7.7 - Reform Movements

From EngageNY

Social, political, and economic inequalities sparked various reform movements and resistance efforts. Influenced by the Second Great Awakening, New York State played a key role in major reform efforts.

7.7a The Second Great Awakening, which had a strong showing in New York State, inspired reform movements.
  • Students will investigate examples of early 19th-century reform movements, such as education, prisons, temperance, and mental health care, and examine the circumstances that led to the need for reform.
7.7b Enslaved African Americans resisted slavery in various ways in the 19th century. The abolitionist movement also worked to raise awareness of and generate resistance to the institution of slavery.
  • Students will examine ways in which enslaved Africans organized and resisted their conditions.
  • Students will explore the efforts of William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Tubman to abolish slavery.
  • Students will examine the effects of Uncle Tom’s Cabin on the public perception of slavery.
  • Students will investigate New York State and its role in the abolition movement, including the locations of Underground Railroad stations.
7.7c Women joined the movements for abolition and temperance and organized to advocate for women’s property rights, fair wages, education, and political equality.
  • Students will examine the efforts of women to acquire more rights. These women include Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Susan B. Anthony.
  • Students will explain the significance of the Seneca Falls Convention and the Declaration of Sentiments.
7.7d The Anti-Rent movement in New York State was an attempt by tenant farmers to protest the landownership system.
  • Students will trace the Anti-Rent movement in New York State.

Supporting Materials

Book

A Woman in the House (and Senate)

"This woman's place is in the house—The House of Representatives!"

That was the slogan of Bella Abzug's successful 1970 election campaign. But from the first Congress, in 1789, until the 65th Congress, in 1917, women served in neither the House of Representatives nor the Senate. It wasn't...

DVD

Erie: The Canal That Made America

The Erie Canal, one of the earliest transcendent tales of the American experience, became the nation's first great technical innovation and a gateway to prominence.
This documentary by the Syracuse PBS station, WCNY Connected, marks the bicentennial of the start of construction of the Erie...

Game

Freedom: The Underground Railroad

Early in the history of the United States, slavery was an institution that seemed unmovable but with efforts of men and women across the country, it was toppled. In Freedom: The Underground Railroad, players are working to build up the strength of the Abolitionist movement through the use of...

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This is the official web site for current materials and resources related to the Regents Reform Agenda. The agenda includes the implementation of the New York State P-12 Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS), Teacher and Leader Effectiveness (TLE), and Data-Driven Instruction (DDI). EngageNY.org is dedicated to providing educators across New York State with real-time, professional learning tools and resources to support educators in reaching the State’s vision for a college and career ready education for all students.