Read the following sentences from the article.
1. Reformer Horace Mann argued for "common schools" where all children would receive the fundamentals of learning.
2. Reformers like Dorothea Dix helped introduce libraries, literacy classes and Sunday school to prisons.
3. During a strike, workers stop working in order to demand better treatment or better pay from their bosses.
4. Over time, women increasingly questioned why the right to vote was limited to white men.
What CENTRAL idea does this evidence support?
A
Many reformers were important activists for several different causes at once.
B
Many reformers worked to empower and improve the rights of individual Americans.
C
Many reform movements began as a result of social changes after the Civil War.
D
Many reform movements focused on the struggles of women and African-Americans.
B
Many reformers worked to empower and improve the rights of individual Americans.
Which sentence from the article would be MOST important to include in a summary of the article?
A
The Second Great Awakening combined democratic thinking with Christian ideas about charity.
B
The mill workers of Lowell, Massachusetts, were some of the first factory workers to go on strike.
C
Suffrage is the right to vote and the movement became the women's suffrage movement.
D
These movements meant that 1900 opened on a nation much changed from the United States of 1800
C
Suffrage is the right to vote and the movement became the women's suffrage movement.
How does the section "Abolition" relate to the section "Votes For Women"?
A
"Abolition" compares the anti-slavery movement with the Revolution, and "Votes For Women" illustrates how the Constitution changed over time.
B
"Abolition" explains the problems faced by women who were abolitionists, and "Votes For Women" illustrates how they solved these problems.
C
"Abolition" describes the cooperation of male and female abolitionists, and "Votes For Women" explains how the women of that movement later took on suffrage.
D
"Abolition" introduces the Liberator newspaper published by William Lloyd Garrison, and "Votes For Women" explains his effect on the suffrage movement.
C
"Abolition" describes the cooperation of male and female abolitionists, and "Votes For Women" explains how the women of that movement later took on suffrage.
The 1800s in the United States included two periods of
reform
activity. The first was the pre-Civil War years beginning in about 1830. The second was the 1890s, which ushered in the Progressive Era. While historians do not agree on what caused the earlier "Era of Reform," they have identified a number of likely factors. The American Revolution, within living memory, had transformed the American way of life. The Second Great Awakening combined democratic thinking with Christian ideas about charity. Americans began to focus on the moral improvement of themselves and their nation.
Abolition
A close up of a newspaper.Zoom in
The front page of the April 23, 1831, issue of The Liberator. Published by William Lloyd Garrison, it was a paper that called for the abolition of slavery. Image: Getty Images [click to expand]
The great American problem of the 19th century was slavery. Both black and white
abolitionists
made it impossible to ignore. The division between slave and free states grew ever wider until the Civil War erupted. Like the American Revolution itself, the anti-slavery movement grew out of Boston, Massachusetts. Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison began publishing the Liberator newspaper there in 1831. Garrison also led the American Anti-Slavery Society. It was one of many abolitionist societies where both men and women lectured and campaigned against slavery.
Education Reform
Before the 1800s, students were charged fees to attend school. Most people had only as much education as their parents could buy. Teachers' credentials were often poor, and many schools relied on "monitors" — older students — to pass on what they learned from their teacher to the younger pupils. Reformer Horace Mann argued for "common schools" where all children would receive the fundamentals of learning. Mann's "common values" were influenced by his own class and religion, but his vision took hold. Free elementary education became a reality — for white Americans. Most African-Americans, including nearly all who were enslaved, had few or no educational opportunities until after the Civil War. Even then, Jim Crow laws barred them from equal participation.
Prison Reform
Prison reformers wanted to improve conditions in prisons. They also wanted to change the purpose of prison from punishment to
rehabilitation
. Reformers like Dorothea Dix helped introduce libraries, literacy classes and Sunday school to prisons. In doing so, they brought positive change to the lives of prisoners.
Labor Reform
During the 19th century, machines replaced handcrafting in many industries and the demand for workers grew. As more and more work was being done in factories, individual laborers came to have less control over the conditions they worked in. Even before the rise of labor unions, some workers protested by means of strikes. During a strike, workers stop working in order to demand better treatment or better pay from their bosses. The mill workers of Lowell, Massachusetts, were some of the first factory workers to go on strike. Most of them were young women and girls.
The first organized labor unions, including the Knights of Labor, appeared after the Civil War. They grew slowly, though. It was not until the first half of the 20th century that unions would gain the power to bargain on equal terms with business owners.
Temperance
The temperance movement began side by side with the other reform movements of the 1830s. Initially, its supporters argued for moderation in the use of alcohol. Over time, their position shifted to a demand for an outright ban on selling and drinking alcohol. Support for the temperance movement eventually led to the Prohibition Era. In 1919, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution made it illegal to make or sell alcoholic beverages. However, the law was difficult to enforce, and shifting public opinion made it less and less popular, which led to the end of Prohibition in 1933.
Votes For Women
From the beginning of the reform era, women involved themselves in various movements. Many became important activists, writers and lecturers. Both women of color and white women took leading roles in the abolitionist movement. Over time, women increasingly questioned why the right to vote was limited to white men. By 1870, the 14th and 15th Amendments had guaranteed citizenship and voting rights for all adult men. The passage of these amendments energized the women's
suffrage
movement. Suffrage is the right to vote and the movement became the women's suffrage movement. In 1869, the new territory of Wyoming was the first part of the United States to give women the right to vote.
Leaders of the movement disagreed on several points, most importantly on whether their movement should include black women. For a time, two separate national suffrage associations existed. In 1890, they reunited as the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Three years later, Colorado gave women the right to vote. However, the United States would not follow its lead for nearly three more decades.
What It All Means
The many reform movements of the 1800s each had a distinct focus. However, they all shared the principles of democratic and Christian ideals. These movements meant that 1900 opened on a nation much changed from the United States of 1800.
The section "Abolition" relates to the section "Votes For Women" as they both highlight different reform movements that aimed to bring about significant social change in the United States during the 1800s. The abolition movement focused on ending slavery and was carried out by both black and white abolitionists, while the women's suffrage movement aimed at securing the right to vote for women. Both movements faced opposition and challenges, including disagreements among their leaders, but ultimately contributed to the progressive changes in society by pushing for equality and justice.
Read the section "Temperance."
What does this section explain that other sections DO NOT?
A
how groups had contrasting views within a reform movement
B
how amendments affected the energy of a reform movement
C
how the results of a reform movement were later reversed
D
how organization of a reform movement changed over time
C
how the results of a reform movement were later reversed