Episodes Nearest to April 1, 1860 to April 30, 1860: 1 through 25 of 25

  1. Indian Tension
    date April, 1860map GALVESTON, Texastags Government, Politics, Native-Americans, War

    Indians in Texas, especially during the Civil War, were unruly and often feared. In fact, they raided and looted all across Texas in response to the constant threat of losing even more territory. While Indians succeeded by burning stations and driving settlers from their homes, their actions spurred many more debates, conventions, and other attempts to deal with the Indians. One attempt to coexist...

  2. A Democratic Division: Florida and the 1860 Presidential Election
    date April 9, 1860map LEON, Floridatags Politics

    With the Election of 1860 just months away, the Democratic Party in Florida began working on its strategy to defeat the Republicans. Hoping to gain momentum before the upcoming election, Florida began appointing officials to represent the Democratic Party in the late spring of 1860. Delegated wanted to insure that democratic values were integrated into the current federal government, so Florida...

  3. African-American Population growth
    date April 30, 1860map SHELBY, Tennesseetags African-Americans, Migration/Transportation

    In 1850, Shelby County ranked seventh in free colored population. In the ten years that followed, it grew considerably to be ranked fifth in free population and first in total population in Tennessee. The free population grew considerably because of many reasons, specifically natural birth from free African American mothers, more frequent self-purchase, and increased immigration free African-Americans...

  4. Dr. Baynard Byme Praises Florida Agriculture
    date April 1, 1860map MARION, Floridatags African-Americans, Agriculture, Economy, Migration/Transportation, Slavery

    In a pamphlet written to encourage colonists to visit East and South Florida, Dr. Baynard Byme highlighted the advantages of the soil, climate, and production of the relatively sparsely populated state of Florida. After describing the weather, terrain, and typical lifestyle, Dr. Byme acknowledged the differences between Florida cotton and that grown in other states but made sure to clarify the reason...

  5. Davis Resolutions
    date May 14, 1860map Washington City, District of Columbiatags Slavery

    The Davis Resolutions were a set of agreements voted on by Congress in an attempt to end the feuding over the issue of slavery in the territories. The issue had been debated for months to decide whether the people in the territory should make decisions on domestic affairs or if the government of the United States should make the decisions. Jefferson Davis was a big proponent of the people in the...

  6. Elick's Escape Plan
    date March 11, 1860 to March 21, 1860map CLAIBORNE, Mississippitags African-Americans, Agriculture, Crime/Violence, Race-Relations, Slavery, War

    Alden Spooner Forbes, a planter and merchant in Port Gibson, Claiborne County, Mississippi, wrote in his diary on March 11, 1860, that this was the night that he first discovered his slave Elick's plan of running away. He realized Elick's plan when he could not find him at night and immediately, the following day, March 12, put Elick in jail for safekeeping and to ensure he could not escape....

  7. Charleston Mercury and Richmond Enquirer Debate the Richmond Convetion
    date May 10, 1860 to May 23, 1860map HENRICO, Virginiatags African-Americans, Government, Politics, Slavery

    In May of 1860, two major Southern papers, The Charleston Mercury and The Richmond Enquirer, engaged in a fiery debate. The issue of this debate was participation in the Democratic Party National Convention at Baltimore, Maryland-where the party's Presidential nominee was to be decided. The Baltimore Convention was the second such attempt; Democrats had met earlier...

  8. The Woman Voter
    date March 15, 1860map ALEXANDRIA CITY, Virginiatags Politics, Women

    When a woman in 1860, in Alexandria, Virginia, discovered that her husband was too sick to vote in the election, she tried to exercise what the Tribune called 'Woman's rights' by casting his vote for him. When she wasn't allowed to vote she became agitated and used a bat to move people from the area. Eventually, she was subdued and removed from the polls. Although this is perhaps...

  9. Mississippian Secession
    date January 21, 1860 to April 24, 1860map ADAMS, Mississippitags Politics, Slavery, War

    Benjamin Leonard Covington Wailes, a wealthy plantation owner in Washington, Adams County, Mississippi, wrote a diary entry on January 21, 1860, describing the happenings of the Mississippi Senate, which he was a member of. According to Wailes, General Starkle, another Senate member, proposed to send a commission to the legislature of Virginia to discuss the state of federal relations and to procure...

  10. Newspapers used as a medium
    date June 8, 1860map LOUDOUN, Virginiatags Slavery

    Advertisements for the sale and purchase of African-Americans were found daily in local newspapers. People who were interested in buying or selling slaves placed advertisements, which appeared on the front pages of many newspapers. While many people placed their own ads in the papers, there were some large slave-owners who went through agents specialized in locating the slaves they wished to purchase....

  11. City or Country Education?
    date June, 1860map BRISTOL, Massachusettstags Education, Women

    "Ought girls to receive a country or city school education?," asked the anonymous author of an essay published in the June 1880 issue of Rushlight, the literary magazine of Wheaton Female Seminary in Norton, Massachusetts. The author explained that people thought a city school education was better because "one has opportunities for mingling with a great number of people, and attending more...

  12. Episode is the on New York Court of Appeals case called The People of The State of New York against Jonathan Lemmon. The case was commonly known as the “Lemmon Slave Case”.
    date January, 1860 to March, 1860map NEW YORK, New Yorktags habeas corpus, Slavery, Lemmon Case

    On January 25, 1860, the New York Times reported on an important case before the New York Court of Appeals called The People of The State of New York against Jonathan Lemmon. The case was commonly known as the “Lemmon Slave Case”. The events that led to this appeal dated back to 1850. The court case brought up hard questions about slavery within the United States of America and challenged...

  13. Cotton in the South
    date February 11, 1860map CHARLESTON, South Carolinatags Agriculture, Economy

    Cotton was one of the largest cash crops in the majority of southern states, but especially dominant in South Carolina. Newspapers ran daily reports on the cotton market locally, regionally, and in other states. Prices were reported, along with a report on how this related to past days' sales. The Charleston Tri-Weekly Courier reported that “prices generally strengthened under the combined...

  14. Elizabeth Blaetterman Embarks on a Teacher Career
    date June 30, 1860map MASON, Kentuckytags Arts/Leisure, Education

    Elizabeth C. Blaetterman was born and raised on a farm in Virginia during the early 1800s. Raised on a large farm with relatives and close friends near by, Elizabeth became dear friends with a young girl named Victoria. Upon Elizabeth's move to Maysville, Kentucky, in hopes of a more prosperous life for her family, Victoria and Elizabeth agreed they would write to one another and stay in touch...

  15. Calvin v. State
    date 1860map BROWN, Texastags African-Americans, Crime/Violence, Slavery

    This case involved an African-American slave killing another African-American slave. It was one of the few slave court cases in Texas where the judge went out of his way to ensure the rights of the slave. The state of Texas took on the responsibility of providing the slave defendant with a counsel because he did not have the resources to secure one himself. The state provided four different lawyers...

  16. Charles Whitehead Ridicules Jackson's Domestic Slaves
    date 1860map MONROE, Floridatags African-Americans, Agriculture, Race-Relations, Slavery

    Jackson was a wealthy Florida planter who inherited several acres of land from his family. He owned dogs, horses, and men-servants and maid-servants were born in his house, and the forests surrounding Jackson's plantation were plentiful with wild animals. In 1860, he and Charles Whitehead decided to practice their hunting techniques on his property. They camped by the side of his house to spend...

  17. The Confederate Image
    date 1860map ROCKBRIDGE, Virginiatags War

    Southerners thought about fashion even in the midst of the Civil War. Preserved in the diary of Virginian and officer in the Confederate Army John Cocke, a small slip of paper recorded the exact fashion of the uniform for officers in the Virginia military. According to the paper, the uniforms should be dark blue coat, red, white lining and buttons, white vest, blue pantaloons with red seams, gold...

  18. Orange County Elections of 1860
    date 1860map ORANGE, Virginiatags Government, Politics

    In a letter written from Mossy Creek Academy to his parents back home, Casper C. Branner discussed the results of the presidential election of 1860. This election of 1860 demonstrated the adherence of the majority of Orange County, Virginia residents to the Union. Although the elections of 1860 were considered by many to be the beginning of the American Civil War, the processes and tensions regarding...

  19. Development of The Blue Ridge Railroad in South Carolina
    date January 1, 1860 to December 31, 1860map RICHLAND, South Carolinatags Economy, Government, Law, Migration/Transportation, Politics

    This was a road that led to development. This was a road that led to economic prosperity for the South. This was the Blue Ridge Railroad. In 1860, the President of the Blue Ridge Railroad Company, Edward Frost, in a report to the stockholders and the state legislature, reported on the condition and growth of the line, proposed a plan for its expansion, and requested renewed assistance from...

  20. The reliance on the slave trade as a benefit to the economy
    date 1860map DADE, Floridatags Slave Trade, Transatlantic Slave Trade, Slavery

    Slave Trade

    Understanding the economic standards for growth in the new world at the time can help one understand the importance of the slave trade. There was a constant demand for slaves because they were vital to the stability of their individual plantations. "Slavery shaped the economic growth of the lower South in the eighteenth century " (Rosenbloom 1999). These individual slaves were...

  21. "The Political Quadrille": the 1860 Election
    date 1860map NEW YORK, New Yorktags Abraham Lincoln, 1860 Election, Harper's Weekly, "The Political Quadrille"

    During the Nineteenth Century, political cartoons became very popular ways for people to learn about politics in a humorous way.  One of the first American Political magazines, Harper’s Weekly (A Journal of Civilization), was one of the first magazines that published political cartoons.  Arguably, some of the most important articles, illustrations, and cartoons came from Harper’s...

  22. A Letter From Shanghai
    date 1860map GREENVILLE, South Carolinatags Christian, Missionaries, Cultural Life, China

    In his letter to Reverend Richard Furman, missionary J.B. Hartwell depicted the difficulties of embracing Chinese culture as well as spreading the Word of God in the non Christian community of Shanghai.  Hartwell  gave a summary of the current events that were taking place in Shanghai both with the group of missionaries in the field, as well as the ongoing practices of Chinese culture.  One...

  23. The 1860 Greenville, SC Census: A Sampling of Wealth
    date 1860map GREENVILLE, South Carolinatags Greenville, SC, 1860 census, boarding houses

    The wealth of residents listed in Greenville’s 1860 census, pages 298 and 299, is obvious and not simply because of the assets they claim. All of the children listed had attended school in the last year including children over fifteen (who were required to list their occupation in the 1860 census). This not only implies that area families did not require their children’s labor, but also that...

  24. Slave Sarah Frances Shaw Graves Recalls an Unjust Whipping
    date 1860map NODAWAY, Missouritags African-Americans, Slavery, Women

     

    Sarah Frances Shaw Graves was born a slave in Missouri. She was interviewed in her later years as a part of the slave narratives taken when she was free. One story she related was of a Sunday when she attended a wedding for her master’s kinfolks. The bride walked into the church and someone kicked dust onto the bride’s dress, but it was not Graves. She, however, got blamed for it and...

  25. Railroad Revolution
    date July 4, 1860map PRINCESS ANNE, Virginiatags Migration/Transportation, Urban-Life/Boosterism

    Railroads were the transportation craze of the nation during the 1840s. In the early 1860s, tracks exceeded 30,000 miles in length. The North was certainly far more connected than the South, simply because they were more industrialized and had the money to do so. Often in the South, the majority of money spent was for land purchases or slaves. The railroads of the South were not evenly dispersed....