ipl-logo

Reformers 19th Century

544 Words3 Pages

The United States faced many serious social problems in the early 19th century that concerned the reformers during the time. These problems not only gradually broke the society apart, but also eroded the democratic foundation of the nation. Understanding the seriousness of the problems, leaders from different areas expressed their serious concerns over social issues, including lawlessness, violence, immortality and poverty. These problems happened across the nation. For example, crime rates in New York City including juvenile delinquency and mob violence rose rapidly. As Steven Mintz states that criminal rates increased at an unbelievable speed and the most terrifying form of lawlessness was mob violence. The year of 1834 was dubbed as the year of riots because of the seriousness of the disorders. [1] Furthermore, another social issue caused much concern was increasing families living in poverty. As a result, children and teenagers born in the families could not help but sell matches or begged for money to survive a day. Poverty also led to sexual immorality that deteriorated the society. [2]

In addition, the early reformers concerned other social problems destroying the nation. These included the growth of cities, the spread of industry, changes in gender roles and generational relationships and the breakdown of older paternalistic social relationships. Consequently, traditional structures of familial, communal and clerical authorities were weakening, relationships between parents and children, employers and workingmen were breaking apart. The reformers also worried that rates of urban growth that increased suddenly in foreign immigration could …show more content…

Disappointed by the dire problems, they eventually launched a series of social reforms to rebuild a better nation with new moral

Open Document