American History: Beginnings to 1877: 7. Society and Culture Before the Civil War, Lessons 4–6

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. colonization
    the act of settling a group of people in a new place
    The American Colonization Society proposed to end slavery by setting up an independent colony in Africa for Africans and African Americans who had gained freedom from slavery.
  2. abolitionist
    a reformer who favors putting an end to slavery
    A growing number of reformers, known as abolitionists, wanted to end slavery completely in the United States.
  3. public opinion
    a belief or sentiment shared by most people
    They hoped to turn to public opinion against slavery by printing stories about the brutal treatment of enslaved African Americans.
  4. civil disobedience
    refusal to comply with a law as a form of political protest
    It was illegal to help enslaved African Americans escape, but these conductors felt strongly about disobeying laws they considered unjust. Such acts of civil disobedience led thousands of enslaved people to freedom.
  5. interest group
    people uniting around a specific issue to meet a common goal
    As you have learned, abolitionists were one interest group in the controversy over slavery.
  6. reform
    a campaign aimed to correct abuses or malpractices
    Social reform is an organized attempt to improve what is unjust or imperfect in society.
  7. salvation
    the act of delivering from sin or saving from evil
    During the colonial era, many American Protestant Christians believed in predestination. According to this idea, God decided in advance which people would attain salvation after death.
  8. debtor
    a person who owes a creditor
    Five out of six people in northern jails were debtors, or people who could not pay money they owed.
  9. temperance
    the act of abstaining, especially from drinking alcohol
    The temperance movement, a campaign against alcohol abuse, took shape in the late 1820s/
  10. convention
    a large formal assembly
    About 200 women and 40 men attended the Seneca Falls Convention.
  11. conservation
    careful management of the environment and natural resources
    Bidwell also actively promoted the causes of women's suffrage and conservation.
  12. transcendentalism
    a philosophy emphasizing the intuitive and spiritual
    They called themselves transcendentalists, because they believed that the most important truths in life transcended, or went beyond, human reason.
  13. individualism
    a belief in the virtue of self-reliance
    In his essays and lectures, Emerson stressed individualism, or the importance of each individual.
  14. idealize
    consider or render as the best or most appropriate type
    "The Song of Hiawatha" idealized Native American life.
Created on Fri Jun 25 11:01:34 EDT 2021 (updated Tue Jun 29 12:31:29 EDT 2021)

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