Reform (from Latin, “to improve, amend”) reflects the belief in progress within political systems and a desire for social justice and equity. It may involve efforts to address societal issues, enhance democracy, and improve economic management.
Historians disagree about why a flurry of reform movements erupted in the antebellum decades. Possible explanations include a reaction to the economic and cultural changes that were sweeping America, a surge of Protestant evangelism, a resentment of religious sectarianism, and a generalized faith in spiritual and secular uplift.
Most of the antebellum reformers focused on moral issues, although a few took a more practical approach. Virtually every movement had a national organization and local auxiliary groups that sponsored speakers, published pamphlets, and generally organized effort in support of its cause. Many of these associations were rent by factionalism, but most proved remarkably effective at arousing public consciousness and motivating individuals to action.
The most enduring reform movements of the era were those that sought to modernize government operations. Horace Mann championed free public schools, while Dorothea Dix and Thomas Gallaudet pushed for humane treatment of the mentally ill. Other reformers abandoned society completely and founded utopian experiments like Oneida, Amana, Hopedale, Ephrata Cloister, and New Harmony. Still others focused on prison reform, attempting to abolish imprisonment for debt and enlisting prisoners as volunteers for labor service.
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