Reform after the Revolution essays

Reform after the Revolution essays 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 Masons 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 reformers they paved the way for much larger issues such as slavery. In the 1830s, along with a small minority of white reformers, William Lloyd Garrisons 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 ...