The Social Gospel Movement

People thought that they were destined and supposed to make advances and progress with society (477). Progressivists were mainly middle class Americans, experts, and women. They pushed for honest and responsive government, an efficient economy and government, and protection to the vulnerable. Progressivists are known to have instated a new boldness and confidence for the American people and wanted to be the best they could be. They were also concerned with poor people. They wanted to ease poor living conditions and protect them and help them. Women played a huge role in progressive reform. The Progressive Era was the time of one of the largest movements in American history, women’s suffrage (483). During this time, women pushed for equal rights as men, especially the right to vote. Women slowly started to gain ground in the movement and finally gained the right to vote in 1920 when the 19th amendment was

Through a multitude of significant changes physically, conceptually, economically, and more, the societal reformation of cities in the Progressive Era had set themselves as the foundations of American civilization. The juxtaposition between the rich and poor statuses in these urban areas show the drastic separation within developing cities. Through this division caused a wide variety of living conditions, the majority of which held the overcrowded sections of cities where the population mostly stayed while the higher end communities had more luxurious lives. Through this success of entrepreneurship and economic growth from all aspects in cities, the entire landscape, both physically through innovative architecture and the perspectives outside rural and suburban areas had on them, had transformed for the better in these areas.

“Drawing support from the urban, college-educated middle class, Progressive reformers sought to eliminate corruption in government, regulate business practices, address health hazards, and improve working conditions.” Each American had their own ways of incorporating the upper class train of thought and applying it to their tactics of forced change among industrial and political governments. Progressives eventually formed their own political party in order to advance their ideas. Women were also active within the Progressive Era. The Progressive Era was the time that women began to push forward for the right to vote, and also advocate for their families. “At the end of the nineteenth century, women were considered the ‘Moral Guardians’ and protectors of the home.” In a literal sense, Progressives wanted to turn America into a Middle-class heaven, where civility, health, education, and economic security flourished. Without the influence of the almighty Rockefeller, and the rest of the 2% upper class, America may not have transitioned into the Progressive Era as

People were wanting change during this time. Women were wanting to get out of the house and work to help support their families. By 1920, 8 million women were in the work field and desired a lifelong career out of it. Even though more and more women were working, they were not getting paid the same as men and were being discriminated against (Foner, pg. 700). After this, the rise of Feminism was on the horizon.

The Women's Rights Movement was a significant crusade for women that began in the late nineteenth century and flourished throughout Europe and the United States for the rest of the twentieth century. Advocates for women's rights initiated this movement as they yearned for equality and equal participation and representation in society. Throughout all of history, the jobs of women ranged from housewives to factory workers, yet oppression by society, particularly men, accompanied them in their everyday lives. Not until the end of the nineteenth century did women begin to voice their frustrations about the inequalities among men and women, and these new proclamations would be the basis for a society with opportunities starting to open for

Music is an important aspect of every society. Music can tell stories, release emotions, build bridges and break down barriers, but above all music is entertaining. There are various forms of music but not many have as rich a history as gospel music. The importance of gospel music has been relevant in American music for more than a century and its importance to society is still relevant to this day (See Appendix A). Gospel music helped slaves escape to freedom and paved the way for other styles of music. It promotes a spirit of hope and provided an outlet to worship God. So how exactly has Gospel music impacted today’s society?

After 1815, a women’s status in society was shaped both by the “market revolution” and the “Second Great Awakening”. The “market revolution” was a drastic change in the nation's economy through transportation, education, legal reforms. Examples of these reforms would include the creation of canals, roads, railroads, and the technology needed to commute between places, an increase in teacher wages, school terms, and curriculum, and the spreading awareness of massive movements such as the temperance, abolitionist, and prison reform movement. The “Second Great Awakening” was a revival of religious spirit that attracted social minorities, such as women, African-Americans,and native Americans, that produced many new sects of Protestantism, such

The “social gospel” was the biggest inspiration and influence for Civil Rights leader, John Lewis. Which is prevalent throughout the first two books, of the March trilogy, written by Andrew Aydin and John Lewis himself. The Bible made its mark on Lewis when he was young, living on a farm. Leading him to the “social gospel” which started him down the path of nonviolence, and longing not just for personal reform but for social reform. As the Civil Rights movements became bigger, and as the philosophy of which John Lewis taught spread, others were inspired by the “social gospel.”

After the Civil War, the movement of women’s suffrage had a new inspiration, as they used African American suffrage as a stepping stone towards women’s suffrage. Organizations, such as the National Association Women’s Suffrage Association and Women’s Christian Temperance, had clear goals to reform the urban areas with women’s suffrage. As this empowering reform took place, women of the late 19th and early 20th centuries started to question their own roles within society. As women faced opposition and had diminished roles within society, the women of the late 19th century sought equality.

In the progressive era many problems in the urban areas in the United States were looked and reformed by many of the people living in the United states. Reforms were looked upon by many people concerning the society they lived in and the government who controlled them. People even wanted reforms on how government officials were elected

The social gospel was the biggest inspiration and influence for Civil Rights leader, John Lewis. Which is prevalent throughout the first two books, of the March trilogy, written by Andrew Aydin and John Lewis himself. The Bible made its mark on Lewis when he was young farm boy. Leading him to the social gospel which started him down the path of nonviolence, and longing not just for personal reform but for social reform. As the Civil Rights movements became bigger, and as the philosophy of which John Lewis taught spread, others were inspired by the social gospel.

Women activists involved in the movement were called suffragists. The typical woman activist was middle class, and usually unmarried. These were the women who were not afraid to step outside their traditional role in American history. They were becoming frustrated with their status, economically, because they had just watched black slaves gain more rights than they held.

In the early nineteenth century time period there was a major reform in the United States. The Antebellum Reform is the period before the civil war and after the war of 1812. Preachers and believers saw society and the environment of the country capable of improving conditions. They saw that the society was able to perfect and strive to be more like God. The Second Great Awakening played a large role in the development of the reformist impulse. The Awakening pressured the concept of personal responsibility of a person to the sins of neighbors. Seeking perfection and living righteousness, also redeeming sinners was widely spread. The reform was encountered with a network of church affiliated reform organizations. The reform impulse was not only major in the United States, but Europeans also had reform efforts. There were different types of reform movements during the nineteenth century in the United States. Overtime groups and were separated. There were many women who worked in the reform movement. However, women had a great impact in

The Social Gospel is the idea of social problems being looked and fixed with a Christian point of view. The Gospel will always stay the same and we should refer the Social Gospel as living out the Gospel. The goal of the Social Gospel Movement was to tie salvation and good work together. They thought people should live the life of a Jesus Christ. Classes, counseling, job training and libraries were provided by churches to act according to the Social Gospel. The origins and issues of the Social Gospel Movement, how the Social Gospel related to a Progressive Era, the work of Walter Rauschenbusch, and how Social Gospel relates to the Gospel will be covered in this essay.

White women joined the fight against slavery and the middle-class housewives were the ones who had enough leisure time to start organizations. As they were getting involved and