Episodes Nearest to April 1, 1832: 1 through 25 of 25

  1. The Defiance of Chief Black Hawk
    date April 1, 1832map MERCER, Illinoistags Black Hawk War, Native-Americans, Indian Removal Act of 1830

     

    “I fought hard. But your guns were well aimed. The bullets flew like birds in the air, and whizzed by our ears like the wind through the trees in the winter. My warriors fell around me; it began to look dismal,” said Sauk chief Black Hawk upon his surrender to the U.S 6th Infantry in August of 1832. He had fiercely resisted the continuing encroachment of white settlers into...

  2. Prediction of a Crisis to Come
    date March 23, 1832map GOOCHLAND, Virginiatags African-Americans, Race-Relations, Slavery

    On the second day of March, 1832, a slave boy named Pompey was hard at work on the Cragwall plantation in Goochland County. All of a sudden he heard a noise high above him in the sky. The boy looked up and saw two enormous birds swooping and stabbing at each other. They began to get closer and closer to the ground until they completely fell out of the sky and landed right beside him. In complete...

  3. Steamboats in Norfolk Harbor
    date March 8, 1832map NORFOLK CITY, Virginiatags Economy, Migration/Transportation

    On March 8, 1832, the steamship Gosport finally arrived in Norfolk, Va. It was the first steam ferry offering service across the Chesapeake, able to complete the trip in a mere five minutes, a feat that at the time was remarkably fast. Previously, ferries were man-powered or run by a blind mule or horse turning paddles by treadmill. The editors of The Norfolk Herald volunteered their confidence...

  4. The Forgotten Plague
    date March 1, 1832map ROSS, Ohiotags letter, influenza, epidemic, Ohio, 1832

    In present day, the “flu” is more commonly consider an inconvenient virus, which puts one out of commission for a day or two. But in 1832, influenza frequently ran its full course causing respiratory failure and death. In a letter from Fanny Wilson Johnson to her sister Eliza, Fanny discussed their father’s health, church happenings, and town affairs. Amidst her small talk, written sideways...

  5. Calhoun Foreshadows Two Nations
    date February 6, 1832map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Politics, Government, Slavery

    On February 6, 1837, John C. Calhoun made public his opinions by speaking out on slavery and the future of the Nation to the United States Senate.  Calhoun stated, “I feel myself called upon to speak freely upon the subject where the honor and interests of those I represent are involved.”  By this time Calhoun had taken a stand, given a reason for speaking out, and begun to foreshadow the...

  6. 1832 Speech Given in the House of Delegates Regarding Abolition
    date January 21, 1832map ALBEMARLE, Virginiatags African-Americans, Church/Religious-Activity, Economy, Government, Law, Politics, Slavery

    The Virginia House of Delegates gathered around while Thomas J. Randolph, representative of Albemarle County, gave a speech in regards to possible emancipation within the state. Although it was 1832 at the time of this address, the proposed plan that Randolph spoke about would only affect slaves born after 1840 and would take 80 years to complete. Virginians would hold male and female slaves...

  7. Three White Men Accused of Adultery
    date January 10, 1832map CLARKE, Georgiatags Crime/Violence

    In the Slave South, husbands and wives grew very wary of adulterous behavior. They especially feared miscegenation. Depending on the roles played, such behavior could lead to justifiable homicide. But, in this case, a disgruntled husband accused three men of sleeping with his wife, when only one of them did it. The two innocent men were somehow dragged in to the whole mess, and they were left to...

  8. Southern Reaction to the Nullification Threat
    date June 28, 1832map HENRICO, Virginiatags Government, Law, Politics, War

    It was the summer of 1832, and tension hung over Richmond like a thick fog. National unrest had been building throughout the United States for quite some time, and sectional pressure between the North and South was nearing its boiling point. Those people living in Virginia's capital sensed the impending conflict more than most. Mere months before the South Carolina nullification crisis erupted,...

  9. Celebration for Battle of New Orleans anniversary
    date January 3, 1832map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Arts/Leisure, Urban-Life/Boosterism, War

    The Citizens of Washington decided at their December 31, 1831 meeting that an anniversary celebration of the Battle of New Orleans was appropriate. They voted in favor of the celebration and agreed to the public notice at Strother's Hotel. As an organization in the nation's capital, they wanted to celebrate the victory that helped establish the country and declare, for a final time, freedom...

  10. Carey Advocates Liberia as the Solution
    date 1832map PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvaniatags Slavery, American Colonization Society

    Nat Turner's methodical slaying of white civilians in Southampton County, Virginia during August of 1831 caused anxiety and concern for whites throughout the country. Although he was captured within months, his rebellion had unintended consequences. It added fuel to an already growing fire – the movement to send free blacks to Liberia.

    Arguing on behalf of the American...

  11. Charles Knowlton and The Fruits of Philosophy
    date 1832map NEW YORK, New Yorktags sex, contraception, Health/Death

    Charles Knowlton was one nineteenth century doctor who was not afraid to talk about sex. Despite prosecution and jail time he stood behind the ideas of his 1832 work Fruits of Philosophy. The book was deemed obscene for its discussion of sex for pleasure and birth control methods. Knowlton saw sexual desire as a passion that started in the nerves of the genital organs and extended to the...

  12. President Jackson Vetoes Bill for Re-chartering the Second Bank of the United States
    date July 10, 1832map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Economy

    The Bank of the United States was a sensitive issue from its outset. The First one expired indifferently in 1811, and the Second Bank was chartered five years later, in 1816. This new edition was meant to be an independent bank, a specie paying bank, a stead and cautious, not a speculative bank. But, it had an inauspicious start, with a case sent before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1819. This case,...

  13. Alabama against the American System
    date December 21, 1831map PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvaniatags Economy

    The early nineteenth century was full of civil unrest between the states. Many of the southern states saw this time as a period of northern aggression and disregard for southern interests. "Alabama," an article published in The Banner of the Constitution provides an example of southern government officials becoming fed up with the northern led tariffs and political parties, particularly the...

  14. Tariff of 1832 Passed
    date July 14, 1832map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Agriculture, Economy

    While President Andrew Jackson dealt with the Bank War, another economic debate engulfed Congress. They debated a new tariff. This act would be a close relation to the Tariff of 1828, which was benevolently called the Tariff of Abominations. The new bill was a protectionist tariff, attempting to protect local producers from foreign competitors by setting the tariff on imported goods, or using some...

  15. A Day In the Life of an Amelia County Physician
    date December 17, 1831map AMELIA, Virginiatags Health/Death

    Like many county and small town physicians, Dr. Stirling Ford cultivated close relationships with many of his frequent patients. Thus, when some of his patients were unable to pay their medical bills, he would extend a grace period or wave the fee altogether. This more than likely accounted for the meticulous records of his daily visits and the financial accounts of his patients. One of Dr. Ford's...

  16. Early Education
    date December, 1831map SUFFOLK, Massachusettstags Education

    In a country where education had no pull in society, one school dared to break the mold. Every morning, between fifty and sixty students between the ages of three and five made their way to a school in central Bermuda that was established in 1831. Mostly the offspring of slaves, the children were given an opportunity at improving their quality of life. Students were taught the basics of education:...

  17. Mulatto Man Granted Freedom
    date December, 1831map KNOX, Tennesseetags African-Americans, Law, Slavery

    In December 1831, Quaker abolitionist Benjamin Lundy published a small article in his newspaper The Genius of Universal Emancipation entitled "Important Legal Decision." The article told the story of a free mulatto man named Batkin who, after being convicted of a crime in Virginia, had been sold into slavery. Batkin had been sold to a man in Tennessee, and he petitioned that state's court...

  18. Female Education: Through Emma C. Emburys Eyes
    date December 10, 1831map KINGS, New Yorktags Education, Women

    The United States' attitude towards the education of women was encapsulated in a speech delivered by Mrs. Emma C. Embury on December 10, 1831. Embury spoke at the anniversary ceremony for the Brooklyn Collegiate Institute for Young Ladies. She pointed out that although schooling was becoming more prevalent across the country, female education and its reputation was still lagging behind the education...

  19. Recognizing the Importance of Female Education
    date December 10, 1831map KINGS, New Yorktags Education, Women

    "Let me not be misunderstood, when I thus earnestly insist upon the necessity of female education," insisted Emma C. Embury, a strong advocate for female education who spoke at the Anniversary of the Brooklyn Collegiate Institute for Young Ladies in December 1831. The idea of women's education was being discussed far more in the 1830's than it ever had been before. Embury was just one of...

  20. Spontaneous Combustion of a Drunkard
    date December 7, 1831map FAYETTE, Kentuckytags Church/Religious-Activity, Health/Death

    In the year 1831, Dr. Peter Scholfield was invited to speak at the formation of a temperance society in the small town of Rustard, in Upper Canada. His speech was a direct attack on drunkenness and the dangers it entailed. Dr. Scholfield began his speech with the remark, "It is well authenticated, that many habitual drinkers of ardent spirits are brought to their end by what is called 'spontaneous...

  21. Judge Clayton Removed from Office
    date December 6, 1831map GWINNETT, Georgiatags Law, Native-Americans, Politics

    Augustin Smith Clayton was a lawyer, congressman, and judge for the state of Georgia. Most of his decisions as a judge in Georgia favored state over federal laws. In 1831, however, Clayton declared unconstitutional a Georgia law that prohibited Indians from digging gold on their own land. After this decision he was not reelected for another term. Clayton was curious about his loss at reelection...

  22. Race and Medical Care
    date November 18, 1831map AMELIA, Virginiatags African-Americans, Health/Death, Slavery

    On November 18, 1831 Dr. Stirling Ford paid a visit to the slave of Mrs. Evans. In his journal, Dr. Ford gives an account of the slave woman's condition and treatment prescribed for her blister to the neck and open bowels [and] debility headache. Although it might seem normal that a doctor would treat an ailing person, not all nineteenth century physicians were willing to take on African Americans,...

  23. McCormick’s Improved Reaper Takes to The Fields
    date August, 1832 to 1832map ROCKBRIDGE, Virginiatags Agriculture, Science/Technology

    Cyrus McCormick gave a public demonstration of his newly improved Reaper near the little town of Lexington, Virginia in 1832. Around 100 people were present to watch the twenty-three year-old innovator’s contraption take to a field of grain. Herbert N. Casson explained in his book, Cyrus Hall McCormick: His Life and Work, that the crowd included “several political leaders of local fame,...

  24. Presbyterianism and the Creation of Cherokee Sovereignty
    date July 6, 1831 to March 3, 1832map INDIAN LANDS, Georgiatags Church/Religious-Activity, Government, Law, Native-Americans

    On July 6th, 1831 Presbyterian ministers of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions Elizur Butler and Samuel Austin Worcester began their 110 mile march to a Georgia penitentiary from the neighboring Cherokee lands in chains. Arrested in New Echota by the Georgia Guard and detained indefinitely, Butler and Worcester were charged with the direct violation of a new Georgia state law...

  25. Nat Turner Captured Alive
    date October 30, 1831map SOUTHAMPTON, Virginiatags African-Americans, Crime/Violence, Race-Relations, Slavery

    Following the bloody aftermath of the August 22 murders by Nat Turner and his followers, was a reaction that had ripples across the state of Virginia as well as the South. Not only had the local Militias been called out to search for Turner, but the mayor of Norfolk had even sent men and naval vessels to assist in the search. The apprehension of Nat Turner proved to be less dramatic than the outcry....