Introduction

The Second Great Awakening served as an inspiration and foundation for many social reform movements within the early United States. This research project is intended to explore how the Second Great Awakening truly influenced three different social reform movements of the late 18th century to the early 19th century. 

The three movements my project considers are the temperance movement, the abolition movement, and the women's suffrage movement. These three movements have many ties to the religious movement and often cite Christian principles and morals within their arguments. 

My research through this project has been intended to understand how The Second Great Awakening served as a catalyst for significant social reform movements in early American history, fundamentally transforming colony life by fostering a sense of collective moral responsibility and empowering diverse groups, particularly women and marginalized communities, to challenge societal norms and advocate for change.

Former historical perspectives on this topic have traditionally written about these movements as singular beings. For example, the women's suffrage movement and the temperance are not two things that are generally thought to be separate.

Instead, I am trying to reinterpret this narrative and challenge others to more carefully consider not only how this final project emphasizes the individuality of a movement, but also how the potential future movements of this were inspired by the Second Great Awakening.