Term+2+Test+Questions

 **1. Describe the cultural environment in which so many reforms, such as temperance and health reform, started?**

In my observation and opinion, the trigger event, that is the fulcrum point for all forms of social, religious, educational, etc reforms in America was the Revolution. The Revolution ushered in a radically different era and way of thinking than had been ever experienced before. This enabled everyday people to take their everyday existence to a whole new level. New and exciting changes spread not only throughout America, but throughout the whole world.

** Second Great Awakening ** : The Second Great Awakening was a period of religious revival in the United States from 1790-1840s. Although I believe that the Revolution was the most influential event in the triggering of cultural reform, the Second Great Awakening is a close second. Many churches today such as, Seventh Day Adventist, Disciples of Christ, and Mormons can trace their roots back to this period. The Second Great Awakening was sparked by the First Great Awakening which took place primarily in the United Kingdom during the 1730-1740s. During the First Great Awakening, a young Anglican preacher, George Whitefield brought the revival from England to the then colonies, during the 1740s. However, it took almost fifty years until America really began to catch fire. By the 1800s, America had exploded with religious revivals and the Restoration movement (a return to the ideologies taught in the New Testament).

** Social Responsibility ** : Although the Second Great Awakening clearly had tremendous implications in the life of participating individuals, it likely had even larger implications on the political landscape of early America. Newly awakened American Christians took it upon themselves to reform society during this period. Historians stress the widespread feeling of reformers that reforming society was part of God's plan. Reformers set out to solve the problems of society. Commonly known as the antebellum reform, this phenomenon includes reforms in women's suffrage, temperance, and abolitionism. ** Educational Reform ** : Prior to the 1840s-1850s, education in the United States were private and intended for young men and boys. Although they were publicly supplied, these schools were not free and required a "rate bill" to finance the operation of the school. In 1837, a Massachusetts State Senator, Horace Mann, was appointed secretary of the newly created Massachusetts State Board of Education. Despite his position, Mann did not have any special interest in education. However, he soon realized the importance of education and if it were made available to all, the effect it could have on the country as a whole. Mann worked with a remarkable fervor, holding teachers' conventions, lecturing, and introducing numerous educational reforms. In 1838, he began //The Common School Journal//. His six main principles were: (1) the public should no longer remain ignorant; (2) that such education should be paid for, controlled, and sustained by an interested public; (3) that this education will be best provided in schools that embrace children from a variety of backgrounds; (4) that this education must be non-sectarian; (5) that this education must be taught by the spirit, methods, and discipline of a free society; and (6) that education should be provided by well-trained, professional teachers. Additionally, he worked for greater availability of schools, longer school years, higher pay for teachers, and broader curriculum. The result of Mann's work was a revolution in Massachusetts public schools, which in turn spread to the whole nation. The education system set in place at that time is the foundation of the existing system in place in the United States again. Other contributors include Noah Webster, who's dictionary standardized English spelling and language, and William McGuffey's books which taught children to read in incremental stages. The 1800s and early 1900s were a time of great reform in many aspects of society. One such reform was the revolutionizing of prisons. At that time, many prisons contained mentally incompetent, but otherwise innocent people. Dorthea Dix was instrumental in improving and expanding not only prisons, but her ideas mushroomed into mental asylums so that mental patients would no longer be locked in prisons like criminals. Another key figure in the reform was Samuel J. Barrow. Barrow was a Unitarian pastor, who, in 1895 was appointed by President Cleveland as the International Prison Commissioner for the U.S. In 1900, he was became Secretary of the Prison Association of New York, a post which he held until his death. As the International Prison Commissioner, he wrote several important penological documents such as, “Children’s Courts in the United States” and “The Criminal Insane in the United States and in Foreign Countries.” During his time as Secretary of the Prison Association, he was key in drafting New York's first probation law and promoted civil service for prisoners. One very important prison reformer was Thomas Mott Osborne. Osborne was born in Auburn, New York and came from a long line of social reformers. Her grandmother, Martha Coffin Wright, oversaw the finances of Harrient Tubman, and her home was a safehouse on the Underground Railroad. Additionally, Martha Coffin Wright, and her sister, Lucretia Coffin Mott, were organizers of the first women's rights conference in Seneca Falls with Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Therefore, it is now surprise that Thomas Mott Osborne was also a reformer. In 1902, he was elected Mayor of Auburn. He was known to disguise himself and visit local taverns to eavesdrop on conversations to discover public opinion. Additionally, when he was appointed by New York Governor, Charles Evan Hughes, to serve as the first commissioner for the Public Services Commission, he dressed as a hobo and rode the rails to discover more about his job. He learned by doing. Therefore, in 1912, when he was sick in bed he read My Life In Prison by Donald Lowrie, a former inmate, and was inspired to fix the penal system. He persuaded Governor William Sulzer to him Chairman of the State Commission on Prison Reform the following year. On behalf of the Commission, he entered Auburn Correctional Facility in prison attire, insisting that administration and inmates treat him like any other prisoner. Osborne spent six days imprisoned as "Tom Brown" and later published Within These Walls, a record of his experiences. The publication in 1914 made him the most prominent prison reformer of his time.
 * Prison Reform ** :

** Health Reform: ** Also called the Jacksonian Clean Living Era (1830-1860) stressed temperance, exercise, and elimination of tea, coffee, tobacco, sugar, meat, and spice from the diet (called Grahamism). Ultimately, this reform went hand in hand with the ideas being stressed in the Temperance movement. **

Temperance ** : The Second Great Awakening had a direct effect on the Temperance Movement in the United States. The Movement stemmed from popular religion that focused on abstinence from alcohol. The Temperance Movement is defined as a social movement against the use of alcoholic beverages. Because of the relation between drinking and domestic violence, many drunken husbands abused family members, temperance existed alongside other social reforms, such as woman's rights. Often the same activists were involved in both reforms. The movement began when a group of about 200 farmers in a Connecticut community formed a temperance association in 1789. Similar associations were formed in other states starting in the early 1800s. One of the well known leaders of the Temperance movement was Carrie Nation. Her husband was a drunk and their daughter was sickly. She blamed it on her husband and left him. He died about a year later. She later married David Nation. She would close salons by herself, first by praying in front of it and if they didn't leave, would throw rocks and destroy the salons. The Temperance movement led to the prohibition of alcohol.

** Women's Rights ** : During the 1800s, women were considered intellectually inferior and a major source of temptation and evil. Women wanted the right to vote, hold a public office, obtain a higher education, serve in the military, work, and equal pay in the job. The first women's rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848. Some key people were Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone and Lucretia Coffin Mott. In 1850, a group of doctors set up a college from women gynecologists. In 1870, the 15th amendment was ratified. It did not specifically deny women the right to vote. During the next two years, many women tried to vote. Susan B. Anthony and her followers pushed for suffrage. Finally with the passing of the 19th amendment, women receive the right to vote. ** Abolitionism ** : a belief that slaves should be free. Because the Southern economy used and relied on slavery, abolitionism was most prominent in the North. Prior to American independence and the formation of our Constitution, slave trade was not contested until Evangelical Christians and Quakers deemed in un-christian and Enlightenment thinkers criticized it for violating the rights of man and treating a person as property and animals. The turning point for abolition was the secession of the Southern States and the subsequent Civil War. In 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in the Confederate States. With the 13th Amendment of the the Constitution, slaves in all states became free.


 * 2. Evaluate the process and outcomes of reconstruction following the Civil War. **

The Civil War, in terms of unity, was possibly one of the most momentous occasions in the history of the United States. The survival of the States as one sovereign nation was greatly at risk. So many things, such as an end to slavery, depended on the nations ability to reunite and once again become a strong nation.

To fully understand the processes and outcomes of reconstruction, one must first know the history behind why it all began. The election of Abraham Lincoln as the eleventh President in 1860 quickly brought the nation to a climax that had been brewing for some time about how independent the states actually were and how much power the federal government had. Because slavery was so much a part of the life and economy of the Southern states, many, if not all of them, were not going to give it up. Certainly, they did not feel the federal government should not have the power to prohibit slavery. The debate was carried on between the North and South for some time. Many times, the debate even became violent, as demonstrated in Congress by the beating of Charles Sumner by Preston Brooks. Sumner gave a speech in Congress one day after the tragic events of Bleeding Kansas, attacking pro slavery forces for the violence. After his speech, Congressman Sumner was attacked with a cane by pro slavery Congressman Preston Brooks.

By the time President Lincoln was inaugurated in March 1861, six states had already seceded from the Union and begun the Confederate States of America. They were soon followed by five more. The war that ensued put the nation's ability to stay one and the Constitution to its hardest test. Four years of bloody battles followed. 1865 marked the last year of the Confederacy. The larger and better equipped Union army finally persevered and Confederacy surrendered on April 9, 1865. Reconstruction strategies were debated in the North when the war began and in earnest after the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln began implementing experimental Reconstruction plans in whatever state came under federal control including Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

With the assassination of Lincoln, the North became more bitter and tolerant policies became unpopular in the Northern controlled Congress. Lincoln's plan was simple. First, he granted amnesty to all Southerners who took an oath of loyalty, and second, he recognized any rebel state government where 10% of the pre-war voters took the loyalty oath and renounced slavery. Vice President Andrew Jackson continued with Lincoln's plan and by December 6, 1866, Johnson declared to Congress that the Union was restored. However, Congress refused to recognize what Johnson had done and refused to let representatives from former Confederate states vote in Congress. Instead, Congress formed a joint committee to oversee the Reconstruction effort, to see that it was done to the standards wanted by Congress.

Congress passed the Civil Rights Act on April 9, 1866 granting citizenship to all African-Americans but was vetoed by President Johnson on the grounds that the Act infringed upon the rights of the states who were not represented in the House. Congress overode Johnson's veto, but the Supreme Court declared the Act unconstitutional. The Joint Committee tried again with the 14th amendment in order to get around the declared unconstitutional Civil Rights Act. It passed on June 13 and was submitted to the states for ratification. Ratification was denied by most of the Southern states. However, ratification was soon made a requirement for readmission into the Union. Tennessee was the only state to accept the Amendment. Other states waiting for the upcoming election and a hopefully more sympathetic Congress.

However, two-thirds of Congress was captured by the Radical Republicans who were much more hostile towards the South, believing that both Lincoln and Johnson had been too lenient. In March 1867, Congress passed the First Reconstruction Act, over Johnson's veto and declared martial law over the former rebel states. Congress set new requirements for readmission into the Union. Each former Confederate state was required to ratify the 14th Amendment and that all African-Americans would be given the right and opportunity to vote. In June 1868, seven states, Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Lousiana, North Carolina and South Carolina, met the requirements and were admitted back into the Union with the Omnibus Act. However, Georgia was returned back to military rule when they dismissed all African-American representatives from their state legislature. In ten states, coalitions of black and white, called Freedmen, along with Carpetbaggers (arrivals from the North) and Scalawags (cooperating white Southerners) united to form Republican state governments. These new governments set up many reconstruction programs, provided massive aid to railroads, built public schools, and raised taxes. Conservative opposition reproached Republican ideals, believing they were violated by mass corruption. It was under these circumstances that organizations such as, the Ku Klux Klan, emerged in violent opposition. However, they were supressed in 1877 by President Grant, for the time being.

Conservatives, known as "Redeemers", and lining up with Democratic ideals, regained control of the South, state by state. Sometimes, violence and fraud was used to control state elections. After a deep nationwide economic recession called the Panic of 1873, led to Democratic gains in the North as well, collapse of railroad schemes in the South, and a growing sense in the North that further federal intervention was unwise. The period of Republican controlled ended at different times in different states, with the Compromise of 1877 seeing the collapse of the last three Southern Republican state governments.

Although slavery was abolished during the Reconstruction period, it would take numerous decades for African-Americans to be treated equally. Even today, there are still problems and the KKK still exists. However, I feel that the without the gains made during the Reconstruction period, civil rights would not be where they are today.

** 3. How did America grow to cover the width of North America?

Louisiana Purchase ** : Louisiana was a very important city in the economy of the United States because of it's prime location on the Mississippi River and it's access to the Atlantic Ocean through the Gulf of Mexico. However, prior to the nineteenth century, New Orleans and subsequently Louisiana was controlled by first the French, then the Spanish, and again by the French. Pickney's Treaty, signed with Spain on October 27, 1785 gave the United States usage of New Orleans to ship goods, such as flour, tobacco, pork, bacon, butter, cheese etc. The treaty also recognized the United States right to navigate the entire Mississippi, which greatly aided in western expansion. However, in 1798, Spain withdrew their treaty, which greatly distressed America. Spanish Governor Don Juan Manuel De Salcedo took over control from Governor Marquess of Casa Calvo and returned the usage of the Mississippi River to the United States. In 1800, Napolean Bonaparte returned the territory to French control. In 1803, the United States sent James Monroe and Robert R. Livingston traveled Paris to negotiate the control of New Orleans. However, when it became apparent to France that their "New World Empire" would not become a reality, France contracted to sell the whole of the Louisiana territory to the United States for $15 million, rather than just New Orleans for $10 million. Thomas Jefferson, President at the time said of the purchase "We have lived long, but this is the noblest work of our whole lives...From this day the United States take their place among the powers of the first rank." ** Indian Removal Act ** : Just a year after taking office in 1829, President Andrew Jackson pushed a piece of legislation through Congress which would greatly affect the westward expansion of the growing nation. On May 26, 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. The Indian Removal Act was greatly supported in the lower South, which was largely inhabited by the "Five Civilized Tribes": Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole. The Act would open greater access to Indian land. For instance, Georgia was involved in a bitter dispute with the Cherokee nation over the land and President Jackson was seeking to resolve the problem. The Act promised voluntary removal, payment for their land, and new land in the West. However, the removal was rarely voluntary. One of the first Treaties of the Act was the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek on September 27, 1830. The Treaty resulted in Choctaws tribe of Mississippi the ceding of the land east of the Mississippi River. The Treaty of New Echota, the mass removal of thousands of Cherokees, resulted in the famous Trail of Tears. However, one tribe did not leave peacefully as the others had. The Seminoles resisted removal. The Second Seminole War lasted from 1835 to 1842 and resulted in the forced removal of the tribe. Between the Seminoles and the American soldiers about 3, 000 lives were lost.

Manifest Destiny was an idea that the United States was destined, even "divinely ordained" to cover the entire North American continent. It was one of the driving forces in the westward expansion of the United States. Although not a government policy, it was promoted in newspapers, posters, and other sources and led to the passage of the Homestead Act. The term was first used a newspaper in 1830, and was used in 1845 by John O' Sullivan to call for the annexation of Texas. O' Sullivan stated that America had a “  manifest destiny  to overspread the continent.”  The paper also suggested that through expansion, the United States could become a social and political superpower. War with Mexico ** : When the United States annexed Texas into the Union, it caused an immediate eruption between the United States and Mexico. Although Texas had declared it's independence and it was recognized by the United States, Britain, France, and other governments, Mexico saw it only as a rebellious territory and felt that it still contained control of Texas. The Mexican minister to the United States protested against such actions. The Mexican President issued a proclamation following the ratification by Texas to become a state that Texan was still a Mexican territory and that he would defend it with arms, if necessary. Despite this, President Polk sent Commander of the United States troops in the Southwest, Zachary Taylor into Texas and positions his troops as near the Rio Grande as the situation would allow. One thing led to another, and a full out war was declared by the United States on May 13, 1846 and by Mexico on July 7 of the same year. To make a long story short, the United States won the war and gained more than 500,000 square miles.
 * Manifest Destiny ** :

The Homestead Act was passed by Congress in 1862. It provided for the transfer of free land to homesteaders on payment of a minimal fee. Between the years of 1862 and 1986, 1.6 million homesteads were granted and 270,000,000 acres of land. Although the Homestead Act greatly encouraged westward expansion, it was also greatly abused. The intent of the Homestead Act was to provide land for agricultural use. However, in the areas east of the Rocky Mountains, there were generally too little land that could be even be used to farm.
 * Homesteading**:

The Oregon Trail was a main land route in the United States that many immigrants used to migrate west in search of land, gold, and new opportunities. Between 1841 and 1869, the Oregon Trail was used by settlers, farmers, ranchers and business on their way to the Pacific Northwest. Other trails, such as the California Trail, Bozeman Trail, and Mormon Trail all used much of the same route before splitting off to their separate destinations. It was partially mapped by Lewis and Clark in their expedition. It was also used in the Great Migration of 1843 and the Mormon pioneers.
 * Oregon Trail**: