Episodes Around: 18530701

  1. Seminole Chief Billy Bowlegs and His Tribe Refuses to Leave Florida
    date January, 1853 to 1853map ALACHUA, Floridatags Migration/Transportation, Race-Relations

    In 1832, the Seminole tribe in Florida entered into a treaty with the state agreeing to emigrate west of the Mississippi within three years or extend the period by which they were permitted to remain within the state. However, the Chief, “Billy Bowlegs,' and his tribe had refused to vacate the land on which they lived. In response, the Florida Legislature had authorized the raising of two...

  2. Frederick Law Olmsted Journeys Through Texas
    date 1853 to 1854map SABINE, Texastags African-Americans, Slavery

    As the Northern journalist and famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted began his journal through Texas, he wrote, “In entering new precincts, the mind instinctively looks for salient incidents to fix its whereabouts and reduce of define its vague anticipations.' Olmsted's research journey through Texas commissioned by the New York Daily Times (now the New York Times) culminated...

  3. Northern Traveler Endures Southern Transportation
    date 1853map CUMBERLAND, North Carolinatags African-Americans, Migration/Transportation, Race-Relations, Women

    Frustrated by the stagecoach's delayed start, Northerner Frederick Olmsted waited no longer to commence the next leg of his southern exploration. He began the 26 mile journey from Gaston to Fayetteville on foot and let the coach catch up with him along the way. By one o'clock, though he had covered almost ten miles, he doubted he had passed even half a dozen farms. Olmsted took lunch...

  4. Science in the 1850s
    date 1853map ORLEANS, Louisianatags Education, Women

    The New Orleans Academy of Sciences published their constitution and by-laws in 1853. They declared their overarching objective to be the advancement of science, and, despite a great deal of bureaucracy, at least improved their own knowledge during each meeting. The Academy consisted of a certain group of 27 gentlemen, each one an original member and founder. They had strict rules about admitting...

  5. Technological Progress in Louisiana
    date 1853map ORLEANS, Louisianatags Economy, Government, Migration/Transportation, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    New Orleans' geographical location made it a prime final destination for all sorts of shipable goods. The city had become one of the premier metropolises of not only the state but also the entire South, thanks to the convergence of the Mississippi with the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Despite the abundance of water routes, the need for other methods of transportation grew along with the city....

  6. A Northern View on Southern People
    date 1853map NOXUBEE, Mississippitags Government, Law

    In the years of 1851 and 1852, Joseph Baldwin traveled through the south documenting everything he saw, in a very detailed manner. He was from New York, and needless to say, felt out of place and different among the southerners. Baldwin was a lawyer, and in his book about his travels, Flush Times of Alabama and Mississippi, he takes most of his time explaining the legal matters of the places he...

  7. Temperance in North Carolina
    date 1853map WAKE, North Carolinatags Arts/Leisure, Church/Religious-Activity, Slavery

    In 1853, The Sons of Temperance of North Carolina in the Presbyterian Church published a pamphlet reiterating the evils of an "essential poison:" alcohol. The pamphlet described the threatening and mocking effects of all types of alcohol upon society. The Sons of Temperance was a "fraternal lodge" with subdivisions in most states and it was based on the principles of temperance expressed by the...

  8. Thomas Hart Benton Begins Term as Congressman
    date March 4, 1853 to March 3, 1855map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Slavery

    A Southerner born in North Carolina, Thomas Hart Benton became an influential figure in Missouri and was in positions of political leadership for most of his life. He was the first United States Senator to serve five terms. In his political career, he was a strong advocate of westward expansion and was an architect of the movement that would become known as Manifest Destiny. Benton authored the...

  9. Yellow Fever Hits New Orleans
    date May 1, 1853 to November 1, 1853map ORLEANS, Louisianatags Health/Death, Government, Migration/Transportation

    Nearly every summer, as the heat rose in New Orleans, so did the death toll. Most of the people who expired were victims of the same mysterious affliction: high fever, muscle aches, vomiting and an eventual yellowish tint to the skin that preceded death. Baffled physicians prescribed everything from doses of quinine to sponge-baths to calomel, with no telling what the results would be from patient...

  10. Yellow Fever Epidemic in Louisiana
    date May 25, 1853 to October 13, 1853map ORLEANS, Louisianatags Church/Religious-Activity, Health/Death, Economy, Slavery

    The yellow fever epidemic of Louisiana was especially deadly, arriving earlier than usual at the end of May and persisting until mid-October. At the time of the epidemic, little was known about the transmission, prevention, nature, and treatment of the disease. Among physicians as well as among the general population, there was much debate and confusion regarding yellow fever. In an effort to prevent...

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