Period 4
(1800-1848)
America became more democratic between 1800 and 1848. The United States started to develop a modern democracy. For example, the United States began a transition to a more inclusive democracy by expanding voting rights to more men, eliminating a property ownership as a requirement. This way, the vote was given to the lower class males as well as the upper class and land-owning aristocracy. Another example of this is was the Supreme Court’s decision that made the federal government’s authority more powerful than state governments. This was seen in the court case of Marbury vs. Madison. Political parties also began to change at this time. For example, new political parties, such as the Democrats, led by Jackson, and Whigs,
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Americans now enjoyed greater democratic and individualistic beliefs that were brought about by rationalism, and changes to societal structure that were brought about by the Market Revolution. This created greater social mobility, and along with the Second Great Awakening, influenced many social reforms such as abolitionism and women’s rights. The idea of perfectibility and transcendentalism allowed women as well as African Americans to enjoy more freedoms. African Americans, free and enslaved, also developed their own culture. They created communities in which they formed strategies to keep families together in slave trade as well as gaining political status.
Religion inspired movements to reform society. Both the abolitionist movement the women’s rights movement were inspired by religion because the Second Great Awakening focused on transcendentalism, or the ability for anyone to connect and form a relationship with god. This idea allowed both African Americans and women to take on more religious, social, and political responsibilities and rights. The temperance movement was inspired religion because of the idea of perfectibility, or bettering one’s self. By abstaining from drinking alcohol, Americans were trying to improve overall behavior in
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The Market Revolution affected gender roles by opening up more job opportunities to women. Women were sent away from their families to work in factories so that they could provide additional income. This allowed for women to enjoy more freedom because they were away from home, and they were able to make their own money.The Market Revolution also improved the standards of living for the upper and middle classes, but not for the poor. The revolution caused the emergence of the middle class, and generated much wealth for the few factory owning upperclassmen, but the poor who worked in the factories were paid very little and worked in harsh conditions for long hours. The Market Revolution affected the society of the United States by giving much wealth to the few rich, creating a sizeable middle class, and making the large lower class suffer even