underground railroad all made significant contributions that ultimately led to its abolition. Pennsylvania society was the first abolition society of both races, in the western part of the world. They played a huge role in the abolition movement because they fought to protect anti-slavery laws. Quakers, some of the most authoritative religious figures, aided the society in the fight to free blacks by drafting documents and distributing them out, in hopes of gathering more to show support for the abolition movement.

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At the beginning of the nineteenth century, American society began to focus on the welfare of minority groups. Women’s suffrage and abolition were rooted as deeply as the history of America, but asylum and prison reform sprouted with the Second Great Awakening, a movement that occurred in the early 1800s. The Second Great Awakening was led by religious leaders who advocated for changes in American society through the unity of the American people (Doc. Due to the Second Great Awakening, reform movements were established between 1825 and 1850 in order to represent the changes the people sought for in the issues of slavery, suffrage, and asylum and prison reform. The social aspect of the abolition movement led to the visible democratic changes in society and politics.

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The Enlightenment was also in a certain manner criticized this time by a number of traditionalist thinkers who blamed it for weakening traditions and religion without replacing anything in their place other than a misguided confidence in reason. These conservative thinkers saw that the Enlightenment was mainly a conflict versus the inherited religion, which is a losing situation or battle since that religion is spiritual and not founded on materialistic or rational grounds. They believe that the Enlightenment is a backer for atheism and disbelief. They also charge the Enlightenment thinkers by focusing on the secular and rational rather than the holy and spiritual, therefore disestablish the religious ties that gathered through centuries different

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Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin tried to help. Although they initially owned slaves, They were against slavery and tried to make and enforce laws and join abolition groups. Tom Paine and Harriet Beecher Stowe both wrote books that were against slavery. He wrote, African Slavery in America and she wrote, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

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In the wake of the second Great Awakening in the early 1800’s, societal morals regarding slavery, lack of rights for women, the prison system, education, and other institutions were questioned. Unitarianism stressed salvation through good works, and both religious converts and transcendentalists initiated social reform movements in an attempt to improve the moral state of America. Two of these movements that included perhaps the most controversy and struggle included abolitionism and women’s rights. Although both the abolitionist and women’s rights movements were able to eventually create lasting societal and political change, the fact that only a small portion of the population had any democratic rights showed the initial weaknesses of American democracy.

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Transcendentalists were Americans that believed everyone should be treated equally, so they began six major reform movements. There were many Transcendentalist movements, but the six most important reforms were the prison movement, women’s rights, anti-slavery, temperance, insane and education movement. The prison reform movement was started by the Transcendentalists because they felt that the system was wrong unfair and cruel. All prisoners suffered the same consequences regardless of his or her crime.

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Slavery through the eyes of activists On December fifteenth, in eighteen sixty-five, the United States abolished slavery with the thirteenth amendment. Powerful individuals such as Frederick Douglass, David Walker, Nat Turner, Sojourner Truth, and Benjamin Banneker were people that longed to see the day that they would be free from slavery. Although these five individuals were never in contact with one another they all shared the same drive and motivation to change the way people viewed slavery for the better. These individuals accomplished their goal of changing slavery with a strong belief in god, a strong political voice and a light in them that never died.

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