* Some of the items included in this month’s current events:
- The official Electoral College votes.
- Congress met December 1 and a dispute arose over a seat for Kansas.
- The President’s Message, later to be known as the State of the Union address, was sent from President Pierce to Congress and read on December 2. In it the President blames the current difficulties in Kansas on northern aggression, which, if continued, could lead to civil war.
- The Secretary of War (Jefferson Davis) “reports the authorized strength of the army to be 17,894, while its actual strength is 15,562. He announces that the Indian War on the Pacific is ended, and the difficulties on the Western plains are settled, with the exception of those with the Cheyennes. He advocates a change in the present system of locating small frontier posts far in advance of population; suggesting that a few posts be selected at favorable points, at which large garrisons should be maintained, and from which strong detachments could be sent out at favorable seasons. He recommends that liberal appropriations be made for harbor and coast fortifications, for armaments and ammunition; and urges that the pay of officers should be increased.”
- “The number of Indians within the United States is estimated at 300,000. The policy of colonizing the tribes upon separate reservations has been attended with satisfactory results, giving promise of a steady amelioration in their moral and physical condition. The average annual expenditures for Indian purposes, during the last six years, has been $2,626,932.”
- Governor Adams of South Carolina (together with a “number of leading presses of the South”) is calling for the revival of the African slave trade.
- Storms on the Great Lakes have caused the loss of 49 vessels and more than 200 lives.
- The French steamer Le Lyonnais sank November 2 with the loss of all but 16 passengers and crew. There had been 98 crew and 38 passengers, including the aunt and uncle of George Templeton Strong. As of today it is not known if they are among the survivors.
- France and England are quarreling.
Very contemporary.
Happy New Year Homer.
I’ve been away for awhile. This looks like another cool history thread where I can learn something.
Couple of questions:
- This seems to revolve around Harper’s Magazine which now, like the NYT, is entrenched in Leftism, but maybe then actually offered some sound information. Is that how you see it?
- Is this mostly about the events leading up to the Civil War?
Animal declaration of independence — brings to mind George Orwell’s famous satire “Animal Farm”.
But lest you think it’s total humor, I’ll remind you that something like it must have happened, because even today, as you drive into Louisville, KY, you see signs announcing it is the “Horse Capital of America”.
So, horses have a capital, and I’ll bet if you look hard enough, you’ll find capitals for cows & pigs, etc.
Therefore, don’t just dismiss it as mere humor, there could be something serious behind it.
;-)
“The number of Indians within the United States is estimated at 300,000.”
Interesting to note that since 1860, US population has grown more than ten times — from about 30 million to over 300 million.
At the same time, the population of native Americans also grew 10 times, from 300,000 to about 3 million.
Additionally, the number of mixed ancestry (not including “Pocahontas”) is now also about 3 million.
Pre-Columbian populations? Unknown, probably exceeding one million.