Social Reform Movements

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In the time period of 1820 through 1850, the United States went through a lot of political, social, and economical changes. The United States was changing more so than ever and things were changing for better and for the worse. Politically the United States was being introduced to many new ideas and beliefs and the common man was more of a focus. Socially there was many reform movements that were shaping the education system, religious beliefs and, the rights of women. Economically, American citizens were creating many new inventions that would make production easier and transportation easier and would make it easier for companies and merchants to make money. All these changes would shape the way out for the United States and change its citizens …show more content…

The Second Great Awakening changed the United States by making Americans at the time more religious and more oriented to God. Through being more religious American citizens believed in movements like the Temperance Movement that wanted to regulate the sale of alcohol and other cases people just wanted flat out ban alcohol. Since there was so many Americans that were becoming religious a lot of new ideas and beliefs came out of this. Many citizens branched off in their own denominations like Unitarians, Baptists, and Methodists. The social lives of Americans revolved around church and God and with these new beliefs, many Americans attitudes changed and that reflected through the different movements going through the country like the Temperance Movement. Having a good education became a priority for Americans through the Education Movement. Americans realized that people who were not educated would be not intelligent voters. So the citizens wanted an education reform to educate their child so they would be intelligent voters and to keep the democracy alive. Another major social movement in the United States at the time was the Women’s Rights Movement. With a lot of social change happening the country woman like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony advocated the for equal rights of women. Women wanted to be looked as an equal compared to men and did not want to end gender roles. Their movement did help women with property rights granted, some states allowed women to go to college and jobs were now open to women not just men anymore. This would lead to move freedoms in the future because of the of this