Newport Uprising

Newport uprising on 3-4 November 1839. This was an armed uprising in support of the Chartist Petition. A few months after the rejection of the first Chartist petition, 9,000 laborers—some of them ignorant of the intentions of their leaders—marched into Newport with the plan of taking control of the town, but were quickly routed by local forces. Image: The attack of the Chartists on the Westgate Hotel, Newport, Mon. Nov 4th 1839. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

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Chris R. Vanden Bossche, "On Chartism"

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Jo Briggs, “1848 and 1851: A Reconsideration of the Historical Narrative”

Slavery Abolition Act

The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 received the Royal Assent (which means it became law) on 29 August 1833. The Act outlawed slavery throughout the British Empire; Britain’s colonial slaves were officially emancipated on 1 August 1834 when the law came into force, although most entered a form of obligatory apprenticeship that ended in 1840. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Image: the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

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Elsie B. Michie, "On the Sacramental Test Act, the Catholic Relief Act, the Slavery Abolition Act, and the Factory Act"

Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″

Riots at Bristol

On 30 October 30 1831, a crowd of 10,000 took possession of Queen Square in Bristol, as rioting in nine cities and towns marked the failure of the second version of the First Reform Bill in the House of Lords.

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Carolyn Vellenga Berman, “On the Reform Act of 1832″

Swing Riots

The Swing Riots, which occurred from August 1830 to December 1830, were a series of riots by agricultural workers that resulted from the Enclosure Acts, in general, and the introduction of threshing machines in East Kent, more specifically. The Swing Riots are named after the fictitious “Captain Swing,” the figurehead for the movement. Image: Print by Henry Heath entitled “Swing!” (1830). Reproduced with permission from The British Museum.

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Carolyn Lesjak, "1750 to the Present: Acts of Enclosure and Their Afterlife" (forthcoming)

Emancipation Day in New York

In 1799, the state of New York gradually began to change its laws regarding slavery. This gradual abolition law stated that although all children born to enslaved mothers after July 4, 1799 would be legally free, they would be required to work for their mother’s owners until they were 25 if they were female and 28 if they were male. For those who were born before July 4, 1799, they were then redefined by the law as indentured servants and therefore, enslaved for life. On March 31, 1817, the New York legislature ended two centuries of slavery within the state, setting July 4, 1827 to be the date when final emancipation was to occur. This made New York the first state to pass a law that included the total abolition of legal slavery. Around 11% of the black population living in New York was freed when Emancipation Day finally arrived, which was supposed to include Sojourner Truth. July 4, 1827 is an important day for Sojourner because her master, John Dumont, promised to emancipate her before that day came. But a year before the official emancipation, Dumont retracted his promise. Sojourner then freed herself and her infant daughter, Sophia. Unable to bring the rest of her family, Sojourner later found out that her 5-year-old son, Peter, had be illegally sold into slavery by Dumont, which led her to filing a lawsuit against him to regain custody of her son. Before doing so, Sojourner found refuge with Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen in New Platz, New York. In order to keep her safe, the Van Wagenens paid Dumont $20 for Sojourners labor until Emancipation Day on July 4, 1827. Emancipation Day was the day that Sojourner had been waiting for and what ultimately saved her. This law was also what led to the lawsuit she filed to get her son back and helped her to win it. With the help of the Wagenen, Sojourner won the lawsuit. As the first ever black woman to win a case against a white man, Emancipation Day plays a significant role in the empowerment of Sojourner Truth as an abolitionist. To be a black woman who was formally a slave, win a lawsuit against her former white, male owner, is an accomplishment that resonated within the abolitionist and black community.  

 Works Cited:

Landy, Craig A. “When Did Slavery End in New York?” Historical Society of the New York Courts, 24 Oct. 2018, history.nycourts.gov/when-did-slavery-end-in-new-york/. 

“Sojourner Truth (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/people/sojourner-truth.htm. 

Gag Acts

On 30 December 1819, the British parliament passed the Six Acts (or Gag Acts), which labeled any meeting for radical reform as “an overt act of treasonable conspiracy.” The acts were aimed at gagging radical newspapers (the Blasphemous and Seditious Libels Act, the Newspaper and Stamp Duties Act, and the Misdemeanors Act), preventing large meetings (the Seditious Meetings Prevention Act), and reducing what the government saw as the possibility of armed insurrection (the Training Prevention Act and the Seizure of Arms Act). Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Articles

James Chandler, “On Peterloo, 16 August 1819″

Britain approves settlement scheme to South Africa

On 12 July 1819, the British government approved £50,000 for a settlement scheme to South Africa's eastern Cape.

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Timothy Johns, “The 1820 Settlement Scheme to South Africa”

Sandy Brow Fight

On 15 February 1819, William Fitton presided at a public meeting at Sandy Brow in Stockport (the so-called “Sandy Brow Fight”), number present not known, where a scuffle involving stones and brickbats occurred over an attempt by the military to seize the Cap of Liberty; the Riot Act was read three times.

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James Chandler, “On Peterloo, 16 August 1819″

Life of Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was an incredibly influential author of the nineteenth century. His works include A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and Great Expectations. His accurate portrayals of Victorian society garnered him popularity unheard of by most authors of his time. HIs works were both sophisticated and straightforward, allowing people of all social levels to appreciate the themes and lessons he portrayed. He confronted the issues of his time, partially because he lived through them himself, and his popularity has continued to modern times.

His most popular and lasting works mainly dealt with the class issues of his time: the poor treatment of the working class and children, the aloofness of the wealthy, and concerns of social and moral evil. Due to his own time spent as a child working in a factory, many of his works deal with children that are abandoned and abused. He used these figures many times to criticize the society around him. His novel Great Expectations comments on Victorian society's expectations, and he continued to explore these values in his final completed novel, Our Mutual Friend.

One of his most popular and long-lasting works explores these themes in a different way, and that is A Christmas Carol. Dickens created a timeless character in Ebenezer Scrooge, and the story demonstrates his fascination with Christmas and the idea of the Christmas spirit. He wanted the idea of giving and caring for your fellow man to extend past the holiday season. No other famous author has explored the holiday to his degree, and his association with Christmas is felt to this day.

Dickens toured both England and America giving public readings of his writings. He enjoyed these very much, and they greatly contributed to his fame. He was known all over the world and continued to write for his entire life. His works took on a variety of forms, but he constantly explored the same themes concerning class issues in Victorian-Era England, leaving lasting impacts on his readers. Owing to both old age and the stress placed on his body by his public readings, he passed away in June of 1870, leaving behind a legacy of great literature and social commentary.

Works Cited:

Charles Dickens Info. “Charles Dickens Biography.” Charles Dickens Info, 25 Jan. 2020, www.charlesdickensinfo.com/life/biography/.

Collins, Philip. “Charles Dickens.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 10 Sept. 2020, www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-Dickens-British-novelist.

19th Century US Immigration

Immigration to America was largely unregulated through the 18th and most of the 19th century. Following the Civil War, restrictions began to be placed upon immigrant entry to the US. A large influx of German, Irish and English immigrants came to America in the 1870s and 1880s. They, like most immigrants at the time, fled their home countries in search of economic prosperity and freedom from religious and political persecution. Many Chinese immigrants also came to America, largely settling in California in hopes of attaining wealth in the Gold Rush, though Chinese immigrants were later excluded from entry to the US following federal law banning them.

         Once immigration became a federal concern in 1875, new laws followed like the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Alien Contract Labor Laws of 1885 and 1887, and the Immigration Act of 1882 which levied a 50 cent tax on all immigrants. This act excluded those with mental illness, disability, criminal convictions, or those “likely to become a public charge,” which allowed for exclusion of the poor or those who could not earn livable wages in America, like women travelling alone. First- and second-class passengers aboard ships were given a preliminary inspection before boarding in their homeland, and upon arrival to the US, did not require further inspection at immigration centers unless they were sickly or found to be criminal. All lower-class passengers, referred to as “steerage,” were not afforded this luxury, and awaited potentially lengthy stays in immigration centers where they fulfilled required inspections.

         Though many millions of immigrants were allowed into the US, these federal bans validated some already existing prejudices against immigrants, who were often victims of poverty, low wages, poor healthcare and rampant discrimination. While employers sought immigrant labor, particularly in inland states where immigrant populations were lower, many natives to the area felt immigrants were saturating the job market by accepting unlivable wages, making it much more difficult for non-immigrants to retain employment. Unfortunately, these prejudices can still be seen in the US today.

“Early American Immigration Policies.” USCIS, 30 July 2020, www.uscis.gov/about-us/our-history/overview-of-ins-history/early-american-immigration-policies.

“Immigration to the United States, 1851-1900  :  Rise of Industrial America, 1876-1900  :  U.S. History Primary Source Timeline  :  Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress  :  Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-tim....

Death of Wollstonecraft

Death of Mary Wollstonecraft on 10 September 1797. Mary Shelley, Wollstonecraft’s second daughter, was born on August 30th, after which complications from childbirth set in. Wollstonecraft developed a fever, and died on September 10th. She was buried at St. Pancras Churchyard. Image: William Blake's frontispiece to the 1791 edition of Mary Wollstonecraft's Original Stories from Real Life. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired.

Articles

Ghislaine McDayter, "On the Publication of William Godwin’s Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, 1798"

Anne K. Mellor, "On the Publication of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman"

Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

1789 saw the publication of Olaudah Equiano’s Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African. Exact month of publication unknown; if you have information about the correct date, please email felluga@purdue.edu with this information. The book describes Equiano's time as a slave and his life after achieving his freedom. Image: Engraving for Equiano's Interesting Narrative. This image is in the public domain in the United States as its copyright has expired.

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Isaac Land, “On the Foundings of Sierra Leone, 1787-1808″