Reforms Implemented in American During

¶ … reforms implemented in American during the 18th century that I would like to focus on are education and anti-slavery.

Education reform

Horace Mann, in 1830, was the initiator of public schooling urging that a common system of free and non-sectarian education should be granted to all. Each district would provide a school for all children, regardless of religion or social class, and these schools would be funded by taxed and by special fees paid by parents. Until now, church groups or private schools had existed with primarily the wealthy being able to afford tuition; Mann changed that with his system of schooling.

Mann's common school system offered basic literacy and arithmetic skills, endeavoring to instill national values and a common social ideology based on republican principles. His aim was that children would be loyal American citizens, productive and contributive to the nation.

The Common School movement, in turn had an effect on education of the teachers since the increasing number of schools, together with certain required qualifications, upped the level of required instruction and necessitated increased supply of qualified teachers. Being understaffed, the communities, therefore, turned to women, incorporating for the first time women teachers in the schools and leading to feminization of the teaching profession. It was in this way that the Common School Movement, with its emphasis on a certain curriculum and level of teaching, led to standardization of teacher training.

Whilst the results of the movement were primarily positive in that all youngsters received an equal education, the system had its disadvantages in that it was ethno- and Protestant-centered, slanting American and Protestant culture as ideal and all else as inferior. This had its repercussions.

Anti-slavery

There had always been various groups that had opposed slavery, but few were outright opponents. This changed in 1833 when crowds of people, called 'abolitionists', joined the American Anti-Slavery Society en masse, with William Garrison drafting the society's "Declaration of Sentiments" that, drawing on the American Constitution, demanded immediate emancipation for slaves, condemned slavery as a sin, and recommended that its repeal be brought about through moral persuasion rather than through violent acts. The American Anti-Slavery Society set about disseminating themselves in every city, town, and hamlet, circulating pamphlets and broadsheets in order to publicize their opinions. Their activities were largely helped by evangelical ministers and churches, and it was in this way that activists such as Frederick Douglas became aware of the movement and active on its account. Southerners attempted to hinder the movement, but it continued unabated.