-
Edgar Allan Poe is Born (Social)
Edgar Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts to traveling actors. Two years later, his parents had both died and he was adopted by John Allan and his wife, whose last name he took as his middle name. -
Period: to
Life of Edgar Allan Poe
-
Beginning of the War of 1812 (Political)
The War of 1812 began between the United States and Britain as a political struggle over trading rights. The war lasted until Christmas Eve, 1814, and led to increased United States government focus on its military. -
The Second Bank of the United States is Built (Economic)
In 1811, the United States' First Bank was closed down. However, due to the financial crises resulting from the War of 1812, this second bank was established in 1818. -
Frankenstein is Published (Cultural)
Mary Shelley, aged 21 at the time, published her novel Frankenstein, the Modern Prometheus. The book became a cultural phenomenon, ultimately creating the science fiction genre. This novel was also a product of the Romantic era, the same style that Edgar Allan Poe wrote in: creating monsters and rejecting the mundane. -
The Missouri Compromise (Political)
The United States was facing a problem to maintain an equal amount of slave and free states because of Maine's separation from Massachusetts and becoming its own state. All states north of a certain latitude were supposed to be free states, but Missouri became a slave state in order to maintain the balance. -
The Monroe Doctrine (Political)
The Monroe Doctrine was published at a time when an increasing amount of Latin American countries were gaining independence from their colonial overlords. It stated that it would be considered a hostile action against them if a European nation made an attempt to recolonize any part of the Americas. The doctrine was unimpressive as the United States lacked military prowess at the time, but was backed by Britain due to its limiting of possible trading competition from Spain. -
The United States Presidential Election of 1824 (Political)
The United States' tenth presidential election ran from October 26 to December 2, 1824, and came between John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. This was the only election to date in which the victor was decided by the House of Representatives due to neither candidate receiving a sufficient majority of votes from the Electoral College. This was also the first time the candidate that ended up becoming president was not the one favored by the popular vote. -
Edgar Allan Poe Joins the Army (MIlitary)
Unable to afford schooling or to support himself due to John Allan's insufficient support, Edgar Allan Poe joined the army in 1827. Poe did well for himself in the military and quickly rose to the rank of sergeant major, but soon sought to leave the army. -
The United States' First Railroad Begins Construction (Economic)
The Erie Canal had been under construction for many years and finally opened in 1825. This gave the city of Baltimore, Maryland, a desire to compete thanks to its hurting economy. This competitive urge gave creation to the first railroad in the United States, which became the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. -
The Death of Fanny Allan (Social)
In February of 1829, the wife of Edgar Poe's foster father died, which led to Poe leaving the military. He momentarily made up with his foster father, with whom his relationship had been strained for years. John Allan ended up sponsoring Poe's attendance at West Point Military Academy, but this reconciliation did not last long and Poe and Allan again butted heads. -
The Indian Removal Act (Political)
The Indian Removal Act is signed, endorsing the forcible removal of any Native Americans from their land and pushing almost 50,000 people to new and unfamiliar lands. -
Poe is Purposely Dismissed from West Point (Social)
After his foster father, John Allan, remarried without telling Edgar, Poe decided to deliberately get expelled from the United States Military Academy, also known as West Point. He did this by neglecting his duties and classes and instead spending time at the local pub. This permanently scarred Edgar and John's relationship, as is exemplified by Allan leaving Poe out of his will. -
The Battle of the Alamo (Military)
Texas had previously declared its independence from Mexico, leading to the Texas Revolution. A ten-day-long battle broke out at the historical Alamo, resulting in every Texan defender of the Alamo being killed by the Mexican Army. The battle became a rallying cry against the Mexicans for the rest of the revolution. -
The Postage Stamp is Released (Economic)
The postage stamp was first released to the public in Great Britain in 1840. This allowed the cost of mailing a letter to be prepaid by the sender and not the recipient. It also enabled letters of a certain weight to be guaranteed postage anywhere in the United Kingdom. Stamps were soon adopted in many other western nations, including the United States. -
America's Shortest Presidency (Political)
When William Henry Harrison was inaugurated as the United States' ninth president, he aimed to show off that he was a tough war hero and very educated. His address was two hours long and spoken in the cold and rain and he refused to wear a coat. However, this resulted in him getting sick and dying a month later, becoming the shortest serving president and also the first president to die in office. -
The Raven is Written (Cultural)
In 1845, Edgar Allan Poe wrote the short story The Raven. This story gave Poe a huge surge of fame during his lifetime and is still one of his most important and influential stories. -
The Mexican-American War (Military)
The Mexican-American war occurred in response to the United States' annexation of Texas. This war made use of the U.S. military's recently developed training intensity left over from the War of 1812. -
Virginia Poe Dies (Social)
After almost five years of failing health, Edgar's wife Virginia succumbed to tuberculosis. The couple, also cousins, had been married in 1836, when Virginia was only 13 years old. Their marriage was very happy and Poe went for months without writing after being devastated by her passing. -
The Communist Manifesto is Published (Political)
The Communist Manifesto was a political pamphlet published in 1848 by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The manuscript tells of the authors' class-related theories about the (then) current state and future of human societies, such as the inevitability of socialism replacing capitalism. This written work is widely considered one of the world's most influential political pamphlets. -
Death of Edgar Allan Poe (Social)
Edgar Allan Poe died mysteriously in Baltimore, Maryland. The cause of death is still disputed, which is a fitting end for such a mysterious writer.
