In this day and age, newspapers rarely print fiction. Of course, there is the occasional magical story written by a third grade class that appears every once a week in the Arts and Entertainment section of the paper, but for the most part, fictional stories of real substance are not published in newspapers anymore. This was not the case in the 1800's. Appearing in The Valley Star each week was...
Virginia residents opened up their newspapers one morning in December 1832 and discovered an address from the governor, John Floyd. He wrote to the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates in regards to the South Carolina Nullification Ordinance, and the newspaper posted this as an article for locals. Floyd explained that South Carolina felt the Tariffs took advantage of it and the state had "declared...
Mary James had in front of her a valuable contract of exchange that would benefit her a great deal; She was to acquire 775 worth of goods in this posthumous division of James Henley's property. In this particular transaction, however, others' loss far outweighed her gain. The property divided was Henley's eight slaves, valued from 50 for the young to 350 for the adults. These enslaved...
On Saturday, December 15, 1832, the Virginia Herald expressed its grief over the Nullification Crisis with the words, "alarming as the crisis...is, we cling to the hope, that for the sake of humanity and the honor of our country and her institutions, that means of averting the impending storm may yet be devised..." While regretting the approaching conflict, the Virginia newspaper never...
John C. Calhoun led an ambitious political life. He sat in James Monroe's Cabinet in the 1810s and 1820s. Then, in the hotly contested presidential election of 1824, Calhoun ran, but resigned himself to second place, where he neatly fit in as John Quincy Adams' vice president. In a time when political party affiliations were never stable, Calhoun aligned himself with Andrew Jackson half-way...
Slave owners and merchants reading the December 28, 1832 edition of the American Beacon gazed with curiosity at the plethora of goods available for sale in the local market. Advertisements present in the Norfolk-based newspaper attempted to sell goods such as Christmas supplies, hats, and chlorine tooth wash. While these impersonal objects were goods commonly traded and sold in...
"They have gone so far, that it is even more difficult to recede than go on; and they had rather see the Union dissolved tomorrow than that their own proposition should be accepted," proclaimed the Lynchburg Virginian in reference to South Carolina's actions in December 1832. It all began in 1828 when Congress enacted the so-called Tariff of Abominations. Many Southerners thought the highly...
The crisis threatened to tear the nation apart. This crisis was the passage of the Nullification Ordinances by the South Carolina State Assembly in November of 1832. The unity and survival of the nation depended upon President Andrew Jackson's response. On December 10, 1832, President Jackson presented his response to the Congress, arguing that the justification for state nullification...
"A child of 8 years had lost the use of his arms, one leg was almost crippled, hip popped out of place, thigh and arms swollen..." wrote a journalist for the Kentucky Gazette. The list of this young boy's maladies continues in the article. One would think this boy had no hope for survival from whatever illness had attacked his young body. However, "on taking these Drops he recovered...
"A Voice from Louisa" wrote to the Richmond Enquirer in December 1832 with the hope that a man like John Tyler would not be elected as a United States Senator once again. Instead, the writer expressed the importance of knowing the "political creed" of the candidates, as this was the only way to ensure the election of a senator who truly supported President Andrew Jackson and...