NNEC - Religion and Social Reform Document Analysis Lesson

Document Analysis: Religion and Social Reform

Document Analysis iconAs you learned in lesson one, the first half of the 19th Century was a time of religious revival and social reform. Many reformers were driven to try to improve society, many of them inspired by the Second Great Awakening. You may want to go back and review some of the information that relates to these topics. Additionally, view this chart about the reforms during the Antebellum Period. Links to an external site.

Examine these 5 documents and answer the questions that follow. You can download a pdf version of these documents here. Links to an external site.

Document 1: Peter Cartright, Second Great Awakening Evangelist

Image accompanying Document 1: Methodist revival

Image Accompanying Document 1 showing a Methodist Revival

Document 2: Horace Mann (1846), Education Reformer

Document 3: From the Declaration of Sentiments (1848)

Document 4: From the American Anti--Slavery Society

Document 5: The Drunkard’s Progress by Nathaniel Currier (1846)

Questions

  1. What were some characteristics of the meetings during the Second Great Awakening?
  2. According to Horace Mann, why was education so important?
  3. How have women been treated according to the Declaration of Sentiments?
  4. Why is slavery wrong according to the American Anti-Slavery Society?
  5. Why would the temperance reformers argue that laws were needed to restrict and ban the sale of alcohol?

Answer the questions on your own paper or word processing document.

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