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Guided Reading Activity netw rks

The Spirit of Reform, 1828–1845

Lesson 2 A Changing Culture

Review Questions: Identifying Supporting Details

DIRECTIONS: Read each main idea. Use your textbook to supply the details that support
or explain each main idea.

A. Main Idea: Between 1815 and 1860 the United States experienced a massive influx
of immigrants.
better life
1. Detail: Immigrants came to the United States in search of a ______________. Many
violence and political turmoil at home starvation
had fled ________________________. Others wanted to escape __________ and
poverty labor
_________. Immigrants provided a source of _________ for U.S. industries.
Ireland
2. Detail: The largest wave of immigrants came from ____________. Most arrived with
skills
money
no __________ and few _________. The second largest group came from
Germany farmers business
___________. Most became ___________ or went into __________.
nativism
3. Detail: Some immigrants encountered hostility called ____________. Many groups
catholic
were _____________ and pushed for laws banning ___________ from holding
political office. immigrants and Catholics

B. Main Idea: An important change in religious life was the revival of religious commitment

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known as the Great Awakening.
Traditional Protestantism
1. Detail: _______________ experienced a dramatic revival.
Unitarians
2. Detail: Two groups that grew rapidly in the 1830s were the __________ and the
Universalists
_____________. Mormons
3. Detail: Another group started by Joseph Smith was the __________. Smith made
converts harassment
thousands of ___________ but endured ______________ in Ohio and Missouri. The
Commerce, Illinois then was renamed Nauvoo
group eventually settled in the _____________.
society utopia
4. Detail: Several groups separated from _________ to form a ________, or ideal
Shakers
society. One group, the __________, did not believe in marrying or having children.
converts
They could only increase membership by ________________.

C. Main Idea: Many leading thinkers adopted Romanticism, which advocated the individual
above society and nature over the environment.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
1. Detail: The most influential transcendentalist was __________________. In his
essay "Nature,"
commune he argued that people who want fulfillment should try to
with nature
________________.
read
2. Detail: As more Americans learned to ________________ and gained the right to
vote penny papers
__________, publishers began printing inexpensive newspapers called ___________.
NAME _______________________________________ DATE _______________ CLASS _________

Guided Reading Activity Cont. netw rks

The Spirit of Reform, 1828–1845

Summary and Reflection

DIRECTIONS: Summarize the main ideas of this lesson by answering the question below.
How did the religious revival called the Second Great Awakening influence American society?

It changed American society greatly because it urged people to allow God into their
__________________________________________________________________
daily lives and they held camp meetings which also changed the American society
__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

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 NAME ________________________________________ DATE _______________ CLASS _________

Reading Essentials and Study Guide

The Spirit of Reform, 1828–1845
Lesson 2 A Changing Culture

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Can average citizens change society? How did reforms of this era
increase tensions between North and South?

Reading HELPDESK
Academic Vocabulary
*predominantly being most frequent or common
*philosopher person who seeks wisdom or enlightenment

Content Vocabulary
nativism hostility toward immigrants
utopia a community based on a vision of a perfect society sought by reformers
romanticism a literary, artistic, and philosophical movement in the late 1700s and early 1800s
emphasizing the imagination, the emotions, and the individual above society
transcendentalism a philosophy stressing the relationship between human beings and nature,
spiritual things over material things, and the importance of the individual conscience

TAKING NOTES: Organizing

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ACTIVITY As you read about the growth of the United States, complete a graphic organizer similar to
the one below by listing the beliefs of religious groups during the Second Great Awakening.

Religious Group Beliefs

member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints,
Mormons
which was organized in 1830 by Joseph Smith

Unitarians is based on the belief that God is a single divine being

rather than a trinity

Transcendentalism a philosophy stressing the relationship between human beings and nature,
spiritual things over material things, and the importance of the individual
conscience

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Reading Essentials and Study Guide

The Spirit of Reform, 1828–1845
Lesson 2 A Changing Culture, continued

IT MATTERS BECAUSE
Between 1815 and 1860, more than 5 million immigrants arrived in the United States. Most found
opportunity. Some experienced discrimination and prejudice. During the 1820s and 1830s, a new
religious movement began to emerge.

The New Wave of Immigrants

Guiding Question Why did many German and Irish immigrants travel to the United States in
the mid-1800s?
In June 1850, Daniel Guiney left his poor town in Ireland and moved to the U.S. He settled in Buffalo,
New York. Guiney wrote a letter home about the place he now lived. In the letter he said that he and
the group of people he was traveling with were treated with kindness. They had been given food and
nice clothing. Guiney was just one of the millions of immigrants who came to the U.S. in the mid-1800s
searching for a better life. Between 1815 and 1860 the number of immigrants arriving grew
tremendously. Most of these immigrants came from Europe. They left their homes to get away from
violence, political problems, starvation, and poverty. The new immigrants provided a large source of
labor for U.S. industries. However, many people in the United States feared the influence of so many
foreign-born people.

Germans and Irish Arrive

The largest group of immigrants came from Ireland. Almost 2 million Irish people came to the United
States in the mid-1800s. At the time, many people in Ireland depended on potatoes for food. In 1845

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Ireland’s potato crop failed. Tens of thousands of Irish citizens died of starvation. Most Irish immigrants
arrived in the United States with little money and few skills. They generally settled in the cities of the
Northeast. Many took work as unskilled labor. Others worked as servants.
Germans were the second-largest group of immigrants that came to the United States. At that time,
Germany was divided into many states. A revolution took place in Germany in 1848. When the
revolution failed, violence and repression followed. Many people decided to leave Germany. By 1860
more than 1 million Germans had come to the United States. Most of these new immigrants had
enough money to buy land in Ohio and Pennsylvania, where they started farms or businesses.

Nativism
Some immigrants experienced discrimination in the United States. Immigrants spoke different
languages and practiced different religions. This new diversity caused feelings of nativism, or hostility
toward immigrants. Also, many Americans were anti-Catholic in the 1800s. The arrival of
predominantly Catholic Irish immigrants led to the rise of nativist groups. Some nativist groups
pledged that they would never vote for a Catholic, and they pushed for laws banning immigrants and
Catholics from holding office. In July 1854, the American Party formed. Membership was secret, so
members questioned about the party answered, “I know nothing.” This party became known as the
Know-Nothings. The Know-Nothings built a large following in the 1850s.

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Reading Essentials and Study Guide

The Spirit of Reform, 1828–1845
Lesson 2 A Changing Culture, continued

Reading Progress Check

Identifying How did the increase in immigration during the mid-1800s benefit American
industries?
Most of the immigrants coming through the country were looking for jobs but were
unskilled, so it benefitted the industries in the perspective that they had more
workers, but the workers had little skill.

A Religious Revival
Guiding Question What was the overall message of the Second Great Awakening, and how
did it affect American society?
Immigrants added to the diversity of society. At the same time, Americans were transforming society in
other ways. Traditional Protestantism experienced a sudden revival. New forms of worship began to
appear.

The Second Great Awakening

In the early 1800s, many church leaders worked to revive Americans’ commitment to religion as part of
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.

a movement called the Second Great Awakening. Leaders of different Protestant groups held large
outdoor gatherings called camp meetings that attracted thousands of people. The people participated
in several days of song and prayer. Believers gave emotional speeches about their faith. The movement
urged individuals to bring God back into their daily lives. Ministers preached that all people, not just a
chosen few, could receive grace through faith.
Charles Grandison Finney was a Presbyterian minister who helped found modern revivalism. He
preached that each person had the inborn ability to reach spiritual rebirth and salvation. Finney’s
camp meetings were carefully planned to create as much emotion as possible. He used that emotion
to focus people’s attention on his message. He compared his methods to the ones used by politicians
and salespeople. Finney began preaching in upstate New York, where he held revivals in towns along
the Erie Canal. Then he moved into the Northeast. He warned against using politics to change society.
Finney believed that political reforms could not help society if people were selfish and immoral.
Society could only become better, he thought, if Christian ideas reformed people from within.

New Religious Groups

A number of new religious groups began and grew during the Second Great Awakening. Many
Americans who were looking for spiritual answers chose to believe new religious ideas instead of
traditional ones. Two groups, the Unitarians and Universalists, grew quickly during the 1830s.
Unitarians reject the idea that Jesus was the son of God, saying instead that he was a great teacher.
Instead of believing that God is a trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they believe that God is a
unity. The name Unitarian comes from the word unity. Universalists reject the idea of hell, believing
that God intends to save everyone.

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Reading Essentials and Study Guide

The Spirit of Reform, 1828–1845
Lesson 2 A Changing Culture, continued

Another group that began during this period was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,
better known as Mormons. Joseph Smith began preaching Mormon ideas in 1830, and that same year
published The Book of Mormon. Smith said he was called to restore the Christian church to its original
form. He claimed that The Book of Mormon was a translation of words that he had received from an
angel. He made thousands of converts who tried to settle in Ohio, Missouri, and elsewhere. However,
they were persecuted in those places. Then, the Mormons moved to Commerce, Illinois, in 1839. They
bought the town and renamed it Nauvoo. Mormons prospered in the Midwest, but persecution
continued. After local residents murdered Smith in 1844, Brigham Young became the leader of the
Church. The Mormons moved from Illinois to what would later become the Utah Territory, where they
settled permanently.

Utopian Communities
Some Americans in the 1830s believed that society had corrupted human nature. These people
decided to separate from society and form a utopia, or ideal society. People lived and worked together
in these utopian communities. In these places, people did not own private property. Well-known
utopian communities included Brook Farm in Massachusetts and the Oneida Community in upstate
New York.
One utopian group was the Shakers. The Shakers believed in social and spiritual equality for all
members. The number of Shakers peaked at about 6,000 members before their numbers declined.
Because Shakers did not believe in marrying or having children, the group could expand only if new
people joined.

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Reading Progress Check
Identifying What was the goal of forming a utopian society?
The goal for forming a utopian society is to flee society corrupted from human nature.

Cultural Renaissance
Guiding Question How did writings of this time reflect American society?
The Second Great Awakening had a sense of hopefulness. This hopefulness influenced American
philosophers and writers. Many leading thinkers adopted the ideas of romanticism. This movement
prized feeling, spirituality, the individual, and nature. American transcendentalists held ideas based on
romanticism. Transcendentalism urged people to transcend, or overcome, the limits of their minds and
allow their souls to take in the beauty of the universe.

American Writers Emerge

The most influential transcendentalist was Ralph Waldo Emerson. In 1836 he wrote an essay called
“Nature” in which he wrote that people should try to find fulfillment by living closely with nature. His
ideas influenced other American writers, such as Margaret Fuller and Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau
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Reading Essentials and Study Guide

The Spirit of Reform, 1828–1845
Lesson 2 A Changing Culture, continued

lived for two years in a handmade cabin at Walden Pond, near Concord, Massachusetts. He recorded
his experiences, thoughts, and emotions in a book called Walden.
American fiction began to develop a unique style as well. Washington Irving wrote “The Legend of
Sleepy Hollow” in 1819. James Fenimore Cooper wrote exciting books about Native Americans and
frontier explorers. He published these books as the Leatherstocking Tales. The Last of the Mohicans
(1826) is one of the most famous novels in this series. New England’s Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote short
stories and novels. His novel The Scarlet Letter (1850) examines ideas about persecution and sin in
Puritan society. Herman Melville wrote the great novel Moby-Dick (1851). Edgar Allan Poe wrote poetry
and stories but became famous for his terror and mystery stories. Important poets of the era included
Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. Whitman published Leaves of Grass in 1855. Dickinson wrote
deeply personal poems that did not follow traditional forms.

The Penny Press

As more Americans learned to read and gained the right to vote, publishers began printing
inexpensive newspapers. These “penny papers” provided reports of fires, crimes, marriages, gossip,
politics, and local news. Magazines for readers with different interests also began around this time. In
1830 Louis A. Godey started Godey’s Lady’s Book, a magazine for women. The Atlantic Monthly
featured articles of interest to the well educated. Harper’s Weekly published everything from book
reviews to news reports.

Reading Progress Check

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Explaining How are transcendentalism and romanticism related?

Expressions of American Romanticism came from transcendentalism which
expressed their feelings towards nature and the universe.