Vocab Unit 4.2 Flashcards
Transcendentalists
Philosophical and literary movement in 19th century America that emphasized the inherent goodness of people and nature.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Key figure in the Transcendentalist movement, most famous for his essays “Self-Reliance” and “Nature” which emphasized individualism, reliance on intuition, and the inherent goodness of nature.
Henry David Thorea
Prominent American essayist, poet, and philosopher closely associated with the Transcendentalist movement, most recognized for his book “Walden” which details his experiences living simply in nature and advocating for civil disobedience
Antebellum
The period of increasing sectionalism that led up to the American Civil War
Shakers
Utopian society that practiced communal living, pacifism, and gender equality
New Harmony
Utopian community in Indiana that was established in the early 19th century by Robert Owen, a social reformer. It aimed to have social and economic equality.
Oneida Community
19th-century utopian religious society in New York, known for its radical communal living practices, including communal ownership of property, complex rules regarding sexual relationships, focus on achieving perfectionism through shared living and work
Second Great Awakening
widespread Protestant religious revival movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, characterized by emotional preaching, camp meetings, a focus on personal conversion, and fueled abolitionism and women’s rights
Brigham Young
second president of the Mormon Church, who led the mass migration of Mormons westward to settle in Utah following the death of Joseph Smith, considered a key figure in the westward expansion narrative
Mormons- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Religious movement founded by Joseph Smith, where members believe they belong to a restored church established by Jesus Christ, follow Book of Mormon
Charles Finney
Prominent preacher during the Second Great Awakening, known for his “New Measures” revival techniques that emphasized individual choice and personal responsibility for salvation,
American Temperance Society
Organization founded in 1826 that aimed to persuade people to abstain from drinking alcohol through moral suasion
Dorothea Dix
Prominent social reformer who campaigned tirelessly for improved conditions and treatment of the mentally ill
Asylum movement
19th-century social reform movement in the United States that advocated for the humane treatment of the mentally ill by pushing for the construction of dedicated mental institutions, known as asylums
Horace Mann
Prominent educational reformer, often called the “Father of American Education,” who championed the “Common School Movement” by advocating for publicly funded, accessible education for all children
Cult of domesticity
19th-century societal belief system that idealized women’s roles as devoted wives and mothers, emphasizing their primary place in the home as moral guardians, and essentially defining their sphere as the private domestic space
Seneca Falls Convention
first major women’s rights convention held in the United States in 1848 at Seneca Falls, New York. Issued a manifesto to claim “All man and women are created equal.”
William Lloyd Garrison- The Liberator
Outspoken abolitionist. He published an anti-slavery newspaper called The Liberator. It called for freedom for all slaves immediately. Additionally, he wanted the North to secede from the Union.
Frederick Douglass
Former slave who was an abolitionist, gifted with eloquent speech and self-educated. In 1838 he was “discovered” as a great abolitionist to give antislavery speeches.
David Walker
African American abolitionist who gained notoriety for publishing a radical pamphlet titled “Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World” in 1829, which fiercely denounced slavery and urged enslaved people to fight for their freedom
Peculiar institution
Refers to slavery, specifically as it was practiced in the American South before the Civil War; it was a term used by Southerners to describe slavery as a unique and important part of their society
Slave laws
laws passed by southerners to keep slaves from either running away or rebelling; essentially designed to control and subjugate the enslaved population.
Planter aristocracy
Wealthy elite class of landowners in the American South who owned large plantations and relied heavily on slave labor to cultivate cash crops
Poor whites “hillbillies”
Least prosperous non-slaveholding whites were scorned even by slaves as poor white trash.
