APUSH Chapter 11 Reading

Cult of Honor

 A strict code of chivalry and masculinity among Southern white men that emphasized personal reputation, defense of family honor, and sensitivity to insult, often leading to duels.

De Bow’s Review

A prominent 19th-century Southern agricultural and commercial magazine edited by ____________ that heavily advocated for Southern economic independence and separation from the North.

Paternalism

The ideological belief held by Southern slaveholders that slavery was a benevolent, fatherly system where masters cared for and protected enslaved people, using it to justify the institution.

Cult of Honor / Southern Chivalry

The social expectation that elite white men must protect women and defend their personal honor, reinforcing the hierarchical structure of the plantation South.

Gang System

 A rigid, grueling labor system used primarily on large cotton and sugar plantations where enslaved people worked in groups under an overseer from sunup to sundown.

Task System

A more flexible labor system used primarily on rice and tobacco plantations where enslaved individuals were assigned a specific daily task; once completed, they had the remainder of the day for themselves

Pidgin

A simplified common language blending English vocabulary with African grammatical structures and dialects, allowing enslaved people from different ethnic backgrounds to communicate.

"Sambo" Strategy / Caricature

The white stereotype of the docile, submissive, and childlike enslaved person; conversely, adopting the “________" persona was often used by enslaved people as a form of passive resistance to trick masters and avoid punishment.

Slave Codes

Harsh state-enforced laws across the Antebellum South that stripped enslaved people of legal rights, banned literacy, restricted movement, and reinforced absolute racial control.

Spirituals

Deeply emotional religious folk songs created by enslaved people that blended Christian themes with African musical traditions, often serving as hidden codes for communication and resistance.

Gabriel Prosser

 An enslaved blacksmith who organized a large-scale, failed rebellion in Richmond, Virginia, in 1800, resulting in his execution and increased white paranoia.

Denmark Vesey

A free Black carpenter who organized a major planned slave conspiracy in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1822; discovered beforehand, leading to harsh crackdowns.