Antebellum Reform

Antebellum Reform

In 1630, John Winthrop dreamt that America was a "City on the Hill", predestined for preeminence. In 1776, the American Colonies proclaimed independence with the affirmation that all men are equal, free, and blessed with the sacred rights to life, liberty, and happiness. These uniquely American ideals ideals characterized the young democracy in contrast to the oppressive monarchies of Europe. European citizens saw the correlation between America's greatness and its democratic principles. The liberties that America furnished to all men, regardless of status, gave citizens pride in their nation and drew envy from constituents of tyrannical monarchies. The notions of equality and freedom, however, did not extend to all of America's population; ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...Additionally, other movements such as Temperance and Educational reform piggybacked on the wave of interest for reformation, and in general all of these movements endeavored to mold the U.S. into a more virtuous nation. No prominent reform was completed in the antebellum era, so in reality, democratic ideals only expanded democratic sentiment. Due to the social upheaval in favor of improving the egalitarian image of the U.S., Antebellum reforms introduced the notions of universal liberty, but failed to follow through with meaningful change until later in American history. Antebellum era reformists ostensibly promoted the tangible democratic ideals of liberty and suffrage to the oppressed elements of society, but did not deliver any legislated reform. Abolitionists still did not care about slaves so much as they did about the institution of slavery. Abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison even outwardly complained in the Declaration of the National Anti–Slavery Convention in 1833, that slaves did not enjoy any "...constitutional nor legal protection... for the crime of having a dark complexion..." (Doc 1). Yet, Garrison, despite being keenly aware of the inappropriateness of Slavery, disliked Slavery primarily because he believed tarnished the reputation of the North. Other

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