A timeline of 19th-century America
Because it can be interesting and fun to see books and events in context,
this timeline is an attempt to organize things mentioned or transcribed
at this site. It begins with 1788, when The Juvenile Magazine is
published in England; it supplies much of the material for the first American
magazine for children, published a year later.
Periodicals are listed in approximate chronological order and are taken from the detailed
bibliography of American children’s periodicals
I’m assembling; the titles link directly to the description of that periodical.
Like this site, this is a work in progress.
The Juvenile Magazine is published in England; it provides much of the material for the first American magazine for children
January 7: election of US president & of members of House of Representatives
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January 21: The Power of Sympathy: or, The Triumph of Nature, by William Hill Brown, published; it’s the first American novel
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February 4: George Washington established as president by US Electoral College
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March 4: US Congress meets in New York, New York
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April 6: George Washington certified as president-elect by first joint session of US Congress
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April 30: George Washington sworn in as president
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November 21: North Carolina admitted to the Union
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November 26: national Thanksgiving Day observed
1st US census: pop = 3,929,214
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March 26: Naturalization Act of 1790 establishes uniform rules for granting US citizenship: only free white persons residing in the US for at least two years
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July 16: George Washington signs act establishing the site of the District of Columbia
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November 27: slave-holder George Washington & household arrive in temporary US capital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where “An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery,” passed in 1780 & amended in 1788, stated that non-resident slaveholders visiting Pennsylvania could hold enslaved people in bondage there for up to six months; Washington takes care not to establish Pennsylvania residency & apparently ensures that those he held in bondage don’t stay in Pennsylvania past six months
grumbling about tax on distilled spirits develops into the Whiskey Rebellion -1794
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March 4: Vermont admitted to the Union
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April 29-May 8: first American ships reach Japan
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May 16: an earthquake measuring 4.5 to 5.0 shakes Connecticut
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August 26: John Fitch granted patent for steamboat
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December 15: first 10 amendments to the US Constitution ratified; first allows for freedom of the press
June 1: Kentucky admitted to the Union
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October 12: first Columbus Day celebration; in New York, New York
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October 13: White House cornerstone laid
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November 2-December 5: election for US president held; George Washington elected
Eli Whitney develops cotton gin
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January 9: Jean-Pierre Blanchard flies a gas balloon in the US
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March 4: George Washington sworn in as president; in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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April 3: circus building opens, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; George Washington attends a performance
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June 20: Captain Crabtree spots a sea serpent off the coast of Maine
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August-November: yellow fever epidemic kills 5000; in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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August 19: Samuel Griswold Goodrich born
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September 18: cornerstone laid for US Capitol
July: Pennsylvania tax inspector’s house is attacked; Whiskey Rebellion ends when US government sends militia force to suppress the rebellion
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March 14: Eli Whitney granted patent for cotton gin
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November: Jay Treaty grants Great Britain most favored nation trading status, offending France, which had held it earlier
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December 8: over 200 buildings burn in Great New Orleans Fire
January 14: University of North Carolina becomes first state university in the US
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January 29: Naturalization Act of 1795 establishes that immigrants must reside in US for five years before becoming US citizens
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September 5: treaty with Algiers, Tunis, & Tripoli: the US will pay tribute in order to prevent piracy against US ships
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October 24: treaty with Spain establishing boundaries between US & Spanish Florida
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October 27: Treaty of Madrid establishing boundaries between US & Spanish colonies; also guarantees US navigation rights on the Mississippi River & allows American merchants to use New Orleans as port to store goods for export
June 1: Tennessee admitted to the Union
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August: Sea serpent seen at Portsmouth, New Hampshire
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September 17: George Washington declines to run for a third term as president
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October: French privateers attacking ships in US waters as hostilites between France & the US grow
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November 4-December 7: presidential election; John Adams elected
January 3: Treaty of Tripoli signed, theoretically protecting American ships from Barbary pirates
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March 4: John Adams sworn in as president
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October 21: frigate Constitution launched to fight Barbary pirates
January: contract for Eli Whitney to produce muskets for the US; he produces them with interchangeable parts
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February 15: brawl in US House of Representatives as Roger Griswold (distant relation of Samuel Griswold Goodrich) whacks Matthew Lyon with a cane after the House refused to censure Lyon for spitting in Griswold’s face
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June 18: Naturalization Act of 1798 signed; establishes that immigrants must wait 14 years before becoming naturalized
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June 25: Alien Friends Act signed; establishes that US government can deport any non-citizen determined to be dangerous or suspected of conspiring against the US government
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July 7: hostilities between France & the US erupt into the undeclared “Quasi-War” fought on the seas. USS Delaware captures French privateer La Croyable; in Great Egg Harbor Bay, New Jersey
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July 11: US Marine Corps re-established
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July 14: Sedition Act of 1798 signed; makes it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the US government
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September: Wieland; or, The Transformation, by Charles Brockden Brown, published
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October 2: treaty between Cherokee Nation & the US allows passage through Cherokee lands on the way from Virginia to Kentucky
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October 10: US Representative James Lyon found guilty of violating the Sedition Act of 1798 & jailed
February 9: USS Constellation captures French frigate L‘Insurgente, Caribbean
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December 14: George Washington dies; in Mount Vernon, Virginia
US pop = 5,308,483: black = 1,002,000; free black = 108,000
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2nd Great Awakening begins -1840s
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Alien Friends Act expires
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Sedition Act of 1798 expires
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April 24: Library of Congress founded
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June 3: President John Adams moves residence to hotel in District of Columbia as DC becomes US capital
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August 30: Gabriel‘s Rebellion—revolt to end slavery in Virginia—thwarted by floods; enslaved leader Gabriel & 25 others eventually hanged
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September 30: Convention of 1800 signed, ending the Quasi-War between France & US
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October 25: USS Enterprise captures French brig Flambeau
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October 31-December 3: presidential election; both candidates win the same number of electoral votes
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November 1: John Adams moves into the Executive Mansion; in District of Columbia
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November 17: US Congress holds first session in District of Columbia
Robert Fulton creates the first submarine
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February 17: US House of Representatives elects Thomas Jefferson president
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March 4: Thomas Jefferson sworn in as president
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May 10: Tripoli declares war on US, the US not having paid tribute
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August 1: schooner Enterprise captures Tripolitan corsair Tripoli
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September 30: Musicians Pocket Companion, by Sawney Freeman, for sale; in New Haven, Connecticut
Naturalization Act of 1798 repealed
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April 14: Naturalization Law of 1802 establishes that immigrants to US must reside in the country for five years
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June 1: US Patent & Trademark Office established
April 11: France offers Louisiana Territory to US for $15 million
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April 30: Louisiana Purchase Treaty signed before France changes its mind
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July 4: Louisiana Purchase Treaty announced
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August 31: Meriwether Lewis & crew set out from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to meet William Clark in Kentucky & explore the new territory
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October 20: Senate ratifies Louisiana Purchase Treaty
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October: USS Philadelphia captured by Tripoli after it runs aground near Tripoli harbor
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December 20: US takes official ownership of Louisiana Territory
Population of Louisiana Territory: 10,350 non-Native American, 15% of which are slaves; 3/5 of inhabitants are Americans
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February 15: New Jersey is the last northern state to abolish slavery
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February 16: US marines recapture USS Philadelphia, burning it to render it useless to Tripoli
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March 9: ceremony marking transfer of Louisiana Territory from Spain to France; in San Luis
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March 10: formal ceremony marking transfer of Louisiana Territory from France to US; in St. Louis
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May 14: Meriwether Lewis & William Clark start up Missouri River
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July 11: Alexander Hamilton shot by Aaron Burr in duel
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July 12: Alexander Hamilton dies
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November 2-December 5: presidential election; Thomas Jefferson elected
January 11: Michigan Territory created
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March 4: Thomas Jefferson sworn in as president
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April 27-May 13: Battle of Derna ends with US taking the port city of Derna, Libya, on their way to attacking Tripoli
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June: large water monster lurks in Lake Ontario
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June 10: peace treaty between Tripoli & US ends First Barbary War & negotiates ransom of Americans captured by Tripoli
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November 7: Lewis & Clark expedition reaches Pacific Ocean
March 23: Lewis & Clark expedition starts back
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April 18: Non-Importation Act forbids importation of some British goods in a bid to force Britain to stop the impressment of American sailors
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June 16: a complete eclipse of the sun darkens New England
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July 15: Zebulon Pike leads expedition to explore the south & west portion of the Louisiana Purchase
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September 23: Lewis & Clark expedition reaches St. Louis
February 26: Zebulon Pike & company captured by Spanish soldiers near Santa Fe; Pike & most of his men are soon released
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March 2: Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves into jurisdiction of US passed
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June 22: British attack & board USS Chesapeake off Norfolk, Virginia, seeking British deserter; thus begins the run-up to War of 1812
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July 1: accompanied by Spanish soldiers, Pike & company reach Louisiana
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August 17: Robert Fulton’s paddle steamer navigates the Hudson River
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December 14: meteorite breaks up over Connecticut around dawn, in a dramatic display which deposits fragments near Weston
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December 22: Embargo Act passed by US Congress enacts trade embargo on all foreign ships in another attempt to force Britain to stop impressment of American sailors
January 1: Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves into jurisdiction of US takes effect
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November 4-December 7: presidential election; James Madison elected president
February 3: Illinois Territory created
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February 11: Robert Fulton patents steamboat
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March 1: Embargo Act of 1807 repealed; Non-Intercourse Act prohibits American trade only with France & Britain
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March 4: James Madison sworn in as president
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May 5: Mary Kies is first American woman awarded a patent
US pop = 7,239,881: black = 1,378,000; free black = 186,000
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New York City = most populated in US
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September 8: John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company sends ship from New York, New York, to the mouth of the Columbia River
steamboats on Mississippi River
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work begins in Cumberland, Maryland, for the National Road, intended to connect the Potomac and Ohio Rivers
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January 8-10: German Coast uprising, as enslaved people in Louisiana rebel; the uprising is viciously crushed
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July: John Brown meets a sea serpent in the north Atlantic ocean
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September: Great Comet brightening; in Ursa Major
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October: Great Comet at its peak (still visible early 1812)
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October 11: steam-powered ferry service between New York, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey, begins
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November 7: Battle of Tippecanoe; William Henry Harrison’s forces defeat those of Tenskwatawa
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December 16: first of hundreds of earthquakes which devastate southeast Missouri, change the course of the Mississippi River, & are felt over much of the US; the largest probably would register over 8.0 on Richter scale; aftershocks felt until February 1812
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December 26: Richmond Theatre fire kills 72; in Richmond, Virginia
Great Comet still visible
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January 23: large shock of the New Madrid earthquake
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February 7: last major shock of the New Madrid earthquake destroys New Madrid & damages buildings in St. Louis
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April 30: Louisiana admitted to the Union
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June 1: US declares war on Great Britain -1815
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August 5: US forces retreat after ambush by forces led by Tecumseh
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August 15: Potawatomi forces overrum US fort in Illinois Territory
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August 16: Fort Detroit surrendered to British forces without a fight
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August 19: USS Constitution captures British frigate Guerriere
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October 30-December 2: presidential election; James Madison elected
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December 29: USS Constitution captures British frigate Java
April 27: Battle of York, in which US troops capture the capital of Upper Canada; they withdraw after two weeks
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June 1: USS Chesapeake captured by British frigate Shannon; in Boston Harbor
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December 18-19: British capture Fort Niagara
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December 29: British burn Buffalo, New York
March 27: Creek nation defeated by American forces
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July 22: Treaty of Greenville, establishing cooperation between US government & Wyandot, Delware (Lenape), Shawanoese, Senaca, & Miami, also Potawatomi, Ottawa, & Kickapoo
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August 9: Treaty of Fort Jackson ends Creek War
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August 24: British invade & burn DC
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September 12-15: Battle of Baltimore, which ends with US forces repulsing British incursions by land & sea; it’s the turning point of War of 1812
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September 14: poem “Star-Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key
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December 15: members of Federalist Party convene Hartford Convention, to discuss opposition to War of 1812, curbing power of US government, & possible secession of New England from the Union; Chauncey Goodrich (uncle of Samuel Griswold Goodrich) attends
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December 24: treaty ending War of 1812 signed in Ghent
at this site:
René, Françoise-René Chateaubriand (Samuel Griswold Goodrich translation)
January 8: Battle of New Orleans is last battle of the War of 1812
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February 17: peace treaty agreed upon in Ghent ratified by the U.S. Congress, officially ending the War of 1812
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March 3: US Congress authorizes President to use US Navy to protect American ships from Algierian pirates
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April 5-12: Mount Tambora explodes, ejecting gases which cause the Year Without a Summer in 1816
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20 May: squadron leaves New York, New York, for Algiers
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July 1: treaty with Dey of Algiers releases Americans held captive & grants US shipping rights in the Mediterranean
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Sept 22-23: what may have been a hurricane strikes New England
regular transatlantic shipping inaugurated
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“Year Without a Summer,” with frosts & freezes well into early summer in a number of places, affecting agriculture, probably due to unusual amounts of volcanic ash in the upper atmosphere
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March 22: treaty between US & Cherokee Nation signed, promising return of land ceded by Creek Nation; Andrew Jackson, however, refuses to honor it
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October 25-November 6: US presidential election; James Monroe elected
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December 11: Indiana admitted to the Union
March 4: James Monroe sworn in as president (-1825)
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July 4: construction of Erie Canal begins at Rome, New York -1825
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August 14: Great Sea Serpent spotted off the coast of Massachusetts
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August 15: Alabama Territory created by splitting Mississippi Territory in half
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December 10: Mississippi admitted to the Union
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December 26: US War Department orders Andrew Jackson to bring Seminoles under control
January 3: Venus occults Jupiter
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March 15: Andrew Jackson’s forces enter Florida
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April 1: Andrew Jackson’s forces defeat those of Seminole chief Kinhagee
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April 4: US Congress adopts design of US flag with 13 stripes & one star for each state in the Union
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July 11: Bank of the United States demands immediate repayment of loans
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August 1: National Road reaches Wheeling, Virginia
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September 3: Great Sea Serpent captured off the coast of Massachusetts
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October 20: 49th parallel established as border between US & British North America
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December 3: Illinois admitted to the Union
at this site:
“
On Cyder Making,” Henry Wynkoop (
Portsmouth Oracle; 5 September)
January 2: defaults due to the Bank of the United States demanding immediate repayment in July 1818 trigger financial Panic of 1819 -1823
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February 22: treaty between Spain & US gives Florida to the US, for $5 million & renunciation of claim to Texas
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May 22-June 20: steamship Savannah sets out from Savannah, Georgia, to Liverpool, England, making part of the trip under steam
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July 1: Comet Tralles discovered; it is visible most of the month
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November 3: USS Congress visits China
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December 14: Alabama admitted to the Union
US pop = 9,638,453: black = 1,772,000; free black = 234,000
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Maine secedes from Massachusetts
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New England textile mills expand as decade progresses
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March: Missouri Compromise allows for Missouri to be admitted as a slave state & Maine to be admitted as a free state
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March 15: Maine admitted to the Union
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November 20: whaleship Essex sunk by sperm whale, leaving survivors afloat in three whaleboats
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November 1-December 6: presidential election: James Monroe re-elected
March 4: James Monroe begins 2nd term as president, but not sworn in because March 4 was a Sunday
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March 5: James Monroe sworn in as president
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August 10: Missouri admitted to the Union
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Sept 3: what may have been a hurricane strikes Philadelphia, New York City, & central Connecticut
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November 16: William Becknell begins trading trip on trail used by traders, trappers, & indigenous people in 18th century, establishing it as Santa Fe Trail
January 7: first group of freed slaves from the US arrive in Africa
August 24: Hugh Glass mauled by a grizzly & left to die; instead he drags himself 200 miles to Fort Kiowa, eventually forgiving those who left him
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December 2: James Monroe introduces Monroe Doctrine
August 15: Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, arrives in New York, New York, to tour the US for the next year
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October 26-December 2: presidential election; no candidate wins the majority of electoral votes
February 9: because no presidential candidate won a majority of electoral votes, the US House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams president
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March 4: John Quincy Adams sworn in as president
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September 7: having toured every state in the US, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, leaves for France on the USS Brandywine
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October 26: Erie Canal opens
February 13: American Temperance Society founded
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28-29 August: Willey family die in landslide at Crawford Notch, New Hampshire; their house—untouched by the slide—becomes a macabre tourist attraction
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December 21: American settlers in Mexican Texas attempt to secede, establishing the short-lived Republic of Fredonia; one of the leaders is John Dunn Hunter, author of Memoirs of a Captivity Among the Indians of North America
early February: John Dunn Hunter assassinated after dissolution of Republic of Fredonia on January 31
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February 24: Tales of Peter Parley About America published in Boston, launching the career of Samuel Griswold Goodrich & of one of the earliest brand names in U.S. history
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March 16: Freedom’s Journal founded in New York, New York; it is the first newspaper owned & published by an African-American
January 8: Democratic Party organized in US
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February 21: Cherokee Phoenix launched; it is the first native-American newspaper in the U.S.
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March 29: kidnapped son of Benjamin Clark is recognized after missing for at least two years & is reunited with his parents
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October 31-December 3: presidential election; Andrew Jackson elected US president
1st steam locomotive in US (“Tom Thumb”)
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March 4: Andrew Jackson sworn in as president
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Venus begins to brighten in the sky as the planet swings closer to Earth
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July 23: William Burt patents an early form of the typewriter
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September 28: Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World, by David Walker, published
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November 13: Sam Patch, famous for jumping from great heights, dies jumping the Genesee Falls; his body isn’t found until March 1830
US pop = 12,866,020: black = 2,329,000; free black = 320,000
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Seba Smith begins publishing the popular Jack Downing letters
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January 13: Venus at its brightest
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April 6: Mormon Church established; Book of Mormon published
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May 24: Baltimore & Ohio Railroad begins operation with horse-drawn cars
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May 28: Congress passes the Indian Removal Act, which begins the forced emigration of native Americans from their ancestral homes
January 1: abolitionist newspaper The Liberator begins publication
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June 10: Francis Abbott—who for 2 years had lived as a hermit at Niagara Falls—drowns while swimming in a small stream
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August 21-23: Nat Turner leads a slave uprising in Virginia
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September 26-28: Anti-Masonic Party holds first national presidential nominating convention in Baltimore, Maryland
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October 30: Nat Turner captured
Domestic Manners of the Americans, by Frances Trollope, published; Americans lampoon her
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January 6: New England Anti-Slavery Society founded
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April 6: Black Hawk War begins after Sauk leader Black Hawk leads a band of native Americans from Iowa Territory into Illinois
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May 14: Battle of Stillman’s Run is first battle of Black Hawk War when militia fires on Black Hawk’s representatives, who are attempting to negotiate a truce
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August 2: Battle of Bad Axe is final battle of Black Hawk War
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August 27: end of Black Hawk War as Black Hawk surrenders to US authorities
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November 2-December 5: presidential election; Andrew Jackson elected
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November 24: South Carolina declares that U.S. tariffs of 1828 & 1832 are null in their state, precipitating the nullification crisis; a tariff more favorable to South Carolina is signed in 1833
March 4: Andrew Jackson sworn in as president
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August 12: little town called “Chicago” settled in Illinois
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November 12-13: Leonid meteor shower so intense that many believe stars are falling from sky as world ends
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December: American Anti-Slavery Society founded
mill women strike; in Lowell, Massachusetts
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in England, Charles Babbage designs the “analytical engine,” which will develop into what you’re using right now
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July 7: anti-abolitionist riots begin in New York, New York, lasting a week
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August 11-12: anti-Catholic sentiment leads to the burning of Ursuline Convent in Boston, Massachusetts
January 8: US public debt is zero
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January 30: assassination attempt against President Andrew Jackson by Richard Lawrence; Lawrence’s two pistols misfire, & Jackson attacks Lawrence with a cane; Jackson is institutionalized after being found not guilty by reason of insanity
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August 25: the Great Moon Hoax begins in first of six pieces published in The New York Sun
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October 2: Texas Revolution—American settlers against the Mexican government—begins -21 April 1836
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November 16: Halley’s comet reaches perihelion
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November 17: unusually bright aurora borealis seen in Cincinnati, Ohio
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December 16-17: fire destroys much of New York City’s business district
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December 28: 2nd war between the Seminole nation & the US -1842
February 23-March 6: Battle of the Alamo, Mexican army triumphant
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March 2: Texians establish the Republic of Texas (-19 February 1846)
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April 21: Battle of San Jacinto, final battle of the Texas Revolution
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June 15: Arkansas admitted to the Union
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November 3-December 7: presidential election; Martin Van Buren elected president of the US
January 26: unusually bright aurora borealis seen in east & midwest. Also, Michigan admitted to the Union
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March 4: Martin Van Buren sworn in as president of US
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May 10: banks in New York, New York, run out of gold & silver, precipitating the Panic of 1837 & years of economic depression -1844
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border tensions begin between the US & Canada -1839
at this site:
“
The Aurora Borealis,” “Francis” (
Youth’s Magazine [Cincinnati, Ohio]; April 14)
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“
Interview of the Blind with the Deaf and Dumb” (
Youth’s Magazine [Cincinnati, Ohio]; April 14)
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“
Reading is Not Thinking” (
Youth’s Magazine [Cincinnati, Ohio]; May 26)
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“
Reading for Young Ladies” (
Youth’s Magazine [Cincinnati, Ohio]; July 7)
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“
Do Your Duty to Your Brothers and Sisters,” Lydia Sigourney (
Youth’s Magazine [Cincinnati, Ohio]; July 7)
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“
War and Glory,” Samuel Johnson (
Youth’s Magazine [Cincinnati, Ohio]; July 7)
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“
The Beautiful Slave” (
Youth’s Magazine [Cincinnati, Ohio]; September)
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“
The Noble Negro,” Hannah More (
Youth’s Magazine [Cincinnati, Ohio]; September)
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“
Exemplary” (
Youth’s Magazine [Cincinnati, Ohio]; October)
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Selections from The Pearl; or, Affection’s Gift
January 11: Samuel Morse & partners demonstrate telegraph; in Morristown, New Jersey
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April 8-23: paddle steamship Great Western crosses Atlantic Ocean, establishing regular steamship service
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May 26: forced displacement of the Cherokee Nation from traditional lands begins
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July 4: Iowa Territory established
February: bloodless Aroostook War begins when, concerned by increasing dispute with Great Britain about just where the northern boundary of Maine was, Maine governor sends militia to arrest Canadians logging on what he considers state land; it doesn’t go well, & the conflict goes on for months
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February 11: University of Missouri becomes first public university west of the Mississippi River
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July 1: Africans being transported into slavery by the Amistad take the ship
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November 11: Virginia Military Institute founded by—among others—father of subscriber to Robert Merry’s Museum
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December 4-8: first national convention of the Whig Party; in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
US pop = 17,069,453: black = 2,874,000; free black = 386,000
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2,816 miles of railroad in operation in the US
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January 13: steamship Lexington sinks off Long Island, New York, with only four survivors
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January 19: Charles Wilkes claims part of Antarctica for the US
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April 2: Washington Temperance Society formed
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October 30-December 2: presidential election; Whig candidate William Henry Harrison elected president
Brook Farm established; in West Roxbury, Massachusetts (Lousia May Alcott lives here as child) -1847
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March 4: William Henry Harrison becomes president; dies after one month
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March 9: Amistad court case decided by the US Supreme Court in favor of the Africans who had been taken onto the ship illegally
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April 4: William Henry Harrison dies
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April 6: John Tyler becomes president on Harrison’s death
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August 11: Frederick Douglass speaks at anti-slavery convention, Nantucket, Massachusetts
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August 16: John Tyler vetoes a bill to re-establish the Second Bank of the US; members of the Whig Party riot outside the White House
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women granted university degrees for first time
Communes established: Amana; Fruitlands -1843; Hopedale -1856 (Robert Merry’s Museum subscriber William F. Draper lives here)
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Charles Dickens tours the United States; writes American Notes, which outrages Americans
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January: first patient receives anesthesia before surgery
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January 1: P.T. Barnum’s American Museum opens in New York, New York
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August 14: end of 2nd Seminole War
Comet visible
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March 21: Millerites expect the end of the world before March 21, 1844
Great Comet
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May 24: first telegraph message (Samuel Morse) sent from District of Columbia to Baltimore, Maryland
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October 22: Millerites once again disappointed as the world once again fails to end on time
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November 1-December 4: presidential election; James K. Polk elected
March 3: Florida admitted to the Union
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March 4: James K. Polk sworn in as president
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April 10: Great Fire of Pittsburgh destroys a third of the city
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May: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass published
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August 18: Mars appears larger & brighter than usual as it reaches perihelic opposition
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December: US begins to adopt Manifest Destiny, idea that the nation should spread across the North American continent
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December 29: Texas admitted to the Union
at this site:
“
What Books Shall I Read?,” Simon Brown (
The Mother’s Asssistant and the Young Lady’s Friend; February)
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“
Dangers of Childhood, and Means of Obviating Them,” George Whippel (
The Mother’s Assistant; February)
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“
Family Education,” Lavinia H. Pillsbury (
The Mother’s Assistant; April)
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“
The Morality of Pictures,” William A. Alcott (
The Mother’s Assistant and the Young Lady’s Friend; April)
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“
Alfred Poole” (
Robert Merry’s Museum; May)
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“
Moral Poisons: The Antidote,” F. C. W. (
The Mother’s Magazine; May)
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“
Confinement of Children in School,” Dr. James Jackson (
The Mother’s Assistant; July)
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“
Treatment of Children at School,” Dr. S. B. Woodward (
The Mother’s Assistant; October)
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“
Vicious Novels: Cause of Their Increase,” F. C. W. (
The Mother’s Magazine; December)
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Eliza Piatt’s copybook
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Wonders of Geology, Samuel Griswold Goodrich
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A Home in the Sea; or, The Adventures of Philip Brusque, Samuel Griswold Goodrich
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Margaret, Sylvester Judd
Ireland’s potato famine spurs emigration to US
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January: double comet visible
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February 22: Liberty Bell cracks
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April 25: open conflict between US & Mexico over the boundary of Texas
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May 13: US declares war on Mexico -1848
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June 10: California Republic declares independence from Mexico
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September 10: Elias Howe patents sewing machine
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September 23: Neptune discovered by Johann Galle, Germany
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October 1: Naptune’s largest moon discovered
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October 16: Gilbert Abbott first American to be operated on under anaesthetic (ether) in a public demonstration of the gas
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November 4: Donner Party trapped in the mountains for three terrible months
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December 28: Iowa admitted to the Union
at this site:
“
A New Year’s Address” (
Robert Merry’s Museum; January)
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poem (
Robert Merry’s Museum; January)
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“
Another Story for Boys,” Orpha (
Youth’s Companion; January 7)
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“
Lines, on the Death of W.,” S. (
Youth’s Companion; January 14)
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“
Repining and Repentance” (
Youth’s Companion; February 12)
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“
The Farmer and Soldier,” Lydia Sigourney (
Youth’s Companion; February 12)
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“
The Snow Storm” (
Youth’s Companion; February 12)
•
“
The Two Houses” (
Youth’s Companion; 12 February)
•
“
Petrified Forest on the Nile” (
Young People’s Magazine; March)
•
“
Child’s Grief,” Mary Ann (
Youth’s Companion; April 2)
•
“
My Schoolmates: The Contrast,” Abby (
Youth’s Companion; June 5)
•
“
My Schoolmates: The Inquirer,” Abbie (
Youth’s Companion; June 12)
•
“
My Schoolmates: The Victim,” Abbie (
Youth’s Companion; June 19)
•
“
The Boy Who Loved Truth,” Julia A. Fletcher (
Youth’s Companion; June 26)
•
“
My Schoolmates: The Widow,” Abbie (
Youth’s Companion; June 26)
•
“
My Schoolmates: Kate Kennedy,” Abby (
Youth’s Companion; July 2)
•
“
My Schoolmates: The Sensitive Plant,” Abbie (
Youth’s Companion; July 9)
•
two celebrations of American Independence Day (
Youth’s Companion; July 23)
•
“
Jane Graham; or, ‘I Shant Marry That Man’ ” (
Youth’s Companion; July 23)
•
“
Hay-Making” (
Youth’s Companion; July 23)
•
“
Nursery Rhymes: A Dialogue” (
Robert Merry’s Museum; August)
•
“
Pleasant and Profitable” (
Youth’s Companion; August 27)
•
“
Authorcraft” (
Littell’s Living Age; 6 June)
•
A Mid-Century Child & Her Books, Caroline M. Hewins (born 1846)
January 13: end of fighting in Mexican-American War in California
•
July 1: US issues first postage stamps (picturing George Washington & Benjamin Franklin)
•
July 24: Mormons found Salt Lake City
•
September 14: Mexican-American War ends
January 24: gold discovered at Sutter’s Mill, in California
•
February 2: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ends Mexican-American War
•
March 31: spirits rap out messages in the presence of Margaretta & Katherine Fox, of Hydesville Village, New York, & Spiritualism sweeps the US
•
May 29: Wisconsin admitted to the Union
•
May: by end, half of those in San Francisco, California, gone seeking gold
•
July 19-20: Seneca Falls suffrage meeting
•
August 14: Oregon Territory annexed to the US
•
November 1: Boston Female Medical School, for female students, opens
•
November 7: presidential election; Whig candidate Zachary Taylor elected
Gold rush: 40,000+ arrive in California
•
January 23: Elizabeth Blackwell first woman in US awarded medical degree
•
March 3: Minnesota established as a territory
•
March 4: Zachary Taylor becomes president, but because March 4 is a Sunday, Taylor refuses to be sworn into office
•
March 5: Zacharay Taylor sworn in as president
•
cholera epidemic sweeps South
•
May 3: New Orleans, Louisiana, flooded when Mississippi River breaks through levee
•
May 10: rivalry between actors Edwin Forrest and William Macready culminates in Astor Place riots in New York City: 31 die; at least 48 injured
•
May 17: much of city of St. Louis, Missouri, destroyed when a burning steamboat catches other boats & buildings at the wharf on fire
•
September 17: Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery
•
Great Chinese Museum, containing exhibits on aspects of Chinese life, opens in New York, New York
at this site:
“
A New Year’s Salutation” (
Robert Merry’s Museum; January)
•
“
The Skater’s Song” (
Youth’s Cabinet; January)
•
“
School Learning,” Helen C. Knight (
The Mother’s Assistant and Young Lady’s Friend; January)
•
“
Geology” (
Young People’s Mirror; March)
•
“
William, the Negro Boy,” Jane L. Gray (
Youth’s Cabinet; April)
•
“
Hints for Children” (
Youth’s Companion; April 12)
•
Account of the Terrific and Fatal Riot at the New-York Astor Place Opera House
•
“
What the Steam Engine Does” (
Youth’s Companion; July 19)
•
“
Touching Expression” (
Youth’s Companion; 19 July)
•
“
Tomo and the Wild Lakes,” Rev. John Todd (
Youth’s Companion; July 19)
•
“
Life in the Woods” (
Youth’s Companion; July 19)
•
“
The School-Mistress,” M. W. D. (
Youth’s Companion; September 13)
•
“
Sabbath Scholar Drowned” (
Youth’s Companion; September 13)
•
“
A Step from the Altar to the Tomb,” J. E. E. (
Youth’s Companion; September 13)
•
“
The Old School House,” J. A. (
Youth’s Companion; November 15)
•
“
Hints to Young Men” (
Youth’s Companion; November 22)
•
“
A Good Girl at School” (
Youth’s Companion; November 22)
•
“
The Wanderer’s Return,” M. W. D. (
Youth’s Companion; November 22)
•
“
Unnatural Children” (
Youth’s Companion; November 22)
•
“
Young Men,” Charlotte Gilman (
Youth’s Companion; November 22)
•
“
Unhappy Elopement” (
Youth’s Companion; November 22)
•
“
Thy Will Be Done,” W. (
Youth’s Companion; November 22)
•
“
You Will Be Wanted” (
Youth’s Companion; November 22)
•
“
Fossil Foot-Prints” (
Young People’s Mirror; December)
•
New and True Stories for Children
•
Diary of a Little Girl in Old New York, Catherine Elizabeth Havens
US pop = 23,191,876: black = 3,639,000; free black = 435,000
•
cholera epidemic sweeps Midwest
•
house sparrows (Passer domesticus) released in New York, New York; eventually spread continent-wide
•
January 31: Compromise of 1850 introduced to US Congress in an attempt to defuse growing conflict about slavery
•
May 23: the Advance sets out from New York, New York, searching for lost Arctic expedition of Sir John Franklin
•
July 9: Zachary Taylor dies
•
July 10: Millard Fillmore sworn in as US president
•
July 19: cargo ship Elizabeth sinks near Fire Island, New York; Margaret Fuller & her family are among those drowned
•
Sept 9: California admitted to the Union as free state
•
Sept 11: Jenny Lind gives first performance in the US -1852
•
Sept 18: Fugitive Slave Bill passed. Harriet Tubman operating as a conductor of the Underground Railroad
Katherine Fox’s confession that “spirit rapping” was a fraud is made public
•
cast-iron frame building constructed
•
February 15: mob rescues fugitive slave Shadrach Minkins, Boston, Massachusetts
•
April 8: New York & Mississipi Valley Printing Telegraph Company founded (will become Western Union)
•
May 15: Erie Railroad opens
•
June 2: Maine passes state-wide prohibition law
•
August 12: patent for a practical sewing machine granted to Isaac Merrit Singer
•
October 1: escaped slave William Henry arrested in Syracuse, New York, & then taken from the police by an angry crowd; he eventually makes his way to Canada
•
December 24: Library of Congress burns
xenophobic “Young America” movement reaches its peak
•
double comet visible
yellow fever epidemic rages in Louisiana and Mississippi until 1855
•
Boston Public Library opens
•
railroad goes from New York to Chicago
•
Elisha Kane leads an unsuccessful expedition to find Arctic explorer John Franklin -1855
•
comet
•
January 12: Baltimore & Ohio Railroad completed
•
March 4: Franklin Pierce sworn in as president
•
May: yellow fever sweeps New Orleans, Louisiana
•
July 8: trade with Japan opened after a show of force by Commodore Matthew C. Perry
at this site:
“
Children and Children’s Parties,” S. B. S. (
The Mothers’ Journal and Family Visitant)
•
“
Physical Education of Children” (
Tilt’s Elements of Health)
•
“
Early Culture of Children,” G. M. J. (
The Mothers’ Journal and Family Visitant)
•
“
Clothing for Girls,” G. M. J. (
The Mothers’ Journal and Family Visitant)
•
“
Children’s Rights,” “Fanny Fern”
•
“
Henry Sanford’s Teacher,” Eliza A. Chase (
The Student; May)
•
“
Riddle,” Samuel Griswold Goodrich (
Robert Merry’s Museum; June)
•
“
Parental Duties,” J. W. Guernsey (
The Mother’s Assistant and Young Lady’s Friend; July)
•
“
Means of Exercise for Girls” (
The Student; July)
•
“
Love of Nature” (
The Mother’s Assistant and Young Lady’s Friend; August)
•
Review of Fern Leaves from Fanny’s Portfolio (
The Student; September)
•
“
Novel Reading” (
The Western Gem; October)
•
“
Negro Songs—American Music,” Ser. Longley (
Western Gem; October)
•
“
Conversation. To Young Ladies” (
The Mother’s Assistant and Young Lady’s Friend; November)
•
“
Placing a Daughter at School,” Motte Hall (
The Student; November)
•
Two pieces on behavior at school (
The Student; November)
•
“
Letters About Geology,” “Professor Pickaxe” (
The Student)
•
Fern Leaves from Fanny’s Portfolio, “Fanny Fern” (Sara Payson Willis)
•
The Behaviour Book, Eliza Leslie
•
The Holiday Book, Francis C. Woodworth
trade treaty between Japan & US
•
railroad reaches Mississippi River
•
Free-Soil party promotes settlement of Kansas (family of Robert Merry’s Museum subscribers Viola & Lawrence Drinkwater move to Kansas Territory in 1855, as Free-Soilers)
•
annular eclipse of the sun visible in much of North America
•
March 20: anti-slavery Republican Party formed
•
April 16: over 200 die when packet ship Powhattan wrecked off New Jersey
•
May 24: escaped slave Anthony Burns arrested in Boston, Massachusetts
•
May 26: Kansas-Nebraska bill passed, allowing voters in Kansas Territory & Nebraska Territory to decide to allow or prohibit slavery
•
May 29: Anthony Burns tried before Judge Edward Greeley Loring
•
June 2: Judge Edward Greely Loring sends Anthony Burns back to enslavement
•
July 6: first national convention of Republican Party, Jackson, Michigan
•
September 27: steamship Arctic sinks; among the 320 dead is Mahlon Day, who published faux Peter Parley books
March 3: funds appropriated to create US Camel Corps
•
March 30: election held in Kansas Territory for new legislature results in pro-slavery body due to Missouri Border Ruffians crossing the border to vote
•
July 4: Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman, published
•
November 10: The Song of Hiawatha, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, published—& launches a thousand parodies
•
November 21: violence between anti-slavery & pro-slavery forces escalates in Kansas Territory
violence in Kansas by both pro- and anti-slavery factions
•
February 12: American ships Driver & Ocean Queen leave England; both sink in the Atlantic Ocean
•
February 18: first convention of anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic Know Nothing Party to nominate a presidential candidate; in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
•
May 21: Lawrence, Kansas, burned by pro-slavery forces
•
May 22: Preston Brooks, US senator from South Carolina, takes issue with remarks by Massachusetts senator Charles Sumner & attacks him with a cane on the floor of the Senate; a measure to expell Brooks from the Senate fails to pass
•
May 24: followers of abolitionist John Brown kill five homesteaders in Kansas Territory
•
July 17: two trains—one filled with picnicking children from a local Catholic church—collide in Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania, killing over 60 & injuring over 100
•
August 10: hurricane destroys Last Island, Louisiana, killing 400 & splitting the barrier island in two
•
August 18: copyright law passed by Congress
•
August 21: Charter Oak in Hartford, Connecticut, where Connecticut’s charter was hidden in 1687 when it was demanded by the power-hungry governor of Massachusetts, falls during a storm; souvenirs are made of its wood
•
August 30: pro-slavery forces defeat anti-slavery forces in Kansas Territory
•
November 4: presidential election; Democrat James Buchanan elected
at this site:
“
Carrier’s Address” (
Robert Merry’s Museum; January)
•
“
A Happy New Year,” Francis Forrester (
Youth’s Cabinet; January)
•
adoption ads (
New York Daily Tribune; January 14)
•
“
A Literary Man in Distress,” “Literatus” (
New York Daily Tribune; January 14)
•
“
Cross Questions and Crooked Answers,” Susanna Newbould (
Youth’s Cabinet; February)
•
“
Diligent David,” Francis Forrester (
Youth’s Cabinet; February)
•
“
Uncle Frank in Kansas,” Francis Woodworth (
Youth’s Cabinet; June)
•
“
Thanksgiving Memories,” Francis Woodworth (
Youth’s Cabinet; October)
•
“
Who Are the Aggressors?,” Samuel Griswold Goodrich (
New York Evening Post; October 15)
•
“
The Prairies of Kansas,” Francis Woodworth (
Youth’s Cabinet; November)
•
“
Degeneracy of Stature,” Thrace Talmon (
National Era; 18 December)
•
The Travels, Voyages, and Adventures of Gilbert Go-Ahead, Samuel Griswold Goodrich
•
Recollections of a Lifetime, Samuel Griswold Goodrich
company formed by Cyrus W. Field begins to lay Transatlantic Cable between Ireland and Newfoundland
•
James Edward Allen Gibbs perfects the first practical sewing machine
•
January 9: earthquake in central & southern California
•
February 3: National Deaf Mute College (now Gallaudet University) established; in District of Columbia
•
March 2-3: largest auction of enslaved people in US history held; in Savannah, Georgia
•
March 4: James Buchanan sworn in as president
•
March 6: Dred Scott case decided; US Supreme Court rules that black people are not citizens & enslaved people cannot sue for freedom
•
March 12: Elizabeth Blackwell opens New York Infirmary for Indigent Women & Children
•
August 24: financial panic triggered by collapse of a branch of the Ohio Life Insurance & Trust Company
•
October 24: group of 24 enslaved people escape slave-holders in Maryland; the group is joined by four others, & almost all escape to Canada
religious revival sweeps the nation
•
March 30: Hymen Lipman patents a pencil with an eraser attached
•
May 11: Minnesota admitted as a state
•
June 2: Comet Donati discovered
•
July: gold-seekers rush into the Rocky Mountains
•
July 29: Treaty of Amity & Commerce between US & Japan
•
August 5: laying of Transatlantic Cable finished
•
August 16: first message sent via Transatlantic Cable
•
Sept-Oct: Comet Donati visible, one of 3 comets in the skies
•
October 9: first cross-country mail delivery
•
October 28: R. H. Macy opens department store
February 14: Oregon admitted to the Union
•
August 28-September 2: solar storm knocks out telegraph communication
•
October 16: John Brown seizes arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia (former Robert Merry’s Museum subscriber R. W. North is member of militia that captures him)
•
December 2: John Brown hanged
•
1st commercial oil well dug; in Titusville, Pennsylvania
US population = 31,443,321: black = 4,442,000; free black = 488,000
•
April 3: Pony Express makes its first run; the Express lasts until 1861
•
May 1: meteorite falls near New Concord, Ohio
•
May 9: Samuel Griswold Goodrich dies; in New York, New York
•
November 6: presidential election; Abraham Lincoln elected
•
December 20: South Carolina secedes from the Union
Great Comet
•
January 3: Delaware votes not to secede from the Union
•
January 9: Mississippi secedes from the Union
•
January 10: Florida secedes from the Union
•
January 11: Alabama secedes from the Union
•
January 19: Georgia secedes from the Union
•
January 21: Jefferson Davis resigns from US Senate
•
January 26: Louisiana secedes from the Union
•
January 29: Kansas admitted to the Union as a free state
•
February 1: Texas secedes from the Union
•
February 4: Confederate States Congress formed; in Montgomery, Alabama
•
February 8: Confederate States of America officially formed
•
February 11: US House of Representatives votes to guarantee non-interference with slavery in any state
•
February 11: Abraham Lincoln begins bizarrely perilous journey from Springfield, Illinois, to District of Columbia, during which he must pass through several areas sympathetic to secessionists
•
February 18: Jefferson Davis sworn in as president of Confederacy
•
March 2: Nevada becomes US territory
•
March 4: Abraham Lincoln sworn in as president of Union
•
March 11: Confederate States of America adopt a constitution guaranteeing no laws against slavery
•
April 12-13: Fort Sumter, South Carolina, standing against Confederacy, is fired on until it is surrendered
•
April 17: Virginia secedes from the Union
•
April 19: blockade of Southern ports ordered
•
April 20: Robert E. Lee resigns from US Army to command forces of Virginia
•
May 6: Arkansas secedes from the Union
•
May 7: Tennesee secedes from the Union
•
May 8: Richmond, Virginia, becomes capital of Confederate States of America
•
May 13: Great Comet of 1861 discovered
•
May 20: North Carolina secedes from the Union
•
May 20: Kentucky proclaims that it is neutral in the conflict
•
August 1: Arizona Territory secedes from the Union
•
September 3: Confederate forces invade Kentucky, which asks for aid from the Union
•
October 26: Pony Express announces closure
•
October 30: legislature of Missouri votes to secede from the Union
•
November 6: Jefferson Davis elected president of the Confederate States of America
•
November 28: Confederate Congress admits Missouri as a Confederate state
•
December 10: Confederate Congress admits Kentucky as a Confederate state
February 1: “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” by Julia Ward Howe, published in The Atlantic Monthly (vol 9 #52; p. 10)
•
February 22: Jefferson Davis sworn in for second term as president of the Confederate States of America
•
March 13: US government declares that escaped slaves are not to be returned to slaveholders
•
July 1: Abraham Lincoln signs act authorizing construction of the first transcontinental railroad
•
August 19: "The Prayer of Twenty Millions," by Horace Greeley, published, urging Abraham Lincoln to make abolition an offician aim of the American Civil War
•
September 22: Abraham Lincoln announces the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing enslaved people in the Confederate States of America
•
October 11: Confederate forces raid Pennsylvania
•
December 31: West Virginia admitted to the Union
free delivery of mail established in cities
•
January 1: Emancipation Proclamation takes effect
•
February 24: Arizona established as a US territory
•
March 3: Idaho Territory established. Also, National Conscription Act signed, requiring males between 20 and 45 to enroll for the draft
•
June 20: West Virginia admitted to the Union
•
July 13: when names of the drafted begin to be drawn, rioting breaks out in New York, New York; the draft riots last three days and kill dozens
•
June: Confederate forces advance into Pennsylvania, appropriating supplies from homes & businesses as they pass; escaping from the advance, Pennsylvania subscriber to Robert Merry’s Museum Charles Speck quips that he is “only a deserter from the Southern Confederacy”.
•
October 3: Abraham Lincoln proclaims a national Thanksgiving Day
•
November 19: Abraham Lincoln delivers Gettysburg Address
•
December 31-January 1864: the American Midwest endures tremendous cold and near-blizzard conditions
September 18: operatives from the Confederate States of America enter the US from Canada West to free Confederate prisoners from Johnson’s Island, in Ohio; they capture the steamboat Philo Parsons, burn the steamboat Island Queen, & intend to capture the USS Michigan, but are foiled & escape back into Canada
•
October 19: St. Albans Raid: operatives from the Confederate States of America enter the US from Canada East to wreak havoc in St. Albans, Vermont, & thereby force Union forces to defend the northern border; the raid antagonizes Canadians & ends Confederate operations there
•
October 31: Nevada admitted to the Union
•
November 8: Abraham Lincoln re-elected president of the Union
•
November 25: Confederate Army of Manhattan attempts to burn New York, New York
Free mail delivery established in cities of more than 50,000
•
National Temperance Society & Publishing House founded
•
February 22: Tennessee adopts a new constitution abolishing slavery
•
March 4: Abraham Lincoln sworn in for second term as president
•
March 25: Claywater Meteorite breaks up over Wisconsin, scattering just over three pounds of material in Vernon County
•
April 9: Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders to Union General Ulysses S. Grant
•
April 14: Abraham Lincoln assassinated; father of former Robert Merry’s Museum subscriber Fanny Seward also targeted
•
April 15: Abraham Lincoln dies; Andrew Johnson sworn in as president
•
April 26: Confederate General Joseph E. Johnson surrenders to Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman
•
April 27: steamship Sultana sinks in the Mississippi River, killing 1800, many are Union soldiers freed from Confederate prison at Andersonville
•
May 4: Confederate Lieutenant General Richard Taylor surrenders Confederate forces east of the Mississippi River to Union General Edward Canby
•
May 5: first train robbery in US; in North Bend, Ohio
•
May 5: government of the Confederate States of America dissolved
•
May 10: Jefferson Davis captured
•
May 23: President Andrew Johnson proclaims general amnesty for most citizens of Confederate States of America
•
June 2: Confederate forces west of the Mississippi River surrender
•
June 19: people of Texas learn of the Emancipation Proclamation; celebrated now as Juneteenth
•
June 23: Confederate General Stand Watie surrenders to the Union
•
July 7: conspirators in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln hanged
•
July 13: Barnum’s American Museum burns; in New York, New York
•
September 6: Barnum’s New Museum opens; in New York, New York
•
December 18: 13th amendment ratified, officially outlawing slavery in the US
•
December 24: Ku Klux Klan formed
at this site:
“
Elva Seeking Her Fortune,” Sophie May (
Robert Merry’s Museum)
•
Eye and Ear Notes, “Uncle James” (James Redpath) (
Youth’s Companion)
•
Science & technology notes (
Youth’s Companion)
•
Animals in the Civil War (
Youth’s Companion)
•
Children & changing times (
Youth’s Companion)
•
assassination of Abraham Lincoln (
Youth’s Companion)
•
premium portrait of Abraham Lincoln (
Little Corporal)
•
“
The Volunteer’s Thanksgiving,” Lucy Larcom (
Our Young Folks; January)
•
“
The Color-Bearer,” John Townsend Trowbridge (
Our Young Folks; January)
•
“
The Capture of Savannah” (
Youth’s Companion; January 5)
•
“
Our Exchanged Prisoners” (
Youth’s Companion; January 5)
•
advertisements for Our Young Folks & Robert Merry’s Museum (
Youth’s Companion; January 12)
•
“
The Veteran’s Farewell,” “Blue-Eyed Lora” (
Robert Merry’s Museum; February)
•
memorial page for Adelbert Older, with poetry by Belle P. R. and Adelbert Older (
Robert Merry’s Museum; February)
•
“
Adventures of a ‘Merry’ Boy” (
Robert Merry’s Museum; February)
•
“
Allie’s Christmas Eve,” “Lillie Linden” (
Robert Merry’s Museum; February)
•
“
Neglected Children” (
Youth’s Companion; February 23)
•
“
The City Girl,” “Gail Hamilton” (Abigail Dodge) (
Our Young Folks; March)
•
“
White Slaves (
Youth’s Companion; March 9)
•
“
The Inauguration of President Lincoln” (
Youth’s Companion; March 9)
•
“
The Would-be Lady and the True One,” Mrs. P. P. Bonney (
Youth’s Companion; March 16)
•
“
A True Story” (reprinted;
Youth’s Companion; March 23)
•
“
Turn About, Fair Play,” Augusta Moore (
Youth’s Companion; April 13)
•
“
The Great National Tragedy” (
Youth’s Companion; April 27)
•
“
Booth and Bad Literature” (
Youth’s Companion; May 11)
•
“
Sugar-Making by the Indians” (
Youth’s Companion; May 18)
•
“
Unella,” Madge (
Robert Merry’s Museum; June)
•
advertisements for Dr. Brown’s Baby-Tender (
Robert Merry’s Museum; June & July)
•
two poems for July 4, 1865 (Robert Merry’s Museum; July)
•
“July 4, 1865,” “Lulie” (
Student & Schoolmate; July)
•
“
The Boys’ Fourth-of-July,” Julia Pratt Ballard (
Robert Merry’s Museum; July)
•
“
The American Flag,” Mrs. P. A. Hanaford (
Student & Schoolmate; July)
•
“
The Army of the American Eagle” (
Little Corporal; July)
•
editorial comment on July 4, 1865 (
Robert Merry’s Museum; July)
•
editorial from “The Teacher’s Desk” (
Student & Schoolmate; July)
•
“
Willie Lincoln,” Emily J. Bugbee (
Little Corporal; July)
•
“
Victory at Last,” C. C. (
Robert Merry’s Museum; July)
•
“
The Conspirators” (
Youth’s Companion; July 6)
•
“
Imagination or Affectation (
Youth’s Companion; July 13)
•
“
The Execution” (
Youth’s Companion; July 20)
•
“
A Soldier To-night is Our Guest” (
Youth’s Companion; August 10)
•
“
Going into Business for Himself,” Mrs. P. P. Bonney (
Youth’s Companion; August 11)
cholera epidemic ravages several cities
•
January 1: last issue of The Liberator published
•
February 13: first daylight bank robbery in peacetime; in Liberty, Missouri
January 8: African-American men granted right to vote in District of Columbia
•
March 1: Nebraska admitted to the Union
•
March 30: US purchases Alaska from Russia: $7,200,000
•
October 18: Alaska transferred to the US
•
October 21: treaty signed requiring Plains native Americans to move to reservation in Indian Territory
•
December 2: Charles Dickens gives his first reading during his second tour of the US
sporting-goods store Peck & Snyder features photos of baseball teams on its trade cards, thereby inventing the baseball card
(J. T. Crane probably didn’t approve)
•
February 24: first parade floats appear at Mardi Gras; in New Orleans, Louisiana
•
March 3: Barnum’s New Museum burns
•
May 30: Decoration Day observed, honoring Union soldiers killed during the American Civil War; the day will later be called Memorial Day
•
July 9: Fourteenth Amendment ratifying, establishing definition & rights of citizenship
•
July 25: Wyoming becomes US territory
•
September 28: white supremacists attack political opponents & black citizens of Opelousas, Louisiana, in bloody rampage
•
October 28: Thomas Edison patents an electric vote recorder
•
November 3: presidential election; Ulysses S. Grant elected
•
December 25: President Andrew Johnson pardons all Civil War rebels
March 4: Ulysses S. Grant sworn in as president president (-1877)
•
May 10: cross-continental railroad completed
•
May 15: National Woman Suffrage Association formed
•
June 1: Cincinnati Red Stockings are first professional baseball team in US
•
June 15: John Wesley Hyatt patents celluloid
•
July 20: The Innocents Abroad, by Samuel Clemens, published
•
Sept 24: speculators attempting to corner the gold market cause economic panic
•
October 16: “petrified man” discovered in Cardiff, New York; the petrifaction is exhibited as the Cardiff Giant
•
December 7: Jesse James robs a bank; in Gallatin, Missouri
•
December 10: women in Wyoming Territory given the vote
US population = 39,818,449
•
January 3: construction begins on Brooklyn Bridge
•
January 26: Virginia readmitted to the Union
•
February 2: Cardiff Giant revealed as hoax
•
February 3: Fifteenth Amendment passed, giving African-American men right to vote
•
February 12: women in Utah Territory get right to vote
•
February 23: Mississippi readmitted to the Union
•
February 25: Hiram Rhodes Revels becomes first African-American US Senator
•
February 26: pneumatic subway opens in New York, New York
•
March 30: Texas readmitted to the Union; 15th amendment ratified
•
March 31: Thomas Mundy Peterson first African-American to vote in US election
•
June 28: US Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, & New Year’s Day become federal holidays
•
July 15: Georgia readmitted to the Union
April 10: Phineas T. Barnum opens his three-ring circus; in Brooklyn, New York
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April 20: Enforcement Act of 1871 bans attempts to deprive citizens of rights to hold office, serve on juries, or enjoy equal protection of law
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May 1: five planets visible at once in a magnificent display
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October 8-11: fires in Chicago, Illinois; Peshtigo, Wisconsin; Holland, Michigan; and Manistee, Michigan, break out in drought-dried Midwest (former Robert Merry’s Museum subscriber Daniel H. Burnham among architects who rebuild Chicago)
February 4: auroras visible as far south as Cuba, due to geomagnetic storm
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March 1: Yellowstone National Park established
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March 26: 7.4-7.9 earthquake strikes Lone Pine, Califonria; 27 people are killed, & 56 are injured
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May 22: Amnesty Act restores full civil rights to almost all Confederate sympathizers
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October-December: outbreak of equine influenza devastates commerce as horses used for transportation of goods are struck down
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November 5: presidential election; Ulysses S. Grant elected; Susan B. Anthony votes
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November 7: the Mary Celeste leaves New York, New York, with a crew of seven, the captain, and the captain’s wife & child, bound for Genoa, Italy
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November 9: Boston Fire; Horace B. Fuller’s publishing offices (he published Robert Merry’s Museum) burn; he never recovers financially
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November 18: Susan B. Anthony arrested for voting illegally
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December 4: the Mary Celeste is found adrift off the Azores, its cargo intact, but with no one on board; its lifeboat is missing
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December 14: 6.5-7 magnitude earthquake in northern Washington
Children magazines founded:
St. Nicholas
June 7: Susan B. Anthony convicted for voting illegally
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June 8: Susan B. Anthony sentenced to a fine of $100; the US is still waiting for that fine to be paid