Episodes Nearest to May 1, 1844: 1 through 25 of 25

  1. The Wonderful Invention
    date May 1, 1844map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Economy, Government, Migration/Transportation

    On his first and only visit to Washington, Bishop Whipple saw many new and exciting things. He marveled at the beauty of the city and was inspired by the men who fought to establish both the great nation. However, on the afternoon of May 1, 1844, another new and exciting sight fascinated Whipple. The wonder of wonders was Professor Morse's electrical telegraph. Through the electrical telegraph,...

  2. Bishop Whipple's thoughts on politics
    date April 30, 1844map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Government, Politics, Race-Relations, Slavery, War

    Traveling from Baltimore, Bishop Whipple arrived in the capital on the morning of April 30, 1844. He had always desired to see the city. The city was the object of greatest curiosity, fascinating the Bishop with its rich history. He stood in awe before a portrait of George Washington. The Declaration of Independence proved to be a most impressive scene, the picture fills every American heart with...

  3. First Electric Morse Telegram sent
    date May 24, 1844map BALTIMORE, Marylandtags African-Americans, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    Samuel Morse was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts on April 27th 1791. Morse was educated in prestigious institutions nationally, including Phillip's Academy at Andover and Yale University. From 1811 until 1815, Morse lived in England, exhibiting his work at the Royal Academy in 1813. The next ten years of his life were spent as a traveling artist. In 1832, Morse began his travels back to America...

  4. The Future of Miami
    date May 25, 1844map DADE, Floridatags Agriculture, Migration/Transportation, Native-Americans, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    The little coastal steamer, only 105 feet in length and 152 tons in weight, chugged up the Miami River towards the settlements on the interior. It was hardly a triumphant parade of U.S. naval power. The Sailing Master of such a flagship was one Edward C. Anderson, and he took in the alien landscape as it passed on either side. Upon arriving at Miami, he found it to be little more than a collection...

  5. Attempt to establish a new county in Tennessee
    date June 4, 1844map BLOUNT, Tennesseetags Urban-Life/Boosterism

    One of the oldest counties in Tennessee, Blount County was named as a tribute to its Governor, William Blount. Preceding, white settlement this region was home to the Cherokee Indians. Blount County grew quickly and soon became a big attraction catering to its visitors with a series of resort hotels near springs neighboring the Chilhowee Mountain at Montvale. In 1844 lawmakers attempted to establish...

  6. Brown's Speech to Congress
    date June 17, 1844map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Economy, Education, Government, Politics, Slavery

    Looking out over the twenty eighth Congress, Mr. A.V. Brown knew he needed to convey to the statesmen gathered that the division of Florida territory into east and west partitions, and the prolonging of the territorial phase therein, was both inadmissible and undemocratic. Brown, speaking for the Committee on the Territories, implored the House to strike down Bill H.R. No. 431. He began by appealing...

  7. A Remarkable Case of Slave Manumission
    date March 14, 1844map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags African-Americans, Race-Relations, Slavery

    Slavery was not a permanent institution for some Southerners. In 1838, Dr. Brisbane, a Charleston, South Carolina resident, sold his twenty-seven slaves in order to move to Cincinnati, Ohio. While in Cincinnati, he decided that he did not want his former slaves to be subjected to bondage any longer. Brisbane returned to Charleston in 1844. Searching for and finding the twenty-seven enslaved African...

  8. A Call to the Free-Holders of Rowan and Davie Counties
    date June 22, 1844map DAVIE, North Carolinatags Economy, Government, Law

    People in town were gathered around a newspaper with the political platforms for the upcoming Presidential election. The candidate that seemed to care the most about the people of the county, especially the farmers was A.G. Carter. He had been the Senator here for twelve years so if he anything he had the experience to make the best politician. He promised to not burden people with taxes anymore...

  9. Charles Manigault Complains of Slave Labor in 1844 Journal
    date 1844map CHATHAM, Georgiatags African-Americans, Agriculture, Economy, Slavery

    For at least four generations, Charles Manigault and his family had owned plantations in the Island region of Chatham, Georgia and the Charleston District of South Carolina. In Chatham County, they invested a lot of money in growing rice, as did many planters across the lowcountry regions of both states. However, in 1844 Charles began to be slightly disgruntled with the labor production of his...

  10. Henry Clay publishes the Alabama Letters
    date July 1, 1844 to July 27, 1844map TUSCALOOSA, Alabamatags Slavery

    The issue of Texas Annexation in 1844 proved quite harmful to the running candidate. Although, initially careful of what stance to openly announce on the issue of Texas, Clay publicized his negative feelings on the issue of Texas annexing the United States. Due to the second party system in 1844, which allowed for party loyalty to switch regardless of self-interest, Clay now feared the consequences...

  11. A Family Reels from a Death in Southwest Virginia
    date July 19, 1844map SMYTH, Virginiatags Health/Death

    On July 19, 1844, William King, Jr. reported sad news to his sister Sarah C. King of Abingdon, Virginia. Their younger brother had died. Sarah had visited just a few weeks prior to the death. Everything was fine then in the town of Saltville, Virginia. Life had been pleasant when she visited her family. After all, she did not get to see them often since her marriage. Several weeks later, her family's...

  12. The Annexation Debate
    date February 10, 1844map TERRITORY, Territorytags Economy, Government, Politics, Slavery

    The weather was the same as usual and so was the company. Adolphus Sterne went with his friends Mr. Houghson, Mr. Hoya, and Mr. Linn to Colonel Raguet's house for dinner. After dinner the Colonel accompanied the group to Mr. Moore's for a meeting of the debating society. Sterne presided over the debate and listened to each side equally. The fiery speech of wild Bill Sparks, a former Republic...

  13. Iron is used for Railroads
    date January 11, 1844map NEW CASTLE, Delawaretags African-Americans, Agriculture, Arts/Leisure, Migration/Transportation, Slavery, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    Ever since John Smith arrived on American soil, boats have been a major medium for transportation. Water and boats were the only adequate forms of transportation and ultimately trade. As a cycle of reinforcement, water transport promoted trade and trade promoted water transport. Soon, with the implementation of newer materials, lighter resources and fresher ideas, boats become better and faster...

  14. The Romance of Love Letters between Albemarle and Richmond, Virginia
    date August 26, 1844 to October 30, 1844map ALBEMARLE, Virginiatags Migration/Transportation, Women

    During the late summer and fall of 1844, B. Johnson Barbour and Caroline H. Watson had little else on their minds than what the next post would bring as they anticipated November 7 - the day when they would finally be united as husband and wife. The distance that separated the young couple heightened their anticipation, for Caroline lived in Richmond while Barbour lived in the rural county of Albemarle,...

  15. An Explosive Accident
    date October 3, 1844map ANNE ARUNDEL, Marylandtags Arts/Leisure, Economy

    During the early eighteenth century, the northern portion of the Anne Arundel County developed an economy not based on agriculture, but on iron ore. Iron ore became the staple of the area and was crucial in the development of a regional transportation center. The reliance on tobacco, Anne Arundel's traditional major cash crop, lessened through the nineteenth century allowing for blacksmithing...

  16. Van Buren for a Second Term
    date October 20, 1844map DINWIDDIE, Virginiatags Politics

    On the morning of Tuesday October 20, 1840, The American Statesman newspaper of Petersburg, Virginia ran an article on the merits of President Martin Van Buren, who was then running for a second term as President. The article openly endorsed Van Buren's candidacy for President to the newspaper's readership and the greater Petersburg community by refuting the claims of the popular...

  17. Visit to Slave Jail
    date November 8, 1843map PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvaniatags Slavery, Slave Jails

    On November 8, 1843, a reporter from the Philadelphia Enquirer described his visit to a slave jail. Outraged by the horrific conditions he decried “the wickedness and the cruelty of the abominable system…”   In his article the reporter describes the conditions of the jail and the different types of slaves who were being housed in the jail. The proprietor of the jail “was continually...

  18. Dental Surgery in the 1840s
    date October 31, 1844map DINWIDDIE, Virginiatags Health/Death

    A dental surgeon by the name of Peter J. Cairnes placed an ad in The Republican convincing the readers of the merits of dental surgery. Dr. Cairnes urges the public to start taking care of their children's teeth starting anywhere between the ages of seven and nine. Dr. Cairnes also offered a reduced rate for any slave owner or tobacco factory owner whose slave was in need of a tooth extraction....

  19. Massachusetts Judge Driven from South Carolina
    date November, 1844map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags African-Americans, Economy, Race-Relations, Slavery

    The people of Charleston were not above standing up for what they believed in, even at the expense appearing rude and overzealous. Judge Samuel Hoar of Concord, Massachusetts, and his daughter, Elizabeth, traveled to Charleston in November of 1844. Their intentions were not known when the trip was announced; however, soon after they arrived, it became clear that the Massachusetts judge had come...

  20. A Father's Last Wish
    date September 7, 1843map ESSEX, Virginiatags Law, Women

    A formal and standard law of wills was vital to the American property system and was fundamental for the transfer of assets. Most landowning men wrote wills in the antebellum South that described the distribution of property within members of ones immediate family and organized the preferred maintenance of ones estate after death.

    William Oliver, a native of Essex County, handwrote his...

  21. Runaway Slaves in Ohio
    date January 8, 1845map HAMILTON, Ohiotags Slavery, fugitive slave

    More often than not, Ohio citizens showed no signs of guilt for the part they played in helping fugitive slaves. A Cincinnati newspaper editor bristled at the suggestion that his fellow Ohioans had deliberately committed crimes. "We have seen no evidence of it," he wrote in 1845. "We are not aware that any of them entered the slave States for the sake of helping off slaves. Being in those states,...

  22. Southern Living and the Almanac
    date August 19, 1843map HENRICO, Virginiatags Agriculture, Arts/Leisure

    Literature in the antebellum South came in many forms. If a farmer, city-dweller or plantation owner wanted a little light reading, for example, they could always crack open a book or leaf through the local newspaper. Printing in the years leading up to the Civil War was more advanced than ever, and as a result, printed material began to blanket every corner of the United States.

    Even with...

  23. The Louisiana Constitution of 1845
    date January 14, 1845map ORLEANS, Louisianatags African-Americans, Crime/Violence, Economy, Education, Race-Relations, Slavery

    By 1845, the public mind of Louisiana had decided that the state's current constitution, constructed in 1812, was too outmoded and contained too prominent elements of an aristocratic mindset. The Jacksonian idea of “equal ability of all' and the Democratic Party's characterization of the “common man' was pervasive, while the wealthy landowners and aristocrats still in...

  24. E.W. Hubard Advises his Nephew on Gentlemanly Ways
    date February 9, 1845map BUCKINGHAM, Virginiatags Arts/Leisure, Education, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    On February 9, 1845, E.W. Hubard of Washington, D.C. wrote a letter to his nephew, James L. Hubard, of Buckingham County, Virginia. James was a young man at the time, still in the formative stages of his life, and it appears that he and his uncle corresponded regularly about education, family life, and women in central and northern Virginia. E.W. began the letter by acknowledging his receipt of...

  25. Mississippi Congressman Calls for the Annexation of Texas
    date February 20, 1845map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Economy, Government, Law, Migration/Transportation

    In 1845, the national debate over the annexation of the young country of Texas into the Union was in full swing. Politicians stood on either side of the debate, effectively representing their constituents in the matter. John Henderson, a Congressman from Mississippi, gave a speech to Congress on February 20, 1845, in which he outlined all of the reasons why the Union should annex Texas. As Congress...