Last Best Hope of Earth

Tag: Immigration

  • The Evolving Political Parties of the 1850s

    panoramic-view-of-washington-city-e-sachse-and-co-1856
    Panoramic View of Washington, DC in 1856. Courtesy: E. Sachse & Co.

    The Democratic Party and Whig Party were the dominant political parties from the early 1830s up until the mid-1850s. Both were institutions in national politics despite not having a coherent national organization by cobbling together a diverse group of states to win elections. While the Democrats had a more populist agenda, the Whigs were more focused on pursuing industrialization and development of the country. See David Potter, The Impending Crisis: America Before the Civil War, 1848-1861, 226. While the Democratic Party would survive to the present day, the Whig Party would not survive the mid-1850s, not as a result of its own ineptness but because of the changing political landscape of that era. (more…)

  • The Mass Immigration of the 1840s

    five_points_new_york_city_1852
    Photograph of the Five Points Neighborhood of New York City. Photographer Unknown.

    In the mid-1840s, the last major famine in European history would take place in Ireland. This famine would have significant ramifications for America, as it would lead to a massive wave of immigrants.

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  • The Birth of Texas

    stephen_f_austin
    Stephen F. Austin. Artist Unknown.

    In 1821, Mexico achieved its independence from Spain, changing the nature of America-Mexico relations. See Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 658-59.

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  • American Cities in the Early 1800s

    cincinnati_harbour_1838
    Cincinnati Harbor in 1838. By: Josef Motschmann.

    From the 1820s through the 1840s, America’s cities were changing rapidly due to the transportation revolution, technological advances, and world events.

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