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The American Revolution
The American Revolution (1775-83) is also known as the American Revolutionary War and the U.S. War of Independence. The conflict arose from growing tensions between residents of Great Britain's 13 North American colonies and the colonial government, which represented the British crown. Skirmishes between British troops and colonial militiamen in Lexington and Concord in April 1775 kicked off the armed conflict, and by the following summer, the rebels were waging a full-scale war for their indepe -
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The French Revolution
During this period, French citizens razed and redesigned their country’s political landscape, uprooting centuries-old institutions such as absolute monarchy and the feudal system. Like the American Revolution before it, the French Revolution was influenced by Enlightenment ideals, particularly the concepts of popular sovereignty and inalienable rights. Although it failed to achieve all of its goals and at times degenerated into a chaotic bloodbath, the movement played a critical role in shaping -
William Blake Songs of Innocence
Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794) juxtapose the innocent, pastoral world of childhood against an adult world of corruption and repression; while such poems as “The Lamb” represent a meek virtue, poems like “The Tyger” exhibit opposing, darker forces. Thus the collection as a whole explores the value and limitations of two different perspectives on the world. Many of the poems fall into pairs, so that the same situation or problem is seen through the lens of innocence first and the -
Charles and Mary Lamb Tales from Shakespeare
Brother-and-sister writing team Charles and Mary Lamb interweave the words of Shakespeare with their own (some 200 years later in 1807) to bring 20 of his best plays to the young reader. They are more fully enlivened with the early twentieth-century color illustrations of Gertrude Hammond. -
United States declares war on Great Britain
On June 12, 1812, the United States declared war on Great as a result of numerous disputes between the two countries. The British continuously engaged in impressment and forced US citizens to serve in the Royal Navy. The British also attacked the USS Chesapeake and this nearly caused a war two year earlier. Additionally, disputes continued with Great Britain over the Northwest Territories and the border with Canada. Finally, Great Britain’s blockade of France during the Napoleonic Wars served -
Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice
First published in 1813, Pride and Prejudice has consistently been Jane Austen's most popular novel. It portrays life in the genteel rural society of the day, and tells of the initial misunderstandings and later mutual enlightenment between Elizabeth Bennet (whose liveliness and quick wit have often attracted readers) and the haughty Darcy. The title Pride and Prejudice refers (among other things) to the ways in which Elizabeth and Darcy first view each other. The original version of the novel w -
FActory Acts prohibits employment of children under nine
The long series of Factory Acts, culminating in the home secretary's bill of the present session (1878), constitutes one of the most important chapters in the history of modern English legislation. The Acts assert the right of the state to control the industrial organizations which depend upon the labour of women and children
The following outline will give some idea of the scope of the law relating to factories and workshops consolidated by the new measure:— Part 1. contains the general law re -
Noah Webster An American Dictionary of the English Language
In 1806 Webster published A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language, the first truly American dictionary. For more information on this milestone in American reference publishing, please see Noah Webster's Spelling Reform and A Sample Glossary from A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language. Immediately thereafter he went to work on his magnum opus, An American Dictionary of the English Language, for which he learned 26 languages, including Anglo-Saxon and Sanskrit, in order to resea -
Victor Hugo The Hutchback of Notre Dame
The Hunchback of Notre Dame uses the history of the Middle Ages and the structure of the Notre Dame cathedral to express its major themes. Notre Dame is the geographical and moral center of Hugo's fictional Paris. The cathedral inspired Hugo to write the novel and encouraged his life long passion for Gothic art and architecture. Hugo was also a scholar of medieval Christianity and used the history of its churches -
Slavery abolished in British Empire
On March 25, 1807 the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade received Royal Assent and became law throughout the British Empire. It was the result of a long and arduous campaign in the British Parliament by an alliance of Evangelical Anglicans and Quakers led by William Wilberforce, M.P. (1759-1833). The 1807 Act did not abolish slavery itself, but prohibited the traffic in slaves, and as such was an incremental step towards recognition of the damaging effects of slavery and towards the aboli
