History vocab

Indentured servant

A person who agrees to work for a few years in exchange for a ticket to the colonies, and food/shelter while working. Typically indentured servants worked for 4-7 years, and then were set free

Middle passage

The voyage that kidnapped, enslaved Africans were forced to take across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas

Plantation

A large farm that grows crops for sale. Plantations are usually in hot, humid parts of the world

Abolition

The movement to end slavery

Abolitionist

Someone who wants to end slavery

The Antebellum period

The time period before the civil war

“The peculiar institution“

A nickname for slavery in the south

Dixie

A nickname for the south

Overseer

The person who is in charge of enslaved workers. This person usually also carries out the punishments for misbehavior

Secession, To secede

To leave, to seperate

Sectionalism

Being loyal to the region or section where one lives instead of the country as a whole

Auction

A sale where buyers bid on the item (or person) being sold

Amendment

An addition or major change to the constitution