19th Century Reform Movements and Civil War Tensions

Reform Movements

Efforts to improve society by addressing issues like slavery, women's rights, education, temperance, and prisons in the 19th century.

Second Great Awakening

A religious revival in the early 1800s that emphasized personal salvation and social reform.

Revivalism

The practice of holding large religious gatherings to renew faith and moral behavior.

Burnt-over district

An area in western New York known for intense religious revivals during the Second Great Awakening.

Charles Finney

A leading preacher of the Second Great Awakening, emphasizing free will and social reform.

Education Reform

A movement to improve public education and make it accessible to all children.

Horace Mann

An advocate for public education reform and founder of the common school movement.

Common Schools Movement

The push for free, state-supported public schools for all children.

Asylum Movement

Efforts to improve conditions for the mentally ill and establish specialized care facilities.

Dorothea Dix

A reformer who worked to improve treatment and care for the mentally ill.

Thomas Story Kirkbride

A pioneer in designing humane asylums with therapeutic environments.

Prison Reform

Efforts to improve prison conditions and promote rehabilitation over punishment.

William Brittin

An advocate for humane treatment and reform in prisons.

Auburn System

A prison system promoting strict discipline and silent labor by prisoners.

Pennsylvania System

A prison system focused on solitary confinement and reflection.

Temperance Movement

A social campaign against alcohol consumption to reduce social problems.

Lyman Beecher

A leading preacher and temperance advocate.

Teetotalism

Complete abstinence from alcoholic beverages.

Women's Rights

The movement to secure equal rights for women, including voting and property ownership.

Lucretia Mott

A Quaker and abolitionist who co-founded the women's rights movement.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

A leader in the women's rights movement and co-organizer of the Seneca Falls Convention.

Catherine and Harriet Beecher

Sisters who promoted women's education and abolitionist causes.

Sarah and Angelina Grimké

Southern sisters who became outspoken abolitionists and women's rights advocates.

Seneca Falls Convention

The 1848 meeting that launched the women's rights movement in the U.S.

Declaration of Sentiments

A document modeled after the Declaration of Independence, advocating for women's equality.

Abolition Movement

A campaign to end slavery in the U.S.

Immediate vs Gradual Emancipation

Debate over whether slavery should end immediately or be phased out over time.

Free-Soil Ideology

The belief that slavery should not expand into new territories.

American Colonization Society

An organization promoting the migration of freed African Americans to Africa.

Frederick Douglass

A former slave who became a leading abolitionist and published The North Star.

The North Star

An abolitionist newspaper founded by Frederick Douglass.

William Lloyd Garrison

An abolitionist and publisher of The Liberator.

The Liberator

A prominent abolitionist newspaper demanding immediate emancipation.

American Antislavery Society

An organization advocating for the abolition of slavery.

Sojourner Truth

An African American abolitionist and women's rights activist.

Texas

The independent nation that later became a U.S. state after tensions with Mexico.

Manifest Destiny

The belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across the continent.

Treaty of San Jacinto

The treaty that secured Texas independence from Mexico in 1836.

Sam Houston

A leader of the Texas Revolution and the first president of the Republic of Texas.

Lone Star Republic

The independent nation of Texas from 1836 to 1845.

Election of 1844

A U.S. presidential election where James K. Polk's support for expansionism influenced his victory.

Annexation of Texas

The 1845 incorporation of Texas into the U.S., sparking tensions with Mexico.

Joint Occupation

The shared control of Oregon by the U.S. and Britain before 1846.

Protestant Missionaries

Religious leaders who settled in Oregon to convert Native Americans.

"Oregon Fever"

The enthusiasm for migration to Oregon during the 1840s.

Election of 1844/James Polk

Polk's expansionist platform led to U.S. control over Oregon and Texas.

"Fifty-four forty or fight"

A slogan advocating U.S. control of Oregon to the 54°40′ line.

Rio Grande vs Nueces River

A territorial dispute over Texas's southern border that sparked the Mexican-American War.

"American blood upon American soil"

President Polk's justification for declaring war on Mexico after skirmishes near the Rio Grande.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The 1848 treaty that ended the war, ceding vast Mexican territories to the U.S. (Mexican Cession).

Mexican Cession

Land acquired by the U.S. from Mexico, including present-day California, Arizona, and New Mexico.

CA Gold Rush

The 1849 discovery of gold in California, sparking mass migration.

"Forty-niners"

Gold seekers who moved to California during the Gold Rush.

Compromise of 1850

A set of laws aimed at resolving tensions between free and slave states after the Mexican Cession.

Free-Soil Party

A political party opposing the expansion of slavery into western territories.

Popular Sovereignty (UT/NM)

The idea that territories could vote to allow or prohibit slavery.

CA = Free State

California's admission to the Union as a free state under the Compromise of 1850.

No Slave Trade in D.C.

A provision of the Compromise banning the slave trade in the nation's capital.

Stricter Fugitive Slave Law

A law requiring the return of escaped slaves to their owners, angering abolitionists.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

An 1854 law allowing popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska, repealing the Missouri Compromise.

Stephen Douglas

A senator who proposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, supporting popular sovereignty.

Missouri Compromise Line

The 36°30′ line prohibiting slavery north of it, repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

"Popular Sovereignty"

Letting residents of territories vote on allowing slavery, leading to violence in Kansas.

Whig Party (end)

The Kansas-Nebraska Act split the Whig Party, leading to its collapse.

Republican Party (creation)

A political party formed to oppose slavery's expansion after the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

"Bleeding Kansas"

Violent clashes in Kansas between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces.

Sack of Lawrence

A pro-slavery attack on the abolitionist town of Lawrence, Kansas.

John Brown

A radical abolitionist who led violent attacks against slavery supporters.

Pottawatomie Massacre

A violent response to the Sack of Lawrence, where John Brown killed pro-slavery settlers.

Lecompton Constitution (pro-slavery)

A proposed Kansas constitution supporting slavery, rejected by anti-slavery residents.

President Buchanan

Supported the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution, deepening sectional tensions.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

An 1857 Supreme Court case ruling that African Americans were not citizens and slavery could not be restricted in territories.

Dred Scott

An enslaved man who sued for his freedom, leading to a landmark Supreme Court case.

Chief Justice Roger Taney

Ruled that African Americans were not citizens and could not sue in federal court.

No Citizenship

The ruling declared that African Americans, free or enslaved, could not be U.S. citizens.

5th Amendment

Used to argue that banning slavery violated property rights.

Missouri Compromise

Declared unconstitutional by the Dred Scott decision, allowing slavery in all territories.

Northern Reaction

Outrage in the North, strengthening abolitionist sentiment.

Raid on Harpers Ferry

John Brown's failed attempt to seize a federal arsenal to start a slave uprising in 1859.

John Brown

Led a failed raid on a federal arsenal to start a slave uprising.

Arsenal at Harpers Ferry

The target of Brown's raid to arm enslaved people.

Southern Reaction

Fear of Northern support for violent abolitionism, escalating tensions.

Election of 1860

A U.S. presidential election where Lincoln's victory prompted Southern secession.

Abraham Lincoln (Republican)

Won the presidency on a platform opposing slavery's expansion.

Stephen Douglas (Northern Democrat)

Supported popular sovereignty and competed against Lincoln.

John Breckinridge (Southern Democrat)

Favored expanding slavery into all territories.

John Bell (Constitutional Union)

Focused on preserving the Union without addressing slavery directly.

Secession

Southern states began leaving the Union after Lincoln's election.

Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

Promised not to interfere with slavery where it existed but opposed secession.

Jefferson Davis

Elected president of the Confederate States of America.

Fort Sumter

The site of the first shots of the Civil War after Confederate forces attacked.

Civil War

A conflict from 1861 to 1865 between the Union and the Confederacy over slavery and states' rights.

North and South Advantages/Disadvantages

The North had more resources and population; the South had better military leaders and home-field advantage.

Confederate Goal

To achieve independence and preserve slavery.

Union Goal

To preserve the Union and later abolish slavery.

Anaconda Plan

The Union's strategy to blockade Southern ports and control the Mississippi River.

Eastern Campaign

Major battles in the East, focusing on the Confederate capital, Richmond.

First Battle of Bull Run

The first major battle of the Civil War, resulting in a Confederate victory.

Stonewall Jackson

A Confederate general known for his bravery and leadership in battle.

Gen. George McClellan

A cautious Union general criticized for his inaction.