Module 2 - Glossary

Antonio Maceo (1845–1896) was a crucial leader in the Cuban fight for independence and served as second-in-command of the Cuban Independence Army in the struggle against Spanish colonial rule. Often referred to as the "Bronze Titan," Maceo was renowned for his exceptional leadership, strategic genius, and unwavering commitment to Cuban freedom and the rights of all its people.

Carlota, an African-born enslaved Cuban woman of Yoruba origin, led a significant slave rebellion at the Triunvirato plantation in Matanzas, Cuba, alongside Ferminia Lucumí in 1843. Carlota’s legacy has been invoked in Cuban history, particularly in the context of political movements like Operation Carlota, when thousands of cubans went to support to the Angolan national liberation struggle in 1975

Cécile Fatiman was a Haitian Vodou priestess and revolutionary. Together with Boukman, she led a Vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman that ignited the Haitian Revolution.

A commodity is a product created to be sold or traded rather than consumed by the producer. It holds value and not only satisfies a need, but can be exchanged or sold in markets. 

The Compromise of 1850 was a series of laws designed to ease tensions between the North and South over slavery. It admitted California as a free state, allowed territories like New Mexico and Utah to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty (where people in a territory could decide whether to allow slavery, rather than having it decided by the federal government), and strengthened the Fugitive Slave Act (which required runaway slaves to be returned to their owners, even if they reached free states, and imposed penalties on those who helped escapees). While the compromise temporarily eased sectional tensions, it deepened divisions, especially over the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act

 Denmark Vesey, a carpenter and former enslaved person, organized a slave insurrection in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1822, which was planned to coincide with Bastille Day. Vesey based his rebellion on the Haitian Revolution and aimed to free the enslaved people of Charleston and escape to Haiti. This plan was leaked, leading to Vesey's arrest, trial, and execution by hanging, along with several others. Since Vesey’s rebellion relied on assistance from free black sailors, laws were passed after the rebellion to restrict the movement of slaves and free black people.

Fort Wagner was a Confederate stronghold located on Morris Island, South Carolina, during the American Civil War. It became famous for the Second Battle of Fort Wagner in July 1863, where the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, an African American regiment, led a courageous but unsuccessful assault on the fort. The battle was significant as it demonstrated the bravery of African American soldiers and helped shift public opinion about their role in the war.

The French Revolution of 1789 was a time of political social and economic upheaval in France that resulted in the end of the monarchy, and the establishment of the French First Republic. It is known for its fundamental slogan of ‘Liberté! Egalité! Fraternité!’ that led to the removal of the French upper classes.

The Hayes-Tilden Compromise, also known as the Compromise of 1877, was an informal agreement that resolved the disputed 1876 U.S. presidential election between Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) and Samuel J. Tilden (Democrat). Tilden won the popular vote, but Hayes contested the results in several southern states, leading to a standoff over electoral votes.

In the compromise, Hayes was awarded the presidency in exchange for several concessions to the South, including:

1. The withdrawal of federal troops from the Southern states, effectively ending Reconstruction.

2. The appointment of at least one Southern Democrat to Hayes's cabinet.

3. The promise of federal support for internal improvements and economic development in the South.

The deal effectively marked the end of Reconstruction, as the federal government ceased to enforce civil rights protections in the South, allowing for the rise of Jim Crow laws and the disenfranchisement of African Americans.

Internationalism arises from an understanding that the system of capitalism is global, with the imperialist US at its head, and therefore, the international working class is united under one strategy against one enemy. The essence of internationalism is summed up in this quote by Che Guevara in his 1967 "Message to the Tricontinental," discussing the Vietnamese national liberation struggle against French and US forces: "It is not a matter of wishing success to the victim of aggression, but of sharing his fate; one must accompany him to his death or to victory."

(May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859) was an American abolitionist in the decades preceding the Civil War. First reaching national prominence in the 1850s for his radical abolitionism and fighting in Bleeding Kansas, Brown was captured, tried, and executed by the Commonwealth of Virginia for a raid and incitement of a slave rebellion at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859.

Nathanial “Nat” Turner (1800-1831) was an enslaved man who led one of the most notable slave rebellions of over 70 enslaved and Free Black people on August 21, 1831 in Southampton Virginia that sparked mass fear among the plantation owners. After the rebellion, there was a new wave of oppressive legislature aimed at quelling resistance and prohibited the education, movement, and assembly of enslaved people

The South Carolina Negro Seamen Act of 1822 was a law that restricted the movement of free Black sailors in the state, calling for the incarceration of visiting free black sailots in local jails while their vessel remained in Charleston in order to eliminate the spread of ideas of freedom and other contact between free Black men and enslaved people in Charleston. The law was passed in response to the Denmark Vesey conspiracy, a slave revolt that was thwarted in Charleston in 1822.

Reconstruction was the period following the U.S. Civil War when efforts were made to rebuild the South and integrate formerly enslaved people into society. Radical Reconstruction aimed to grant political rights and economic power to Black people, leading to transformative achievements like the establishment of schools and Black political leadership. However, these gains were violently reversed by white supremacist terror and the rise of Jim Crow.

 On December 25, 1521, the enslaved people on a Santo Domingo sugar plantation owned by the son of Christopher Columbus attempted to free themselves and take over the land. This was the earliest recorded slave uprising in the Americas.

Toussaint was a former slave and the leader of the Haitian Revolution, which overthrew French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue. He became the commander-in-chief of the revolutionary army, abolished slavery, and drafted Haiti's first constitution. Captured by Napoleon's forces in 1802, he died in prison a year before Haiti's independence in 1804.

The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was one of the first African American regiments in the American Civil War, formed in 1863. Led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, it played a key role in the war, particularly in the Second Battle of Fort Wagner, where many of its soldiers, including Shaw, were killed. The regiment's bravery and sacrifice helped change public perceptions of African American soldiers and inspired the recruitment of more Black troops in the Union Army.