Democratic ideals have proven elusive throughout history, and are oftentimes only gained through bloodshed, as shown by the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. While some opposed social reform for fear of tearing down entire social structures (G) antebellum reformers were still able to push for, if not fully gain, many democratic ideals between John Quincy Adams’ election and 1850, especially with suffrage (I), abolition (C), and with education (A and E). Female suffrage became a hot issue in the late 1840s, as the US government slowly gained its shape and the election process became more familiar to Americans. female suffrage nevertheless gained a number of supporters, key among them Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The democratic ideal of universal suffrage was upheld by those supporters of female suffrage. While that may have been true, there were also those Americans such as Samuel Morse, who believed that only by removing the right of suffrage for immigrants would the US keep its sanctity as a democratic nation. However, by refusing suffrage for immigrants, Morse actually raises a detriment to democratic ideals, as a nation is not truly democratic unless all of …show more content…
Document C clearly shows abolitionist leanings by portraying a female slave as a woman and a sister—in other words, a human being. The idea of abolition is a democratic ideal itself, as slaves were not given representation in the US government and yet were as affected by the government as any other free citizen. Prominent abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison, who ran the abolitionist paper The Liberator helped push slavery into the limelight (where previously it had been ignored by Congress for fear of messy conflicts and civil unrest). Eventually, antebellum abolitionist reformers coaxed the issue of slavery to a head, resulting in reforms beyond
“Reform movements in the United States sought to expand democratic ideals.” Assess the validity of this statement with specific reference to the years 1825 – 1850.
‘Reform movements in the United States sought to expand democratic ideals. Assess the validity of this statement with specific reference to the years 1825-1850.’
Women eventually became repulsive against the standards of which they were being held to, yet they had to remain quiet. Several organizations were created regarding women’s suffrage. Many of the organizations had committed members who devoted all of their free time to the organization. Susan Brownell Anthony was one of those committed members. Anthony was born on February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts. She became interested in Women suffrage at a young age. She practically devoted her life to the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Anthony’s father worked as a farmer. Eventually he became wealthy by starting a cotton mill. Despite their, wealth they lived a simple life. Keeping up with their Quaker faith. Quakers believed in equality between the sexes. Anthony was raised in an environment filled with outspoken women resulting in her outspoken personality. In 1849, Anthony quit her job and rejoined her parents, who moved to Rochester Newyork, where Anthony became intrigued with the fight for women 's suffrage. Anthony 's participation in several organizations and outspoken nature made her a target for criticism. The editors of the newspaper attempted to perceive her to the public as a “bitter spinster” who only had interest in Women Suffrage because she could not find a husband, when in fact Anthony had received numerous proposals all of which she had refused. She felt that if she were to get married she would
The United States of America experienced several reform movements from 1825 to 1850. The reformers sought to improve religion, rehabilitation of criminals and mental patients, education, slavery, and women’s rights. Each demonstrated democratic ideals to the extent that the reformers sought to incorporate the values of liberty and equality into their reform movements to improve the quality of life but did so at the expense and dismay of others.
The battle for suffrage was a long and slow process. Many women tried to initiate the fight for suffrage, like Alice Paul and Lucy Burns. “These were the New Suffragists: women who were better educated, more career-oriented, younger, less apt to be married and more cosmopolitan than their previous generation.” (pg 17) Eventually, in 1920, the 19th amendment was ratified; allowing women to vote, but it was not any one person or event that achieved this great feat. It was the confluence of certain necessary factors, the picketing and parades led by Alice Paul, militaristic suffrage parties and the influence of the media that caused the suffrage amendment to be passed and ratified in 1920. But most importantly, they successfully moved both
In the last several centuries, countless reform movements have attempted to shape and expand democratic ideals in the United States. A democratic ideal is the personal qualities and behavior of a government that are necessary to its continued democracy. Such as life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, diversity, truth, religious freedom, and patriotism. All constitutionally given rights we all, as Americans, have in one way or another as a result of early reform movements.
In the 1920’s women suffrage was a substantial impact because that year women gained the right to vote and run for office. It took activists and reformers nearly 100 years to win that right (“The Fight” par. 1). Before the Election Day in 1920, women didn’t have the right to vote or basically do anything a man could do. Women fought against the court and formed multiple groups until they made a change in the law, to let women vote. Many American women were tired of being known as an unimportant role in their generation. They were beginning to become annoyed with what historians referred them as which was “a pious, submissive wife and mother concerned exclusively with home and family” (“The Fight” par. 2). “All of these contributed to a new way of thinking about what it meant to be a women and a citizen in the United States”(“The Fight” par. 2). “The suffrage movement in the United States gained prominence with the first women’s rights convention in the world”(“Women’s Suffrage” par. 5). Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the convention in 1848. “American
The statement “Reform movements in the United States sought to expand democratic ideals” is proven valid in context to every reform in the time period 1825-1850 except the naturalization act, The only movement in that period contradicting democratic ideals. Besides this act, every other act displayed grand interest in civilizing the United States and emphasizing equality and liberty for all, the core democratic ideals. The nation eventually picked up and expanded all of these, but only after the effect of these reforms took their toll
The Jacksonian democracy of the 1820s-1830s is often associated with an expansion of the political influence, economic opportunities, and social equality available to “the common man,” a concept of the masses which President Andrew Jackson and his newly founded Democratic party came to represent. The new administration certainly saw gains for the majority; namely, public participation in government increased to unprecedented levels, and several economic decisions were made to favor the people over monopolies. Beginning with their exaggerated portrayal of the “corrupt” 1824 election however, the Jacksonian democrats also left a legacy of substantial miscalculations
Between the years 1825 and 1850, the US underwent a series of social and political reforms which attempted to democratize American life. Reform movements during this period of Jacksonian Democracy attempted to dissolve disunity in the social ladder and pushed for equal rights among all citizens. Stemming from the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century, many of these reforms were backed by religious ideals over democratic principles. At the forefront of the cause, however, was the hope for a more democratic system in which there was not only popular sovereignty, but a sense of social leveling.
During the late 1700s, women were not seen as being equal to men. They were imaged as one who stayed at home and took care of the kids. No one ever imagined a woman voting. Some women actually supported the fight in allowing blacks to vote. During the time the 15th amendment passed, many women who supported Women’s Suffrage were disappointed in which they were excluded in the idea of allowing “everyone” to vote. Before the Civil War, the movement for Women’s Suffrage started to pick up steam, but had become lost due to the interruption of the Civil War. One of the acts that stood out the most for Women’s Suffrage was the Seneca Falls Conference in 1848. This was organized by two American activists, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. They were the first to organize a conference to address Women’s rights and issues, and with sixty- eight women and thirty two men, they signed “The Declaration of Sentiments”, a document that was similar to the Declaration of Independence, but directed towards women’s rights. Getting suffrage for women was not an easy campaign. During 1890- 1919, many states were in a mix on their decision on suffrage for women. Some agreed with equal suffrage, others partial, and the rest wanted no suffrage at all for females as displayed in Document 6. Women’s Suffrage finally became a reality when it was ratified as an amendment (19th) in
On January 1, 1831, the first issue of the Liberator containing an editorial from Garrison was published. The editorial was addressed to the public and ‘demanded the immediate, unconditional abolition of slavery’ and vowed to use extreme measures to effect a “revolution in public sentiment” (Masur 22-23). Garrison gave warning that he would not compromise or sugar coat his words: “I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. I am in earnest – I will not equivocate – I will not excuse – I will not retreat a single inch – AND I WILL BE HEARD” (Masur 23). Garrison used the Liberator to voice his ever-increasing radical abolitionist ideas, urging free blacks to accept temperance, religion, and education as a means to further themselves.
The 1830s marked a drastic change in character in activists, when instances went from being small and ineffective, to great, nation-changing campaigns. The abolitionists’ movements after the 1830s irrefutably had huge impacts in the United States in various aspects, aspects such as politics, society/equality, and even in culture. The abolitionists were more fervent in their expression of disproval with slavery, and many abolitionist icons expressed themselves through literature. William Lloyd Garrison and Fredrick Douglass along with their publications in the newspaper, the Liberator, sparked a flame against slavery in the hearts of many Americans that may have had either a neutral position or even a proslavery opinion thus turning the tides towards abolition. Another person who, through literacy, aided in the strengthening of the abolitionist party was Harriet Beacher Stowe with her publication of the illustrious novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” This book not only changed the views of countless people but also influenced the literary aspect of the nation, for to
Up until the 1920s, women’s struggle for their right to vote seemed to be a futile one. They had been fighting for their suffrage for a long time, starting numerous women's rights movements and abolitionist activists groups to achieve their goal. “The campaign for women’s suffrage began in earnest in the decades before the Civil War. During the 1820s and 30s, most states had enfranchised almost all white males (“The Fight for Women's Suffrage” ). This sparked women to play a more emphatic role in society. They began to participate in anti-slavery organizations, religious movements, and even meetings where they discussed that when the Constitution states "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain
A period of nearly 30 years are associated with the Presidency of Jefferson, his successors and his ‘democracy’ from 1801 until Andrew Jackson’s election in 1828. A vision of a united, equal America, limited government and natural aristocracy ruled the Jeffersonian style of democracy. However, with the election of Andrew Jackson in 1828, a new form of democracy, differentiating in multiply ways to the Jeffersonian America, engulfed the American political and social scene. Jacksonian Democracy, a dream of the common man, the use of the Presidential veto, and Anglo-Saxonism as well other elements dominated this form of democracy and era. Despite this, many