Episodes Nearest to March 1, 1856: 1 through 25 of 25

  1. Education by Gender
    date March 1, 1856map YORK, South Carolinatags Arts/Leisure, Education, War, Women

    The Charleston Mercury ran an advertisement in March 1856 for the creation of a "Preparatory Military School" in Yorkville, South Carolina. Though the school was set to open nine years later, in 1865, the headmasters were thinking far ahead. The basic courseload for the school had arithmetic, history, geography, and grammar, while the advanced lessons included surveying, mythology, French,...

  2. Escape through Death: The Story of Fugitive Margaret Garner
    date January 27, 1856 to January 28, 1856map HAMILTON, Ohiotags Law, Women, Slavery, african americans

    Deemed “a tale of horror” by The Cincinnati Enquirer, Margaret Garner, a fugitive slave, took the life of her child in order to save her from a life of slavery.  This is the story that Cincinnati woke up to on the morning of January 29, 1856.  Two nights earlier, sixteen slaves had escaped from Kentucky into Ohio, eight of whom included Garner and her family.  According to The...

  3. Jefferson Davis on Indian Removal
    date April 14, 1856 to April 15, 1856map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Migration/Transportation, Race-Relations

    Secretary of War Jefferson Davis wrote to Governor James S. Broome of Florida regarding the War Department's plan for dealing with Indian populations in that state. Relations between Seminoles and white Floridians were marred with animosity, which occasionally resulted in violence. Davis' plan included peaceful emigration, a ban on trade with Indians, the construction of roads leading...

  4. Cause of the Kansas Troubles
    date May 1, 1856map DAVIDSON, Tennesseetags Politics, Slavery

    The Know-Nothing Party was blamed for the disorder in Kansas in the 1850s. On May 1 1856, the Nashville Union and American published an article criticizing the party. The article claimed that the aim of the recently created Know-Nothing Party was the abolition of slavery and, in particular, to "defeat any attempt to introduce Kansas into the union as a slave state." Know-Nothingism was...

  5. Condition of Train System in mid-1800s
    date May 1, 1856map DINWIDDIE, Virginiatags Migration/Transportation

    "The passenger car ran off the track, was pitched to the ground...dislocating my left shoulder and fracturing the end of the arm bone that fits into the shoulder." J.M. Siller wrote these words in a letter detailing a recent trip he had made from his home in Lynchburg, Virginia to Anderson, South Carolina. He was on his return trip, just outside of Petersburg, Virginia, when his...

  6. Defeated at Last: The End of the Third Seminole War
    date May 1, 1856map ALACHUA, Floridatags Native-Americans, Race-Relations, War

    The ongoing Seminole Wars between the Seminole Indians and the U.S. army began in November 1817. According to an issue of the New York Herald, the U.S. army and the Seminoles renewed this guerilla-style conflict in May of 1856, marking the Third Seminole War. Billy Bowlegs led the Seminoles in this Third War, but did not enjoy much success against the U.S. troops.

    In the article,...

  7. Agricultural Survival and Wealth
    date May 2, 1856map AUGUSTA, Virginiatags Agriculture, Economy, Politics

    On May 2, 1856 in western Virginia, Congressman John Letcher wrote a letter to his friend Alexander H.H. Stuart, who was also a politician. Letcher was born in Lexington, where he owned a law firm and began his political career. He later served as the governor of Virginia beginning in 1859. Stuart, on the other hand, was born in nearby Staunton where he was greatly involved with politics. Although...

  8. The Runaway Daniel
    date May 2, 1856map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Law, Race-Relations, Slavery

    On Friday, May 2, 1856, an ad was put out in the Daily National Intelligencer from a subscriber living near Upper Marlboro', Prince George's county (Md), offered a 100 reward for the return of a "run away." On the "4th of April, Negro boy Daniel" ran away from his master to, the master believed, Washington City. Daniel's master, J. Berry, understood that "he is hired in Washington...

  9. Student Withdraws After Beating Slave Girl
    date May 3, 1856map ALBEMARLE, Virginiatags African-Americans, Crime/Violence, Race-Relations, Slavery

    In May 1856, students and faculty at the University of Virginia were consumed by the news that the faculty board forced a student to withdraw after beating a slave child. The removal of a student from the Academical Village over a slave whipping was difficult for many to believe since whipping was a common disciplinary action for misbehaving servants. Confusion mixed with curiosity...

  10. Border Ruffians Leave For Kansas
    date May 3, 1856map JACKSON, Missouritags Migration/Transportation, Politics, Slavery

    On May 3, 1856 a group of settlers left Westport, Missouri for the Territory of Kansas. Led by Major Buford, the diverse group consisted of pro-slavery activists of all stripes. They came from several Southern states, including Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Leaving to much fanfare, the settlers departed after a reception at the Farmer's Hotel in Westport. There, Major Buford,...

  11. Virginians Advocate Death for Slave Stealing
    date December 17, 1855map GOOCHLAND, Virginiatags Migration/Transportation, Slavery

    The escape of slaves was common during the year of 1855. Much of this began to be blamed upon the northern states, such as Massachusetts, who was not upholding the Fugitive Slave Act. There was a southern anticipation regarding the northerners' influence on the escape and uprisings of slaves. A large part of this view that northern abolitionists were involved was because of the Underground...

  12. The Pains of Being a Democrat in Richmond
    date November, 1855 to January, 1856map RICHMOND, Virginiatags Crime/Violence, Politics, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    In 1855, John Sergeant Wise, the young son of the newly elected Governor Henry Wise, was desperately trying to adapt to his new home in Richmond, Virginia. Having previously come from a rural town, John Wise was mocked by his schoolmates for being a provincial bumpkin. However, most of the abuse from his fellow students was due to his father's political persuasion as a Democrat. In one particular...

  13. Millard Filmore, American Party Candidate for President
    date May, 1856map WASHINGTON, Virginiatags Politics

    Throughout the month of May 1856, the Abingdon Virginian newspaper printed the name of the town's choice for president in the upcoming presidential election. Their choice for president was Millard Fillmore of New York, and for vice president Andrew U. Donelson of Tennessee, nominated by the American Party. There was no further explanation for this information, but rather an announcement...

  14. Disaster on the Carolina Railroad
    date May, 1856map NELSON, Virginiatags Economy, Migration/Transportation, Science/Technology

    On May 19, 1856, C.M. Siller wrote a letter to his friend J.L. Twyman, a resident of Buchanan County, Virginia. From his room at the Washington Hotel in Lynchburg, Virginia, Siller described the details of his train ride to Anderson, South Carolina two weeks earlier. His three-page letter discussed in great depth the landscape of the various towns he saw, as well as the agricultural production of...

  15. The Brewing Political Atmosphere of the 1850s
    date May, 1856map HENRICO, Virginiatags Politics, Slavery, War

    In the weeks leading to the United States presidential election of 1856, the future of the union seemed to hinge on the issue of slavery. The Richmond Whig and Public Advertiser, a semi-weekly newspaper that was distributed throughout Richmond during the 1850s, published a series of articles expressing the southern Democrats' staunch opposition to federal interference in slavery. The...

  16. Farm for Sale
    date May 16, 1856map KING WILLIAM, Virginiatags Agriculture, Economy

    On May 16, 1856, John Cooke posted an advertisement in the Richmond Whig and Public Advertiser to sell his farm in King William County, Virginia. His farm was a desirable property, as it lay alongside the Mattapony River, only one mile from the county court house. Cooke stressed the fact that along this steamboats river ran straight to Norfolk, Virginia, optimal for farmers who wanted...

  17. Nicaraguan Affairs
    date May 19, 1856map HENRICO, Virginiatags Diplomacy/International, Migration/Transportation

    On Monday May 19, 1856, the headline story of the Daily Dispatch was entitled "Nicaraguan Affairs," a topic that was prevalent among many of the newspaper's articles that month. This particular article discussed how Central America would potentially provide the United States with routes of passage for naval ships. These naval transit routes, specifically a possible Nicaraguan canal, would better...

  18. The Assault of Charles Sumner
    date May 1, 1856 to June 6, 1856map WAKE, North Carolinatags Crime/Violence, Politics, Slavery

    The "chastisement of Senator Sumner" by Senator Brooks in the United States Senate came under heavy criticism in both the Northern and Southern United States. While the Northern reaction was a more conciliatory tone towards Sumner and one that called for the punishment of Brooks, the Southern reaction was that it was a ploy by Northern abolitionists to further the fight to end their way of life,...

  19. Bleeding Congress
    date May 19, 1856 to May 22, 1856map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Abolitionism, Bleeding Kansas, Brooks-Sumner Fight, Violence

     

     

    Tensions on Capitol Hill had been rising for years as Southern and Northern politicians continued their debates with one another over the slavery issue. By the 1850s there was a full out war of words in both chambers of Congress as each side was becoming increasingly uncompromising in their cause. These tensions had been creeping across the country at an extremely fast rate throughout...

  20. Sumner-Brooks Affair
    date May 22, 1856map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Kansas-Nebraska Act, Abolitionism, Sumner, Brooks, Violence

    Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner sat as his desk in the nearly empty Chamber of the United States Senate on May 22, 1856. He had recently given a speech called “The Crime Against Kansas” on abolishing slavery in the United States. The speech described atrocities occurring in Kansas at the time. There pro-slavery border ruffians from Missouri crossed into Kansas and attacked anti-slavery...

  21. Violence Resulting from the Kansas-Nebraska Act Leads to the “Wakarusa War.'
    date November 29, 1855map PLATTE, Missouritags Crime/Violence, Health/Death, Slavery

    The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 led to a passionate desire to populate the territories with either pro-slavery or free-soil voters. One of the problems that arose from this situation involved the Platte County, Missouri, which, according to the Times-Picayune, some desired to be annexed to Kansas by pro-slavery factions on the border between Missouri and Kansas. This heightened tensions between...

  22. Governor Adams of South Carolina Proposes Changing Laws Regarding Colored Seamen at Ports
    date November 27, 1855map LEXINGTON, South Carolinatags African-Americans, Slavery

    In 1855 there still existed a law in South Carolina that allowed for the imprisonment of colored seamen who arrived at their ports. This act was causing tensions with the British vessels that landed in South Carolina, but then lost seaman to the jails. In February 1855, the new Governor of South Carolina visited Charleston and was asked by Robert Bunch to change the Negro Seamen Acts in South...

  23. Reward
    date November 21, 1855map ORLEANS, Louisianatags African-Americans, Law, Race-Relations, Slavery

    Be on the look out for a runaway slave. Wednesday morning, November 21, 1855 found Patrick finnegan, a slave owner, in a dismal mood. His slave, Edmund, became one of the many attempted runaways across the country. If only he could make it across the border line, Edmund would find himself a safe haven to live out the rest of his life.

    Edmund was described as a 5 feet high, stout built and...

  24. Letter of Henry A. Wise
    date November 18, 1855map ACCOMACK, Virginiatags Law

    Henry A. Wise was elected Governor of Virginia in 1855, defeating the Know-Nothing candidate Thomas S. Flournoy, attacking him on religious intolerance and Know-nothing sects of pro-slavery forces in the north. Wise's priority was the institutions of the South and, despite his concerns with state issues; he was ardent on his views against growing northern power over the south. For wise, the...

  25. Bill Passed to Incorporate the Mississippi Central and Tennessee Railroad Company
    date November 14, 1855map DAVIDSON, Tennesseetags Economy, Migration/Transportation

    During 1855 there was a strong movement to expand the railroads in the southern states. Although railroads were well established in the far southeastern states, there was still a need and desire to expand into the west and into the midwestern states. During the 1850's there was a particular expansion of railroads in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Railroads were also built more upon...