Class Date: February 25th

Location: Your couch! See your weekly e-mail for Zoom link!

This week we are looking at the life of Dolley Madison, one of our first First Ladies. In many ways, she defined the role, as we will see this week. Before our class, let’s take a look at the events of the time, including some world events to give us more historical context!

• 1789 - George Washington inaugurated as the first president

Washington had been chosen unanimously by electors, with John Adams as his Vice President. There was no direct presidential election at the time. Washington was elected in February and inaugurated in New York City in April. In September of the same year, the Federal Judiciary Act is passed to create the Supreme Court. 

Though she and George never lived in the White House as we know it today, she hosted many dinners with dignitaries and officials, welcoming all she could to ‘the people’s house’.

• 1791 - Bill of Rights ratified 

Many new Americans were reluctant or outright refused to support the Constitution of the United States, especially without more explicit rights outlined. To smooth the way toward more support, Madison introduced a list of amendments in June of 1789 and pushed relentlessly to have them passed. To read more about the Bill of Rights, its passage and history, click here: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights/how-did-it-happen

• 1792 - A Vindication of the Rights of Woman published

British writer and women’s rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft published “A Vindication of the Right of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects”. She argued that women were able and should receive an education, rather than simply learn how to keep a home. Her book was very popular among feminists of the day, including American women who would later reference her work at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention and their publication of the Declaration of Sentiments.

• 1792 - Construction on the White House began

After moving the capital city from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., President Washington began working with Pierre Charles L’Enfant to plan the city, leaving room for a “President’s Palace”. Though L’Enfant originally planned a structure 4 times the size of the present White House, the scaled back version was still the largest house in the United States. The total cost of building was $232,372 (just over $5.5 million in today’s dollars). To read more fun facts about the White House, click here: https://www.whitehousehistory.org/construction-of-the-white-house

• 1791 - The First Bank of the United States is chartered

The bank is chartered in Philadelphia for 20 years by Congress, part of an overall federal fiscal policy. A federal mint and excise taxes were also established.

• 1793 - Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette executed in France

Both Louis and Marie were executed after they had been imprisoned for some years for treason. To read more about the French Revolution and abolishment of the monarchy, click here: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/king-louis-xvi-executed

• 1803 - The Louisiana Purchase

Thomas Jefferson doubled the size of the United States, by purchasing the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon, which would pave the way for western expansion for the next century.

• 1804 - Lewis and Clark explore

Lewis and Clark set out to map the new territory acquired by the United States and find a water route to the West Coast.

• 1804 - Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr duel

Longtime political rivals, Hamilton ultimately dies as a result. To read more about the duel, click here: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/duel-alexander-hamilton-and-aaron-burrs-duel/

• 1805 - Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific

After 2 years of struggling across harsh and unforgiving terrain, the Lewis and Clark expedition reached the Pacific coast near present-day Astoria, Oregon. Along the way, the group swelled with ranks with Shoshone-born Sacagawea, who joined the expedition with her husband, a French-Canadian fur trapper. Though pregnant, Sacagawea traveled with the group and interpreted when necessary. Her son, whom she named Jean Baptiste, was born along the way before they reached the Pacific.

• 1809 - Washington Irving influences American literature

Washington published “A History of New York by Diedrich Knickerbocker”, which not only popularized the term Knickerbocker (though today most folks cheer for the shortened form when they root for the ‘Knicks”), but also put American literature on the map, so to speak. He described St. Nicholas as pulling a flying wagon with reindeer. He would later go on to write more about Christmas celebrations, giving us many of the Christmas traditions we celebrate today. 

To read more about this period, here are some great books to get you started:

For kids:

For adults:

Works Cited

https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191736810.timeline.0001

https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-01-31/european-colonization-americas-killed-10-percent-world-population-and-caused

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Native-American/Native-American-history

https://pages.nativehope.org/reflecting-on-our-foundations#understanding-native-tribes

https://www.ushistory.org/us/2f.asp

http://www.fm.coe.uh.edu/timeline/1600s.html

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/catherine-the-great-assumes-power-russia