Essay On Antebellum Reform

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There were many major movements and goals of the antebellum reform. Before the Civil War, almost 100 reform communities were instituted. Some were democratic, others were ruled over by an interesting leader. Most of them were motivated by religion, but some had desires to reverse social and economic changes. Almost all of these communities wanted to have a cooperative society, to revive social harmony in an individualistic society and to close the growing space between the rich and the poor. “Socialism” and “communism” was introduced into America’s political lingo when the reformers tried to own useful property together as a community instead of private individuals. Several Utopian societies attempted to change traditional gender roles and …show more content…

The creation of numerous institutions that were designed to help individuals transform into free, moral citizens that would conduct services needed. During the 1830 's and 1840 's, Americans constructed jails for criminals, asylums for the mentally ill, and orphanages for underage children. The reason these places were built were to cure the "social ills" and eliminate them by placing certain individuals in an environment where their flawed character would be manipulated and transformed. Before the Civil War the most important building effort was the movement to create common schools that would be open to all children. During the early nineteenth century, almost all children were educated in local schools, private academies, or just at home. One problem still stood and that was that many children did not have any access to education. A Massachusetts lawyer by the name of Horace Mann, led movements to try to create new common schools for all children. Mann believed that available public education for children of every social class would revive social equality and give them an equal chance to excel in social mobility. These schools would also keep society in order by disciplining children and building their individual character and teaching them to obey authority. By 1860, with the help from generous labor unions, factory owners and middle-class reformers, every northern state had school systems for all children of every social