90 Years of History - Part I

With The Long Christmas Dinner spanning a full 90 years—starting at the 1850s— and both Pullman Car Hiawatha and The Happy Journey to Trenton and Camden generally occurring in the 1920’s and the 1930’s, extensive research went into each decade that couldn’t possibly all fit into the Study Guide for A Wilder Night. Hence a 4th Wall Post (or two) was born!   1850’s  The 1850s saw a lot of technological advancements and connections. The railroad network and the telegraph network helped the nation economically. Immigrants from Europe were spilling into the US. Mills that popped up throughout the North East, and with the railway expansion, food from Midwest farms were able to get to the South and East. The California Gold Rush beckoned prospectors from all over the US and China. The North was becoming incredibly urban and industrialized, while the South remained very rural.

  Manufacturing made up about two-thirds of the nation’s economy, with cotton material being the chiefest amongst the factories and mills. Cotton was in high demand throughout the world and the South met that need. However, because cotton can destroy farmland, these cotton farms were moving west. In the Northern part of the Southern states, tobacco plantations were slowing down, and slavery dying out. Sadly slavery continued to survive due to the slave trade which sent many of them to the cotton plantations. Slavery was a contentious topic at the time. America was gaining new states, particularly in the Southwest/Midwest. Much of this decade was spent in political dispute.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act reversed the compromises by allowing the new states of the Union to decide their stance on slavery. It also led to the formation of the republican party who opposed expansion of slavery states but weren’t absolute abolitionists.    1860’s  When Lincoln was elected president, the Southern states seceded and established themselves as the Confederate States of America. The Civil War began when Confederate General Pierre Beauregard opened fire on Union (northern) troops at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. In response, Lincoln sent Union troops to reclaim it, which meant invading the South. The Union had the upper hand in terms of population, industrialization, and transportation. The war was a defensive one on the South side, which meant if they could hold the North at the border line until they gave up, they had a chance at winning. They only ever invaded the North as a shock-tactic to scare Yankees. Everyone believed it would be a short war, but it turned into four years’ worth of bloodshed. The war ended with Ulysses Grant trashing Georgia and South Carolina, trapping General Robert E. Lee and forcing his surrender. The war left the Union strong and hearty; the South was financially crippled and devastated. Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, four days after the news of Lee’s surrender reached Washington DC. 

The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1866, the first law to protect African Americans. It was vetoed by President Johnson, but the veto was overridden by Congress. However, the KKK formed in secrecy to discourage African Americans from voting. They spread terror and crime, stunting racial equality progress despite the Civil Rights Act. 

The Women’s Crusade of 1873-74 is started when women in New York marched against liquor stores and created the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. This would later culminate in prohibition. Another win for women: Rutherford B Hayes signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue in Supreme Court cases. 

  1880’s  As easier access to communication and travel became more available, American life began changing radically. Clothes, food, equipment, appliances could all be mail-ordered via catalogues (Sears and Roebuck) and were brought in from all over the country. With that, jarring and canning became more and more popular, as did the ever-popular (and personal favorite) carbonated soda, Coca-Cola.