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Difficulty: HardThe Second Great Awakening and Social Reform

"The traffic in ardent spirits is a trade in human misery and death. It is the great source of poverty, crime, and disease in our land. Let the temperate, the moral, and the religious combine their influence to put a stop to this destroying pestilence. Let voluntary associations be formed in every town and village to discourage the use and sale of this poison. In this way, public opinion may be purified, and our country saved from moral ruin."

— Address of the Executive Committee of the American Temperance Society, 1828

The mobilization of voluntary associations described in the excerpt was most directly facilitated by which of the following social changes of the early nineteenth century?

  1. A
    A widespread rejection of capitalist enterprise by industrial laborers seeking to return to subsistence farming.
  2. B
    The state-mandated establishment of public welfare programs funded by industrial tariffs to support factory workers.
  3. The growth of an urban middle class that sought to address the social anxieties and dislocations of market expansion.Answer
  4. D
    The achievement of economic equality between rural farmers and urban merchants, which eliminated class divisions.

Answer

The growth of an urban middle class that sought to address the social anxieties and dislocations of market expansion.
The growth of an urban middle class that sought to address the social anxieties and dislocations of market expansion is the correct answer. The Market Revolution led to rapid urbanization, industrialization, and significant social changes, creating a growing middle class. Members of this new class, inspired by the religious fervency of the Second Great Awakening, formed voluntary reform organizations (such as temperance societies) to address social instability, promote moral perfectionism, and instill self-discipline appropriate for the new commercial and factory-based work environment.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus document to identify the core message and the method of reform.
The document calls for voluntary associations of temperate, moral, and religious citizens to purify public opinion and combat intemperance.
Understanding the source's reliance on voluntary, religiously-inspired activism is necessary to link it to the reform impulse of the Second Great Awakening.
2
Connect the temperance movement to the broader social and economic context of the early nineteenth century.
The Market Revolution led to urban growth, industrial labor systems, and shifting social classes, which created new social stresses and anxieties.
Relating economic changes to social patterns helps identify who organized and participated in these reform movements.
3
Evaluate the social demographics of the reform movements.
The emerging urban middle class became the primary drivers of voluntary associations, seeking to impose moral order and discipline in response to the rapid pace of societal changes.
This links the structural growth of the middle class directly to the organizational capacity and motivations behind temperance associations.

Key Concept

The relationship between the Second Great Awakening, social reform movements, and the Market Revolution.
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Topics

The Second Great Awakening and Social Reform

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