-
Paying the tax man
A 1774 British cartoon depicts Bostonians paying the excise man by tarring and feathering him. The issue of taxation was of tremendous importance in the decision made by the colonists to rebel against the British. -
Advertising notice announcing the sale of slaves
A notice from the 1780s advertising slaves for sale. Slavery in America began in the early 17th century and ended with the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865. -
An Expanding Nation, 1790-1850 / Innovations and the War with Mexico
The Mexican-American War occurred at a time when the Industrial Revolution was changing the way of American life. Although in many ways the war was fought in a traditional manner, new innovations and inventions meant changes for the American soldier. -
King Cotton
English factories were calling for American cotton. At the same time, the cotton gin, which removed the seeds from raw cotton, enabled Southern cotton growers to speed up production. Now they could process in one day the amount of cotton it once took 50 workers to hand process! That meant they could grow and sell much more cotton. Many plantation owners switched to cotton from other crops. -
Iron mask and collar on slave
Iron mask, collar, leg shackles, and spurs used to restrict slaves. Illustrated in The Penitential Tyrant by Thomas Branagan, 1807. -
American Colonization Society journal cover
In July 1820, the American Colonization Society (ACS) published The African Intelligencer, which contained articles on the slave trade, African geography, the expedition of the Elizabeth (the ship that carried the first group of colonists to Liberia), and the ACS constitution. Upset by the expense and the lack of public support for the journal, ACS managers canceled the monthly journal after one issue. -
American Anti-Slavery Society
The American Anti-Slavery Society was formed in 1833 by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur and Lewis Tappan. One of many groups to emerge from the abolition movement, the American Anti-Slavery Society became the largest and most influential abolition organization in the United States. Abolitionism was one of several reform movements sparked by the religious revivalism of the Second Great Awakening. Although antislavery sentiment had been present in the North and Upper South since the American -
Removal Era: Indians Make Way for Expansion
President Andrew Jackson made Indian removal a primary concern of his administration. In 1830, he battled such opponents as Davy Crockett, who wanted to see Native Americans treated on more equal terms by the government. Jackson got his way, however, and in May 1830, the Indian Removal Act (1830) was ratified by Congress and passed into law by the president. This law gave the president the right to forcibly remove entire Indian nations from lands in the United States and its territories to lands -
American Anti-Slavery Society
In December 1833, more than 60 abolitionists met in Philadelphia and founded the American Anti-Slavery Society. Devoted to immediate and uncompensated emancipation for African-American slaves, the members of the society drafted the following manifesto to articulate clearly their goals. They based their opposition to slavery both on the principle of equality as stated in the Declaration of Independence and on the commands of Biblical scripture. Maintaining that slavery was a grievous sin, the soc -
Removal Era: Indians Make Way for Expansion，Trail of Tears
The most well-known event of this period is the removal of the Cherokee nation, known as the "Nunna daul Tsumy," or "Trail of Tears," because of the immense hardships suffered during the 1,000-mile march from Georgia to Oklahoma. Although the Cherokee and other Indian nations had their own representational governments and considered themselves sovereign nations, the U.S. government forced them into removal. -
Prelude to the Civil War
The end of the Civil War did not bring immediate harmony to the United States. The most important postwar political challenge facing the federal government was the delicate task of bringing the conquered Confederate states back into the Union. -
Early American camera
One of the earliest American cameras, built by John Plumbe Jr., 1841. Plumbe was a Welshman who became one of the best early American photographers. He learned daguerreotyping in 1840, and in the following year opened his Boston "Daguerreotype Depot," perhaps the first store for photographic materials in the United States. -
Battle of Mill El Rey, Mexico
The Battle of Mill El Rey, near Mexico City, on September 8, 1847. Also known as the Battle of Molino del Rey, the engagement was one of the bloodiest of the Mexican-American War, inflicting more than 3,000 casualties. -
Removal Era: Indians Make Way for Expansion
By the 1850s, more than 100,000 Indians had been relocated to the area west of the Mississippi River designated for them by the U.S. government, at great costs to Native Americans. These new residents joined at least 250,000 other native nations in the Great Plains. Southeastern territories had been cleared for further white settlement, but by this time, the west was also considered the future destiny of the United States as well. -
Dilemma: Opening
The American Civil War was, in many ways, a political struggle. Begun over the issue of states' rights, politics continued to play a crucial role throughout the conflict. For the Union, the main task at hand was achieving political solidarity.
