What is the Antebellum Period? (with pictures)

What is the Antebellum Period?

By Kevin Dowd

Updated May 17, 2024

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Antebellum is a Latin term that means "before the war." The antebellum period in the United States was the time period before the American Civil War, which began in 1861. It is most often described as the period between the War of 1812 and the Civil War, and it is most often used to refer to the Southern U.S. during that time period. Other historians might use the term "antebellum period" to refer to the entire U.S. and might consider it to have begun after the American Revolutionary War ended in 1789.

Government

After its arduous war for independence from England, the U.S. worked to rebuild itself and create an identity for itself. The U.S. government was in its infancy and was more state-centralized at the time — individual state governments had more power than the federal government. One of the major reasons that the South seceded from the union at the start of the Civil War was because it felt that the federal government was beginning to take too much power away from the states.

Military

During this time, the nation had its first real military test as a nation. The victory of the War of 1812 legitimized the U.S. as a formidable power. Also, the successful Mexican-American War of the late 1840s furthered the reputation of the U.S. as a military presence.

Westward Expansion

The idea of "manifest destiny" gripped the nation during the antebellum period. Belief that it was a God-given right to expand to the Pacific Ocean spurred westward movement. The gold rush of 1849 also sent droves of people across the country to California. This growth saw the addition of Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Maine, Missouri, Arkansas and Michigan as states. The westward expansion was aided by the advent of railroads, with tracks being built throughout the country to help move people, livestock and materials.

Economy

The U.S. economy also changed during the antebellum period. Although there was a great deal of growth in farming, the nation had become more industrialized as textile mills and factories were built. There also were many groundbreaking inventions during the antebellum period, as well. The most notable ones include the cotton gin, the telegraph and the sowing jenny.

Slavery

Slavery was the major issue of the antebellum period that sparked the Civil War. The South depended on slave labor for a significant portion of its economy. Moral and legal concerns over slave labor in a country that preached equality among all men became overwhelming.

The landmark Dred Scott v. Sandford court case of 1857 declared that slaves were not citizens but were property. Slavery issues could not be avoided as the abolition movement grew. Slave riots and rebellions occurred throughout the South, and the federal government had to address the problem on issues of statehood and population.

Women's Rights

Women’s rights also became important during the antebellum period. Many women argued for political privileges and equality under the law. Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Seneca Falls Convention for Women’s Rights, an influential two-day event that was held in Seneca Falls, New York.

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Discussion Comments

By anon1002998 — On Apr 09, 2020

@anon927312, America didn't win, nor lose the War of 1812. Same with the Canadians/British. The land borders didn't change, besides America beating the attacking hostile Native tribes. The Americans failed to invade Canada, British failed to invade America, America won the final battle, and so on. It is known as a stalemate. You can also find that hubris in Canadians.

By anon927312 — On Jan 23, 2014

"The victory of the War of 1812 legitimized the U.S. as a formidable power."

I must have read from different history books as America lost from every account I've ever seen. There was no land gained, the White House was razed but somehow this was a victory that legitimized the US.

How on earth can this be claimed as a victory? Oh right -- by American hubris.

By anon334936 — On May 16, 2013

Amazing that in 1857, roughly 80 years after the United States declared "independence," its supreme court ruled that slaves are not citizens, but rather property. The so-called founders responsible for the writing of the constitution should have either taken out that bit about "all men are created equal," or declared all slaves free. That would've really been clear about what values this country was based on.

By anon229410 — On Nov 14, 2011

The 1820-1860 40-year period during the period of antebellum were very important dates for America. The industrial movement moved the economy from an agricultural economy to an industrial and technological one. Steam power, national roads and factories with power looms (invented by Francis Cobot) changed the way people lived. Women and children could work in factories and Andrew Jackson became President. The world moved from wearing silk clothing to wearing clothing made of cotton, thanks to Eli Whitney's cotton gin.

A time known as "The Era Of Good Feeling" began during the Antebellum period. Life in America became viewed as if it were right out of a romantic novel, even though it was far from such. Because cotton was now king, the plantation mentality grew. The Missouri Compromise made Maine a free state. Missouri wanted to be a slave state so Maine became a free state to balance out the number of free states vs. slave states. The 36/30 Parallel was drawn, which meant that any states north of the 36/30 line on the map would become free states, even though it would turn out to be on paper only.

Evangelicalism was on the rise and gave way to the "Second great Awakening." This was the belief that men should choose their own god and that the Old Testament was no longer relevant. Alcoholism became looked at as immoral and many people thought that Christ would return in 1844. Many sold their possessions and went all out to be seen as "holy" to prepare for his coming. This became known as The Day of Disappointment.

By widget2010 — On Dec 20, 2010

@vogueknit17, I understand. Even for something as reprehensible as the history of slavery, historical context cannot be forgotten. After all, the stereotypical southern plantation was unique to anything else in United States history, more like a feudal estate than anything you might expect in a democracy. Consequently, the Antebellum Period timeline, and the Reconstruction that followed the civil war, were in many ways a repetition of what Great Britain and other European countries had already undergone.

By vogueknit17 — On Dec 18, 2010

@widget2010, you make a good point, though I think you are almost too skeptical. After all, in the antebellum period, free African Americans were all but non-existent in the South; even in the Northern states, most freed slaves or other free African Americans kept low profiles. For a people who had never before seen, many of them, a free or intelligent African, people like Dred Scott fit easily into their ideas of monsters, rather than as people.

American slavery, then, is one of the strongest examples of brainwashing in the history of the United States; justified by our Founding Fathers. Even today there are those who believe it might have been the best way to run the country.

By widget2010 — On Dec 17, 2010

The antebellum South, for all its faults, tends to be romanticized in a way that even colonial, pre- revolutionary, America is not. Thanks both to novels like Gone with the Wind, which depicts plantations as loving and peaceful places, rather than painful ones with harsh working conditions, helped to further this. Even Uncle Tom's Cabin, despite Harriet Beecher Stowe's intentions to encourage abolitionist ideals, depicts the South in a very genteel light.