To what extent did the reform movements of the mid-1800s improve life for Americans?

Answer 1

The period of 1830-1850 was known as the "Age of Reform", due to the fact that we began to see the women's suffrage movement, limits on child labor, abolition, and prison reform. Ultimately, the reform movements implemented many workplace protections that we still use today, as industrialization demonstrated that many employers would exploit their employees in order to gain greater profit. Additionally, with the women's suffrage, abolition, and prison reform, there began to be a cultural shift in American ideals, that carry into the present day.

It is also important to realize the context of how these movements and reforms developed. With industrialization you see larger expansions of cities, which resulted in increased numbers of people living in poverty. With poverty, crime swelled, as well as child labor--and of course, the role of women in the workplace.

Limits on child labor--children were often worked in mines, since their small sizes allowed for them to fit into places that full grown adults could not get into. Additionally, many employers paid children significantly less than adults, and with the passage of the Factory Act (1833) and The Mines Act (1842) children between the hours of 9 and 13 could work, with limited hours. Consequently, more children would begin to attend school, and their life expectancy increased as they were no longer exposed to the often fatal conditions of mines and factories. Later on we see significant decreases in child labor due to the improvement of machinery and the Great Depression.

The prison reform movement represented a shift in thinking that prisons no longer punished individuals but were expected to reform them so they could re enter society. At this point in time, many people often died due to the physical abuse and mental torment they faced while in prison. Thus, prisons began to incorporate means of educating prisoners and addressing the health of prisons now. As you may have suspected, prison reform is still a topic of discussion in the present day.

The abolitionist movement of the mid 1800s was organized using tactics that other nations used to end abolition in their countries, in particular Great Britain. While abolitionist thought existed prior to the mid 1800s, many of the sentiments brought up by the abolitionist movement eventually fueled the Civil War in 1861, which lead to the passage of the XIII, XIV, and XV amendments extending voting rights and ending slavery in the United States.

So as you can see, many things such as abolition, our work weeks, weekends, voting rights, and women's right to vote are things that have evolved and developed over time, still impacting us today.