American Pageant Chapter 16

Harriet Beecher Stowe

(1811-1896) American author and daughter of Lyman Beecher, she was an abolitionist and author of the famous antislavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin.

William Lloyd Garrison

1805-1879. Prominent American abolitionist, journalist and social reformer. Editor of radical abolitionist newspaper "The Liberator", and one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society.

Denmark Vesey

A mulatto who inspired a group of slaves to seize Charleston, South Carolina in 1822, but one of them betrayed him and he and his thirty-seven followers were hanged before the revolt started.

David Walker

He was a black abolitionist who called for the immediate emancipation of slaves. He wrote the "Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World." It called for a bloody end to white supremacy. He believed that the only way to end slavery was for slaves to physically revolt.

Nat Turner

Leader of a slave rebellion in 1831 in Virginia. Revolt led to the deaths of 20 whites and 40 blacks and led to the "gag rule' outlawing any discussion of slavery in the House of Representatives

Sojourner Truth

United States abolitionist and feminist who was freed from slavery and became a leading advocate of the abolition of slavery and for the rights of women (1797-1883)

Theodore Dwight Weld

American abolitionist whose pamphlet "Slavery As It Is" (1839) inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Frederick Douglass

(1817-1895) American abolitionist and writer, he escaped slavery and became a leading African American spokesman and writer. He published a biography, and founded the abolitionist newspaper, the North Star.

Elijah P. Lovejoy

Head of the anti-slavery pamphlet, "The Observer", which printed anti-slavery pamphlets and distributing them for fee in pro-slavery states. To stop him, they broke his hand, threw his press in the lake, destroyed another one, then shot him. Never gave up and became an anti-slavery martyr.

John Quincy Adams

Helped overrule to gag rule.

oligarchy

A government ruled by a few powerful people

abolitionism

Militant effort to do away with slavery; began in the N in the 1700's; becoming a major issue in the 1830's, it dominated politics by the 1840's; Congress became a battle ground between the pro and anti slavery forces

"positive good"

Term coined by the republican aristocracy in favor of slavery, it allowed for a civilized lifestyle for whites and provided structure for genetically inferior Africans

plantation system

A system of agricultural production based on large-scale land ownership and the exploitation of labor and the environment. This system focused on the production of cash crops and utilized slave labor

monopolistic

a market structure in which many companies sell products that are similar but not identical

mulatto population

These people owned significant property in New Orleans. In addition, white masters

all too frequently would force their attentions

on female slaves, which increased this population

Cotton Kingdom

Areas in the south where cotton farming developed because of the high demand for cotton

The Liberator

Anti-slavery newspaper written by William Lloyd Garrison; drew attention to abolition, both positive and negative, causing a war of words between supporters of slavery and those opposed.

American Anti-Slavery Society

Abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison, who advocated the immediate abolition of slavery. By 1838, the organization had more than 250,000 members across 1,350 chapters.

peculiar institution

A euphemism for slavery and the economic ramifications of it in the American South. The term aimed to explain away the seeming contradiction of legalized slavery in a country whose Declaration of Independence states that "all men are created equal". It was one of the key causes of the Civil War.

Liberty party

A former political party in the United States; formed in 1839 to oppose the practice of slavery; merged with the Free Soil Party in 1848

Lane rebels

In 1832 Theodore Dwight Weld went to the Lane Theological Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Seminary was presided over by Lyman Beecher. Weld and some of his comrades were kicked out for their actions of anti-slavery. The young men were known as the "Lane Rebels." They helped lead and continue the preaching of anti-slavery ideas.

Gag Resolution

Prohibited debate or action on antislavery appeals. Driven through the House by pro-slavery Southerners, the gag resolution passed every year for eight years, eventually overturned with the help of John Quincy Adams.

American Colonization Society

A Society that thought slavery was bad. They would buy land in Africa and get free blacks to move there. One of these such colonies was made into what now is Liberia. Most sponsors just wanted to get blacks out of their country.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

written by harriet beecher stowe in 1853 that highly influenced england's view on the American Deep South and slavery. a novel promoting abolition. intensified sectional conflict.