Key Historical Figures and Concepts in American History

A series of flashcards detailing important figures and terms related to American history, focusing on abolitionism, civil rights, and antebellum politics.

Know-Nothings

Agitators against immigrants and Roman Catholics.

Dorothea Dix

Quietly determined reformer who substantially improved conditions for the mentally ill.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Author of an abolitionist novel that portrayed the separation of slave families by auction.

Nat Turner

Visionary black preacher whose bloody slave rebellion in 1831 tightened the reins of slavery in the South.

Frederick Douglass

Escaped slave and great black abolitionist who fought to end slavery through political action.

Rio Grande

Claimed by the United States as the southern boundary of Texas.

Harriet Tubman

Famous conductor on the Underground Railroad who rescued more than 300 slaves from bondage.

Stephen A. Douglas

Illinois politician whose presidential hopes fell victim to the conflict over slavery and his support for the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Dred Scott

Black slave whose unsuccessful attempt to win his freedom depended on the sectional controversy.

Ku Klux Klan

Secret organization that intimidated blacks and worked to restore white supremacy.