American Civilizations to 1877 (Fall 2008)

University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Tag cloud for these 10 episodes
African-Americans Battle Civil War Economy Environment Freed Slaves Hate Crimes Importation Industry Murder Native-Americans Navy Science/Technology Slave Trade Slavery Women Women's Rights fugitive slave racial violence suffrage
Students wrote their episodes using newspaper articles they found on the database America's Historical Newspapers. Two-thirds of the students in this class are in their first semester of college.

Episodes

  1. The Hate Crime In Louisville
    date May 20, 1857map JEFFERSON, Kentuckytags racial violence, African-Americans

    The hate crime that occurred in Louisville, Kentucky, on May 20, 1857, was "one of the most shocking instances of cruelty and of mob violence that has transpired in this country for years." A group of slaves from Louisville had been accused of a crime. A white jury found the slaves not guilty, which angered a mob of whites who wanted the slaves executed for a crime that they clearly did not commit....

  2. Transforming Naval Warfare
    date March 8, 1862 to March 9, 1862map NORFOLK, Virginiatags Navy, Civil War, Science/Technology

    On March 8, 1862, the power of a new form of naval warfare made its appearance at Hampton Roads Bay, Virginia. The CSS Virginia (formerly the sunken USS Merrimack) appeared beside the Union fleet, showing her aggressive naval power with a never-seen-before "iron coating." With a front mounted cannon and an iron body, she destroyed two Union wooden ships, lowering Union morale. On March 9, 1862, the...

  3. Opposition to the Slave-Trade
    date February 9, 1795map Wake, North Carolinatags Importation, Slavery, Slave Trade

    "By the gentleman just arrived from Raleigh, the seat of government in North Carolina, We learn that the assembly of that state have passed a law to prohibit further importation of slaves into that state, either by land or sea, from any part of the world." This strong statement described North Carolina's bill banning the importation of slaves into the state. Slaves in North Carolina worked hard growing...

  4. National Iron Works
    date August 26, 1867map MERCER, New Jerseytags Industry, Economy

    In the early 1800s, manufactories in Trenton, New Jersey excelled in casting iron into railroad supplies, stationary steam engines, and factory machinery. The Trenton State Gazette said, "it has been truly remarked that iron is more valuable than gold; and that the degree of excellence in its workmanship is one of the surest indications of the progress and civilization of the age." Timothy Field...

  5. The Pain of Slavery
    date September 12, 1816map PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvaniatags Slavery, Native-Americans

    A forty-five year old man by the name of Benjamin Powell walked into a foreign town from his former existence of Indian slavery. The citizens tended to his needs, as he was in poor condition due to his past slavery for over five years. This man was completely abused; to prove this, "he exhibited a hand nearly burnt off and shewed upwards of 20 scars on his body, most of which were evidently made with...

  6. Advancements In the Women's Rights Movement
    date October 29, 1951map Worcester, Massachusettstags Women, Women's Rights, suffrage

    Over one thousand women gathered in Worchester, Massachusetts, for a Women's Rights Convention in October 1851. "Wit, humor, truth, poetry, absurdity, and misdemeanor madness, were all component parts of the proceedings and speeches," wrote a journalist for the Daily Alabama Journal. Among the speakers were E. Oakes Smith, Abby Kelly Foster, and Lucretia Mott. The journalist observed that some of the...

  7. Runaway Slaves in Ohio
    date January 8, 1845map HAMILTON, Ohiotags Slavery, fugitive slave

    More often than not, Ohio citizens showed no signs of guilt for the part they played in helping fugitive slaves. A Cincinnati newspaper editor bristled at the suggestion that his fellow Ohioans had deliberately committed crimes. "We have seen no evidence of it," he wrote in 1845. "We are not aware that any of them entered the slave States for the sake of helping off slaves. Being in those states, they...

  8. Transatlantic Slave Trade: Slave Smuggling
    date 1850 to 1860map NEW YORK, New Yorktags Slavery, Slave Trade

    If a sea captain wanted to become a slave smuggler, "the first step is to purchase a vessel in one of the ports of the United States whose sailing qualities have been tested by several years of service." The seller of the vessel was bound by contract to take the vessel to a port on the African coast that the buyer had selected. Rice, water casks, and cooking utensils were shipped on board of the...

  9. Gettysburg After the Battle
    date July 9, 1863map ADAMS, Pennsylvaniatags Civil War, Environment, Battle

    "Little of the enclosure remains save the wicket gateway, from which the gates have been torn," Thomas Knox wrote in a dispatch published in the New York Herald on July 9, 1863. This was just one scene of the aftermath of Gettysburg, which was the single bloodiest and most memorable battle of the American Civil War. In many cases, the battle spilled out of the field into the town and destroyed houses...

  10. The Letter Begging for Peace
    date August 26, 1868map MARION, Texastags Murder, Freed Slaves, Hate Crimes

    Around one o' clock Friday morning Albert Browning, "a freedman and quiet inoffensive citizen of the city," lay resting peacefully in his home with his wife and little children. For unknown reasons a number of white men grabbed him and led him just a few feet outside of his home. They tied the terrified man's hands behind his back, went into his home, and began robbing him of his money, many types...

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