United States History Student Edition

08 Society and Reform

Religion and Reform GUIDING QUESTION What was the effect of the Second Great Awakening?

READING STRATEGY Analyzing Key Ideas and Details Read carefully to learn about reform movements during the 1800s. As you read, use a diagram like this one to identify reformers’ contributions. In what areas did women make gains?

In the early and mid-1800s, a new spirit of reform took hold in the United States. This spirit brought changes to American religion, education, and literature. Some reformers worked to change the way people lived, worked, and went to school. Others sought to improve society by forming utopias (yu•TOH•pee•uhs)—communities based on a vision of the perfect society. Although most of these groups eventually fell apart, a few, such as the Mormons, formed lasting communities. The Impact of Religion As the United States expanded during the 1800s, the way that many Americans worshipped began to change. Pioneers moving to the frontier often left behind the institutions of organized religion, and early settlements lacked churches and ministers. Many settlers began practicing their religion in great gatherings called camp meetings. These Christian camp meetings, which were known as revivals , were events of great religious excitement. Thousands traveled long distances to the meeting campsites, where they would engage in the religious festivities. They came to hear preachers speak and to pray, sing, weep, and shout. This wave of religious interest became known as the Second Great Awakening. The First Great Awakening had spread through the American colonies earlier, in the mid-1700s.

Thomas Gallaudet

Dorothea Dix

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Susan B. Anthony

utopia a community based on a vision of the perfect society revival a religious meeting

FLORIDA BENCHMARKS

• SS.8.A.1.2 • SS.8.A.1.4 • SS.8.A.4.9 • SS.8.A.4.14 • SS.8.A.4.15 • SS.8.CG.1.3 • SS.8.CG.2.3 • SS.8.CG.2.4 • SS.8.CG.3.1 • ELA.K12.EE.4.1 • ELA.K12.EE.5.1 • ELA.K12.EE.6.1

This illustration from 1849 shows a camp meeting in Hartford, Connecticut, during the Second Great Awakening. Religious revivals could attract thousands of people for days of prayer and song. Analyzing Visuals Who are the people standing and sitting on the platform?

The Picture Art Collection/Alamy Stock Photo

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