ABSTRACT
The first half of the nineteenth century witnessed the first major period of reform in American history, which was in many ways an extension of the ideals of the American Revolution. More specifically, most can be tied to the millennialism that accompanied the movement for American independence. Independence provided reformers with the opportunity to envision a new nation dedicated to carrying out God’s will in what many believed was God’s chosen nation. American transcendentalism was a literary movement, but it was also a religious and a reform movement. The missionary impulse accompanied the reform movement, as did several communitarian experiments. And the changing role of women in American religion during the first half of the nineteenth century was reflected.
