A Shopkeeper's Millennium

Study Questions

1. Describe Rochester's political landscape in the 1820s. How did political faction form? Did political groups change because of the Revival of 1831? If so, how?
2. Who participated in the Religious Revival of 1831? Why? Who remained outside the revival movement?
3. Johnson suggests that by increasing discipline at the workplace, the elite of Rochester forfeited control over the workers in other arenas. Describe how, if at all, labor relations and social control were related, and whether you agree that an increase in workplace discipline could be linked to a decrease in social discipline.
4. What roles did industrialism, the market revolution, and social displacement play in the revivalist spirit in Rochester? Think about the transportation revolution and the importance of the Erie Canal to Rochester life during the 1820s.

Internet Resources

Tales of the Early Republic

A timeline, essays, and original documents from the Jacksonian era.

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