DBQ Reforms During the Second Great AwakeningAmericans wanted to improve the character of ordinary citizens and make them more upright, more godly, and more educated. As the young Republic grew, increasing numbers of Americans devoted their energies to religious revivals and reform movements. Some Americans have become disillusioned with the realities of Democratic politics. Reformers promoted better public schools and women's rights. Societies were formed against slavery and alcohol. Religion became more liberal, as religious reforms transformed religion's place in American life and sent believers out to perfect the world. The Second Great Awakening sparked innovative reform movements that expanded democratic ideals socially and politically. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayEducation reform, led by Horace Mann, was an attempt to create public education accessible to all children so that They have the same chance to acquire knowledge and success. Horace Mann (1796-1859) was the leading advocate of the common (public) school movement in favor of tax-financed schooling. Horace, in 1846, made efforts to ensure that all children could be educated free of charge. And it was “the duty of every government to see that the means of education are provided to all” (doc 3). Indeed, in the 19th century, the majority of children who could go to school were white, middle-class boys. Girls were often seen as not being intelligent enough to need schooling, and plantations needed child slaves. Some poor boys went to school. Often they had to leave classes and rush home to help their parents, or sometimes go to work with their father and not even go to school at all. Through the efforts of Horace and other reformers, free public schools for children of all classes were established, financed by state taxes. Similar to education reform, rehabilitation reform, a movement led by Dorothea Dix, fought for improved treatment and care for the mentally disabled in asylums and for better rehabilitation programs for those who spent time in federal penitentiaries. This is because people hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital tended to be restrained by "a straitjacket... attached with chains to the upper parts of the bed frame... and feet attached with iron bolts and chains" (doc 5). The deplorable conditions in which mentally ill people are forced to live are highly inhumane and unconstitutional. Dix's followers fought for more humane action in the care of the mentally handicapped, and through their movements, new and improved asylums were built across the country, allowing for better treatment of patients. Prisons and rehabilitation programs were also ways to help convicts reenter society through the rehabilitation movement. The suffrage movement was supported by the abolitionist movement because slavery gave women a reason to unite for a separate cause. However, they began to experience oppression from male abolitionists, even though they were both fighting for the same cause. This inspired women to fight for their own democratic ideals, leading to the rise of many prominent suffragettes such as Susan B.Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The second blow to the suffrage movement came in 1840 with the World Anti-Slavery Convention which female abolitionists were barred from attending. This paved the way for the Seneca Falls Convention, a women's rights convention held in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848 to raise awareness of women's rights. It was at this convention that Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments, which called for the establishment of democratic rights for women, as the Declaration of Independence did for Americans. In this statement, she directed "we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men and women are created equal" (Doc 6) to the United States government. This is because he was of the government's responsibility to protect people's rights instead of women being denied the exercise of their natural rights. During this time, women were denied many natural rights because at this time society had the perception that "women could not work as hard as a man" (doc 7). Therefore, in the 19th century, girls were treated differently from men, as men were expected to lead a public life, whether that was working in a factory or socializing with like-minded men in public places , such as clubs, meetings or bars. While women were generally expected to live their lives largely confined to the home, taking care of cooking, cleaning and raising children. Women's free time was not supposed to be spent socializing but doing other things related to caring for the family, from sewing socks to doing laundry. Largely because of these traditional expectations of women before the 19th century, very few women had the same opportunities. for education as men. Indeed, women's education was often considered subversive, a possible perversion of good social order. Women were also completely excluded from political activity since they were not allowed to vote. The women's rights movement was largely successful overall, although it was not achieved until 1920, when the 19th Amendment was passed. The 19th Amendment prohibits any American citizen from being denied the right to vote because of their sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were not alive to see the amendment they originally drafted be ratified, but that did not change the fact that the decades of dedication that they had devoted to the movement had been rewarded. The women's rights movement resulted in women no longer being seen as an "inferior race", but rather as equals to men, politically and socially. The women's rights movement was closely linked to the temperance movement in the 19th century, because as women began to gain more rights, they fought closely with organizations such as the American Society for the Advancement of temperance to help abolish alcoholism. As they believed that alcohol caused poverty, crime and death among other things (doc 4). Eventually, this group and others went to the government asking it to prevent the sale of alcohol. Alcoholism was also thought to be linked to the destruction of the family structure, with drunkenness leading to increased abuse within the home. So these people wanted to pass a radical law banning alcohol in all levels of society, even though many did not want it. Mainly due to the 1850.