Skip to ContentGo to accessibility pageKeyboard shortcuts menu
OpenStax Logo
U.S. History

Key Terms

U.S. HistoryKey Terms
abolitionist
a believer in the complete elimination of slavery
colonization
the strategy of moving African Americans out of the United States, usually to Africa
immediatism
the moral demand to take immediate action against slavery to bring about its end
millennialism
the belief that the Kingdom of God would be established on earth and that God would reign on earth for a thousand years characterized by harmony and Christian morality
moral suasion
an abolitionist technique of appealing to the consciences of the public, especially slaveholders
Mormons
members of an American denomination of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that emphasized patriarchal leadership
phrenology
the mapping of the mind to specific human attributes, later considered pseudoscience
pietistic
the stressing of stressed transformative individual religious experience or piety over religious rituals and formality
Second Great Awakening
a revival of evangelical Protestantism in the early nineteenth century
Seneca Falls
the location of the first American conference on women’s rights and the signing of the “Declaration of Rights and Sentiments” in 1848
Shakers
a religious sect that emphasized communal living and celibacy
teetotalism
complete abstinence from all alcohol
temperance
a social movement encouraging moderation or self-restraint in the consumption of alcoholic beverages
transcendentalism
the belief that all people can attain an understanding of the world that transcends rational, sensory experience
PreviousNext
Order a print copy
Citation/Attribution

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/1-introduction
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/1-introduction
Citation information

© Sep 19, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.