Chapter 8 Reforming America Review

What new religious ideas set the stage for the reform movements of the mid-19th century?

Answer explanation

Religion was based on individuality. It's up to the individual to pray to God, accept salvation, perform good works, read the bible, etc...

How did Dorthea Dix contribute to reform?

Answer explanation

She fought for prison and mental asylum reform. She helped set the stage for rehabilitation.

How did William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and David Walker each propose ending slavery?

Answer explanation

Garrison: Immediate emancipation.

Walker: Violent resistance

Douglass: Political resolutions

What steps did white Southerners take to suppress slave revolts?

Answer explanation

Tighter control methods, intimidation tactics, prohibition of slaves learning to read or write.

What was the Cult of Domesticity?

Answer explanation

Restriction of women after marriage to their home and family, few legal protections/rights, couldn't vote.

What was the purpose of the Seneca Falls Convention?

Answer explanation

To gain support for women's rights and to vote on a set of resolutions declaring women's equality with men.

How did working conditions in the Lowell textile mills present new opportunities and new hazards?

Answer explanation

Mills offered better pay than teaching or domestic work. Hours were long, pay was still low, little safety regulations.

Describe the two waves of immigration in the mid-1800's.

Answer explanation

First wave: European immigrants from 1830-1860

Second wave: Irish immigrants from 1845-1854 due to the potato famine

What do you believe was the most important reform from this era? Support your answer with factual information.