Two Major Parts Of The Age Of Reform From 1820-1860

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The age of Reform lasted from 1820-1860, so about 40 years give or take a few. The age of reform changed how many Americans lived. Two major parts of the reform where the Temperance reform, and the start and end of utopian societies. Utopian societies didn’t last very long because the economy didn’t usually last very long. All utopian societies were based off the idea that if any man or woman followed a set of guidelines in their life, they could live longer or better. This idea was set by modern leaders who took communities of people and made into “utopias”. The Reason for other utopian societies was because America was expanding. Utopian societies where also based off of religious reasons. They would take the bible, and use only certain …show more content…

There where many Utopias, here are a few. The Rappites. In 1816, the Rappites came from the Shakers, one of the bigger Utopian communities. They isolated themselves from other communities. George Rapp Lead 600 people to live in the community. The Rappites where known for their strict ideas on sex and marriage. They believed that marriage should be very stiff and strict in the manner that husband and wife stay away from each other until the end of the day. They only saw each other at meal times. They collapsed 3 years later after running into economical problems. Unlike the shakers, their life was not simple, they still did humanly things. The Shakers had 20 communities. They were known for their Christian guidelines and sect. The believed in labor, and ina strict diet and way of everyday living. They were the biggest …show more content…

Part of the American economy was based on alcohol. Americans drank a lot of alcohol everyday. We also sold it and made a huge profit out of it. Many men and women started to realize what affect this could have on the economy and the affect it was already having on people. And so communities started to ban alcohol. The reason people started to drink alcohol excessively was because after the American revolution, most people used alcohol to help them get over the war. People also started to drink after work because most Americans worked all day. At one point people were encouraged to stop drinking altogether. There were 4 main reasons people stopped drinking