Era of Reforms and Antebellum Culture

These flashcards cover key terms and definitions relevant to the Era of Reforms and Antebellum Culture in U.S. History.

Second Great Awakening

A Protestant revival movement that emphasized emotionalism and the opportunity of salvation for all between the 1790s and 1830s.

Emotionalism

An appeal to emotion and fear of damnation seen during the Second Great Awakening.

Perfectionism

Rejection of the Calvinist doctrine that salvation is through grace, emphasizing free will for salvation.

Millennialism

The belief that a rapture and Armageddon are soon approaching.

Disinterested Benevolence

A religious commitment to social reform, primarily seen in upper and middle-class urbanites.

Benevolent Empire

A network of national religious organizations that emerged to support social reforms.

Transcendentalism

A philosophical movement that emphasized rising above limits, focusing on intuition and emotionalism.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

An influential transcendentalist who emphasized individualism and self-reliance.

Henry David Thoreau

A transcendentalist who advocated for civil disobedience and living deliberately.

American Temperance Society

An organization aimed at reducing and prohibiting alcohol consumption in America.

Horace Mann

Education reformer who advocated for public education and viewed it as a great equalizer.

Dorothea Dix

A reformer who advocated for the rights and rehabilitation of the mentally ill and prisoners.

Penny Press

A form of affordable mass communication that increased literacy rates and public opinion.

Romanticism

A cultural movement that emphasized emotion, nature, and individualism.

Oneida Community

A communal society that practiced shared ownership and communal child-rearing.

Shakers

A religious sect known for strict celibacy and communal living.

Methodist Camp Meeting

A gathering that played a significant role in the revivalist movement during the Second Great Awakening.

African Methodist Episcopalian Church

A denomination that emerged from the Second Great Awakening, focusing on the religious needs of African Americans.

Communal Societies

Utopian communities that sought to create perfect living conditions based on shared beliefs and values.

New Harmony

A utopian socialist community founded by Robert Owen that aimed for cooperative living.

Literary Romanticism

A literary movement that sought to explore the emotional and individual experience through narratives.