Episodes Nearest to October 27, 1851: 1 through 25 of 25

  1. The Cotton Planter's Convention at Macon and its Broader Implications
    date October 27, 1851map MACON, Georgiatags Agriculture, Economy, Politics

    The 1851 Cotton Planter's Convention in Macon, GA brought together 261 cotton farmers, who were agitated by recent criticisms of their economic practices. More importantly, Charles Goethe Baylor came to the Convention to address the planters while on temporary leave from his position as the United States consul at Amsterdam. The merchants of Amsterdam had authorized him to tender cash advances,...

  2. The Campaign of Louis Kossuth and the Slavery Question
    date October 20, 1851map NEW YORK, New Yorktags Slavery, Abolition, The New York Times, Louis Kossuth

    In 1851, Hungarian revolutionary Louis Kossuth became an international celebrity who found himself trapped in the divisive slavery politics of the United States. He gained notoriety worldwide as a brilliant crusader for the liberty of his country, and upon announcing a tour around the United States to enlist support for his cause, Kossuth was met with the enthusiasm of the American media. The New...

  3. George Wythe Randolph Moves his Business
    date November 5, 1851map BUCKINGHAM, Virginiatags Agriculture, Economy, Migration/Transportation

    In a letter dated November 5, 1851, George Wythe Randolph wrote to his brother Dr. Benjamin F. Randolph concerning the relocation of his, to that point, profitable business. At the time of this particular correspondence, George was in Richmond, Virginia and he was writing back home to Buckingham County, where Benjamin had established himself as a prudent physician and a prosperous community member....

  4. Slave Runs Away from Harsh Master
    date November, 1851map GREENSVILLE, Virginiatags African-Americans, Race-Relations, Slavery

    In November 1851, a 36-year-old slave by the name of Charles was reported missing. Charles' abrupt disappearance enraged his master, John C. Kerric. On November 22, 1851, Kerric wrote an impassioned letter to his friend, Robert T. Hubard, describing his unfortunate situation. Kerric explained that Charles ran away and was purchased by a plantation owner on the "other side of the mountain." He...

  5. Abolitionists Free Suspected Runaway Slave
    date October 4, 1851map ONONDAGA, New Yorktags Abolitionism, Abolitionist violence, Violence

    On Wednesday October 4, 1851, Syracuse city police, led by Deputy U.S. Marshall Allen, arrested an African American man by the name of Jerry McHenry.  John M. Reynolds of Marion County, Indiana, claimed McHenry to be his slave, and as a result, McHenry was taken into custody as a runaway slave and set for trial.  However, Reynolds would soon be surprised by an unexpected turn of events that neither...

  6. European Tastes in the Antebellum South
    date November 20, 1851map CLARKE, Georgiatags Arts/Leisure

    In November of 1851 the Athens Southern Banner announced that a famous French musician, Monsieur Andrieu, would be giving three concerts in Athens. The newspaper encouraged Athenians to attend saying that Andreiu was well received in Charleston and Augusta where he had been performing. The announcement also told Athenians that the accompanist would, give imitations of the great Prima Donnas...

  7. This episode discusses is a specific event that occurred due to the establishment of the Fugitive Slave Laws in the 1850s called the Jerry Rescue.
    date October 1, 1851map OSWEGO, New Yorktags Jerry Rescue, Fugitive Slave Law, Slavery

    William “Jerry” Henry was a Missouri slave during this time period. He grew tired of the brutality and sought freedom in the north. He successfully escaped from Missouri and went to Syracuse, New York, which was a popular immigration city. He lived and worked in the city for a while, but in October 1852, U.S. Marshal Allen arrested him. The officer tricked him into cooperating by saying he was...

  8. Christiana Riot Trial for Treason
    date November 24, 1851map PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvaniatags Fugitive Slave Act, Christiana, Riot

    The slave owner Edward Gorsuch traveled to Pennsylvania, along with several men, two of whom were federal marshals, to retrieve six of his slaves that had escaped from his plantation years earlier.  Gorsuch planned to confront William Parker, the owner of a tenant house, about harboring his fugitive slaves.  An altercation between the two groups of people developed and Gorsuch was killed during...

  9. Measure to Prohibit the Introduction of Slaves for Sale Into Georgia
    date November, 1851 to December, 1851map BALDWIN, Georgiatags Economy, Government, Politics, Slavery

    In 1851, Mr. McDougald introduced a bill to the Georgia legislature that would have banned further importation of slaves for sale into the state. The purpose of the bill was supposedly to ensure the survival of slavery in the state, but it was largely opposed. People disagreed on the real intentions of the bill, and on what the consequences of it would be. The Georgia Telegraph called the...

  10. Southern Benefits from the Compromise of 1850
    date September 5, 1851map BARNWELL, South Carolinatags Government, Law, Politics, Slavery

    The North and South had reached a stalemate, the compromise measures had been debated for over ten months. Finally, an agreement was reached. In September of 1850 the provisions that would become the Compromise of 1850 were passed. About a year later, on September 5, 1851, Winchester Graham, a representative from South Carolina, gave a speech in Barnwell, S.C. that defended his support of the...

  11. Impact of Religion in New England Education
    date December 2, 1851 to January 2, 1852map PLYMOUTH, Massachusettstags Educational System, Religion, Puritan Education

    In New England, the Puritans required every town to establish public schools supported by all families. After settling in the United States, the first buildings they constructed were a house of worship and a school. This exemplifies that education and religion were the two most important beliefs that the Puritans held. According to New England First Fruits, “After God… reared convenient places...

  12. A la Mode
    date May 6, 1851 to 1851map ROCKBRIDGE, Virginiatags Arts/Leisure, Urban-Life/Boosterism, Women

    On May 6, 1951, John P. Lightner of Rockbridge County received a letter from his traveling cousin. The author of the letter was finally able to see what city life was like He described Fifth Street as being packed; everywhere he looked he saw merchants with small stands trying to sell veggies, fowl, and more flowers than one could possibly imagine. That night, he bought tickets for six dollars each,...

  13. Bringing Women's Education Close to Home
    date January 8, 1852map CLARKE, Georgiatags Economy, Education, Migration/Transportation, Women

    An Old Citizen of Athens, as he called himself, wrote an editorial for the Southern Banner in January 1852 complaining about the way Athenians were educating their daughters. He argued that instead of sending their daughters to large overgrown establishment outside of Athens, they should take advantage of the good teachers and schools available closer to home. There are two advantages that this...

  14. A Pennsylvania Court Convicts Under the Fugitive Slave Law
    date August 8, 1851map MARSHALL, Mississippitags African-Americans, Crime/Violence, Law, Migration/Transportation, Race-Relations, Slavery

    As the news of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 reached Holly Springs, Mississippi, the citizens were very anxious to see how the North would uphold the laws. The law stated that if one captures a fugitive slave, it is the responsibility of the law enforcement and citizens to aide in the returning of those slaves to their rightful owners. The people of Mississippi knew that slaves would attempt...

  15. Cotton Planters Convention
    date July 26, 1851map LEON, Floridatags Agriculture, Economy

    The Cotton farmers of Florida came together in hopes of stabilizing pricing and markets. Judge Broome was the chairman of this convention and created the report which was used to analyze Cotton production and output. They came to the conclusion that a price minimum was essential and blamed irregular output for their pricing problems. This convention sparked interest in other southern cotton growing...

  16. U.S. Marshall Protected by Fugitive Slave Act
    date October 1, 1851 to June 21, 1852map ONONDAGA, New Yorktags Crime/Violence, Economy, Law, Slavery, Urban Life/Boosterism, Slavery

    In 1851, United States Deputy Marshall Henry W. Allen arrested freed slave William Henry in Syracuse, New York. Allen claimed Henry was a fugitive slave from Missouri. Though Henry was temporarily aided in escaping by local abolitionists, Marshall Allen and police arrested William Henry. This arrest happened in a brutal manner and William Henry was "excessively bruized in the struggle and was taken...

  17. Adoption of an Ordinance in Marietta
    date February 13, 1852map COBB, Georgiatags African-Americans, Government, Law, Migration/Transportation, Slavery, Women

    Jenny, an African American woman residing in Marietta, Georgia, desperately wanted to move. In 1852, the local government of Marietta passed an ordinance against negroes hiring out their own time or living on lots to themselves. This new law was greatly at odds with Jenny's current living situation. Jenny believed that under the law she would no longer prosper at her current residence. Faced...

  18. Mob Expels Wesleyan Minister for Abolitionist Agitation
    date May 18, 1851 to August 15, 1851map GUILFORD, North Carolinatags African-Americans, Church/Religious-Activity, Crime/Violence, Race-Relations, Slavery

    The mob had made up its mind. Wesleyan Methodist preacher Jesse McBride had stirred too much controversy among whites and slaves in Guilford County. Intending to run McBride out of the county, about two-hundred men gathered on May 23, 1851 outside of the church where he would preach that morning. For six hours McBride had been on the road, not finishing the 18 mile journey to his Liberty Hill...

  19. The Implications of Racist Railroad Policies
    date 1851map MACON, Georgiatags African-Americans, Migration/Transportation, Race-Relations, Slavery

    The Macon and Western Railroad adopted a new policy in 1851 which prohibited all black people, regardless of their freed or enslaved status, from boarding any train unless they could prove the legitimacy of their travel. All African Americans had to have a written pass issued by the individual's owner or trustee. The office and the conductor both required a copy of it, and if the office was...

  20. A Woman's Worth
    date 1851map AUGUSTA, Virginiatags African-Americans, Race-Relations, Slavery, Women

    When reading novels from nineteenth century, one often sees an overbearing mother whose only joy in life is finding suitable matches for her infinite number of daughters. In these stories, the daughter does not normally have much, if any, say as to whom she will wed. On Tuesday October 25, 1851, Mary Jane Boggs Holladay of Virginia was busy in preparation for her marriage. She was confronted with...

  21. Contraception of the 1840's and 1850's
    date 1851map AUGUSTA, Virginiatags Health/Death, Women

    NEW EDITION OF DR WEISSELHOFF'S SCIENTIFIC WORK ON THE SUBJECT OF CHILD-BIRTH screamed an ad in Lexington's The Valley Star. The proclamation, which ran on Thursday, February 26, 1849, advertised a new book containing insights into birth control. Years before John Stuart Mill and his wife handed out condoms in a London subway, this paper in a small Virginia town danced around the issue a...

  22. A Good Christian
    date 1851map AUGUSTA, Virginiatags Church/Religious-Activity, Women

    As a sociable southerner, one expected certain attributes from you: manners, dress that suited your means, Christianity. Although Mary Jane Holladay wrote in her diary that it was her constant prayer that she should be able to please her husband and have a loving marriage, she was quite anxious when it came to religion. In her opinion, it was better to spend time wrestling with and testing her faith...

  23. Seed Planted for Central Park
    date 1851map NEW YORK, New Yorktags Arts/Leisure, Health/Death, Politics, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    In 1851, a journalist put into words an ideology that would start a new trend in urban development. He proposed the construction of a huge public park that would "be enjoyed by thousands of all classes, without distinction." The ideals of Romanticism and the Republican view of the importance of nature were at a peak among educated Americans at this time and this commentator proposed a way to manifest...

  24. Abolitionism Takes a Whipping in Virginia
    date 1851map GRAYSON, Virginiatags Abolition, Vigilance Committee

    All that John Gornith heard as he stood tied to an oak tree in the Virginia woods was the crack of the whip. In 1851, the Vigilance Committee of Grayson County, Virginia arrested Gornith for spreading abolitionist propaganda. The Committee forced Gornith, a friend of an Ohio abolitionist, to renounce his abolitionist sentiments and leave the state, but not before tying him to a tree to "receive...

  25. Doctor C.K. Winston and the University of Nashville Medical School
    date March 13, 1852map DAVIDSON, Tennesseetags Health/Death, Education

    Doctors C.K. and J.D. Winston declared their services available to the people of Nashville on March 13, 1852. The two doctors provided both the practice of general medicine and surgery. The advertisement gave the locations of their offices, the first on Cherry Street and the second out of Doctor J.D. Winston's home on Vine Street. Doctor C.K. Winston gained significant praise in the medical...