Detail of Swedish immigrants passing through Boston on their way west. Newspaper engraving (1852).

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A New Spirit of Change,1820–1860

Immigrants settle in the United States, American literature and art develop, and reform movements have a major impact on the nation.

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SECTION 2

SECTION 3

SECTION 4

The Hopes of Immigrants

American Literature and Art

Reforming American Society

Abolition and Women’s Rights

A New Spirit of Change,1820–1860

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Section 1

The Hopes of ImmigrantsIn the mid-1800s, millions of Europeans come to the United States hoping to build a better life.

Why People Migrated

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The Hopes of Immigrants

• Emigrants—people who leave a country

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• Most immigrants make voyage to America in steerage

• Immigrants—people who settle in a new country

• Steerage—cheapest deck on ship, cramped conditions, filthy

• During mid-1800s, most immigrants come from Europe

Continued . . .

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• People immigrate because of push-pull factors

• Push factors—conditions that push people out of their native lands

Continued Why People Migrated

• Pull factors—conditions that pull people toward a new place

Continued . . .

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Continued Why People Migrated

• Pull factors include freedom, economic opportunity, abundant land

• Push factors include: - agricultural changes, landlords force tenants

off land- crop failures, farmers unable to pay debts,

families go hungry- Industrial Revolution puts many artisans out

of work- religious, political turmoil causes religious

persecution

Scandinavians Seek Land

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• Cheap land lures thousands of Scandinavians to U.S.

• In U.S., Scandinavians settle in Midwest, become farmers

• Swedish government restricts emigration, later cancels restrictions

Germans Pursue Economic Opportunity

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• Many Germans immigrate to Wisconsin; good climate for growing oats

• Some German Jews work as traveling salespeople

• Work as bakers, butchers, shoemakers, carpenters in cities

• Also settle in Texas, found town of Fredericksburg

• Germans largest immigrant group of 1800s, influence U.S. culture

The Irish Flee Hunger

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• Most Irish immigrants are Catholic

• Causes famine—a severe food shortage, forces many to emigrate

• In 1845, disease attacks Ireland’s potato crop

• Immigrate in early 1800s to escape poverty, British mistreatment

• In U.S., Irish become city-dwellers, few skills, take low-paying jobs

• Compete with free blacks for backbreaking work that no one else wants

U.S. Cities Face Overcrowding

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• Immigrants, native-born Americans flock to cities

• Immigrant groups set up aid societies to help newcomers

• Many people live in cramped, filthy apartment buildings

• Rapid urban growth causes housing shortage

• Politicians set up organizations to help arrivals find housing, jobs

Some Americans Oppose Immigration

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• Some native-born Americans fear immigrants will not learn American ways

• Prejudice—negative opinion not based on facts

• As a result, immigrants face anger, prejudice

• Others fear that immigrants will outnumber natives

Continued . . .

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• Nativists—native-born Americans who want to stop foreign influence

• Refuse to hire immigrants, vote for Catholics, immigrants running for office

Continued Some Americans Oppose Immigration

• Start political party, Know-Nothing Party, in 1850s

• Want to ban Catholics, foreign-born from holding office

• Want to cut immigration, have 21-year wait period for U.S. citizenship

• Elects 6 governors, then party quickly dies out

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Section 2

American Literature and ArtInspired by nature and democratic ideals, writers and artists produce some of America’s greatest works.

Writing About America

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• American writers are influenced by romanticism

• Romanticism—inspiration from nature, stresses individual, feelings

American Literature and Art

• American writers celebrate American wilderness

• James Fenimore Cooper writes adventure novels set in the wilderness

• Noah Webster publishes dictionary based on American-style English (1828)

• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poetry celebrates the American past

Creating American Art

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• American artists are influenced by romanticism

• John James Audubon sketches American birds, animals

• Albert Bierstadt paints majestic landscapes of the American West

• Hudson River school artists paint lush natural landscapes

• Enslaved African American David Drake signs the pottery he makes

• Enslaved African Americans make baskets, quilts, pottery

Following One’s Conscience

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• Writer Ralph Waldo Emerson stresses self-examination, nature

• Emerson, Thoreau believe in transcendentalism:- spiritual world more important than physical

world- find truth through feeling, intuition

• Henry David Thoreau writes about his life in the woods in Walden (1845)

Continued . . .

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• Thoreau believes in following individual conscience

• Margaret Fuller argues for women’s rights in book, magazine

• Uses non-violent protest—civil disobedience• Peacefully refuses to obey unjust laws

Continued Following One’s Conscience

Exploring the Human Heart

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• Walt Whitman writes unrhymed poems that praise common people

• Whitman, Dickinson shape modern poetry

• Emily Dickinson writes poems about God, nature, love, death

• Edgar Allan Poe’s terrifying tales influence modern horror stories

• Herman Melville writes novel, Moby Dick

• Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letterabout love, guilt, revenge

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Section 3

Reforming American SocietyIn the mid-1800s, several reform movements work to improve American education and society.

A Spirit of Revival

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• Second Great Awakening—renewal of religious faith, 1790s, early 1800s

Reforming American Society

• Preachers speak at revivals—meetings to reawaken religious faith

• Revivalist preachers claim that anyone can choose salvation

• Claim sin is selfishness, religious faith leads people to help others

• Such teachings awaken a spirit of reform • Americans believe they can make things better

Temperance Societies

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• Temperance movement—campaign to stop alcohol consumption

• Temperance speakers get a million people to promise to give up alcohol

• Temperance workers hand out pamphlets, produce plays

• Heavy drinking is common in the early 1800s

• Business owners support temperance, want sober workers

• By 1855, 13 states pass laws to ban alcohol, most are repealed

Fighting for Workers’ Rights

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• Factory work is noisy, boring, unsafe

• Women go on strike—stop work to get better working conditions (1836)

• Labor union—workers who ban together, get better working conditions

• Women mill workers start labor union

• Many other strikes follow; depression hits (1837), jobs are scarce

• Labor movement falls apart, achieves a few goals

Caring for the Needy

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• Dorothea Dix pushes reforms for the care of mentally ill

• Thomas H. Gallaudet starts first American school for the deaf (1817)

• Reformers improve prisons: - separate children from main jails- call for rehabilitation of adult prisoners

• Samuel G. Howe starts Perkins School for the Blind (1830s)

Improving Education

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• Horace Mann heads first state board of education in the U.S. (1837)

• Churches, other groups start many colleges; women cannot attend most

• A few Northern cities start public high schools

• Few colleges accept African Americans

• Illegal to teach enslaved person to read in the South

Spreading Ideas Through Print

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• Cheaper newsprint, steam-driven press lowers price of newspapers

• Average Americans can afford to buy “penny papers”

• Hundreds of new magazines appear

• Contain serious news, gripping stories of fires and crimes

• Ladies’ Magazine advocates education for women

Creating Ideal Communities

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• Some people attempt to build an ideal society—utopia

• New Harmony, Brook Farm are two famous utopias

• Shakers set up a utopia, follow teachings of Ann Lee:- lead holy lives in communities- communities show God’s love- share, not fight

• Experience conflicts, financial difficulties last only a few years

• Depend on converts, adopting children to keep communities going

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Section 4

Abolition and Women’s RightsThe spread of democracy leads to calls for freedom for slaves and more rights for women.

Abolitionists Call for Ending Slavery

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• Abolition—movement to end slavery, begins in the late 1700s

• Abolitionists demand a law ending slavery in the South

Abolition and Women’s Rights

• Free African American David Walker urges slaves to revolt

• William Lloyd Garrison publishes an abolitionist newspaper

• Sisters Sarah, Angelina Grimké lecture against slavery

• John Quincy Adams introduces anti-slavery amendment

Eyewitnesses to Slavery

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• Frederick Douglass speaks about his own experience of slavery

• Sojourner Truth flees enslavement, lives with Quakers who free her

• Publishes autobiography (1845), does lecture tour, buys his freedom

• Wins court battle to recover her son, speaks for abolition

The Underground Railroad

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• Underground Railroad—aboveground escape routes from South to North

• Runaways usually travel by night, hide by day in places called stations

• Henry Brown escapes slavery by being packed in a box, shipped North

• Runaway slaves travel on foot, also take wagons, boats, trains

Harriet Tubman

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• People who lead runaways to freedom are called conductors

• Enemies offer reward for her capture, is never caught

• Escapes slavery (1849), makes 19 journeys to free enslaved persons

• Harriet Tubman is a famous conductor

Women Reformers Face Barriers

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• Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton attend anti-slavery convention

• In 1800s, woman have few legal, political rights

• William Lloyd Garrison supports women’s right to speak

• Are not allowed to speak in public because they are women

• Stanton, Mott decide to demand equality for women

The Seneca Falls Convention

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• Stanton, Mott hold Seneca Falls Conventionfor women’s rights (1848)

• Women’s rights movement is ridiculed

• Lists resolutions for women’s rights including suffrage—the right to vote

• Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions states men, women are equal

Continued Calls for Women’s Rights

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• Sojourner Truth speaks for women’s rights

• Susan B. Anthony builds women’s movement into a national organization

• Becomes first woman elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

• Scientist Maria Mitchell starts, Association for the Advancement of Women

• By 1865, 29 states have laws that give women property, wage rights

• Supports laws that give married women rights to own property, earn wages