Reforms for a New Country: Abolition and Women’s Rights

            The early nineteenth century was known as a time of a massive amount of change in many social and political aspects. Furthermore, an indispensable principle of democracy would social or political equality and America was striving for this in the early nineteenth-century reform movements for abolition and women’s rights. These reforms for abolition and women’s rights were able to illustrate both the strengths and the weaknesses of democracy in America at this time.

            Many abolition movements were occurring this time changing social and political life in America. For example, William Lloyd Garrison founded the newspaper, the Liberator and his philosophy was simple and effective. He stated blacks did not damage white society but instead whites damaged blacks society. Eventually he was able to obtain enough followers to create the New England Antislavery Society in 1832. This association was able to effect the social political life of slaves because it attempted to improve their social and political status in life because it showed the whites that African Americans are not inferior or destructive but instead the whites are destructive. This shows the strength of the American democracy because it is increasing the political and social equality of the Blacks with the Whites. However, there was also a growing anti-abolitionism in America too. The anti-abolitionists were generally very radical, and happened to accomplish to imprison Garrison , burn an abolitionist headquarters in 1834, and kill an editor of an abolitionist newspaper. This shows a weakness in the democracy of America, because many Americans were not willing to give equal political nor social rights to slaves.

            Women’s rights during this time period had increased dramatically. Woman became more formally educated and obtained more rights in their religions in some cases. With the development of education for women the United States was able to have one of the highest literacy rates in the world. Especially, in Shakerism, women contained much more rights then before. This meant higher social equality because they were allowed formal education like white men and it allowed the white women to take a more active role in their religion. However, women still were not able to keep their own money, even if they made it. There were several trials in which women tried to fight for rights they rightfully deserve, but they had lost all of these cases. Thus, this does not show political equality because men were able to many more things in the government then women were. Therefore, women’s rights and abolition reform movements aided in the illustration of the flaws and strengths in the American democratic system.