Deck 12: Afire With Faith

Question 1

The chapter introduction tells the story of Lyman Beecher and his offspring to make the point that

A) nineteenth-century preachers often stressed the wickedness of American society.
B)while the Beecher family stood for older values and tried to halt the rapid changes in American society,
other Americans sought to harness change to bring about a more perfect society.
C) zealous evangelical Protestants sought to hasten the coming of Christ's kingdom on earth through
diverse strategies for reforming society.
D) Transcendentalist Beecher represented the more secular, Romantic side of a quest for an improved
society that characterized America in the 1820s and 1830s.

Answer 1

zealous evangelical Protestants sought to hasten the coming of Christ's kingdom on earth through
diverse strategies for reforming society.

Question 2

Who was the person who founded modern revivalism?

A) Harriett Stowe
B) Lyman Beecher
C) George Whitefield
D) Charles Grandison Finney

Answer 2

Charles Grandison Finney

Question 3

With respect to the middle-class family after 1820, all of the following explain the decline in family size in general and in the birth rate in particular EXCEPT

A) parents' desire to improve the standard of living of themselves and their children.
B) the use of birth control methods.
C) delaying marriage until one had the financial means to support a family.
D) a view of family more geared to functional usefulness than affection.

Answer 3

a view of family more geared to functional usefulness than affection.

Question 4

By 1850 Catholics accounted for ________ percent of the U.S. population-the same percentage as Presbyterians.

A) 5
B) 8
C) 11
D) 14

Question 5

Seneca Falls, New York, was the site of

A) George Ripley's Brook Farm.
B) Charles Grandison Finney's greatest revival.
C) the first major women's rights convention.
D) Lane Seminary.

Question 6

Which of the following statements is the most accurate with regard to the temperance movement?

A) Temperance was the most divisive political issue of the mid-nineteenth century.
B) By increasing party switching and attracting new voters, the temperance issue played a major role in . the collapse of the Jacksonian party system.
C) One remarkable aspect of the temperance movement was how it brought women to the polls in dramatically high numbers.
D) Temperance advocates were finally energized to action in the early 1840s, when it had become apparent . that drinking in American society was still on the rise.

Question 7

As a result of the ________, the dominant form of Christianity in America became evangelical Protestantism.

Question 8

The writer ________ built a cabin on the edge of Walden Pond in Concord, living by himself for 16 months to demonstrate the advantages of self-reliance.

Question 9

What is millennialism? How did millennialism encourage the cause of reform?

Question 10

What were Charles Finney's new measures? How did they strengthen revivalism?

Question 11

What was "true woman"? Describe how the concept became important during this period.

Question 12

Give three examples of how the middle-class family changed in this period. How was the middle-class family different from the family in earlier periods?

Question 13

Why did the temperance movement enjoy such widespread support? Among the reasons you list, which do you think was most important?

Question 14

How did revivalism help people adjust to the market?

Question 15

How did romanticism contribute to American values? How did it strengthen the reform impulse?

Question 16

Describe the range of antislavery positions, and mention at least three people who exemplified those different positions.

Question 17

Consider the following statement: Revival audiences responded to the call for reform partly because they were unsettled by the era's rapid social changes. Describe these social changes and how revivalism addressed them. Do you find the argument convincing? Why or why not?

Question 18

What was the "cult of domesticity"? Do you believe that ideal helped or hurt the position of women in American society? Support your argument with specific examples of how the new ideal affected women's lives.

Question 19

Give three examples of reform movements that turned to political action to accomplish their goals. Why did these movements turn to political action? How did this represent a departure from earlier ideals?

Question 20

List three utopian communities and three humanitarian reform movements in the Jacksonian era. Pick one from each group and compare their approaches to reform.

Question 21

Historians have seen the reform movements of the 1830s and 1840s as both conservative and radical. Give at least two specific examples of how aspects of the movement were conservative (how they upheld institutions and values). Then suggest at least two examples of how other aspects were radical (how they overturned institutions and values). On balance, was reform a greater force for change or for preservation?

Question 22

How do the activities of the Beecher family illustrate the tensions within the reform community? Discuss the activities of at least two of Lyman Beecher's children. How did their activities contrast with one another? How did their activities extend beyond the actions and goals of their father?
ch12 Key