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  1. President Andrew Jackson issues the Specie Circular
    date July 11, 1836map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Economy

    In 1832, President Andrew Jackson refused to re-charter the Bank of the United States, opting instead to deposit government funds in select state or “pet' banks. The state banks, facing little regulation, freely loaned paper money to virtually anyone who asked for it. A flurry of land speculation and inflation followed. To curtail these alarming trends, Jackson issued the Species Circular on...

  2. Railroad Revolution
    date July 4, 1860map PRINCESS ANNE, Virginiatags Migration/Transportation, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    Railroads were the transportation craze of the nation during the 1840s. In the early 1860s, tracks exceeded 30,000 miles in length. The North was certainly far more connected than the South, simply because they were more industrialized and had the money to do so. Often in the South, the majority of money spent was for land purchases or slaves. The railroads of the South were not evenly dispersed. Virginia,...

  3. Finding Fashion
    date September 24, 1860map HARDY, Virginiatags Arts/Leisure, Economy, Women

    Fashion in the years following the Civil War was very different from years prior. More cotton and more efficient technology meant larger production and more variety for shoppers. Clothes were expressive and a status show to the public. The expansion of the railroads also made more in style clothing more readily accessible to people from all areas of the nation. While style began to spread across the...

  4. The Deadly Cash Crop
    date January 11, 1868 to 1868map HENRICO, Virginiatags Agriculture, Health/Death, Economy, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    Even a hundred years before Surgeon General Warnings, we already had begun to understand tobacco's effects. On January 11, 1868, HarpWeek published a two-picture political cartoon entitled The Pleasure of Tobacco. The first picture featured a young man in bed enjoying his pipe. The caption under the drawing said, To which young and promising Tom Smudger abandons himself. He wasteth the midnight oil....

  5. Beginnings of Pharmacology
    date August, 1861 to 1861map HENRICO, Virginiatags Health/Death, Education

    Medical care in major cities such as New York and Philadelphia was far more advanced due to increased access to education and technology; however, this was not true for many rural areas of the country. During the antebellum period, the practices of medical doctors were not always well regulated. Doctors were considered quite knowledgeable but most of their remedies were local in nature and chosen...