07.06 Bring on the Reform! – Handout

Focus of Lesson Content:

  • Children in Poverty
  • Then… Children without families to care for them lived difficult lives in the 1800s. Religious groups ran orphanages and provided other help. Yet the number of children in need kept growing, especially in cities.
  • Now… Today, poverty and homelessness is still a widespread problem for American families. However, every U.S. state has an agency that runs and monitors to help those in need. Taxpayer funds and generosity help support these programs.
  • Charles Loring Brace founded the Children’s Aid Society in New York City. He wanted to help the city’s poor children. Some lived in orphanages, on the streets, or with families unable to care for them. One of his programs was to “place out” children with families in the West who would raise them and teach them good habits. Rural families were eager for help on their farms. The children would have to help with the daily chores. Sometimes the families valued them only for their labor. These “orphan train riders” usually were between a few months and 14 years of age. Many families adopted the children, but this was not common until after 1900.
  • Education
  • Then… In the early 1800s, no laws required school attendance. Most children worked to help support their families, either on the farm or in factory work. Those who learned to read and write usually learned at home or through church. Wealthier families might have sent their children to small private schools.
  • Now… Today, education is mandatory for all young Americans. Child labor laws protect young workers from conditions that would interfere with school. Students attend school in a variety of ways, such as public, private, charter, online, and homeschooling.
  • Horace Mann was a key person in bringing education to all young Americans. He lived in Massachusetts. Thanks to Mann’s efforts, his state was the first to pass a law requiring all people under age 15 who worked in factories to attend school at least three months of the year. In 1855, the state passed a law requiring the schools to admit students no matter their “race, color, or religious opinions.”
  • Deaf & Blind
  • Then… In the early 1800s, Americans who suffered deafness or blindness, or sometimes both, had little outside support. They were dependent on their families or church groups. Learning to communicate with others was a great challenge. Many never learned to communicate well.
  • Now… Today, laws protect people with a variety of challenges in different areas of life. For example, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) says that children with disabilities must have equal access to education. Teachers with extra training, and even whole schools, exist to support students with various learning challenges.
  • Thomas Gallaudet and Samuel Howe both helped to bring education to more of America’s youth. Gallaudet researched how to educate deaf children and helped develop American Sign Language. Howe researched blindness and helped increase the printing of materials in Braille. Their work showed Americans that people with certain disabilities were just as capable of learning complex subjects. They need the right tools and teachers.
  • Mental Illness
  • Then… In the 1800s, people with mental illnesses were also dependent on their families. Often families could not provide enough proper care. People believed mental illness was permanent and that sufferers did not feel pain or temperature change. The mentally ill often spent many years in prisons or asylums (historical term for places that offered shelter to people with psychiatric conditions). Sometimes the workers restrained them with chains or forced them to be alone for long periods.
  • Now… Today, laws such as IDEA also protect those suffering mental illnesses. Businesses and government agencies focus on providing proper care, education, and treatment in as normal a home setting as possible. Many Americans choose to care for ill family members at home and send children to public school if they are able.
  • Dorothea Dix traveled Europe and her home state of Massachusetts to study prison conditions. Her discoveries deeply upset her, and she focused on bringing the issue to government attention. Because of Dorothea Dix, Americans began to learn that, with treatment, mental illness could improve. Her work included the founding of 32 mental hospitals and creating libraries in many hospitals and prisons.
  • Temperance
  • Then… In the early 1800s, many religious groups began discouraging use of alcohol. They blamed many of society’s problems, including abuse and neglect, on alcohol. Reform leaders, especially women, called for temperance. Temperance means refraining from alcohol use.
  • Now… Today, various groups focus on educating people about the harmful effects of alcohol and other substances. Laws to prevent making, selling, or consuming alcohol still exist in some places. Many drugs are illegal. Some Americans who refrain from alcohol call themselves “teetotalers,” a term that began in the 1830s.
  • Neal Dow was a mayor in Portland, Maine. He played a crucial role in the passage of the first statewide prohibition law. Prohibition was different from temperance because it means passing laws to prevent alcohol use. From 1851 to 1856, people in Maine could be arrested for making or selling alcohol.