Sometimes documents leave us with more questions than answers. That is definitely true for this letter of October 8, 1859, from an unidentified man to his mother—both of whom appear to be slaves!
The author refers twice to having a master:
"There is a young lady here that I am very much taken with and I think that my Master will buy her and take her out with us."
"I went to Mrs. Bailys expecting to meet My old Master as he said he would be there . . ."
We really wanted to try to track this down, so we started by compiling a list of names and places mentioned in the letter:
Widow Baily,
These miniature portraits of Jane and Franklin Pierce, attributed to artist Moses B. Russell, were painted shortly after the couple was married in 1834. Measuring only 4 ¼ inches tall by 3 ½ inches wide, the paintings have gilt-metal frames and are set in a fitted leather case.They were meant to be carried.
Franklin Pierce was elected the 14th president of the United States in 1852. On January 6, 1853, the president-elect, his wife, and their 11-year-old son, Benjamin, were traveling from New Hampshire to Washington DC when their train derailed and toppled down an embankment. Although Mr
Between battles, marches, and military exercises, Civil War soldiers spent their free time in camp playing music, writing and reading letters, and, for those with the skill, sketching scenes from the day. This unknown soldier’s sketchbook from 1863, "A Few Scenes in the life of A ‘SOJER’ in the Mass 44th," recounts the adventures of a soldier named "Gorge," or "George." We do not know if George is a fictional character or loosely autobiographical. The sketchbook follows the movements of the 44th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in New Bern, North Carolina. The cartoon sketches satirize the
In the fall of 1941 Thomas Barwiss Hagstoz Askin Jr. was on board USS Memphis counting down the days until his enlistment in the United States Navy ended. He recorded his experience in a diary he entitled "Memorys and Incidents of My Last 60 (?) Days in the United States Navy."
Askin had joined the Navy in March 1938, at the age of 17, and was set to be discharged on October 13, 1941, one day before his 21st birthday. Unfortunately, his ship was at sea at the time. His disappointment and dejection when he realized he would not be going home was palpable in his diary entry on October 14, 1941
After his escape from slavery in 1838, Frederick Douglass became a well-known orator and abolitionist. In 1845, he wrote an autobiography that increased his influence, but also increased the chances that he would be captured and returned to slavery. Seeking refuge, Douglass went on a speaking tour of Ireland and England to remove himself from immediate danger. In 1846, Anna and Henry Richardson and other English supporters gathered funds and made arrangements to purchase Douglass’s freedom. On October 6, 1846, Hugh Auld agreed to "take 150 £ sterling for the manumassion [sic] of my slave
When World War I ended, President Woodrow Wilson attended the Paris Peace Conference, where the Allied nations met to write the Treaty of Versailles. In September 1919, President Woodrow Wilson embarked on a speaking tour of US cities to gain support for the treaty and the League of Nations, which Americans were reluctant to join.
Traveling with the President was Dr. Cary Grayson, Wilson’s personal physician and friend. Grayson kept a diary of the trip and included notes on Wilson’s health. On September 26, on a train bound for Wichita, Kansas, Grayson was woken up to attend to Wilson:
Explore in depth Paul Revere’s 1770 print "Brittish Ships of War Landing Their Troops, 1768" and check out Paul Revere’s related propaganda print of the Boston Massacre.
View the full Battle of the Thames document and read an essay on the Battle for Baltimore during the War of 1812.
View Columbus’s letter, read an excerpt, or view a depiction of his landing.
There’s just one month left until the next test date for the SAT Subject Test in US History on November 7, 2015. Sure, this test is no APUSH, but the 95 multiple-choice questions in just 60 minutes require a familiarity with a wide swath of American history. Quick—can you name at least one Transcendentalist? Why should you "remember the Maine"? Which came first, Progressivism or Populism? If some of these answers aren’t coming to you right away, don’t panic. Take a deep dive into our SAT Test Guide's videos, timelines, reference cards, and quizzes. You’ve got a month—start now and you’ll be
On Monday, October 12, many Americans had the day off and stores hosted sales under the name of that 15th-century Italian explorer, Christopher Columbus. But Columbus’s impact on our world reaches past a 3-day weekend and great deals at department stores. The Columbian Exchange refers to the flow of goods between the Americas, Europe, and Africa that followed Columbus’s widely advertised "discovery" of the New World. People, animals, plants, and diseases passed from continent to continent . . . and nothing would ever be the same.
Find out more about the far reaches of the Columbian Exchange
Ever wonder why the name "Fido" has become synonymous with dogs? It all goes back to a very special dog belonging to Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln always had a fondness for animals, and it has been speculated that he relied on his pets to help get him through periodic bouts of depression. The name Fido came from the Latin word "fidelity" and suited Lincoln’s favorite dog perfectly. A short-haired yellow dog of mixed breed, Fido was a mangy but lovable mutt who followed Lincoln everywhere. He lived with Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois, and was a constant fixture in town—he
On October 27, 1904, New York City was forever changed. Nine miles of what one day would become 137 miles of subway track were ready for travel.
After months of construction and a few iffy test rides, the IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit) subway line began offering full service at 5 cents a ride. The IRT line ran from City Hall to 145th Street, boasting that it could take customers from "City Hall to Harlem in 15 Minutes."
The mayor of New York City, George B. McClellan, was given the honorary duty of starting the first train as it departed from City Hall station. Although he was supposed
Meryl Streep’s new bio-pic, Suffragette, chronicles the adventuresome lives of the British women’s rights advocate Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters. Tired of waiting for equality, the Pankhurts’ Women’s Social and Political Union favored direct action over lobbying and legislating. Suffragettes (not suffragists) picketed, staged protests, chained themselves to Parliament, and often landed in prison.
The Pankhursts and their militant strategy had an influence on American activist Alice Paul. On October 20, 1917, Alice Paul was arrested for picketing at the White House for the right to vote
Read an excerpt of John R. Chapin's eyewitness account of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
In 1769, Alexander Hamilton, an ambitious young clerk in St. Croix, wrote to a friend that "I . . . would willingly risk my life, tho not my Character, to exalt my station. . . . I wish there was a war." Seven years later, he was a soldier in the American Revolution and soon came to the attention of George Washington. Although Hamilton gained a position of respect as Washington’s aide-de-camp, he never lost his conviction that he could only attain the glory he sought through a field command. Washington finally consented, and Hamilton led the men who successfully stormed Redoubt 10 at the
View the account of the 1793 yellow fever outbreak in Philadelphia or read the transcript.
Do you want to make a great interactive timeline that incorporates images, text, audio, and video? TimelineJS is a great free tool to explore.
View this tutorial as a printable PDF. If you need more help, or if you'd like to explore more digital tools, check out our digital literacy toolbox.
In October 1948, Jesse LeRoy Brown made history by becoming the first African American naval aviator. Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in 1926, Brown was inspired to become a pilot by an airshow that he attended at age six. After graduating from high school, Brown attended Ohio State University, the alma mater of his hero, Jesse Owens.
Brown completed his engineering degree in 1947, and then entered naval flight officer training. In October of 1948, Brown received his naval aviator badge. Ensign Brown served in the Korean War and was the first African American pilot killed in combat in the
On October 28, 1919, the National Prohibition Act—also known as the Volstead Act—was passed by Congress, overriding President Woodrow Wilson’s veto. On January 16, 1920, Americans would have to put down their drinks and shutter the saloons. Supplemental to the Eighteenth Amendment, the Volstead Act outlined methods of enforcing prohibition and decided which intoxicating liquors were prohibited and which were excluded from prohibition. Read the explanation of the Supreme Court decision upholding the Volstead Act written by Wayne B. Wheeler, the zealous force behind the Anti-Saloon League.
The
The question of whether the United States has entered a new Gilded Age pops up quite frequently in magazines, op-eds, and newscasts these days. Here, historian Edward O’Donnell, author of Henry George and the Crisis of Inequality, offers his perspective.
Historian Jeffrey Sammons tells the story of the Harlem Rattlers in the Great War. The 369th Regiment—a unit of African American soldiers—fought on two fronts: in the trenches of Europe and for civil rights in the military and at home. More than 350,000 African Americans, trained and deployed in segregated units, served in the US military during World War I, of whom 42,000 saw action in Europe.
Read about Cornwallis' last gambit at the Siege of Yorktown and view more primary sources related to the surrender of Cornwallis.
The Gilder Lehrman Collection contains more than 15,000 letters written by servicemen from the American Revolution through World War II. These personal letters, largely unpublished, capture the experience of the common soldier and his family and friends in detail, and convey the human experience of war in a way that cannot be captured in a textbook.
Private Christian Marion Epperly
This archive includes 128 letters from Christian Epperly to his wife, Mary, and eight letters from Mary to Christian between January 1862 and March 1865.
Private Christian Marion Epperly from Floyd County, Virginia
Read about the report from the Western Sanitary Commission regarding the conditions of freed slaves in the Mississippi valley.
