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Reform and Conflict, 1828-1836
Overview
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The regional differences that had powered American nationalism after the war of 1812 eventually matured into open conflict. Economic growth fueled the change and the tariff was the catalyst. The tariff seemed ready to ignite a far broader debate over the institution of slavery itself. The reform movement also attached what they called "wage dependency". That is the increasing number of American men and women working as shoemakers and seamstresses. By 1828, artisans and craftsmen had been reduced to a "working class" whose bodies and minds had been destroyed for the benefit of the rich. The tone of the reform rhetoric of the 1830s was not optimistic. Instead it was combative and reflected a sense that there were insurmountable obstacles to perfecting industrial society. Reformers shifted their efforts from broad programs to those that centered on self-control and where necessary external constraint.
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