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  1. Threat of Houston, Texas race riot leads to armed suppression of African-Americans.
    date July 21, 1879map HARRIS, Texastags African-Americans, Crime/Violence, Race-Relations

    Racial tensions rose to the boiling point after a black citizen named Floyd was lynched by a white mob. In response to the perceived threat of a black race riot in reprisal for this atrocity, “parties of well armed men' descended upon the city, while the neighboring city of Richmond sent six deputy sheriffs to “restore order.' In addition to this the city of Houston escalated their military...

  2. Ratification of Louisiana constitution creates land grant funding for Louisiana State University and creates state supported black university in New Orleans.
    date December 8, 1879map ORLEANS, Louisianatags Education

    With the ratification of the Louisiana Constitution of 1879, Article 230 mandated that the Louisiana State Agricultural and Mechanical College would receive 182,000 is state funding from the sales of lands. At the same time Article 231 of the constitution mandated that the state would “make an annual appropriation of not less than five thousand dollars, nor more than ten thousand dollars,' for...

  3. Louisiana establishes Bureau of Agriculture
    date December 8, 1879map ORLEANS, Louisianatags Agriculture

    With the ratification of the constitution on December 8, 1879 Louisiana officially established the Bureau of Agriculture under the provisions stated in Article 179, and appropriated an annual budget for the new Bureau of up to 10,000. Soon after Louisiana established its Bureau of Agriculture a bill was proposed in the South Carolina state legislature to establish its own Department of Agriculture...

  4. Bank Failure precipitates “commercial crisis' in Charleston, South Carolina
    date September 19, 1879map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags Economy, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    On September 19th a dispatch to The Enterpirse and Mountaineer of Greenville, South Carolina reported that “The commercial circles were much agitated to-day by the announcement of the suspension of the banking and exchange house of James Adger &Co.' The failure of this bank was not only a significant financial blow to Charleston, but was also part of a larger story about the weakness of Southern...

  5. National Board of Trade issues statement urging Congress to increase the federal government's role in the promotion of commerce.
    date December 11, 1879map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Economy, Migration/Transportation, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    On December 11, 1879 the assembled representatives of the National Board of Trade adopted a resolution urging Congress to become more involved with regulation of commercial activity through a variety of measures. These suggested measures included the creation of a federal rail road commission that would force freight companies to charge equal rates to all customers, the adoption of a federal standard...

  6. Rich goldmine discovered north of Atlanta, Georgia
    date July 22, 1879map DAWSON, Georgiatags Economy

    Atlanta, Georgia set off a miniature gold rush. Newspapers in the region responded to the bonanza by publishing detailed articles about the development of gold mines in the region. One such article appearing in the Enterprise and Mountaineer of Greenville, South Carolina on December 24, 1879 declared that the Pigeon Roost mine would be the “largest and most productive mining camp this side of...