Bustle: a wire frame that tied at the waste, used to make a woman’s dress fuller and flounced at the back.

Daguerrotype: see Book 1 terms

Declaration of Independence: the statement of the Thirteen American Colonies’ resolve and reasons for severing their political ties with Great Britain, written by Thomas Jefferson in 1776 and signed by the final delegates on July 4. Read the full text and signatures here.

Lorelei: the Lorelei itself is a large rock in Rhine River in Germany. The waterfalls and currents on and around the rock made a murmuring sound, that in 1801 a poet attributed to a lovelorn lady who sings on the rock. The legend grew around the rock and the poem, and the lady was often described as a mermaid, who sat on the rock singing a lorelei and combing her golden hair, distracting sailors by her beauty and voice and causing them to crash their ships.

Minie ball: see Book 1 terms

Nor’wester: a waterproof oilskin coat. It can also be called a sou’wester, and both terms can also mean an oilskin hat with a wider brim in the back than in the front.

Pinner: see Book 1 terms

Springhouse: a small building without a floor built over a stream to keep food cool

Tenements: officially classified as any building housing three or more families, tenements became the standard housing for new immigrants to the United States. Often families could afford to rent only one small room where everyone eat, slept, and worked in very crowded quarters. Tenements were usually dirty and unsanitary places.

Tintype: see Book 3 terms

Windsor chair: a wooden chair made with a semicircular back and armrests that are often made from one piece of wood.