The National Reform Association was an American

radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

reformist Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political or religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution. Within the socialist movement, ref ...

political organization, founded in 1844 by radicals

George Henry Evans George Henry Evans (March 25, 1805February 2, 1856) was a radical reformer who was in the Working Men's movement of 1829 and the trade union movements of the 1830s. Evans was born in Bromyard, Herefordshire, England, the son of George Evans and ...

Thomas Ainge Devyr Thomas Devyr (c. 1844 – January 22, 1896) was an American baseball player who played shortstop for the Brooklyn Eckfords during their team's championship seasons of 1862 and 1863. Later, in 1867, he confessed, along with two other New York Mutu ...

, John Windt and others with the aim of lobbying Congress to pass a wide range of

land reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...

s. The NRA campaigned with the slogan "Vote Yourself a Farm", and the organization managed to achieve a wave of 55,000 petitions from Americans calling on Congress to open up free public lands to homesteaders, which lead to the successful

Homestead Act The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of Federal lands, government land or the American frontier, public domain, typically called a Homestead (buildings), homestead. In all, mo ...

of 1862. In his 1846 pamphlet ''Vote Yourself a Farm'', George Henry Evans writes: After George's death in 1856, the NRA was then managed by his younger brother and

Shaker Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cock ...

Elder

Frederick William Evans Frederick William Evans (9 June 1808 – 6 March 1893) was a Shaker writer who served as an elder in the Mount Lebanon Shaker Society for many years. Evans was the younger brother of the land reformer George Henry Evans. Biography Evans was b ...

. The movement had a stronghold of support in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

, especially in the State of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

where large tracts of land were owned by the

Mount Lebanon Shaker Society Mount Lebanon Shaker Society, also known as New Lebanon Shaker Society, was a communal settlement of Shakers in New Lebanon, New York, New Lebanon, New York. The earliest converts began to "gather in" at that location in 1782 and built their firs ...

References

{{reflist 1844 establishments in the United States Defunct political organizations of the United States Political organizations established in 1844 Year of disestablishment missing

See also

References