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Class Date: October 7th
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Coming Apart
Coming Apart
This week we are looking at the life of our only female medal of honor recipient, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, and her life during the Civil War. Of course, the war shaped so much of her life and work. Our timeline this week is a reminder of some relevant events leading up to the war to help us understand it better:
1790 - Enslaved population is just over 690,000
According to the 1790 census, 697,681 people in the new country were held in forced bondage. That population will swell to almost 4 million by 1860, 3.5 million of whom live in the Southern states that will ultimately secede.
1799 - Eli Whitney invents the American System of Manufacturing
Though he is best known as the inventor of the cotton gin, the invention of which fueled the southern economy and tied it even more heavily to enslaved labor, Eli Whitney applied his techniques of production to things beyond his invented machine. Observing a fear of a war with France, he turned to mass producing arms. The Manufacturing System used semi-skilled labor, machine tools, and jigs to make interchangeable, standard parts to aid assembly line labor. The system first manufactured 10,000 muskets for the US Government. To read more about Whitney, click here:
January 1, 1808 - Abolishment of slave importation
In an effort to curb slavery, Congress abolishes the international importation of enslaved people. In 1807, Great Britain had abolished the slave trade altogether. As Northern states in the U.S. began to end slavery, instead of ending in the South, the practice only solidified as cotton production exploded. Though enslaved people cannot be imported from overseas, a bustling trade continues within the United States as Northern states sell their enslaved people to Southern plantation owners.
1820 - Missouri Compromise
Sponsored by Henry Clay, the compromise allows slavery in the Missouri territory, but not in any other territories west of the Mississippi River and north of the southern line of latitude of Missouri (36 degrees and 30 minutes). In order to maintain a balance of free and slavery-allowing states in the Senate, the Compromise added Missouri as a state in 1821.
1831 - Nat Turner’s Revolt
Enslaved man, Nat Turner, led the only effective slave rebellion in the United States. He saw himself as anointed by God to lead his people from slavery, so he and some followers killed his owners, then set off to capture an armory and recruit more people. The group swelled to around 75 people and killed approximately 60 white slave owners over the span of 2 days before the state militia arrived and overwhelmed the group. Approximately 100 enslaved people were killed in the struggle. Nat Turner escaped, but was captured after 6 weeks and was hanged.
Fear ripped throughout the Southern states, and many legislatures strengthened their codes to limit education, movement, and gathering for enslaved people.
1846 - 1848 - The Wilmot Proviso
David Wilmot proposed a piece of legislation at the end of the Mexican-American War to outlaw slavery in territory acquired as a result of war. This included most of the Southwest and California. He fought for his proviso for 2 years, including it on existing bills and even attempted to attach it to the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hildago.
For a very quick overview, click here.
1848 - Gold is discovered in California
James Marshall discovers gold near Sutter’s Fort (or John Sutter’s sawmill) in California. The next year begins the great gold rush, and migration, to California.
1849 - Harriet Tubman escapes slavery
Harriet freed herself by running away but continued to go back down into slave states, leading people out of slavery along the Underground Railroad. She became the most famous ‘conductor’ and proudly stated that she ‘never lost a passenger’. She returned South 13 times, eventually freeing some 70 people from bondage.
The National Parks system just recently added more Underground Railroad locations to their registry. For more information on this new addition, check out this article:
1850 - Fugitive Slave Act passed
Prior to the Act, enslaved people who crossed into Northern ‘free’ states were considered free. Angry that their free laborers were escaping to freedom, Southern proponents of slavery pushed for legal help in tracking down and re-kidnapping people. The Act made aiding those attempting to escape enslavement a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment. It also made it easier for ‘slave catchers’ to kidnap free Black people to enslave them.
1850 - Compromise of 1850
As tensions continued to mount over the issue of slavery, Congress struggled to find ways to keep the Union together. The Compromise was intended to hold the Union together, which it did for another few years. Congress agreed to the following provisions:
California was admitted to the Union as a free state
The territories of New Mexico and Utah were given to option of legalizing slavery
The New Mexico/Texas border was fixed
A stronger Fugitive Slave Law was enacted to return escaped fugitives to slavery
The District of Columbia ended the trade of enslaved people but they did continue legal slavery.
1852 - Uncle Tom’s Cabin is published
U.S. Abolitionist and writer publishes her novel examining slavery, which sells 300,000 copies in the first year. The novel profoundly affected attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in general.
June 29, 1852 - Henry Clay died
A giant among American political leaders, Henry Clay had put together many of the compromises that held the Union together, including the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850. Clay’s focus on compromise and economic expansion left a legacy of American politics that rippled for generations. His loss was felt by many as the nation continued to navigate the choppy waters surrounding slavery.
1854 - The Kansas Nebraska Act
Legislation guided by Senator Stephen Douglas repeal the Missouri Compromise. The repeal led to violence in Kansas, named ‘Bleeding Kansas’ by the newspapers. The passage of the act inspired Abraham Lincoln to involve himself in politics, setting the stage for his White House run.
1856 - The first railroad train crosses the Mississippi River
Crowds gathered and bands played in Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Iowa, as a train crossed the first railroad bridge to span the Mississippi River. The bridge would actually foreshadow many political adversaries in the months to come: Jefferson Davis attempted to halt construction of the bridge in Illinois, arguing that a more southern route through St. Louis would be more beneficial. Davis failed to stop construction, but shortly after the bridge was completed, a steamboat owner crashed his steamboat into a bridge piling, setting his boat and the bridge on fire. Though the crash was almost certainly deliberate, as steamboat owners fought railroad expansion, the steamboat owners sued the railroad for damages. The railroads brought in railroad attorney Abraham Lincoln to successfully argue that the bridge did not impede boat traffic and railroad bridges were needed to settle the West.
May 22, 1856 - Brooks attacks Sumner
South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks took his cane to the head of Senator Charles Sumner on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Sumner gave a speech against slavery and attacking pro-slavery violence in Kansas. Sumner was severely injured in the attack, taking 3 years to recover. Brooks became a Souther hero for his violent defense of slavery and pro-slavery violence.
1857 - Dred Scott decision
A landmark slavery case, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that an enslaved person did not become free once transported into a free state. Furthermore, the Court ruled that slavery could not be banned by Congress in the territories and that Black people were not eligible for citizenship. This dealt a devastating blow to the plight of Black people throughout the country, but further galvanized the anti-slavery movement.
1858 - The Lincoln-Douglas debates
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas engage in a series of debates, some of which included the subject of human enslavement. The debates caught the attention of the country and tensions only continued to mount.
1859 - John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry
Abolitionist John Brown, after seeking help from ‘General’ Harriet Tubman, leads a raid on the federal arsenal in Harper’s Ferry. The hope was that the attack would inspire a revolt among enslaved people, furthering the country along the path to war. Many abolitionists felt that war was necessary to end the scourge of slavery.
That is where our timeline leaves us for this week! Check below for additional reading resources and tune in this week to hear how these often unsung women steered the course of history!
Recommended Reading
Recommended Reading
To read more about this period, here are some great books to get you started:
For kids:
Famous Women of the Civil War by Peter F. Coopeland
Concealing her gender from her comrades in arms, Frances Clalin served in the Union army as a "horse soldier" in the Missouri cavalry. Clara Barton delivered medical supplies to the battlefields and was later instrumental in founding the American Red Cross. Kady Brownell, a soldier's daughter, followed her husband to war in 1861 and became a vivandière (caregiver) and color bearer for the First Rhode Island regiment.
Thirty carefully rendered illustrations depict these and 27 other remarkable women from the North and South in settings that range from the battlefield to the White House. Informative captions highlight the roles and accomplishments of: Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin; Mary Edwards Walker, surgeon and Union spy; Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of the President; Jennie Hodgers, alias Albert Cashier, Union soldier; Mary Boykin Chesnut, Confederate diarist; Belle Boyd, Confederate spy; Dorothea Dix, Union Superintendent of Nurses; Pauline Cushman, actress and Union spy; Louisa May Alcott, nurse and author of Little Woman; Varina Howell Davis, wife of the Confederate President; and 20 others.
Entertaining and educational, this informative coloring book, with its ready-to-color pictures, is an ideal learning aid for home or classroom use.
The Girls of Gettysburg by Bobbi Miller
Picketts Charge, the suicidal charge led by Robert E. Lee on the last day of Gettysburg, serves as the powerful climax of this Civil War novel, told from the unique perspectives of three girls.
Thirteen-year-old Annie Gordon, disguised as a boy, sells herself as a substitute soldier and joins the Portsmouth Rifles of the Ninth Virginia Army as they march north to Gettysburg. In Gettysburg lives fourteen-year-old Tillie Pierce, the frivolous daughter of a local merchant whose romanticized notion of war is quickly disabused once the fighting begins. Also in Gettysburg are Grace Bryan and her father, who refuse to flee with the other free blacks who fear that the rebels will arrest them as fugitive slaves.
The powerful, gripping novel follows the fates of these girls, fates that reflect the tragedies and triumphs, the humanity, heartache, and heroism of this most dreadful Civil War battle.
For adults:
Dr. Mary Edwards Walker: The Life and Legacy of the Civil Rights Activist Who Became the Only Woman to Receive the Medal of Honor by Charles River Editors
"Let the generations know that women in uniform also guaranteed their freedom.” (Dr. Mary Edwards Walker)
During the last 100 years, Susan B. Anthony has been one of the most venerated women in American history. 80 years before that, she was one of the most hated women in American history. Today, of course, every American is taught about their nation’s most famous suffragist, who tirelessly advocated and lobbied for women to be granted the right to vote. But while Anthony is best remembered today for working towards women’s suffrage with other women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, she was an active and progressive advocate for all of the leading human rights issues of her time.
In the process of becoming one of the most famous Americans of her era, Anthony’s legacy has overshadowed many of her contemporaries who were also active in the fight for civil rights. Among them, few led as interesting or progressive a life as Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, who grew up in a family that encouraged every kind of pursuit for girls and provided an educational foundation that would propel Walker in many fields. In addition to becoming a surgeon, Walker and her family eschewed conventional dress styles in favor of being comfortable, doing so in an era that ensured she would be ridiculed for it. Undeterred, Walker’s work took her across enemy lines during the Civil War, leading to her arrest in the South and to her recognition as one of only eight civilians in American history to be awarded the Medal of Honor for rendering "valuable service to the Government, and her efforts have been earnest and untiring in a variety of ways".
Although her legacy has not endured quite as much as some of the other activists who fought for civil rights in the late 19th century, she has been remembered and celebrated in the past few decades, including the unveiling of a giant statue of her in her hometown of Oswego, New York. She has also been commemorated with a stamp, and in the near future, a US Army fort may be named after her in recognition of her service during the Civil War.
I Could Not Do Otherwise: The Remarkable Life of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker by Sara Latta
As a teenager, Mary Edwards Walker determined she would no longer wear the confining corsets and long skirts society dictated women wear at the time and instead opted for pants with a short skirt, setting the stage for her lifelong controversial efforts to change expectations. One of the first women to earn a degree in medicine, Walker championed women's rights, social justice, and access to health care. She became a Civil War surgeon and a spy, who was captured and arrested by the Confederacy, and she is still the only woman to have been awarded the Medal of Honor.
Written by young adult author Sara Latta, I Could Not Do Otherwise teaches readers about Walker's determination and strength of conviction, as well as her complete disregard of what others thought of her unconventional style. The slogan, "women's rights are human rights" is a direct descendant of Walker's words: "The recognition of the individuality of woman, is simply an acknowledgement of human rights, which all human beings have guaranteed them, by the fact of their having an existence." I Could Not Do Otherwise brings to light an amazing historical figure who broke gender norms and fought for issues that are still relevant today.
Works Cited
Works Cited
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-compromise-of-1850-1773985
https://www.thoughtco.com/timeline-1800s-4161075
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Uncle-Toms-Cabin
https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/clay-henry
https://www.britannica.com/event/Gadsden-Purchase
https://americasbesthistory.com/abhtimeline1850.html
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