1850s
Antebellum American decade
The 1850s refers to the decade from 1850 through 1859.
Like other decade terms, it functions as both noun and adjective: the 1850s were turbulent years, 1850s fashion.
The apostrophe marks omission of the century, not possession—so 1850s, not 1850's.
Also written as the eighteen-fifties.
Structural petticoat for volume
- petticoatUndergarment beneath skirts
- corsetBoned waist-shaping undergarment
- bustleEnergetic noisy activity
- bonnetHat secured under chin
parasol · sideburns · tweed · gaslight · carriage · etiquette · propriety · gentility
Large-scale farming operation
- slaveryOwnership of people
- cottonPlant fiber for textiles
- abolitionismMovement to end oppression
- fugitiveOne fleeing authorities
secession · overseer · spirituals · slaveholder · emancipation
Electrical message system
- daguerreotypeFirst commercial photography method
- anesthesiaInduced loss of feeling
- vulcanizationChemically strengthening raw rubber
- gas-lightingPsychological abuse through distortion
Edge of settlement
- pioneersFirst to explore territory
- settlersThose who establish homes
- homesteadFamily farm and dwelling
- westwardToward the sunset
territory · annexation · gold-rush · forty-niners · surveying · squatters · cavalry · treaty
Surname of Victorian novelist
- spiritualismCommunion with the deceased
- séanceSpirit communication ritual
- waltzDance in three-quarter time
- soiréeFormal nighttime social gathering
cholera · Pre-Raphaelites · Moby-Dick · minstrelsy · Barnum · phrenology · mesmerism · lithograph
crinoline
Structural petticoat for volume
- petticoatUndergarment beneath skirts
- corsetBoned waist-shaping undergarment
- bustleEnergetic noisy activity
bonnet · parasol · sideburns · tweed · gaslight · carriage · etiquette · propriety · gentility · morality
plantation
Large-scale farming operation
- slaveryOwnership of people
- cottonPlant fiber for textiles
- abolitionismMovement to end oppression
fugitive · secession · overseer · spirituals · slaveholder · emancipation
telegraph
Electrical message system
- daguerreotypeFirst commercial photography method
- anesthesiaInduced loss of feeling
- vulcanizationChemically strengthening raw rubber
frontier
Edge of settlement
- pioneersFirst to explore territory
- settlersThose who establish homes
- homesteadFamily farm and dwelling
westward · territory · annexation · gold-rush · forty-niners · surveying · squatters · cavalry · treaty · reservation
Dickens
Surname of Victorian novelist
- spiritualismCommunion with the deceased
- séanceSpirit communication ritual
- waltzDance in three-quarter time
soirée · cholera · Pre-Raphaelites · Moby-Dick · minstrelsy · Barnum · phrenology · mesmerism · lithograph
- Compromise of 1850Five bills balancing slave-state interests