Reform Movements and Abolitionism in the 19th Century

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to 19th-century reform movements, women's rights, and abolitionism as discussed in the lecture.

Moral Reforms

Movements aiming at improving individuals and society by making better choices.

Radical Reforms

Societal changes that challenge existing norms and practices to the point of extremity.

Spiritualism

A belief system where individuals claim to communicate with the spirits of the dead.

Communitarianism/Utopianism

Ideologies aimed at creating ideal societies based on shared values and communal living.

Grahamism

A health philosophy advocating vegetarianism and health cures popularized by Sylvester Graham.

Femme Covert

A legal term describing a married woman whose legal existence is obscured by her husband's identity.

First Wave Feminism

A movement focused on women's suffrage and legal equality in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Abolitionism

The movement to end slavery and emancipate enslaved people.

Free Soilism

The belief that slavery should not expand into the new territories of the United States.

The Cotton Gin

An invention by Eli Whitney that revolutionized cotton processing and increased the demand for slave labor.

Paternalism in Slavery

The belief that slave owners had a moral obligation to care for their slaves like children.

Natural Rights

The philosophical belief that individuals are entitled to life, liberty, and property by virtue of their humanity.

Colonization Society

Organizations advocating for the relocation of freed slaves to Africa, particularly to Liberia.

Abolitionist Literature

Writings that promote the anti-slavery cause, including novels like Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Slave Codes

A set of laws governing the behavior and rights of enslaved persons.

The Grimke Sisters

Abolitionist activists from a slave-owning family in South Carolina, known for their anti-slavery writings.

William Lloyd Garrison

A prominent abolitionist who published The Liberator, advocating for immediate emancipation.

Douglass, Frederick

An escaped slave and influential author who became a leading figure in the abolitionist movement.

Compromise of 1850

A set of laws passed to resolve the conflict over the expansion of slavery into newly acquired territories.

The Underground Railroad

A secret network that helped enslaved people escape to freedom in the North.

Reconstruction

The period following the Civil War during which the United States attempted to address the issues of slavery and integrate formerly enslaved individuals into society.