During the second quarter of the nineteenth century Americans decided to build social reforms and institutions that would be dedicated to improve the individuals and society. The objective sought by the Temperance movement was the crusade against drunkenness. The temperance movement was initially created by several men who took a vow to avert from the habit of drinking alcohol. No social vice, argued some reformers was more responsible for crime, disorder, and poverty than the excessive use of alcohol (Brinkley). Women in this era were very active in this movement because the alcoholism placed a burden on the wives because money for basic needs was being used by the husbands on alcohol. However, by the 1840s temperance societies began advocating …show more content…
The movement gained strength and also became divided. Legislation was also sought to prohibit the consumption of alcohol by restricting sale of it. Maine was the first one to pass the law in 1851 (Brinkley). There were plenty disagreements, some thought it was the individuals sole responsibility to promote self improvement and some thought mandatorily imposing it on society was the way to go. The search for social discipline was particularly clear in the battle over prohibition laws, which pitted established Protestants against the new Catholic immigrants, to many of whom drinking was an important part of social life (Brinkley).
The temperance movement strived to eradicate alcoholism then came “The Progression of Education Era” which was to rationalize the education system (“The Progressive Era of Education”, n.d.). One of the outstanding …show more content…
Women faced many restrictions but a new set of barriers was imposed on them that emerged from the doctrine of “separate spheres”( Brinkley). Women began to feel a lot of resentment; this and many other factors made them snap around 1840. The position of women had been inferior in the U.S. society of the 19th century and this was not a pleasant condition to be tolerated by the American women who believed that in forming and sustaining the norms and conventions of the family life and in maintaining the American social and economic structure women had contribution that should be equated with that of the men. These two sisters from South Carolina made history together: daring to speak before men and women. They also published one of the most powerful anti-slavery tracts of the antebellum era. They stretched the boundaries of women’s public role as the first women to testify before a state legislature on the question of African American rights. They national crusade combined antislavery but also racial discrimination throughout