Reform In The Antebellum Era

Throughout the history of America, citizens have always found issues with the moral standing of the government and its policies. These people also offered their own solutions to the moralization of the government and its laws through significant changes to the institution itself. Movements like this are referred to as reforms, which, simply put are the improvements of corrupt institutions for the betterment of both the individual and society itself. During the mid-nineteenth century, America was in dire need of reform. At the time of the Antebellum period, there were a large variety of reform movements all seeking different improvements each in its own way. While many of these movements failed, the ferment of reform itself achieved …show more content…
Among those who preferred instant change over endless conversation were the abolitionists, the prohibitionists, and women’s rights advocates. “[T]he abolitionists had rejected the old emphasis on gradualism,” and “had rejected everything that smacked of temporizing with evil” (Griffin 44). Like any other movement or attempt at change, taking a more proactive approach produced quicker results. Even though the reform these men and women were fighting for still took many years to come, it is safe to assume that waiting on the sidelines would have taken much …show more content…
Instead he relied on the works of men” (Griffin 48). By using persuasive propaganda, reformers were capable of recruiting and converting. There were many ways they convinced people to join them. They persuaded people through scare tactics, religious purification, and the alluring idea of financial gain. One of the best tools of persuasion was fear, more importantly, fear of God. “[T]hey had to convince men that their wrongdoing was an abomination in God’s sight” (Griffin 49). By ultimately convincing everyone that the current state of government and the enslavement of God’s creatures was against God’s will and that changing it would bring the grace of God to the nation, most men were more than willing to join these new causes. The rebels of the antebellum period also informed people of the great financial gain reform had to offer. Pacifists shared their belief that war cost men and nations a lot of money. Abolitionists notified everyone that slavery was costly to the south and to the nation overall. Feminists believed that allowing women to join the workforce would bring in more money for the household. Labor unions believed greater wages and better working conditions would yield more efficiency and productivity (Griffin 50). The financial benefits of reform encouraged even more Americans to join these