In March of 1840, the Southern Cabinet of Agriculture, Horticulture, Rural and Domestic Economy included an article saying “our readers are aware, no doubt, that certain parties in England have lately brought up a question as to this subject, which materially concerns this country; viz. whether there is any probability that England can hereafter raise her own supplies of the raw material for...
It is not hard to fathom why Augusta County, Virginia showed overwhelming support for the Harrison/Tyler ballot in the Election of 1840. One of the newspapers that circulated in Augusta County, the Staunton Spectator, commented on the results of the county's nomination for president. The Spectator was certain that their nomination of William Harrison and John Tyler would receive a hearty...
According to the Raleigh Star, in 1840 the colonial government of Trinidad, a possession of Great Britain, began to offer financial aid to any people of African descent who wished to move to the island. The law was passed in order to speed the economic development of the island, but it had a second effect of encouraging freed slaves in the United States to emigrate. This gave free blacks an alternative...
Gerrit Smith, a wealthy New Yorker, was a leading member of the abolitionist cause and desired for his movement to take the fight more aggressively and effectively in to American politics by forming a national party based on an abolitionist platform. He, along with Lewis Tappan and others formed the Liberty Party in April of 1840. The founders chose James Birney and Thomas Earle to run for president...
The Washingtonian Temperance Society started in May 1840 by six Baltimore drinking buddies who decided to write and sign a pledge stating that they would no longer consume alcohol. This six-person pledge began to turn into one of the largest movements in America. Men would lecture around the country showing people real life stories about what life is like when abusing alcohol. By the end of...
On May 5th and 6th the Democratic Convention met in Baltimore to prepare for the national election campaign. The delegates unanimously renominated President Martin Van Buren of New York, but the subject of the Vice-Presidential nomination brought a “marked diversity of opinion, and a spirited encounter.' Several delegations from the West pushed for the selection of Colonel Richard M....
On May 7, 1840, Sam Forwood, in Clark County, Alabama, wrote to his son William on the health of his family. Numerous family letters focused on health. In this correspondence, the first paragraph tended to discuss the health of all members of the family and the history of any sicknesses since the last letter. The Forwood family was generally in sufficient health, despite a fever here and there....
As the New England foliage began to turn in October of 1840, Laban Morey Wheaton sold Linus Howard an astonishing twenty-five bushels of potatoes, and only a couple of short days later Linus returned for another five bushels of potatoes. What could possibly explain this surge in the demand for potatoes in Norton Massachusetts? Laban dealt with many transactions concerning potatoes as indicated within...
To most South Carolina planters, the weather was of utmost importance. They relied on nature to provide them with their livelihood, the planting of rice and other crops. Charles Heyward resided in Charleston for most of the year, but controlled many plantations outside of the city, including Rose Hill, Amsterdam, and Lewisburg Plantations. By 1860, he owned 471 slaves. Therefore, it was in his best...
For ten days in June 1840, abolitionists from both sides of the Atlantic met together at the World Antislavery Convention in Freemason’s Hall in London, England. The purpose of the convention was to better organize and unite international abolitionist forces in the fight for emancipation. Ironically, while championing the freedom of black slaves, the convention reinforced a different type...