About.com 19th Century History

Anniversary of Lincoln's Election

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:12:52 +0000

On November 6, 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected president in one of the most significant elections in American history. Lincoln, who had barely been known outside Illinois a year earlier, had engineered a brilliant campaign which took off after he gave a speech in New York City that made him a suddenly prominent voice against slavery and the politicians who accepted it.

Lincoln was elected without a single electoral vote from the south. And the news of his election as president prompted a number of southern states to make good on their threats to secede from the Union. By the time of Lincoln's inaugural address in March 1861, the first cannon shots of the Civil War were only weeks away.

The 1800s could boast a number of significant elections, but the campaign and election of 1860 will always stand apart. A candidate came from obscurity, stunned a number of more prominent politicians, and won a triumph that would forever resonate.

Photograph: Abraham Lincoln in 1860/Library of Congress

Anniversary of Lincoln's Election originally appeared on About.com 19th Century History on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 22:12:52.

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Why Do Americans Vote on a Tuesday in November?

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:27:12 +0000

Americans in various places will go the polls and vote on Election Day tomorrow. Ever wonder why a Tuesday in November is designated as Election Day?

The tradition is a throwback to the way people lived more than 200 years ago. Early November provided a chance for people to travel to the polls between bringing in the harvest and settling down for the worst weather of the winter. As for Tuesday, there were concerns about people not having to travel on the sabbath.

In 1845 the US Congress made a tradition the law, mandating that the presidential elections would be held every four years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

And state and local governments still generally follow the 19th century Election Day tradition, which is why a number of elections around the country will be held tomorrow, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

Why Do Americans Vote on a Tuesday in November? originally appeared on About.com 19th Century History on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 10:27:12.

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Photography of the 19th Century at the British Library

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:07:27 +0000

The British Library is unveiling a major exhibit of 19th century photography designed to show off a sampling of the library's vast photographic collection. The exhibit, titled Points of View, has an online component which can be enjoyed even if you can't get to London.

The exhibit contains several main sections, which focus on such topics as portraits, scientific photographs, and foreign scenes. As might be expected, there are striking images, such as an 1867 photograph of Stonehenge, a portrait of Oscar Wilde staring at the camera, and a classic shot of the hippo which arrived at a London Zoo in 1852 relaxing in its enclosure.

The focus is generally on British subjects, but the travel section naturally includes photos from exotic locales, and there are even some American subjects, such as an Alexander Gardner photograph taken following the Battle of Gettysburg.

The online exhibit will apparently expand beyond what's presently available, with an interactive timeline yet to be unveiled. And the exhibit boasts its own blog.

Points of View, which officially opens at the British Library on Friday, October 30, has already received favorable press coverage, including a rave review in The Times of London.

Photography of the 19th Century at the British Library originally appeared on About.com 19th Century History on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 22:07:27.

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The Spooky 1800s

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:47:08 +0000

The 1800s may be remembered for science and industry, but the century also had a very weird supernatural side.

A pair of young sisters in a village in New York State kicked off an international craze for spiritualism, a legendary and very nasty spirit terrorized a farmer and his family in Tennessee, and a First Lady of the United States not only encountered ghosts in the White House, she invited more to visit.

And then there was also poor Joe Baldwin, a railroader who lost his head in a horrific train accident but kept swinging his lantern along the tracks for years afterward.

Darwin's ideas and Morse's telegraph may have been changing the world, but people in the 1800s could put reason and science aside. It was a very supernatural century.

Illustration: Maggie and Kate Fox, who heard the rappings of spirits and began the spiritualism craze/lithograph by Currier and Ives, courtesy Library of Congress

The Spooky 1800s originally appeared on About.com 19th Century History on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 00:47:08.

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Did Mrs. O'Leary's Cow Start the Great Chicago Fire?

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:23:41 +0000

As the ruins of the Great Chicago Fire cooled in October 1871 a rumor began to spread from the devastated city to the rest of the world. And nothing could stop people from believing that a cow being milked by Mrs. Catherine O'Leary had kicked over a kerosene lantern to start the calamitous blaze.

Was the story true? Was Chicago really destroyed by a rambunctious cow?

The story appeared in a Chicago newspaper, and within weeks the story had spread to newspapers in other cities.

An article in the New York Times a month later mentioned that the official commission investigating the cause of the fire had debunked the rumor. But nothing could stop the story of Mrs. O'Leary's cow, and the tale survives to this day.

Photograph: Ruins of the Chicago Tribune building, October 1871/Library of Congress

Did Mrs. O'Leary's Cow Start the Great Chicago Fire? originally appeared on About.com 19th Century History on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 22:23:41.

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Immigrants from Mass Grave to Be Reburied

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:52:32 +0000

A disturbing discovery at a construction site on Staten Island in New York City has led to an emotional ceremony and plans to rebury the remains of immigrants who would have arrived in America at the time of the Great Famine in Ireland.

On Saturday a funeral mass was held at a Catholic Church on Staten Island, and two coffins holding the bones of immigrants discovered in a 19th century mass grave were carried into the church. One coffin contained the bones of adults, the other of children.

The burial site was discovered by workers building a new courthouse. The location had been a government immigrant station which ceased operation in 1858, five decades before Ellis Island opened. The mass grave contained the bodies of penniless immigrants who died in a quarantine hospital.

The remains of the immigrants will eventually be placed in a memorial adjacent to the site where the mass grave was discovered.

The New York Times has published a thoughtful article focusing on the forensic anthropologist who studied the bones. An article about Saturday's funeral mass has appeared in the Irish Times, and a news segment featuring interviews with attendees can be viewed at NY1.

Immigrants from Mass Grave to Be Reburied originally appeared on About.com 19th Century History on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 09:52:32.

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150th Anniversary of John Brown's Raid

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:23:15 +0000

In the 1850s the bitter disputes about slavery in America had erupted in sporadic incidents of violence ranging from attacks in Kansas to a savage beating on the floor of the US Senate. And one fanatical abolitionist, John Brown, struck a fateful blow 150 years ago this week.

John Brown, who had masterminded violent attacks in "Bleeding Kansas," turned up in rural Maryland in the summer of 1859, living under an assumed name. Along with some dedicated followers he intended to attack and seize the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, in present day West Virginia, and lead an uprising of slaves.

On October 16, 1859, Brown, his sons, and a small band of men launched their attack. Just about everything went wrong for Brown, and when his raid was put down by the military he was arrested and put on trial for treason.

Brown's hanging later in the year galvanized the North. In New England, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau spoke out about the man they had met and admired. John Brown had become a martyr, and the Civil War began to seem inevitable.

Image: John Brown/Library of Congress

150th Anniversary of John Brown's Raid originally appeared on About.com 19th Century History on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 23:23:15.

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Giuseppe Garibaldi

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:31:02 +0000

As we mark Columbus Day in America I'm reminded that in the 19th century the great hero to Italians wasn't the man who sailed to the New World.

The Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi was the iconic figure for Italian-Americans in the 19th century, before Christopher Columbus somehow took his place. Civic organizations were named for Garibaldi, and statues were erected in his honor.

Garibaldi was at various times a sea captain, a fugitive, and a political exile hiding out on Staten Island. And he was ultimately hailed as the heroic figure who unified Italy.

Garibaldi's autobiography was widely read and some consider him to be the first worldwide media star. Perhaps we should really be marking Garibaldi Day.

Photograph: Giuseppe Garibaldi/Library of Congress

Giuseppe Garibaldi originally appeared on About.com 19th Century History on Monday, October 12th, 2009 at 11:31:02.

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Lincoln and New York City

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:21:26 +0000

Abraham Lincoln is generally not associated with New York City, yet the man from Illinois had to conquer Gotham before he could ascend to the presidency. The New York Historical Society has just opened a new exhibit that illuminates Lincoln's important relationship with the city.

Lincoln's speech at Cooper Union in early 1860 propelled him toward the White House, and the support of New Yorkers was critical in the presidential campaign of 1860. And besides garnering the support of ordinary New Yorkers, Lincoln had to enlist the help of such luminaries as Horace Greeley, the influential editor of the New York Tribune.

The new exhibit at the New York Historical Society received a very good review in the New York Times. Even legendary New York City television reporter Gabe Pressman has chimed in with a glowing and informative review.

The exhibit will run until March, but the New York Historical Society's web site presents an insightful online version of "Lincoln and New York."

Lincoln and New York City originally appeared on About.com 19th Century History on Sunday, October 11th, 2009 at 23:21:26.

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Slave Ancestor of the First Lady Identified

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:00:26 +0000

The family heritage of First Lady Michelle Obama has been given extensive study by a professional genealogist and the New York Times, and a fascinating article examines her status as a descendant of slaves in surprising detail. A six-year-old slave girl sold in 1850 has been identified as Mrs. Obama's great-great-great-grandmother on her mother's side.

The new findings focus primarily on the roots of Michelle Obama, but also illuminate how the role of slavery and the issue of race in 19th century America were much more complicated than we often realize. The slave girl named Melvinia later had children by a white man, which would not have been uncommon in the South before the Civil War.

The New York Times article has gained widespread attention, including a segment on the CBS Early Show, an article in the Times of London, and an article at the BBC.

Last year a story appeared in the Chicago Tribune about slave ancestors on Michelle Obama's father's side.

Slave Ancestor of the First Lady Identified originally appeared on About.com 19th Century History on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at 18:00:26.

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