that women are endowed with moral energy and that their influence upon their children and spouses are powerful enough to instill moral values.Moral reform was the first social movement in the United States to consist primarily of women. Moral reform attracted the support of thousands of women from New England to the Old Northwest. This reform distinguished itself from other movements by thextent to which women ran it. This was nothing new in churches, but moral reform was the first reform movement to become almost exclusively the cause of women. Not only was it comprised of women and led by women; it offered many mainstream, middle cla women their first opportunity to venture into the public arena and agitate for social change on behalf of women.The fundamental forces which promoted the growth of the moral reform were: the separation of church and state, which greatly empowered the female population; the emergence of new middle-class norms of gender identity; and a dramatic decline in both ferlity rates and child death rates. These social changes enabled women to have a foothold in society and their families like they never had before.By the middle 1800’s most churches were no longer funded by the state and now relied on contributions from their congregations rather than taxation. This development increased the power of the people, and since women predominated, the power of women ireased. Many ministers began to call upon women to exercise various forms of social power, such as choosing and supporting clergymen and orchestrating religious events. New middle-class norms began to emerge as the numbers and influence of middle-class people increased throughout American society. As women developed a loyalty to larger middle class goals; such as an individualistic work ethic and the promotion of se discipline, they began to exercise significant new forms of power, particularly in the home.The nineteenth century displayed the gr...
