10-12 / Facts & Terms

Richins

Erie Canal

Historic 363 mile long canal that boosted profit and industrialization in the North. Connected NY, Chicago, & the growing west

Nativism

Political/social ideology that prioritizes the rights of native-born citizens compared to immigrants/newcomers

Know-Nothings

An American movement that were intensely anti-immigrant & anti-catholic. When outsiders asked members about the party’s activities, they replied with “i know nothing”.

the factory system

workers, machinery, & power sources are all under one roof instead of producing goods in individual homes or workshops

Lowell & Watham System

Factories that recruited young women, gave them education, autonomy, and opportunities at the workplace at the cost of unsafe conditions; later replaced by immigrants

Shanty Irish

slang used to describe poor/working class immigrants that lived in makeshift, roughly built shanties

Commonwealth V Hunt

Declared unions were lawful organizations and a strike was a legal weapon to use

Cult of Domesticity / Separate Spheres

Women were guardians of domestic virtues and reinforced that women belonged at home

King Cotton

cotton was THE cash crop, south went full in with the cotton industry

Peculiar Institution

an alternative for saying slavery, sounded more ‘neutral’ and good

Task system

a slave is given a task in the morning, and upon completion of that task, is free for the rest of the day. not very commonly used

gang system

slaves were divided into different groups and compelled to work for as many hours as they could

gabriel prosser

an uprising of over 1000 rebellious slaves gathered outside Richmond VA, but the plot was found out and promptly destroyed. made white plantation owners paranoid about a slavery uprising

denmark vesey

rumors of a slave uprising of around 9000 slaves lead by Denmark Vesey spread around, and the suppression was instant. Made slave owners more paranoid

Nat Turner

The only successful slave revolt of the 19th century; killed 65 white folk alongside a crowd of slaves

Abolitionists

anti-slavery position; demanded black people be given the same rights as the white man

Seneca Falls/Declaration of Sentiments

foundational text for feminism, written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton; “all men AND women are created equal”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

American philosopher, poet, author, lecturer, and abolitionist for the transcendentalism movement

henry David thoreau

figure for the the transcendentalism movement; wrote Civil Disobedience & Walden

Robert Owen

Founder of “New Harmony”, a Utopian society where everybody worked together. The project was a failure but an inspiration to many

MORMONS

branch of Christianity founded by Joesph Smith; Book of Mormon translated from golden plates

2nd Great Awakening

Emphasized free will & individual salvation. Lots of revivals and emotional preaching

Charles Grandison Finney

Influential revival leader that preached everybody could reach redemption through their own efforts

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Pioneer of feminism, drafted Declaration of Sentiments, founded the National Women’s Loyal League

Transcendentalism

Emphasized personal intuition, personal expression, and finding spirituality in nature

American Colonization Society

1817 group that aimed to end slavery peacefully through paying for slaves, then freeing them back to Africa. Did not work very well, but helped to establish Liberia

William Lloyd Garrison

Founded the Liberator newspaper, campaigning for abolition, rejected gradualism, and called that slaves have the same rights as white men

Fredrick Douglas

the GOAT, influential leader for the abolitionist movement, former slave, demanded full freedom and rights for slaves

Underground railroad

Helped slaves escape their masters through a series of secret tunnels and hideouts until they reached Canada and were free

Free Soil

Not abolitionists, but anti-slavery. Wanted slavery out of the expanding west; managed to unite many white northerners unlike abolitionists

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

powerful piece of abolitionist propaganda, written by Harriet Beecher