Reform movements during the years of 1825 to 1850 sought to expand several democratic ideals. Democrats desired a better quality of life for the common man. Drunkenness, ignorance and inequality were viewed as sins that needed to be removed to improve society. Many reform movements addressed these central issues.
             Many democrats viewed alcoholism as the cause for failure in the lives of common men. During this time, the average American drank 7 gallons of alcohol each year. "The Drunkard's Progress, From the First Glass to the Grave" clearly showed that an occasional drink led to drunken behavior followed by poverty, disease, desperation and demise. (Document H) By 1834, five thousand temperance societies had organized to combat the evils of alcohol. Lyman Beecher proposed that the best way of life was total abstinence. Some legislators believed that the reason juveniles were involved in crime was because of a lack of parental influence caused by drunken parents or broken homes. An evaluation of the Fourth Annual Report of the Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents in the City of New York released in 1829 will lead one to assume that the main purpose of the newly instituted penitentiary system was to provide guidance and education for those who lacked parental influence thus producing valuable members of society. (Document A) Young criminals would no longer be executed but reformed and released. This democratic ideal opposed the former view of predestination.
             Another reform movement that sought to improve the life of the common man was school reform. By producing a better-educated generation, America would be equipped to compete in an industrial economy. Horace Mann shifted financial support form the parents to state government, lengthened the school year, established a grade system through which students could progress and encouraged compulsory attendance. He also standardized the c...