Antebellum America Religious Revival

Western New York in the 1820s, known for its many religious revivals.

A key preacher of the Second Great Awakening in the Burned-Over District.

A period of religious revival in the early 19th century, emphasizing personal conversion.

The belief that God has already determined who will be saved.

A religious movement emphasizing reason and individual moral responsibility.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, founded in the Burned-Over District.

Founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A religious text central to Mormonism, claiming to detail ancient Hebrew migration to America.

Popular 1840s entertainment featuring white performers in blackface portraying stereotypical African Americans.

Dark makeup used by white performers in minstrel shows to portray African Americans.

Exaggerated, and often negative, representations of racial groups.

The emergence of American writings during the first half of the 19th century.

Important American reference work that promoted American English usage.

Ralph Waldo Emerson's influential 1837 address at Harvard.

The unique form of English spoken and written in the United States highlighting unique spellings and usage.

A form of entertainment that emerged after Minstrel shows.

Famous vaudeville entertainers who performed in blackface.

Minstrel shows used stereotypes to justify slavery, promoting a false notion of white superiority.

A magazine published in 1853, known for using the telegraph to report on various sports, including baseball.

Baseball evolved from the English game "rounders" and was played in the American colonies in the 18th century.

He improved baseball rules, suggesting tagging runners and limiting outs.

Newspapers that cost a penny, making them affordable and increasing readership.

The number of newspapers in the US grew significantly from less than 100 to over 3,700 between 1790 and 1860.

Large metropolitan newspapers highlighting stories about crime, sex, and scandal.

Sophisticated magazines with articles by renowned authors, like Harper's.

Growth in books' availability and readership due to education, libraries, and lyceums, increasing public access to literature.

Sentimental novels for women and instructional books were more popular than works by authors like Cooper and Hawthorne.

Books published in installments in newspapers or magazines before being released as complete novels.

Five novels by James Fenimore Cooper, featuring Natty Bumppo, a frontiersman.

The main character of Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales; a frontiersman.

Henry David Thoreau's account of two years spent in a cabin near Walden Pond.

Thoreau's essay explaining his refusal to pay a poll tax as a protest against the Mexican War.

Walt Whitman's influential collection of poems.

A philosophy emphasizing individualism, nature, and the spiritual connection with nature.

The ability to provide for one's needs without outside assistance.

A conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848.

Poetry that doesn't follow traditional rhyme or meter.

A tax levied on citizens for voting, previously used in some areas.

A distinctive style of art capturing the American environment, highlighting the majesty and mystery of the wilderness.

Poets like Walt Whitman embraced American democracy, promoting a uniquely American and plain style.

Hawthorne's novels explored the dark side of the Puritan mind, examining themes like guilt, revenge, and pride.

Melville's novel Moby-Dick wasn't widely recognized until later, highlighting the challenges of recognition for artistic work in its time.

Poe's work focused on short stories and poems, reflecting his pessimistic outlook on life and exploring mental states of characters.

A group of landscape painters who portrayed the American landscape, emphasizing its beauty and wilderness.

Emerson saw Whitman's poetry as representing American ideas of democracy and simplicity.