chapter 15 Questions

Know:    Alexis de Tocqueville, The Age of Reason, Deism, Unitarians, Second Great Awakening, Camp Meetings, Charles Grandison Finney

1.        In what ways did religion in the United States become more liberal and more conservative in the early decades of the 19th century?

During the Second Great Awakening of the 19th Century new ideas such as Deism and Unitarians burst forth. Huge camp meetings and new fiery preachers allowed the gospel to be poured onto the common folk. Also, women experienced a sense of freedom during this period of religious freedom. They helped spread and further the spirit more than any other group. 

Denominational Diversity

Know:    Burned-Over-District, Millerites (Adventists)

2.        What effect did the Second Great Awakening have on organized religion?

The second Great Awakening fragmented old religious organizations. With these new ideas people continually broke off from the established churches and  created their own ideas.

A Desert Zion in Utah

Know:    Joseph Smith, Book of Mormon, Brigham Young

3.        What characteristics of the Mormons caused them to be persecuted by their neighbors?

Mormons were persecuted by their neighbors because they were different. The Mormon belief was an oligarchy that believed in polygamy. They also voted as one unit and continually drilled their militia for defensive purposes. Non-followers believed that polygamy went strictly against the bible and their drilling of militia made them nervous so they persecuted the mormons until they moved to Utah. There they created their own very successful community. 

Free Schools for a Free People

Know:    Three R's, Horace Mann, Noah Webster, McGuffey's Readers

4.        What advances were made in the field of education from 1820 to 1850?

Between 1820 and 1850 free public education was on the rise thanks to worried citizens about the "next generation". However, the quality of the education was not very good. The schools focused more on promoting patriotism and morality in their young students rather than critical thinking.

Higher Goals for Higher Learning

Know:    University of Virginia, Oberlin College, Mary Lyon, Lyceum, Magazines

5.        In what ways did higher education become more modern in the antebellum years?

Higher education became available to more and more people, even women, although it was still excluded from Blacks. Lecture associations, magazines, and liberal arts colleges were more abundant spreading knowledge throughout the classes. 

An Age of Reform

Know:    Sylvester Graham, Penitentiaries, Dorthea Dix

6.        How and why did Dorthea Dix participate in the reform movements?

Dorthea Dix, due to her infinite compassion, traveled a whole sixty thousand miles to expose the terrible conditions of insanity asylums. Using only her written pen Dix described the asylums so vividly as to sway legislature. 

Demon Rum--The "Old Deluder"

Know:    American Temperance Society, Neil S. Dow, Maine Law of 1851

7.        Assess the successfulness of the temperance reformers.

Temperance reformers were not very successful. Although they got about a dozen states to pass prohibition laws many of those laws were repealed or outright flouted. Drunkards cannot be tamed by simply writing a couple words into legislature. 

Women in Revolt

Know:    Spinsters, Alexis de Tocqueville, Cult of Domesticity, Catherine Beecher, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Blackwell, Margaret Fuller, Sarah and Angelina Grimke, Amelia Bloomer, Seneca Falls, Declaration of Sentiments

8.        Describe the status of women in the first half of the 19th century.

Women were infinitely considered minors and inferior to men during the first half of the 19th century. They were, however, legally better off than their counterparts in Europe. Many women to avoid submerging themselves against mens rule refused to marry. Women reformers also began to pop up - because of their hard work women were gradually being admitted into colleges and in some states were able to keep their property after they were married. 

Wilderness Utopias

Know:    Utopias, New Harmony, Brook Farm, Oneida Community, Complex Marriage, Shakers

9.        In what ways were utopian communities different from mainstream America?

Utopian communities tried to create an ideal town through religion (such as the Shakers) or philosophy (such as transcendentalists) . However, because we all know that nothing perfect exists, they all failed.

The Dawn of Scientific Achievement

Know:    Benjamin Silliman, John J. Audubon

10.        Was the United States a leader in the world in scientific pursuits?  Explain.

The Untied States was a leader in practical sciences. Meaning that agriculture and nautical sciences were advanced, but in depth research such as medicine was not.

Makers of America: The Oneida Community

Know:    John Humphrey Noyes, Bible Communism, Mutual Criticism

11.        The word "utopia" is a word that is "derived from Greek that slyly combines the meanings of `a good place' and `no such place'."  Does the Oneida Community fit this definition?  Explain.

For members of the Oneida community that believed in Noyes the community was certainly a "good place", but it could never exist with success because of persecution and its neighbors. This made it so that it fit perfectly with the definition of "utopia".

Artistic Achievements

Know:    Thomas Jefferson, Gilbert Stuart, Charles Wilson Peale, John Trumball, Hudson River School, Daguerreotype, Stephen C. Foster

12.        "The antebellum period was a time in which American art began to come of age."  Assess.

American painters, after the war of 1812, shunned the normal portraits and faced toward romanticism of local wilderness. In this way they turned from their old counterparts to new fresh unique ideas of their own, just like a teenager grows to have his or her own ideas. 

The Blossoming of a National Literature

Know:    Knickerbocker Group, Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, William Cullen Bryant

13.        In the early 1800's American writers emerged, who were recognized world-wide for their ability.  What made them uniquely American?

They were born in America and their works were steeped in the traditions and culture of America. They all emphasized modern america. There was a sense of brutality and individualism that was not present in the European works which made them ever so more popular. 

Trumpeters of Transcendentalism

Know:    Transcendentalism, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or Life in the Woods, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, Walt Whitman

14.        Which of the transcendentalists mentioned here best illustrated the theory in his life and writings? Explain.

Henry David Thoreau exemplified his philosophy throughout his life by spending two years secluded from civilization at Walden Pond. He worked to minimize his materials in order for him to meditate and further his philosophy. 

Glowing Literary Lights

Know:    Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Greenleaf Whittier, James Russell Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Louisa May Alcott, Emily Dickinson

15.        Name six important American writers and explain the significance of each.

Edgar Allen Poe's work contradicted with that of the normal American literature. This made it stand out not only in America, but Europe as well. Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter wrote deeply on the Puritan practice of forcing an adulteress to wear a letter A on her outfit and how sin affects the mind. Herman Melville, through actual physical experience, wrote Moby Dick.

Literary Individualists and Dissenters

Know:    Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville

16.        Why do you think Poe and Melville were not appreciated as much in America at the time as they were in other times and places?

Poe wrote in a morbid and pessimistic fashion, the opposite of the optimistic tone of the American culture. Melville's Moby Dick wasn't liked because it was very impersonal and unknowable, it was ignored because it wasn't straight forward.

Portrayers of the Past

Know:    George Bancroft, William H. Prescott, Francis Parkman

17.        How did the geographic background of early historians affect the history they wrote?

They take the point of  view or side from where they're from, they're biased. Also, the areas they're in, like Boston, may contain good sources of education. 

Varying Viewpoints:  Reform: Who? What? How? and Why?

18.        Were 19th century reformers compassionate, religious people; fanatics who didn't care if their actions had negative results; or conservatives who wanted to control the lower classes?  Explain.

19th century reformers were conservatives who wanted to control their income. All of the wars that they fought: for abolition of slavery, education, and feminism rights were used to control the lower class and keep them working for the upper class.