Episodes Nearest to May 23, 1827: 1 through 25 of 25

  1. Phillis Wheatly and a Nations Refuge in Religion
    date May 23, 1827map SUFFOLK, Massachusettstags African-Americans, Church/Religious-Activity, Slavery, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    On May 23, 1827, more than forty years after it was first published, Phillis Wheatly's short poem, "On Being Brought from Africa to America," was republished in Zion's Herald, an independent Methodist newspaper published in Boston, Massachusetts. "Remember Christians Negroes black as Cain/May be refined, and join the angelic train": this last line of Wheatly's poem refers to her...

  2. Joseph M. White suggests Indians move west of the Mississippi.
    date May 20, 1827tags Migration/Transportation, Race-Relations

    After the native Indians were allotted reservation areas for settlement, problems quickly arise. Whites started trying to take over these areas (claiming to be looking for lost slaves), and Indians were trying to expand on their already very small territory. This led to substantial violence and bloodshed. One such example took place near the Ocilla River on December 6, 1826. The Woodville Republican...

  3. Dexter Needs to Pay Up
    date May 29, 1827map ST JOHNS, Floridatags Slavery

    A promissory note is a contract detailing the terms of a promise or loan by one person to pay a sum of money to another person. Many people in the antebellum south used promissory notes when dealing with large amounts of money. John Day and Horatio S. Dexter entered into a promissory note together on October 5, 1824. The amount of the note was for six thousand four hundred and seventy nine dollars....

  4. A Spiritual Occurrence in the Household
    date June 1, 1827map HANCOCK, Georgiatags Church/Religious-Activity

    Maria Bryan returned from a prayer meeting to find her close friend, Carlisle, in a very emotional state. She immediately called upon her minister, Rev. Stiles. Rev. Stiles arrived and analyzed the problem and claimed that Maria and Carlisle needed to repent in the Lord in order to fulfill their complete redemption. Suddenly, without any forewarning, the preacher himself seemed to lose his mind...

  5. William Henson sentenced to death.
    date April 27, 1827 to May 3, 1827map WAKE, North Carolinatags African-Americans, Crime/Violence, Health/Death, Race-Relations

    On April 27th, 1827 a verdict was reached in the William Henson case. The court convicted this free black for “forcibly breaking into a house and stealing items of a small value.' His punishment was death, to be carried out on May 3rd. This punishment was certainly extreme for such a petty offense, but the court was using what was called the Bloody Act of 1806. This act as the Raleigh...

  6. Tobacco booms in Missouri.
    date April 24, 1827map ST LOUIS, Missouritags Agriculture, Economy

    The expansion of slavery into Missouri had almost led to a Civil War in 1820, seven years later Northerners worst fears were confirmed with a report by Missouri leaders. The St. Louis Enquirer published an article that would soon be republished throughout the South trumpeting the success of tobacco crops in the newest slave state. The soil of Missouri was considered by planters of Maryland and...

  7. Guilfield Baptist Church
    date June 30, 1827map DINWIDDIE, Virginiatags African-Americans, Church/Religious-Activity

    The church officials expelled Brother Osborne for his adulterous behavior June 30, 1827. The officials claimed that Brother Osborne's sinful spirit had placed the women of the Guilfield Baptist Church under bad influence. The same Sunday, the church notes documented the deacons asking Sister Harriet Hill to leave the congregation for lying, as well as Sister Patsy Thomas for fighting and inappropriate...

  8. Edgefield Anti-Tariff group meets.
    date July 2, 1827map EDGEFIELD, South Carolinatags Economy

    In early July, the spark of nullification struck Edgefield County and throughout the state of South Carolina. Citizens of the community met to discuss as the Charleston News and Courier put it: “A Memorial to Congress against the imposition of additional duties upon the importation of woolens.' Jesse Blocks was named Chair and F.H. Wardlaw Esq. was elected Secretary. Their statement...

  9. A Slave Sues for Freedom in Missouri
    date 1827map ST LOUIS, Missouritags Slavery, African-Americans, Law, Migration/Transportation

    In 1827, the editors of The Genius of Universal Emancipation published a portion of a letter "from a gentleman in Illinois to his friend in Philadelphia" that relates the story of a slave that was brought from Illinois to Missouri. The slave, "there having been treated with cruelty" was afterwards taken and sold in Louisiana. This slave then "found his way", in a manner unclear, back to St. Louis...

  10. American Colonization Society petitions Congress
    date February 16, 1827map Washington City, District of Columbiatags African-Americans, Economy, Slavery

    In 1827, Mr. Clarke presented a resolution that had gone through the state assembly in Kentucky. With the backing of Delaware Senator Louis McLane, they presented a petition by the American Colonization Society (ACS) “requesting the Senators and Representatives of that State, in Congress, to use their best efforts to facilitate the removal of such free people of color as may desire to emigrate...

  11. The religious magazine announcement.
    date September 6, 1827map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Church/Religious-Activity

    On September 6th, 1827 the U.S. Telegraph happily announced to Washington D.C. the coming of a religious magazine, its first issue to be published for January 1st, 1828. The paper compared this new development much to the progress or “rapid improvement' being made in the field of science. This paper was to be in the “spirit of the foreign theological journals and review' of Europe....

  12. The National Bank of South Carolina opens up to stock.
    date February 1, 1827map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags Economy

    The bank crisis is one issue that plagues American history during 1827 and throughout the Jacksonian Democracy. On February 1st, 1827 Charleston opened up its branch of the National Bank of the United States to private stock. Limits were placed on the minimum and maximum amount of stock that could be purchased. These bonds were meant to help the United States economic problems, but many saw a...

  13. Bankruptcy Bill voted down in Senate.
    date February 1, 1827map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Economy

    On February 1st, 1827 the United States Senate voted 2 to 1 against a bill presented by Senator Hayne advocating a bankruptcy bill. By this time, indebtedness was stretching through the country. It had become a vicious cycle that most people cannot escape from once they are caught in it. This bill was meant to provide some relief for the debtors but as the Charleston News and Courier put it the...

  14. Runaway Slaves
    date January 27, 1827map ST CHARLES, Louisianatags African-Americans, Slavery

    The harshness of the institution of slavery is something that historians can agree on. The lifestyle that enslaved people had to endure is one that many cannot imagine today. It is not surprising therefore when slaves wished to be free of their masters and escape from plantations. The reasons for slaves running away varied but usually included fear of punishment or resentment because of punishment...

  15. The Friar Aremas incident reaches the Capitol.
    date January 21, 1827map Washington City, District of Columbiatags War

    Ever since American colonists had moved into Texas, relations between the United States and Mexico were at a precarious position. President John Quincy Adams had the auspicious task of keeping both sides happy in a desperate attempt to avoid any kind of armed conflict. The first of what would become many troubling incidents for both parties occurred on January 21st, 1827. Friar Joaquin Aremas...

  16. The Southern Review
    date September 27, 1827map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags Arts/Leisure, Economy, Education, Politics

    Robert Y. Haynes of Charleston, South Carolina sent a letter to Littleton Waller Tazewell of Norfolk, Virginia encouraging Tazewell to lead Virginians in participation via entries and subscriptions to the Southern Review. The hand-written letter is written on a brochure explaining the proposed Southern Review. The Southern Review was a literary magazine that would not criticize...

  17. Cotton crop produced at abnormally low numbers.
    date October 4, 1827map WAKE, North Carolinatags Agriculture, Economy

    The Southern economy thrived on its ability to sell cotton to England and other European nations. In 1827, the economy fell and fell hard. Throughout the South, farmers had to deal with as an Alabama farmer put it the “most disastrous season for the agriculturist'. The cotton states of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Virginia would all “fall far short of their usual...

  18. Surrender the Slave
    date October 3, 1827 to October 5, 1827map ST JOHNS, Floridatags Slavery

    Many southerners used slaves as collateral regularly in the antebellum south in order to pay for some necessary item or to loan money from someone. Often, slaves were used as collateral to buy land. This process of using slaves as collateral dates back to the beginning of the slave trade. The main reason why slaves were used as collateral is that southerners considered slaves to be property and...

  19. Southern Appalachia's Livestock Economy
    date December 12, 1826map JEFFERSON, Virginiatags Agriculture, Economy

    In Shepherdstown County, the blood was flowing. Such is what James Markell's sister wrote to her absent brother in the winter of 1826 concerning the hog butchering frenzy in that western Virginia area. For the past two weeks, several couples had also celebrated their nuptials never minding the penetrating squeals of the dying pigs around them. New families would begin and there would be plenty...

  20. Cartography and Map Printing in Richmond
    date December 18, 1827 to December 19, 1827map HENRICO, Virginiatags Education, Migration/Transportation

    The New Map of Virginia went on sale in the capitol city of Richmond on August 3, 1827. The Legislature of Virginia authorized the sale of only 250 maps, and required citizens of Virginia to submit an application in order to obtain a copy. The Richmond Enquirer claimed that the map reflects the highest credit on the science and skill of the persons immediately concerned in its...

  21. Sally Carter's Letter to her Mother
    date December 21, 1827map HENRICO, Virginiatags Arts/Leisure, Urban-Life/Boosterism, Women

    In late December of 1827, Sally Champs Carter, living in Richmond at the time, wrote home to her mother who was living in Albemarle County (approximately sixty miles west of Richmond). Sally described her living situation in the city, telling her mother that she participated in the gaieties of the city, however more moderately and prudently than she had in her first year residing there, as some...

  22. A Student Eulogizes Thomas Jefferson
    date October 4, 1826map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Thomas Jefferson, Slavery, Westward Expansion, Louisiana Purchase

    Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of the United States and the third elected President, passed away on July 4, 1826. Jefferson served two terms as President of the United States from 1801-1809. He will always be remembered as the principal author to the Declaration of Independence. On October 26, 1826, at the Columbian College in Washington D.C., Jefferson’s eulogy was delivered by...

  23. Foundation of the Bible Society in Monticello
    date September 26, 1826map JASPER, Georgiatags Church/Religious-Activity

    P.W. Gautier proudly wrote to the Georgia Statesman on September 26, 1826, proclaiming the establishment of auxiliaries of the American Bible Society throughout the counties that surrounded Monticello, Georgia. The Society sought to circulate the Bible without note or comment to the community. Gautier explained that the Society was simply answering the demands of the people of the area who deserved...

  24. Lear's Plan for the Education of Blacks
    date September, 1826map ALBEMARLE, Virginiatags African-Americans, Church/Religious-Activity, Education, Migration/Transportation, Slavery

    B.L. Lear administrated a large fund for the education of slaves that had been established by General Thaddeus Kosciusko, a famous Polish hero in the American Revolution. Upon Kosciusko's death in 1817, he had left the fund to his longtime acquaintance and fellow son of liberty, Thomas Jefferson. In September 1825, B.L. Lear wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson Randolph, grandson of Jefferson...

  25. New York Town Criticized for Lack of Women's Education
    date January 16, 1828 to March, 1828map SENECA, New Yorktags Women's Seminaries, Education, women's education

    On January 16, 1828 The Geneva Gazette, a newspaper in Geneva, New York, published an article from an anonymous citizen. The article was addressed to the paper’s editor and criticized the lack of an adequate establishment for the education of young ladies in the town. The author argued that women’s education was necessary in order for women to better educate their children. Two months...