Reform after the Revolution

A detailed Summary of Reform after the Revolution

Although the United States gained independence after the Revolution from Britain, it was not without issues that needed to be addressed in order to promote a better way of life for the people. With the approaching new age came reformers that wanted to ensure that various improvements would occur in their country in order to enhance their lives. To the people, the only way to get the problems recognized on a national level was to organize social movements.

Reformers sought answers to the problems within the prison system and also for the insane. Efforts were made to take the punishment out of the prison and use rehabilitation instead. Religious reformers opposed alcohol since they believed alcohol had effects on the work force and the family. Another effort of reform was the Antimasonry movement. Since it excluded women, it was believed by the reformers to be threatening to the family by encouraging men to use alcohol while neglecting their families. Since the Mason's were made up of prominent middle and upper class men, it was believed to be a secret fraternity with antirepublican views. This was a very short-lived political movement.

Although these issues did not accomplish the goals of the reformer

The struggle the reformists made were a product of the many societal changes over a long period of time. By challenging conventional attitudes and demanding the end of the restrictions that were placed upon them, they paved the way for society today.

Those who were against abolishing slavery often went to extreme lengths to stop the immediatist's efforts. Incidents such as the murder of Elijah P. Lovejoy and the blocking and destruction of abolitionist's literature were just a few. Upon abolitionists employing their constitutional right to petition Congress for the discontinuance of slavery, the "gag rule" was adopted. John Quincy Adams, a representative of Massachusetts at the time, defied the gag rule and later assisted in getting it repealed. It was due to Garrison's efforts, such as distributing The Liberator, that antislavery became a national issue among reformers.

s they paved the way for much larger issues such as slavery. In the 1830's, along with a small minority of white reformers, William Lloyd Garrison's morals drove him to demand "immediate and complete emancipation" (Norton 242) of slavery. Those who advocated immediate emancipation saw slavery as a moral issue, a sin on the American nation. Although not all reformers believed in the immediate discontinuance of slavery, others tended to favor the gradual approach. The American Colonization Society had the idea of gradual abolition along with the resettling of the former slaves in Africa. Garrison, considered an immediatist, had strong opinions about the methods that should be used to bring about emancipation and did not believe that it could be done through the political

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Approximate Word count = 1127
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History