6th Grade History Unit 4: Americans in the Mid-1800s

Vocabulary flashcards based on the key concepts from the 6th grade history notes on Americans in the Mid-1800s.

Transcendentalism

A philosophy emphasizing that people should transcend logical thinking to reach true understanding through emotions and intuition.

Underground Railroad

A secret network of free blacks and whites who helped enslaved people escape to free states and Canada.

Abolitionist

A person who supported the ending of slavery.

Cotton Gin

A hand-operated machine that cleans seeds and other unwanted material from cotton.

Industrial Revolution

The dramatic change in economies and cultures brought about by the use of machines to do work formerly done by hand.

Plantation

A large area of privately owned land where crops were grown by workers who were enslaved or free.

Push Factor

An influence that drives someone away from a location.

Pull Factor

An influence that draws someone to a new location.

Eli Whitney

The Massachusetts man who invented the cotton gin.

Horace Mann

The man who advocated for public schools to improve the education of children.

Nat Turner

The slave who led a rebellion in Virginia in which 57 people were killed.

Sojourner Truth

The former slave who fought for women's rights and abolition, known for the 'ain't I a woman' speech.

Frederick Douglass

Former slave who became an abolitionist and wrote about the injustices of slavery.

Dorothea Dix

Woman who was horrified by prison conditions and advocated for reform.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Transcendentalist and friend of Henry David Thoreau.

Plantation System

The agricultural system that relied on enslaved labor in the South.