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American Colonization Society
The American Colonization Society was created in order to enforce the abolition of slavery. It also supported the settlement of black Americans in Africa. This society was created in 1816. -
Utopian Communities
Utopian Communities, also known as reform communities, were created in order to form a “perfect society”. Many of them operated in different ways with different leaders. Most of them involved some religious aspect and substitutes for gender relations. A majority of Utopian Communities involved the abolition of men’s “property” of women. -
Perfectionism
Perfectionism is the belief that individuals and society itself is always capable of becoming better than before. This belief influenced many changes including temperance becoming complete elimination of drinking, criticism of war becoming pacifism, emancipation becoming abolition, etc. This idea was popular from 1820-1840. -
Communitarianism
Communitarianism is a social reform belief of establishing small communities based on ownership of property. Robert Owen is the most important secular communitarian. Communitarianism focused on balancing rights and responsibilities. -
Temperance Movement
The Temperance Movement is a movement that overtook the North due to the American Temperance Society wanted to limit drinking. This reform was influenced by the idea that renouncing drinking would increase respectability. This movement decreased the amount of drinking in America significantly. -
Common Schools
Common Schools were created in order to have universal public education in America. These schools were tax supported schools that were open to all children. They were created as a form of social and reform in the 1830’s. -
Moral Suasion
Moral Suasion was a strategy made by abolitionists to end slavery. The strategy was to persuade the slaveowners and indifferent northerners that slavery was evil and a sin. -
American Anti-Slavery Society
The American Anti-Slavery Society was formed in 1833 which was dedicated to abolishing slavery everywhere in America. About 100,000 Northerners joined groups, including the American Anti-Slavery Society, in efforts to completely abolish slavery. -
Shakers
The Shakers were a part of a new religious movement that would “shake away” bad or unholy acts in 1787. It was founded by Ann Lee Stanley and was one of the most successful religious communities. They peaked in the 1840’s with more than 5,000 members. The Shakers emphasized gender equality. -
Liberty Party
The Liberty Party was formed when the seceders wanted to make abolition an official political movement. The Liberty Party nominated James G. Birney for president. Birney received only 1/3 of 1% of the total votes. The Liberty Party later merged with the Free Soil Party in 1848. -
Brook Farm
A community established in 1841 by New England transcendentalists. It was created in an effort to show that manual and intellectual labor could work together. This community was formed with the ideas of Charles Fourier, a French social reformer. Brook Farm is described as a “miniature university” that attracted people who were not fans of farm labor. -
Dorothea Dix
Dorothea Dix was a public figure who aimed to promote the humane treatment of the mentally ill. She brought awareness to the mistreatment of those who were deemed “insane”. Because of her efforts, 28 states reformed and built mental hospitals. She submitted her first memorial to the state legislature in 1843. -
Woman Suffrage
Woman’s Suffrage was a movement that fought for woman’s right to vote and for equality. This movement lasted for seventy years. The first event of the Woman Suffrage was the First Woman’s Right Convention in 1847. -
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a piece of anti-slavery literature written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The book entailed all the horrid realities of slavery and appealed to the audiences pathos in order to enforce the abolition of slavery. It had aspects of an autobiography of a fugitive slave named Josiah Henson. The book sold over 1 million copies and is one of the most famous pieces of literature that shows the evils of slavery.