What was the Second Great Awakening?
A major religious revival emphasizing personal salvation, emotional preaching, and individual moral reform.
Who was Charles Grandison Finney?
An influential revivalist preacher who promoted evangelical reform and ‘perfectionism.’
What was transcendentalism?
A philosophical movement emphasizing intuition, self‑reliance, and the divine in nature.
Who were the Shakers?
A celibate, communal religious group known for equality, simplicity, and ecstatic worship.
What was the Oneida Community?
A utopian group practicing communal property and ‘complex marriage.’
What was the temperance movement?
A reform campaign to reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption.
What was phrenology?
A pseudoscience claiming personality traits could be read from skull shape.
What was the American Colonization Society?
A group advocating sending free Black Americans to Africa (Liberia).
How did the Second Great Awakening influence reform?
It encouraged believers to improve society through moral action and personal responsibility.
What did transcendentalists believe about society?
That conformity and materialism corrupted individuals, who should seek truth within themselves.
Why did utopian communities form in the 1800s?
To create ideal societies free from inequality, competition, or moral corruption.
Why did temperance reformers target alcohol?
They believed alcohol caused poverty, crime, domestic abuse, and social disorder.
What did health reformers like Sylvester Graham promote?
Simple diets, exercise, cold baths, and moral purity.
What did abolitionists argue?
That slavery was morally wrong, violated natural rights, and must be immediately ended.
How did slave rebellions affect the nation?
They terrified the South and strengthened abolitionist resolve in the North.
How did women become involved in reform movements?
Through temperance, abolition, and religious activism, which led to early women’s rights organizing.
Colonization vs. abolition?
Colonization sought gradual removal of Black Americans; abolition demanded immediate end to slavery.
Shakers vs. Oneida Community?
Shakers practiced celibacy and equality; Oneida practiced communal marriage and shared property.
Evangelical reform vs. transcendentalist reform?
Evangelicals focused on moral salvation; transcendentalists focused on individual intuition and self‑realization.
A reformer argues alcohol destroys families and society. Which movement is this?
Temperance.
A community practices shared property and ‘complex marriage.’ Which group is this?
Oneida Community.
Someone claims skull shape reveals personality. What idea is this?
Phrenology.
A reformer insists slavery must end immediately, not gradually. What movement is this?
Abolitionism.
