Key Terms from American History Lectures

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts from American history lectures, focusing on immigration, reform movements, slavery, and territorial expansion.

Irish Immigrants

Large numbers of people who emigrated to America in the 1840s due to overpopulation and seeking opportunities.

Know-Nothing Party

A political group that was anti-immigrant and supported Nativism in the 1850s.

Eli Whitney

Inventor of the cotton gin, which significantly increased the reliance on slavery in the South.

Second Great Awakening

A religious revival movement in the early 19th century that promoted social reforms including temperance and abolition.

Burned Over District

An area in New York known for intense religious fervor and the rise of new religious movements.

Charles Grandison Finney

An influential preacher in the Second Great Awakening, known for converting many and revitalizing religious practices.

Brigham Young

Leader of the Mormons who established settlements in Utah after the death of Joseph Smith.

Horace Mann

The 'father of American education' who advocated for public education reform.

Dorothea Dix

An advocate for mental health reform, who documented the conditions of asylums.

Seneca Falls Convention

The first women's rights convention held in 1848, which produced the Declaration of Sentiments.

Cult of Domesticity

A prevailing value system in the 19th century that emphasized women's roles in the home and family.

Robert Owen

A social reformer who promoted utopian communities and believed in communal living for happiness.

Transcendentalism

A philosophical movement that emphasized individualism and self-reliance, associated with thinkers like Emerson and Thoreau.

King Cotton

Refers to the economic dominance of cotton as a cash crop in the Southern economy.

Stono Rebellion

A 1739 slave rebellion in South Carolina that foreshadowed later revolts.

William Lloyd Garrison

A prominent abolitionist who published 'The Liberator,' a newspaper advocating for the end of slavery.

Frederick Douglass

An escaped slave who became a leading abolitionist and advocate for civil rights.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century doctrine that the expansion of the United States across the American continents was justified and inevitable.

Mexican-American War

Conflict between the U.S. and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 over territorial disputes, resulting in significant land acquisition.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The treaty that ended the Mexican-American War and ceded vast territories to the U.S.

Transportation Revolution

A period of rapid growth in the speed and convenience of travel due to new methods of transportation like railroads and canals.

Peculiar Institution

A term used to refer to the system of slavery in the South.

Temperance Movement

A social movement aimed at preventing alcohol consumption and its negative effects on society.

Civil Disobedience

A form of nonviolent protest against unjust laws, famously advocated by Henry David Thoreau.

Bear Flag Revolt

A revolt by American settlers in California against Mexican rule in 1846.

Henry Clay's Compromise of 1850

A series of legislative measures aimed at resolving tensions between slave and free states.