Age of Reform in America

A detailed Summary of Age of Reform in America

American reform movements in the early to mid 1800's strived at improving our developing society. America was growing larger, and with the expanding population, many new ideas sprang up. Conflicting opinions between the people of the United States caused the emergence of an Age of Reform, where people tried to change things such as the educational system and women's rights. These movements were the result of our nation's self-determination and interest in improving the society we live in.

Between the 1820's and 1860's, Americans were trying new things and promoting different ideas and ways of thinking. Once such idea is that of a utopian society. A utopian society, simple put, means a perfect society. There are many examples of experiments at utopian society in the 1800's.

George Ripley endeavored to create one of the first utopian societies in West Roxberry, Massachusetts. The community was called Brook Farm, and was established in 1841. Everyone in the community shared labor and leisure time equally. Ripley believed that leisure was the most important step to understanding yourself. The problem with Brook Farm was that the residents ended up believing in a form of communism, despite its objective of being a community wh

During this period, the most influential person dealing with educational reform was Horace Mann. Horace Mann believed that "education was the only way to 'counterwork this tendency to the domination of capital and the servility of labor'" (Brinkley 337). Mann recognized that the strongest backing of democracy was education. Horace Mann is known foremost for the great amount of changes he brought to the Massachusetts school system, making it a much more education-friendly environment.

The Women's rights reform began in 1840, at a London convention concerning slavery, when two abolitionists were turned away because they were women. From that point on Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton felt that they need to achieve equal rights for women. Headed with the slogan, "all men are created equal," a movement was launched for woman suffrage. On July 19, 1848, a convention was called in Seneca Falls. It was a retelling of the Declaration of Independence, and stated that all men and women are created equal.

Another example of a utopian experiment is the Mormons. The Mormons began when Joseph Smith published a book called The Book of Mormon. Mormonism began to gain followers, but was never truly accepted in the United States. Joseph Smith was persecuted due to such Mormon beliefs as polygamy. After Joseph Smith was arrested and killed, the Mormons found haven in present day Salt Lake City. There, they created their own form of a utopian society. Although Mormonism is still around today, it is not in wide practice. Mormonism is another example of people trying to raise the standard of society for the better.

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Category: History