chapter 12-11 APUSH

the “peculiar institution”

• A term used by white Southerners to describe slavery, portraying it as a unique and essential part of Southern society that shaped its economy, politics, and racial hierarchy.

King Cotton

The idea that cotton production dominated the Southern economy and gave the South economic power, increasing the demand for enslaved labor and tying slavery to global markets.

Second middle passage

The forced relocation of over one million enslaved people from the Upper South to the Deep South through the domestic slave trade, breaking up families and communities.

domestic slave trade

The internal buying and selling of enslaved people within the United States, especially from the Upper South to the Lower South after the international slave trade ended in 1808.

Upper and Lower south planter class

• Upper South: States like Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, where slavery was older and declining in profitability

• Lower (Deep) South: States like Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, where cotton expansion increased the demand for enslaved labor

paternalism

A system of beliefs in which slaveholders claimed they acted as father-like guardians to enslaved people, using this idea to justify slavery while maintaining strict control.

proslavery argument

The belief that slavery was beneficial, moral, and necessary, often defended by claiming it was supported by history, religion, science, and that it treated enslaved people better than Northern workers.

fugitive slaves

Enslaved people who escaped slavery in search of freedom, often traveling to the North or Canada despite harsh laws and punishment if captured.

underground railroads

A secret network of safe houses and helpers that assisted fugitive slaves in escaping to free states or Canada.

harriet tubman

A formerly enslaved woman who became a leading conductor on the Underground Railroad, guiding dozens of enslaved people to freedom and becoming a symbol of resistance to slavery.

the amistad

An 1839 slave ship revolt in which enslaved Africans took control of the ship; the Supreme Court later ruled they were illegally enslaved and granted them freedom.

denmark vesey‘s conspiracy

An 1822 planned slave revolt in Charleston, South Carolina; although it was uncovered before happening, it led to harsher slave laws and increased fear among white Southerners.

nat turner’s rebellion

An 1831 violent slave uprising in Virginia led by Nat Turner that killed dozens of whites and resulted in brutal retaliation and stricter slave codes.

planter class

A small, wealthy group of white Southerners who owned large numbers of enslaved people and dominated Southern politics, economy, and society.

utopian communities

Experimental communities created to reform society by living according to shared ideals such as equality, cooperation, and moral improvement

Shakers

A religious utopian group that believed in celibacy, communal ownership of property, gender equality, and strict moral discipline.

oneida

A utopian community in New York that practiced communal living, shared property, and “complex marriage,”believing in moral perfection.

communitarianism

The belief that people should live cooperatively, sharing property and responsibilities to create a more just and moral society.

New Harmony

A utopian community in Indiana founded by Robert Owen, focused on education, equality, and shared labor, though it ultimately failed.

perfectionism

The belief that individuals and society could be morally perfected through self-discipline, religious devotion, and reform.

temperance movement

A reform movement aimed at reducing or banning alcohol consumption, believing alcohol caused poverty, crime, and family breakdown.

prisons and asylums

Institutions reformed in the early 1800s to emphasize rehabilitation rather than punishment, especially for criminals and the mentally ill.

common schools

Publicly funded schools promoted by reformers like Horace Mann to provide free education and create disciplined, moral citizens.

American colonization society

An organization that supported gradual emancipation and the relocation of free African Americans to Liberia in Africa

American anti-slavery society

A national organization founded in 1833 to demand the immediate abolition of slavery through moral and political pressure.

Moral suasion

An abolitionist strategy that sought to convince slaveholders that slavery was sinful through speeches, writings, and appeals to conscience.

abolitionist movement

A movement dedicated to the immediate end of slavery, arguing it violated Christian morality and natural rights.

william llyod garrison

A radical abolitionist who published The Liberator and demanded immediate emancipation without compromise.

fredrick douglass

A formerly enslaved man who became a leading abolitionist speaker and writer, arguing for political action against slavery

uncle toms cabin

An 1852 novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that exposed the cruelty of slavery and increased Northern opposition to it. ( #2 best selling book of the time)

“Gentleman of property and standing”

A phrase from the Declaration of Sentiments criticizing how political power was reserved for wealthy white men, excluding women.

gag rule

A congressional rule that automatically stopped antislavery petitions, preventing debate on slavery in Congress.

Dorothea Dix

A reformer who campaigned for better treatment of the mentally ill and improved conditions in asylums and prisons.

Seneca Falls Convention 

The 1848 women’s rights convention that issued the Declaration of Sentiments, demanding equality and voting rights for women.

woman suffrage

The movement advocating for women’s right to vote, gaining momentum after Seneca Falls

feminism

The belief in political, social, and legal equality for women, emerging from reform and abolition movements

liberty party

An antislavery political party that sought to end slavery through electoral politics, influencing later parties.