Life in the 1800s. Articles about America in the 19th century. Daily living, popular culture, interesting stories, travel in the US, causes of the Civil War, postal service, frontier, science, fashion, political ideology, life in America, crime, poverty, prostitution, slavery, Erie Canal, frontier life, Gold Rush, etc.
1874 Railway Schedule, before the U.S. had Standard Time Zones – 1800s Travel in America
See image 16, “A Table Indicating Difference of Time between Washington and Principal Cities”. There are also ads and articles of interest in this booklet.
Note: Image 17 says the travel time from Baltimore to St. Louis, 840 miles, was 37 hours (in 1874). The internet says that present-day train travel between those cities takes about 33.5 hours. Driving takes at least 13 hours.
Guide to Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
A Brief History of Children Sent Through the Mail – 1900s Postal Service
In the early days of the parcel post, some parents took advantage of the mail in unexpected ways
Danny Lewis, smithsonian.com June 14, 2016 | Updated: December 21, 2016
Library Research Guide (LibGuide) – Internet Sites with Primary Sources for U.S. History
This research guide from the librarians at Bowling Green State University has links to websites with substantial collections of online primary sources for U.S. history. 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st Centuries.
A Graceful Exit – End of the Civil War
In one momentous decision, Robert E. Lee spared the United States years of divisive violence. His aides were considering dissolving the army and carrying on the fight with a guerrilla war.
Jay Winik, American Heritage 2009
A journey to Ohio in 1810 – 1800s Travel in America
The travels of a young woman on the frontier.
A journey to Ohio in 1810, as recorded in the journal of Margaret Van Horn Dwight
A Moose for the Misinformed: Jefferson and Natural History – Science in the early 1800s
About, “the campaign launched by Thomas Jefferson against a pack of dastardly foreign scientists who claimed that the New World’s weather was cold and soppy, that our mammals were puny, and that our Indians were shiftless sissies.” Incensed that many leading European scientists had belittled North America’s climate and fauna, Thomas Jefferson shipped them evidence and published a long reply in Notes on the State of Virginia.
Mark Coburn, American Heritage 2017
A Texas Cattleman & His Comanche Concubine – Life in the United States 1800s
Richard Selcer, HistoryNet 2017
Although Less Deadly Than Crinolines, Bustles Were Still a Pain in the Behind – Fashion in the late 1800s
Kat Eschner, smithsonian.com April 21, 2017
An Anarchist Manifesto by Louisa Sarah Bevington 1895 – late 1800s Ideology
Anarchism, which was mainly anti-government and anti-establishment, was a radical movement in the late 19th century. This manifesto explains the anarchists’ views.
libcom.org 2017
See our free books on Native American history
Andrew Johnson: Path to Impeachment – 1860s Politics
Johnson was the first US President to be impeached, in 1867.
Pieces of History, National Archives 2018
Crime as Entertainment in the 19th century – 1800s Crime
How “true crime” became popular in the media.
Anna Mazzola, The History Girls 2016
First Trip by Steam to Lake Superior – 1800s Travel
1st Person account
Michigan Historical Collections 1876
Fort Sumter Falls – American Civil War Battle
First-person account by the Deputy Commander at Fort Sumter of the first battle of the Civil War.
Abner Doubleday, Journal of American Heritage 2011
List of Automobile Manufacturers in the U.S. in 1899 – Automobiles in 1900
Horseless vehicles; automobiles, motor cycles operated by steam, hydro-carbon, electric, and pneumatic motors. Numerous companies built cars as the 20th century began.
Old French Traditions – 1800s Daily Life
The lives of French-Canadian residents of Detroit, observed in the early 19th century.
Michigan Historical Collections 1876
Poor Relief in the 18th and 19th Centuries – Podcast – Poverty in the 1700s and 1800s
Poor houses and other responses to the needs of the poor, in the U.S. and Great Britain.
Marissa Rhodes, DG
Selling Sex: 19th Century New York City Prostitution and Brothels – Prostitution 1800s
Listen to the podcast or read the transcript.
Elizabeth Garner Masarik, DG 2017
Slavery a Positive Good – Life in the 1800s in America
1854 article by a radical Missouri advocate of slavery.
American history told by contemporaries 1898-1929
See our Vintage Postcard Collections
The Brief Period, 200 Years Ago, When American Politics Was Full of ‘Good Feelings’ – Life in the 1800s
James Monroe’s 1817 goodwill tour kicked off a decade of party-less government – but he couldn’t stop the nation from dividing again.
Erick Trickey, smithsonian.com July 17, 2017
The Conquerers: A New 19th-Century History Focuses on American Imperialism – Life in America 1800s
A review of “A Nation Without Borders: The United States and its World in an Age of Civil Wars, 1830-1910” by Steven Hahn.
Brenda Wineapple, NY Times 2016
American Populism 1876-1896: Origins & Agendas – Political Ideology 1800s
Dr. Charles Postel, Northern Illinois University Library Digital Initiatives 2009
Building the Erie Canal – American Life in the 1800s
A 42-minute presentation, in audio, that covers many aspects of the Erie Canal project.
Janice Fontanella, Ben Franklin’s World, Episode 28
The Oregon Trail – 1800s Travel on the American Frontier
A 45-minute podcast that explains the history of the 19th century Oregon trail and describes a present-day trip along the route.
Rinker Buck, Ben Franklin’s World, Episode 077:
How Salt Helped Win the Civil War – American Civil War Article
Southern salt-making operations became prime military targets, because salt was vital for the Confederate army.
Anne Ewbank, Atlas Obscura 2018
John Kelly is wrong: Slavery, not lack of compromise, caused the Civil War – Causes of the Civil War
The United States tried compromise for 70 years. It didn’t work. The assertions by the White House Chief of Staff and White House Press Secretary that “failure to compromise” was the cause of the Civil War is not supported by historians.
Frank Cirillo, Washington Post 2017
The North tried compromise. The South chose war. – Slavery was the Cause of the Civil War
Another response to the White House Chief of Staff’s comment (see above). The South’s insistence upon protecting and spreading slavery caused the Civil War.
Carole Emberton, Washington Post 2017
The Confederate commander behind one of the greatest ‘what ifs’ of the Civil War – American Civil War Commander
A very brief bio of J.E.B. Stuart during the Civil War.
Debbie Truong, Washington Post 2018
The Women Who Fought in the Civil War – Women in the Civil War
Hundreds of women concealed their identities so they could battle alongside their Union and Confederate counterparts.
Jess Righthand, Smithsonian Magazine 2011
Ordinances of Secession and Other Documents 1860-1861 – Causes of the Civil War
In late 1860 and early 1861 each southern state held a convention to decide whether to secede from the Union. At the conclusion of each convention, they produced an “Ordinance of Secession”, and sometimes other documents, that gave the reasons for their decisions. These are very useful for understanding the causes of the Civil War.
Women Spies of the Civil War – Lives of Women in the Civil War
Hundreds of women served as spies during the Civil War. Here’s a look at six who risked their lives in daring and unexpected ways.
Smithsonian Magazine 2011
Mangled by a Shell: A tattered photograph tells a grim story – Civil War Life
A year after his regiment’s ill-fated charge at Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862, Oliver Dart Jr. faced another great trial, sitting for a photograph at a studio on Main Street in Hartford, Conn. A mangled lower jaw, mouth, and nose—the awful effects of a shrapnel wound suffered during the attack on Marye’s Heights—are obvious. How Dart summoned the fortitude to sit for the CDV, undoubtedly evidence for his pension claim, is remarkable.
John Banks, History Net 2018
What It Was Like To Be an African-American during the Civil War – African Americans in the Civil War
What was it like to be one of the 186,017 African Americans who served in the Union Army during the Civil War?
Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily 2016
Why The Civil War Still Matters – The Importance of the Civil War
One hundred and fifty years after the guns began shelling Fort Sumter this April, Americans remain fascinated with the Civil War. Why do we care about a war that ended so long ago?
James M. McPherson, American Heritage 2011
Abraham Lincoln Meets Frederick Douglass
Today it seems unthinkable but in August 1863—the summer of Gettysburg and Vicksburg and the bloody New York draft riots—anybody could walk into the White House and ask to meet the president. On the sweltering morning of August 10, one of Lincoln’s uninvited visitors was Frederick Douglass, a tall, burly black man dressed in a dark suit and a high-collared white shirt. He had no appointment.
Peter Carlson, HistoryNet 2011
In the Early 19th Century, Firefighters Fought Fires … and Each Other – Life in America in the 1800s
Fighting fires in early America was about community, property and rivalry. A brief profile of volunteer firefighters.
Jackson Landers, Smithsonian Magazine 2016
Five myths about Reconstruction – Reconstruction in the late 1800s
“As W.E.B. Du Bois put it in “Black Reconstruction” 80 years ago, that “one cannot study Reconstruction without first frankly facing the facts of universal lying.” Here are five common fallacies that Americans still tell themselves about this formative period.”
James Loewen, Washington Post 2016
A big day in history: A speck of glitter triggers the California Gold Rush – California Gold Rush 1848
Dominic Sandbrook explores the events of 24 January 1848.
Dominic Sandbrook, History Extra 2913
How American ‘Dollar Princesses’ Invaded British High Society – American Culture in the late 1800s
During the Gilded Age, marrying British aristocrats was seen as a way for American heiresses to raise their social status.
Erin Blakemore, History.com 2019
How Abraham Lincoln solved his ‘deep state’ problem – United States 1800s
Numerous U.S. presidents were frustrated and sometimes bamboozled by members of their own staff — few more so than Abraham Lincoln, who found effective ways of confronting dissent.
Dillon Carroll, Washington Post 2018
On this day in history, outlaw Jesse James took a bullet to the brain – 1800s Frontier Life
If there is anything to be learned from the death of Jesse James on April 3, 1882, it is this: If you see a picture hanging crooked on a wall, and there is a bounty on your head, leave the picture alone.