Unit 5-Awakening & Reform (1800-1848) |
Big Ideas
Organizing Principle
- During the “Reign of Jackson”, politics became more democratic, the power of the presidency and the federal government increased, America became more optimistic and expansionist, and sectionalism supplanted nationalism.
Essential Questions
Students will consider...
- How did rapid changes in industry and religious practices lead to and shape participation in social reform movements before the Civil War?
- How did changing interpretations of both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution encourage reform?
- How did nineteenth century Americans organize and civically engage on behalf of reform? How did other Americans organize to oppose these efforts?
- Did nineteenth century reform movements bring about real and meaningful change?
Understandings
Students will understand how, why and/or to what extent...
- Movements for change and reform often become necessary when the relationship between a nation and its ideals are conflicting.
- Reform movements require the leadership and participation of various individuals and groups.
- The ideological and philosophical views of leaders can affect societal, economic, and political change that may promote or impede freedom and equality.
- The strategies used to achieve reform produce varying degrees of success and opposition.
- Systems of power often determine the norms of a society.
Knowledge
Students will know...
- The Second Great Awakening and the Industrial Revolution influenced the onset of 19th Century social reform movements in the United States.
- The influences, strategies and participation of various Americans on behalf of abolition, women’s rights and in creating educational, healthcare, prison, temperance, and other social reforms.
- The ultimate goal of the Antebellum Reform movements was to create a more democratic and inclusive society that reflected the ideas and values of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution
- The participation of women in various social reform movements empowered the development of a women’s rights movement.
Skills
Students will be able to...
- Use Historical Comprehension to determine how and why social reform movements were needed as part of the nation’s development
- Use Historical Analysis and Interpretation to determine the influences, strategies and goals of social reformers and to evaluate the extent to which they were successful.
- Use Historical Analysis and Interpretation to consider how the emergence and growth of the abolitionist movement contributed to growing sectional tension.
- Use Historical Analysis and Interpretation to determine how various reformers used the values and ideas of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution to argue for “a more perfect union.”
- Use Chronological Thinking to identify instances of historical change and continuity during the Age of Reform (1800-1848).