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  1. 11th President James K. Polk Succeeds John Tyler
    date March 4, 1845 to March 4, 1849map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Economy, Migration/Transportation, War

    With this inauguration, James K. Polk, a slaveholding cotton planter from Tennessee, took over the American presidency from his predecessor, John Tyler, a states' rights Virginian who had disagreed with the Democratic Party over the issue of nullification. Polk had two main goals while he was in the office of president: he wanted to promote a program of economic reform that would bring down the 1842...

  2. Weather plagues the Southern States' Economies
    date 1896map LEXINGTON, South Carolinatags Agriculture, Economy

    The depression of the 1890s was only exacerbated by the weather conditions in the spring of 1896. The drought of 1896 brought a huge setback to the agricultural sectors of many southern states, particularly Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi. The lack of water caused crucial crops to wither, and brought the economy further into its depression. In Mississippi, the state also faced downpours...

  3. Savannah Reverend Addresses Religious Conditions of Slaves
    date May, 1846map CHATHAM, Georgiatags African-Americans, Church/Religious-Activity, Race-Relations, Slavery

    Reverend Dexter Clapp of Savannah, Georgia got word of a question put forth in a newspaper, presumably by a Northerner, about the religious condition of slaves in the South. Clapp felt compelled to write a letter to the editor discussing his opinion on the matter. He stated that much of what he had to say was probably not known in the North, but was common knowledge in the South, or at least in his...

  4. American Tobacco Company Established
    date January 1, 1890 to December 31, 1890map DURHAM, North Carolinatags Economy

    In the several years preceding 1890, brothers Ben and Buck Duke initiated several reforms of their tobacco manufacturing business. The brothers' company W. Duke and Sons experienced great success after the innovations. Then in response to concern about other manufacturers, in 1890, the Dukes joined four of their tobacco competitors to the form the American Tobacco Company. The American Tobacco Company,...

  5. Potentially Fatal Train Wreck near Ivanhoe, Virginia
    date June 14, 1890map WYTHE, Virginiatags Health/Death, Migration/Transportation

    On Saturday, June 14, 1890, a serious accident between a passenger train and material train occurred on the Cripple Creek division of the Norfolk and Western railroad near Ivanhoe, Virginia. The material train ran under orders to meet the passenger train at a switch approximately fourteen miles outside of Ivanhoe. The passenger train apparently ran under no such order and continued toward Ivanhoe....

  6. Letter Detailing Jefferson Davis's Imprisonment at Fort Monroe Published in Georgia Paper
    date August 6, 1866map MACON, Georgiatags Crime/Violence

    Jefferson Davis was imprisoned without trial for nearly two years after the conclusion of the Civil War. This letter, published at a midpoint in his imprisonment details the habits of Davis at Fort Monroe, and describes the ways in which he was already fast becoming a martyr for ex-Confederate Southerners. Davis is portrayed in this letter as a pious and reflective man: Davis's “main thoughts...

  7. Battle of Antietam
    date September 17, 1862map ALLEGANY, Marylandtags War

    Union General McCellan responded to Confederate General Robert Lee's plans of heading north by gathering his Army of the Potomac to counter them. Lee hoped to get to Pennsylvania to regroup, but instead confronted the Union army at Antietam Creek. Despite General McCellan's advantage in men Lee's troops were able to hold their ground. In the end Lee's army returned to Virginia, signifying a Union...

  8. James Monroe Inaugurated as President
    date March 4, 1817map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Economy, Slavery

    After his victory over opponent Rufus King in the election of 1816, James Monroe was inaugurated President of the United States on March 4th, 1817. His first speech as president expounded the glories of the great nation he was now the executive of, but also focused on how he planned to effectively protect it, and from what threats. He planned to further fortify the coasts, borders, and frontiers...

  9. The Principles of the Alliance
    date April 19, 1888map BELL, Texastags Agriculture, Economy, Education, Politics, Women

    Widowed and with few options available to support herself, Dolly Lang, a black widow living in Falls County, Texas, signed a sharecropping contract with Mrs. V.C. Billingsley on January 9, 1889. The contract specified that Lang agreed to lease around 48 acres of land previously rented by her husband Ellis Lang and on which she currently lived. The land was to be used for growing cotton. Consequently,...

  10. Boll Weevils and the Destruction of Cotton Crops
    date September 27, 1895map AUSTIN, Texastags Agriculture, Economy

    Cotton: it was one of the most valuable crops in the agricultural South, and it was under attack by a seemingly indestructible new beetle known as the boll weevil. On September 27, 1895, an announcement ran in the Chicago Daily Tribune explaining the recent arrival of the boll weevil population to the United States. The species moved up from Mexico into certain areas of Texas and was wreaking havoc...

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