Moral reform became a prominent issue in America 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 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.Daniel S. Wright, Kathryn Kish Sklar, What Was the Appeal of Moral Reform to Antebellum Northern Women, 1835-1841?, (Binghamton, NY: State University of New York at Binghamton, 1999).
