The New York Female Moral Reform Society (NYFMRS) was an American reformism organization based in New York . It was established in 1834 under the leadership of Lydia A. Finney , wife of revivalist Charles Grandison Finney . The NYFMRS was created for the fundamental purpose of preventing prostitution in early 19th century New York. It launched its official organ, Advocate of moral reform (later renamed Advocate and Family Guardian ) in 1835.
11-554: In time, the NYFMRS became one of the most well-known moral reform organizations of the period and even expanded its influence to other cities across America. Five years after its establishment, the NYFMRS already had 445 auxiliaries, and thus changed its name in 1839 to the American Female Moral Reform Society in the hopes that membership would expand even further. This name change came just a year after
22-465: A crime and threatening to publish names in their monthly journal of the men who regularly visited brothels. Through time the NYFMRS took on new missions, primarily by relaxing their focus on prevention and opening up to the idea of homes for the friendless, offering education to those women in need and opening up an employment agency to help some respectable women. New England Female Moral Reform Society The New England Female Moral Reform Society
33-442: Is estimated that 5 to 10 percent of women were prostitutes . Women soon discovered that prostitution paid more than any other kind of work available to them at the time, and even some kinds of employment were linked to prostitution. A report by the NYFMRS in the 1830s found that servants , chambermaids , and milliners were the most common occupations linked with prostitution. With estimates of more than ten thousand prostitutes in
44-800: The Boston Female Moral Reform Society became the New England Female Moral Reform Society due to a growing rivalry for support among auxiliary societies in the Northeast. By 1840, the society's goals evolved and with it came a name change to the American Female Guardian Society . Prostitution first became a problem in America between 1810 and 1820, primarily because it was not completely illegal, thus it
55-538: The city it can be understood that some women simply turned to prostitution out of necessity from the strains of their economic and environmental situations. Moral reform became a prominent issue in the U.S. during the 1830s and 1840s and many organizations were created during this time to eliminate prostitution and the sexual double standard, and to also encourage sexual abstinence . While some organizations tried to reclaim women who had fallen into prostitution, moral reform societies like NYFMRS were convinced that prevention
66-516: The emerging middle class, women sought to reform society in order to create an environment where they were valued and respected. Simultaneously, those influenced by the Second Great Awakening were focused on creating a more heavenly America by eradicating immoral practices. Women were able to address both of these goals through the moral reform movement, which marked the first social movement in which women predominated. Moral reform
77-507: The movement and consisted of a large majority of the women in the movement. One of the primary means of spreading the New England Female Moral Reform Society's message was through the publication of a semi-monthly periodical, called Friend of Virtue. The first volume of this periodical was published in 1838 and was edited by the society's secretary, Rebecca Eaton. This publication was a way to spread
88-516: The sexual double standard. In 1844 the society opened a home for reformed prostitutes. In the first volume of their semi-monthly periodical, the society asserted that men and women were equally liable for the immoral sexual actions that they performed together. Northern women in the 1830s were a part of a rising middle class during a period of Protestant religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening . Shaping their place in
99-581: Was a female cause that spurred the creation of primarily female organizations. Like most social movements at this time, the movement organized gendered groups. By 1841 there were about 50,000 women in 616 local moral reform societies in the North, including the New England Moral Reform Society. While the two most notable moral reform societies were urban, the auxiliary groups that formed in rural areas did an immense amount of work for
110-500: Was originally called the Boston Female Moral Reform Society at the time it was founded in 1835. The group changed their name in 1838 in response to a rivalry with the New York Female Moral Reform Society for support among women in auxiliary societies. The goal of the New England Female Moral Reform Society, as well as the other moral reform societies at the time, was to prevent prostitution and to end
121-515: Was their primary concern. Women involved in the New York Female Benevolent Society , who tended to be older women, were more willing to help prostitutes out of their situation. The NYFMRS attempted many strategies in preventing prostitution from occurring. Some of these strategies included entering brothels and praying for the prostitutes and their clients, lobbying the state to make male solicitation of prostitutes
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