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American Temperance Society

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Founded in Boston in 1826 as part of a growing effort of nineteenth century reformers to limit alcohol consumption.

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Brook Farm

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Transcendentalist commune founded by a group of intellectuals, who emphasized living plainly while pursuing the life of the mind. The community fell into debt and dissolved when their communal home burned to the ground in 1846.

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Burned over district

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Popular name for Western New York, a region particularly swept up in the religious fervor of the Second Great Awakening.

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Deism

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Eighteenth century religious doctrine that emphasized reasoned moral behavior and the scientific pursuit of knowledge. Most deists rejected biblical inerrancy and the divinity of Christ, but they did believe that a Supreme Being created the universe.

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Hudson River School

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American artistic movement that produced romantic renditions of local landscapes.

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Maine Law of 1851

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Prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcohol. A dozen other states followed Maine's lead, though most statutes proved ineffective and were repealed within a decade.

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minstrel shows

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Variety shows performed by white actors in black-face. First popularized in the mid-nineteenth century.

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Mormons

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Religious followers of Joseph Smith, who founded a communal, oligarchic religious order in the 1830s, officially known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Mormons, facing deep hostility from their non-Mormon neighbors, eventually migrated west and established a flourishing settlement in the Utah desert.

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New Harmony

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Communal society of around one thousand members, established in New Harmony, Indiana by Robert Owen. The community attracted a hodgepodge of individuals, from scholars to crooks, and fell apart due to infighting and confusion after just two years.

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Oneida Community

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One of the more radical utopian communities established in the nineteenth century, it advocated "free love", birth control and eugenics. Utopian communities reflected the reformist spirit of the age.

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Second Great Awakening

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Religious revival characterized by emotional mass "camp meetings" and widespread conversion. Brought about a democratization of religion as a multiplicity of denominations vied for members.

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Shakers

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Called "Shakers" for their lively dance worship, they emphasized simple, communal living and were all expected to practice celibacy. First transplanted to America from England by Mother Ann Lee, the Shakers counted six thousand members by 1840, though by the 1940s the movement had largely died out.

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The Age of Reason

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Thomas Paine's anticlerical treatise that accused churches of seeking to acquire "power and profit" and to "enslave mankind".

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"The American Scholar"

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Ralph Waldo Emerson's address at Harvard College, in which he declared an intellectual independence from Europe, urging American scholars to develop their own traditions.

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Transcendentalism

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Literary and intellectual movement that emphasized individualism and self-reliance, predicated upon a belief that each person possesses an "inner-light" that can point the way to truth and direct contact with God.

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Women's Rights Convention

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Gathering of feminist activists in Seneca Falls, New York, where Elizabeth Cady Stanton read her "Declaration of Sentiments," stating that "all men and women are created equal".

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Charles Grandison Finney

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American lawyer, president of Oberlin College, and a central figure in the religious revival movement of the early 19th century; he is sometimes called the first of the professional evangelists.

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Joseph Smith

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Religious leader who founded the Mormon Church in 1830

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Brigham Young

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The successor to the Mormons after the death of Joseph Smith. He was responsible for the survival of the sect and its establishment in Utah, thereby populating the would-be state.

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Horace Mann

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Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, he was a prominent proponent of public school reform, and set the standard for public schools throughout the nation. He advocated for longer school terms, higher pay for teachers, and an expanded curriculum.

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Dorothea Dix

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American educator, social reformer, and humanitarian whose devotion to the welfare of the mentally ill led to widespread reforms in the United States and abroad.

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Neal S. Dow

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American politician and temperance advocate whose Maine Law of 1851 presaged national prohibition in the United States.

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Lucretia Mott

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pioneer reformer who, with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, founded the organized women's rights movement in the United States.

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Elizabeth Cady Stanton

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New York, N.Y.), American leader in the women's rights movement who in 1848 formulated the first organized demand for woman suffrage in the United States.

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Susan B. Anthony

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pioneer crusader for the woman suffrage movement in the United States and president (1892-1900) of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Her work helped pave the way for the Nineteenth Amendment (1920) to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote.

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Lucy Stone

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American pioneer in the women's rights movement; 1st woman to keep maiden name after marriage

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John J. Audubon

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French-descended ornithologist who illustrated "Birds of America"; the society for the protection of birds was named after him

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James Fenimore Cooper

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first major U.S. novelist, author of the novels of frontier adventure known as the Leatherstocking Tales, featuring the wilderness scout called Natty Bumppo, or Hawkeye. They include The Pioneers , The Last of the Mohicans, The Prairie, The Pathfinder, and The Deerslayer.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson

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American lecturer, poet, and essayist, the leading exponent of New England Transcendentalism.

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Henry David Thoreau

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American essayist, poet, and practical philosopher, renowned for having lived the doctrines of Transcendentalism as recorded in his masterwork, Walden (1854), and for having been a vigorous advocate of civil liberties, as evidenced in the essay "Civil Disobedience" (1849).

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Walt Whitman

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American poet, journalist, and essayist whose verse collection Leaves of Grass is a landmark in the history of American literature.

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Henry Longfellow

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United States poet remembered for his long narrative poems

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Louisa May Alcott

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American author known for her children's books, especially the classic Little Women.

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Emily Dickinson

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American lyric poet who lived in seclusion and commanded a singular brilliance of style and integrity of vision. With Walt Whitman, Dickinson is widely considered to be one of the two leading 19th-century American poets.

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Herman Melville

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American novelist, short-story writer, and poet, best known for his novels of the sea, including his masterpiece, Moby Dick (1851). In addition, he rejected the optimism of the transcendentalists and felt that man faced a tragic destiny.

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Francis Parkman

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American historian noted for his classic seven-volume history of France and England in North America, covering the colonial period from the beginnings to 1763.

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Oberlin College

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first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students

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Industrial Revolution

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the shift, beginning in England during the 18th century, from making goods by hand to making them by machine

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"Self Reliance" (1841)

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Ralph Waldo Emmerson's popular lecture-essay that reflected the spirit of individualism pervasive in American popular culture during the 1830's.

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Limited Liability

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legal principle that facilitates capital investment by offering protection for individual investors, who, in cases of legal claims for bankruptcy, cannot be held responsible for more than the value of there individual shares.

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Rendezvous

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The principal marketplace of the Northwest fur trade, which peaked in the 1820s and 1830s. Each summer, traders set up camps in the Rocky Mountains to exchange manufactured goods for beaver pelts.

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Commonwealth vs. Hunt (1842)

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Massachusetts Supreme Court decision that strengthened the labor movement by upholding the legality of unions.

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Ecological Imperialism

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Historians' term for the spoliation of Western natural resources through excessive hunting, logging, mining and grazing

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Cult of Domesticity

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Pervasive nineteenth-century cultural creed that venerated the domestic role of women. It gave married women greater authority to shape home life but limited opportunities outside the domestic sphere.

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McCormick reaper (1831)

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Mechanized the harvest of grains, such as wear, allowing farmers to cultivate larger plots. The introduction of the reaper in the 1830s fueled the establishment of large scale commercial agriculture in the Midwest.

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Turnpike

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privately funded, toll-based public road constructed in the early nineteenth century to facilitate commerce.

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Eerie canal

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A historic canal that connects the Hudson River at Albany in eastern New York with the Niagara River and the Great Lakes. It opened in 1825.

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Molly Maguires (1860s-1870s)

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Secret organization of Irish miners that campaigned, at times violently, against poor working conditions in the PA mines

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Ancient Order of Hibernians (mid 1800s)

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Irish semi-secret society that served as a benevolent organization for down-trodden Irish immigrants in the U..S.

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Pony Express (1860-1861)

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Short-lived, speedy mail service between Missouri and California that relied on lightweight riders galloping between closely place outposts.

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Tammany Hall (est. 1789)

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Powerful NY political machine that primarily drew support from the city's immigrants, who depended on Tammany Hall patronage, particularly social services.

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Know-nothing Party (1850s)

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Nativist political party, aka the American party, which emerged in response to an influx of immigrants, particularly Irish Catholics.

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Transportation revolution

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term referring to a series of nineteenth-century transportation innovation-turnpikes, steamboats, canals, and railroads-that linked local and regional markets, creating a national economy.

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Market Revolution

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Eighteenth and nineteenth century transformation from a disaggregated, subsistence economy to a national commercial and industrial network.

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Cotton gin (1793)

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Eli Whitney's invention that sped up the process of harvesting cotton. The gin made cotton cultivation more profitable, revitalizing the Southern economy and increasing the importance of slavery in the South.

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Patent office

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Federal government bureau that reviews patent applications. A patent is a legal recognition of new invention, granting exclusive rights to the inventor for a period of years.

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Cumberland Road

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The National Road or Cumberland Road was one of the first major improved highways in the United States to be built by the federal government. Construction began in 1811 at Cumberland, Maryland, on the Potomac River

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Yellowstone National Park

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the first national park in the United States, created in 1872. Located in the border area between Wyoming and Montana and Idaho; spectacular wilderness; famous for Old Faithful geyser and for buffalo and bears. Once more parks were created, the National Park Service was created by Wilson in 1916

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John Jacob Astor

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Fur magnate and founder of a renowned family of Anglo-American capitalists, business leaders, and philanthropists. His American Fur Company is considered the first American business monopoly. Astoria was named after him.

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Robert Fulton

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American inventor, engineer, and artist who brought steamboating from the experimental stage to commercial success. He also designed a system of inland waterways, a submarine, and a steam warship.

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Cyrus Field

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U.S. financier noted for the success of the first transatlantic cable. He was the younger brother of the law reformer David Dudley Field and of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen J. Field.

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Dewitt Clinton

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Governor of New York who started the Erie Canal project. His leadership helped complete the canal, which boosted the economy greatly by cutting time traveled from west New York to the Hudson.

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Cyrus McCormick

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Irish-American industrialist and inventor who is generally credited with the development (from 1831) of the mechanical reaper.

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Samuel Slater

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British-born founder of the American cotton-textile industry textile. He oversaw construction of the nation's first successful water-powered cotton mill (1790-1793).

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Eli Whitney

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inventor of the cotton gin

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Elias Howe

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American inventor whose sewing machine helped revolutionize garment manufacture in the factory and in the home.

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Issac Singer

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Helped Howe perfect the sewing machine by making it quicker and brought it to middle class families and large maufacturers.

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Samuel F.B. Morse

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an American painter of portraits and historic scenes, the creator of a single wire telegraph system, and co-inventor, with Alfred Vail, of the Morse Code

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John Deere

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American blacksmith that was responsible for inventing the steel plow. This new plow was much stronger than the old iron version; therefore, it made plowing farmland in the west easier, making expansion faster.

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Martin Van Buren

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eighth president of the United States (1837-41) and one of the founders of the Democratic Party. He was known as the "Little Magician" to his friends (and the "Sly Fox" to his enemies) in recognition of his reputed cunning and skill as a politician.

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Corrupt Bargain

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Alleged deal between presidential candidates John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay to throw the election, to be decided by the House of Representatives, in Adams' favor. Though never proven, the accusation became the rallying cry for supporters of Andrew Jackson, who had actually garnered a plurality of the popular vote in 1824

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Spoils system

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policy of rewarding political supporters with public office, first widely employed at the federal level by Andrew Jackson. The practice was widely abused by the unscrupulous office seekers, but it also helped cement party loyalty in the emerging two-party system.

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Tariff of Abominations (1828)

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Noteworthy for its unprecedentedly high duties on imports. Southerners vehemently opposed the Tariff, arguing that it hurt Southern farmers, who did not enjoy the protection of tariffs, but were forced to pay higher prices for

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Nullification Crisis (1832-1833)

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Showdown between President Andrew Jackson and the South Carolina legislature, which declared the 1832 tariff null and void in the state and threatened secession if the federal government tried to collect duties. It was resolved by a compromise negotiated by Henry Clay in 1833

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Compromise tariff of 1833

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Passed as a measure to resolve the nullification crisis, it provided that tariffs be lowered gradually, over a period of ten years, to 1816 levels.

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Force Bill (1833)

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Passed by Congress alongside the Compromise Tariff, it authorized the president to use the military to collect federal tariff duties.

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Indian Removal Act (1830)

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Ordered the removal of Indian Tribes still residing east of the Mississippi to newly established Indian Territory west of Arkansas and Missouri. Tribes resisting eviction were forcibly removed by American forces, often after prolonged legal or military battles.

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Trail of Tears (1838-1839)

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Forced march of 15,000 Cherokee Indians from their Georgia and Alabama homes to Indian Territory. Some 4,000 Cherokee died on the arduous journey.

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Black Hawk War (1832)

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Series of clashes in Illinois and Wisconsin between American forces and Indian chief Black Hawk of he Sauk and Fox tribes, who unsuccessfully tried to reclaim territory lost under the 1830 Indian Removal Act

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Bank War (1832)

answer

Battle between President Andrew Jackson and Congressional supporters of the Bank of the United States over the bank's renewal in 1836. Jackson vetoed the Bank Bill, arguing that the bank favored moneyed interests at the expense of western farmers.

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Specie Circular (1836)

answer

U.S. Treasury decree requiring that all public lands be purchased with "hard," or metallic, currency. Issued after small state banks flooded the market with unreliable paper currency, fueling land speculation in the West.

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Panic of 1837

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Economic crisis triggered by bank failures, elevated grain prices, and Andrew Jackson's efforts to curb over speculation on western lands and transportation improvements. In response, President Martin Van Buren proposed the "Divorce Bill," which pulled treasury funds out of the baking system altogether, contracting the credit supply.

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Alamo

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Fortress in Texas where American volunteers were slain by Santa Anna in 1836. "Remember the Alamo" became a battle cry in support of Texan independence.

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Battle of San Jacinto

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final battle of the Texas Revolution; resulted in the defeat of the Mexican army and independence for Texas

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John Q. Adams (1825-1829)

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The sixth president of the United States, who was not well-liked by citizens and accused of making a corrupt bargain to win the election. He mainly focused on the economy during his presidency.

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Andrew Jackson

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The seventh President of the United States (1829-1837), who as a general in the War of 1812 defeated the British at New Orleans (1815). As president he opposed the Bank of America, objected to the right of individual states to nullify disagreeable federal laws, and increased the presidential powers.

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Denmark Vesey

answer

American insurrectionist. A freed slave in South Carolina, he was implicated in the planning of a large uprising of slaves and was subsequently hanged. The event led to more stringent slave codes in many Southern states.

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John C. Calhoun

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The 7th Vice President of the United States and a leading Southern politician from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. He was an advocate of slavery, states' rights, limited government, and nullification.

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Black Hawk

answer

Sauk leader who in 1832 led Fox and Sauk warriors against the United States

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Nicholas Biddle

answer

The brilliant but arrogant president of the Second Bank of the United States. Many people believed he held an unconstitutional amount of power over the nation's financial affairs. The power struggle between Biddle and Jackson led to Jackson depositing a large amount of investments into his pet banks.

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Daniel Webster

answer

noted orator, constitutional lawyer, senator, secretary of state, and major spokesman for nationalism and the union in the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s.

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Henry Clay

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Distinguished senator from Kentucky, who ran for president five times until his death in 1852. He was a strong supporter of the American System, a war hawk for the War of 1812, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and known as "The Great Compromiser." Outlined the Compromise of 1850 with five main points. Died before it was passed however.

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Martin Van Buren

answer

Served as secretary of state during Andrew Jackson's first term, vice president during Jackson's second term, and won the presidency in 1836

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Stephen Austin

answer

The son of Moses Austin and also known as the "Father of Texas" he lead "the old 300" into Texas after his father died of pneumonia. Mexico granted him land on the condition that there would be Roan Catholicism, the learning of Spanish, and no slavery.

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Sam Houston

answer

United States politician and military leader who fought to gain independence for Texas from Mexico and to make it a part of the United States (1793-1863), First president of the Republic of Texas

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Santa Anna

answer

Mexican general who tried to crush the Texas revolt and who lost battles to Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War (1795-1876)

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William Henry Harrison

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was an American military leader, politician, the ninth President of the United States, and the first President to die in office. Led US forces in the Battle of Tippecanoe.

Chapters 13-15 Vocabulary

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