Reform Movements in United States History
This is a list of important reform movements in United States history in alphabetical order. Below a brief description of each movement is a group of links you can visit to learn more.
Abolition
The abolitionist movement worked to end slavery. The first slaves arrived in Jamestown in 1619 to aid in the production of tobacco. Slavery slowly died out as the tobacco crops failed until the invention of the cotton gin. The invention of the cotton gin caused a rise in slavery. Although the civil war was originally fought to preserve the union, it eventually led to the freeing of slaves. This combined with the abolitionist movement led to the thirteenth amendment which abolished slavery in 1865.
www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery
www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/slavery.html
www.ushistory.org/more/timeline.htm
www.freedomcenter.org/enabling-freedom/modernabolition
www.fightslaverynow.org
https://www.freetheslaves.net/sslpage.aspx?pid=301
www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery
www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/slavery.html
www.ushistory.org/more/timeline.htm
www.freedomcenter.org/enabling-freedom/modernabolition
www.fightslaverynow.org
https://www.freetheslaves.net/sslpage.aspx?pid=301
Abortion
Abortion is a major issue today. It is currently illegal in 30 states. In Mississippi, it is legal in the case of rape. Alabama and Massachusetts allow it if proceeding with the pregnancy would be a danger to the mother's health. In 12 states, it is legal in the case of danger to the mother's health, rape, or if the fetus is damaged. In Washington, Alaska, Hawaii, and New York, it is legal upon request. The pro-life people argue that abortion is murder because an unborn baby is still a living human. The pro-choice side argues that it should be the mother's decision to be able to terminate the pregnancy if she does not want the child.
https://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/history_abortion.html
www.guttmacher.org/media/presskits/abortion-US/statsandfacts.html
www.naral.org
www.nrlc.org
www.prolife.com
https://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/history_abortion.html
www.guttmacher.org/media/presskits/abortion-US/statsandfacts.html
www.naral.org
www.nrlc.org
www.prolife.com
Child Labor
In the early years of United States history, children worked long hours in dangerous conditions because they were easy to manage and did not have to be paid as much as adults. Child labor was common until the 1930s. They were put to work in factories and mines because they were small and could fit into small places to fix machines or mine for minerals. The first child labor law was passed in Massachusetts in 1836. It required children under fifteen that were working in factories to attend school for at least three months per year. Things slowly got better until the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed in 1938 that set minimum ages of employment and maximum work hours for children. Today, children under fourteen cannot work unless they are employed by their parents with the exception of delivering newspapers, performing in radio, television, movie, or theatrical productions, or babysitting. Fourteen and fifteen year-olds may not work more than three hours on a school day or more than eighteen hours per week when school is in session. They can work no more than eight hours per day and forty hours per week when school is not in session. They cannot work before seven in the morning or after seven at night except between June 1st and labor day, when they may work until nine at night.
www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr/child_labor?about/us_history.html
www.socialwelfarehistory.com/programs/child-labor/
www.stopchildlabor.org?p=1795
www.nationalchildlabor.org
www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr/child_labor?about/us_history.html
www.socialwelfarehistory.com/programs/child-labor/
www.stopchildlabor.org?p=1795
www.nationalchildlabor.org
Civil Rights
Even after the abolition of slavery, African-Americans were often considered inferior. Laws were passed to make it hard for them to participate in government. Hate groups such as the Ku-Klux-Klan kept many from standing up for themselves out of fear. Segregation laws were in place that made them use separate, and often worse facilities than everyone else. Reform began with the Supreme Court ruling in favor of integrating schools in 1954. Today, segregation or discrimination based on race is illegal. However, there are still many cases of injustice and racism today.
www.ushistory.org/us/54.asp
www.sitinmovement.org/history/america-civil-rights-timeline.asp
http://reportingcivilrights.loa.org
www.ushistory.org/us/54.asp
www.sitinmovement.org/history/america-civil-rights-timeline.asp
http://reportingcivilrights.loa.org
Education Reform
An organized school system did not exist until the 1840s. These first public schools were run by the state, and children were not forced to attend. By 1918, there were laws that forced children to go to school between certain ages.There were schools for children of all races, but they were separate. This did not change until 1947 when the first school was integrated, but that school was only for whites and Mexican Americans. The first truly desegregated school was Arkansas State University in 1948. Today, schools are not segregated. Everyone has to go to school. Education reform continues as schools focus more on math and science. Many schools are also working to reduce the number of students who drop out of school. They are also working on a better education system that will allow each student to learn in a way that suits their individual needs.
www.ushistory.org/us/39a.asp
www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/reform
www.pbs.org/kcet/publicschool/innovators/mann.html
www.chesapeake.edu/library/EDU_101/eduhist_19thC.asp
www.ushistory.org/us/39a.asp
www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/reform
www.pbs.org/kcet/publicschool/innovators/mann.html
www.chesapeake.edu/library/EDU_101/eduhist_19thC.asp
Feminism
In the 1800s, women were mostly expected to stay home and care for their husband and children. This attitude continued through the 1950s, but women were gradually gaining more rights. For example, women have had the right to go to college since the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, but it was not common until more recently. They gained the right to vote in 1920. Even today, some men still feel that women should go back to just taking care of the children and staying in the home, but that thinking is increasingly rare. Today, there are fewer gender stereotypes and women can do jobs that used to be considered "men's work." There is still a feminist movement today that works towards complete equality.
www.iep.edu/fem-race
www.ushistory.org/us/57a.asp
www.feminist.org/welcome
www.iep.edu/fem-race
www.ushistory.org/us/57a.asp
www.feminist.org/welcome
Gay Rights
The gay rights movement has many goals. The two main ones are eliminating discrimination and marriage. Gay rights advocates are working to eliminate discrimination against gay people by trying for laws that make refusing employment based on _ illegal. They work towards educating the public and eliminating hatred. Some are also working towards the legalization of marriages for gay couples. This is a large issue in today's society. Currently, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington DC, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin recognize gay marriages.
www.time.com/184/gay-rights-timeline/
www.marriage.laws.com/gay-rights-movement
www.glaa.org
www.nosamesexmarriage.com/marriage/nogaymarriage.php
www.marriageequality.org/responses-to-opp
www.time.com/184/gay-rights-timeline/
www.marriage.laws.com/gay-rights-movement
www.glaa.org
www.nosamesexmarriage.com/marriage/nogaymarriage.php
www.marriageequality.org/responses-to-opp
Immigration
There are many undocumented immigrants in the United States. Some people think they should be sent back to their home country, while others think they should be allowed to stay and gain citizenship. In 2013, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act was passed that will make it easier for undocumented immigrants to achieve citizenship. It also increased border security in the hopes of preventing this issue in the future.
www.hrw.org/new/2014/01/21/us-time-immigration-reform-now-0
www.usaimmigrationreform.org
www.hrw.org/new/2014/01/21/us-time-immigration-reform-now-0
www.usaimmigrationreform.org
Labor Unions
Labor unions came about before pay and work hours were regulated by the government. One of the first was the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers, which was started in Philadelphia in 1794. Many more were founded soon after. They worked to shorten working hours and increase wages. Many also asked for better working conditions. Today, unions are less prevalent thanks to the regulation of working hours and pay by the government.
www.unionplus.org/about/labor-unions/history-origin
www.econlib.org/library/Enc/LaborUnions.html
www.unionplus.org/about/labor-unions/history-origin
www.econlib.org/library/Enc/LaborUnions.html
Mental Health Reform
The first publicly supported asylum was Eastern Lunatic Asylum. Its main focus was keeping those with mental illness away from the rest of the world. Very few actually cared for them. Many times, the mentally ill were put in prison. In the late 1800s, mental hospitals started to become over-crowded. Starting in the 1930s, electro-convulsive therapy was used to treat those with chronic mental illness. During this time, lobotomies were performed on those with schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression. Starting in the 1950s, people started treating patients based on their symptoms, instead of treating their behavior. This led to the first antipsychotics. During the 1960s, emphasis was placed on treating the mentally ill in their home and treating their symptoms to a point where they are able to function in society. People with mental illness are no longer treated like criminals and abandoned in an asylum until they die. Mental illness are more managable, and while there are no known cures for many of them, there are effective ways of managing or even almost completely eliminating the symptoms. There are many organizations that work to educate the public about mental illness in order to reduce stereotypes and discrimination.
www.ushistory.org/us/26d.asp
www.uniteforsight.org/mental-health/module2
www.ushistory.org/us/26d.asp
www.uniteforsight.org/mental-health/module2
Prison Reform
In the colonial days, children who were convicted of crimes were usually put in an adult prison. After the war of 1812, some cities such as Boston and New York started putting children in juvenile detention centers instead. In this same time, it was not uncommon for prisoners to be put in solitary confinement for long periods of time from two months to years. This led to many suicides and mental issues. People started questioning the prison system. Reformers worked towards eliminating the beating of prisoners and the separation of women, children, and the sick from the rest of the prison population. Today, many prisons are overcrowded and it is easy for anyone, even those convicted of very serious crimes to be let out early on parole or probation because of this. Reform groups today are targeting the areas with high crime rates in order to prevent crime. They mostly do this through education. There are also rehabilitation programs for those in prison with the goal of helping them learn the necessary life skills that would allow them to get a good job and avoid crime in the future.
www.howardleague.org/history-of-prison-system
www.adpsr.org/home/prison_history
www.history.org/Foundation/journal/Summer11/prison.cfm
www.howardleague.org/history-of-prison-system
www.adpsr.org/home/prison_history
www.history.org/Foundation/journal/Summer11/prison.cfm
Prohibition
Women believed that alcohol led to child and wife abuse as well as a decline in labor productivity. As a result, alcohol was banned on January 16, 1920. It was promoted as a benefit for the war because the grain that would be used for alcohol could be used to make bread for the military. Despite the laws, many people brewed their own alcohol. The IRS, which was in charge of enforcing the law, tried to catch everyone making illegal alcohol, but it proved to be too difficult. Many states banned their police from investigating cases involving illegal alcohol. This led to the end of prohibition on December 5, 1933.
https://prohibition.osu.edu/why-prohibition
www.historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/4909
www.albany.edu/~wm731882/what_is_prohibition_final.html
https://prohibition.osu.edu/why-prohibition
www.historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/4909
www.albany.edu/~wm731882/what_is_prohibition_final.html
The Great Awakenings
The Great Awakenings happened when people started questioning their beliefs. For example, some found that predestination was wrong. However, predestination is what was taught at the time. They started to reform their beliefs. People would gather and listen to powerful sermons from multiple preachers. As a result, there started to be more religious tolerance. It became clear to people that no single religion or belief system would dominate a region.
www.ushistory.org/us/7b.asp
www.great-awakening.com
www.colonialwarsct.org/1740_s.htm
www.revival-library.org/pensketches/revivals/1st_edwards.html
www.ushistory.org/us/22c.asp
www.ushistory.org/us/7b.asp
www.great-awakening.com
www.colonialwarsct.org/1740_s.htm
www.revival-library.org/pensketches/revivals/1st_edwards.html
www.ushistory.org/us/22c.asp