June
The 1850s
Week 1
1. The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 included five separate bills meant to defuse tensions between states that permitted slavery and those that disallowed it…
2. The New York Times
In September of 1851, the New York Times was first published under the name the New-York Daily Times….
3. Moby Dick
Moby Dick was written by Herman Melville in 1851. Although the book initially was not very popular, during the 20th century it gained notoriety…
4. Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an author and abolitionist from Connecticut. Her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) had a tremendous impact on the US…
5. Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an escaped slave, social reformer, orator, author, and more. He has been credited with strengthening the abolitionist movement…
Week 2
6. Commodore Mathew Perry
Commodore Matthew Perry was a naval commander during the Mexican American War, the War of 1812, and other conflicts…
7. Gadsden Purchase
The Gadsden Purchase was named for James Gadsden, US Ambassador to Mexico, who signed the land purchase on behalf of the United States…
8. The Kansas-Nebraska Act
In 1854, Senator Stephen Douglas introduced a bill that became known as the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The bill had a significant impact on the US…
9. Levi Strauss & Co.
in 1853, Levi Strauss started a clothing company that would gain worldwide popularity for using denim and rivet bolts for workpants and coveralls…
10. William Walker
William Walker was an American thinker and adventurer. His desires to create private colonies has been described as filibustering…
Week 3
11. Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman was an American writer who combined transcendentalism and realism….
12. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow made several contributions to American poetry including The Song of Hiawatha which was published in 1855…
13. Samuel Colt
Samuel Colt gained fame for the pistol bearing his name. He has been remembered for being innovative and visionary…
14. Brooks and Sumner
In 1856, a conflict between US Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts and Preston Brooks of South Carolina reached a boiling point…
15. Know Nothing Party
In the mid-1850s, the Know Nothing Party emerged as a somewhat viable political party. The movement failed to sustain momentum…
Week 4
16. Dred Scott
Dred Scott unsuccessfully sued for his and his wife’s freedom in the case Dred Scott v. Stanford (1857). The Dred Scott Decision was felt throughout the US…
17. Jingle Bells
The song “The One Horse Open Sleigh” was published in September of 1857. It has remained popular under the title “Jingle Bells”…
18. Lincoln-Douglas Debates
In 1858, incumbent Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois debated challenger Abraham Lincoln seven times to campaign for his own seat in the US Senate…
19. Comstock Lode
In the late 1850s, just after the California Gold Rush, a massive amount of silver was found in Nevada. It was named the Comstock Lode….
20. The Pony Express
For almost two years, the Pony Express ran mail from Missouri to California through a system of relayed horse-riders…