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Rendezvous System

Rendezvous System

Each summer traders set up camps in the Rocky Mtns. to exchange goods for beaver pelts.

Rugged Individualism

The belief and attitude of self-reliance and personal liberty.

Irish Immigrants

Due to the potato famine and political problems, these people migrated to the U.S. by the tens of thousands. They tended to be poor, illiterate, and Catholic but had a strong work ethic and determination to survive.

German Immigrants

Uprooted farmers and political refugees who came to America with a modest amount of goods, and pushed into the Midwest. They were better educated but were regarded suspiciously because of their language and culture.

Know-Nothing Party

Nativist political party, emerged in response to an influx of immigrants, particularly the Irish and other Catholics.

Industrial Revolution

Shift toward mass production and mechanization that included the creation of the modern factory system.

Cotton Gin

Eli Whitney's invention that sped up the process of harvesting cotton. This made the cultivation of cotton more profitable, revitalizing the southern economy and increasing the importance of slavery in the South.

Lowell Mill Girls

Factory girls in Massachusetts who labored for long hours in difficult conditions, and lived away from their farms and families.

Cult of Domesticity

Married women had greater authority to influence and shape their family's morals and character.

McCormick Reaper

This invention mechanized the harvest of grains, allowing farmers to cultivate larger plots of land; led to the establishment of large-scale commercial agriculture in the Midwest.

Erie Canal

Upon its completion, this helped to dramatically reduce shipping costs, fueled an economic boom in upstate NY, and increased the profitability of farming in the Old Northwest.

Pony Express

Established a way to carry mail speedily from MO to CA. Men on horseback would speedily ride about 10 miles before switching off to another person and horse.

Transportation Revolution

The transformation of ways to help efficiently link local and regional markets together.

Samuel Slater

Father of the American "factory system," established textile mills throughout New England.

Elias Howe and Isaac Singer

Inventors who revolutionized the sewing machine and its use in the clothing industry.

Samuel FB Morse

Inventor of the telegraph and telegraphic code; enabled cities to be connected.

John Deere

Inventor of the steel plow, to replace wooden plows.

Market Revolution

Transformation from a disjointed, subsistence economy to a national commercial and industrial network.

Deism

A philosophical idea which asserts that reason and observation of the natural world are sufficient enough to prove the existence of a Creator.

Second Great Awakening

A religious revival movement, reflected the romanticism characteristics of enthusiasm, emotion, and an appeal to the super-natural.

Mormons

Religious followers led by Joseph Smith, and eventually Brigham Young, who founded a communal, religious order officially known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Due to hostility from non-Mormon neighbors, they eventually followed Brigham Young and migrated west to the Utah territory.

American Temperance Society

Reformers who sought to limit alcohol consumption.

Declaration of Sentiments

Elizabeth Cady Stanton's document that states "all men and women are created equal." Stanton worked with Lucretia Mott and other feminist activists to present their ideas at a meeting in Seneca Falls, NY in 1848.

Oneida Community

One of the more radical utopian communities; advocated "free love," birth control, controlled breeding, etc.

Shakers

Community that emphasized simple, communal living and were all expected to practice celibacy; named for their lively dance worship.

Romanticism

An artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century, characterized by its emphasis on emotion and individualism. In reaction to the Industrial Revolution. Authors include Poe ("The Raven), Hawthorne ("Scarlet Letter")

Transcendentalism

Literary and intellectual movement that emphasized the inherent goodness of people and nature; you are at your best when you are truly "self-reliant." Examples include authors Thoreau ("Walden), Whitman ("Leaves of Grass"), Longfellow ("Paul Revere's Ride), Emerson ("Nature")

Horace Mann

Known as the "Father of Public Education," he advocated for better schools.

Dorothea Dix

A reformer and pioneer to treat the insane as mentally ill; she was responsible for improving conditions in jails, poorhouses, and insane asylums throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Neal S. Dow

"Father of Prohibition" and Maine politician who helped Maine's gov't ban the manufacturing and sale of alcohol.

John J. Audubon

He was an artist who specialized in painting wild birds. His depictions of western wildlife contributed to the westward population movements.

Emily Dickinson

private, reclusive poet who wrote on the themes of death and mortality.

Noah Webster

American writer who wrote textbooks to help the advancement of education. He also wrote a dictionary which helped standardize the American language.