Final answer:
Historians recognize evangelicalism's role in antebellum reform as a driver of personal and societal improvement, influencing various social reforms and communal experiments. Evangelical Protestantism supported movements like abolitionism and temperance, while Transcendentalists also sought societal betterment through personal integrity.
Step-by-step explanation:
Historians' understanding of evangelicalism's role in antebellum reform varies, but the core belief that dominated the period was that society could be improved upon and individuals had the responsibility to aid in this perfection.
Evangelical Protestantism during the Second Great Awakening emphasized personal salvation and the need for societal reformation, which paralleled the burgeoning capitalist spirit. This religious fervor contributed to a host of social reform movements, including abolitionism, temperance, and women's rights.
Conversely, Transcendentalists approached societal improvement with a focus on individual introspection and intellectualism, though they shared the general goal of creating a better society. Communal experiments, like those of the Shakers and Mormons, reflected varied degrees of religious influence, distinguishing them from more secular attempts at social reformation.