Reform Movements and the Move Towards Crisis

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from the reform movements and crisis period in American history.

cult of domesticity

A societal norm that emphasized the woman's role in the home and family life.

Seneca Falls Convention

The first women's rights convention held in 1848 that launched the women's rights movement.

Abolitionism

A social movement aimed at ending slavery, which emerged in the 1830s demanding an immediate end to the practice.

Compromise of 1850

A set of laws aimed at resolving tensions between slave and free states, including the admission of California as a free state.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

A law passed in 1854 that allowed territories to decide whether to allow slavery through popular sovereignty.

Declaration of Sentiments

A document produced at the Seneca Falls Convention outlining the injustices faced by women.

American Anti-Slavery Society

An organization founded in 1833 that fought for the immediate abolition of slavery.

Grimké sisters

Early female advocates for abolition and women's rights who brought attention to women's roles in the social reform movements.

Underground Railroad

A network of secret routes and safe houses used to help enslaved people escape to freedom.

popular sovereignty

The principle that the authority of a state and its government is created and sustained by the consent of its people.