19th Century Exploration

Russia Influenza:

As the name indicated, the Russian Flu in 1889 started in Russia and spread throughout the northern hemisphere. At first, America wasn’t worried about it, “To Americans, it was safely over there, a vast ocean away.” (Daugherty, Greg. “The Russian Flu of 1889:The Russian Flu of 1889: The Deadly Pandemic Few Americans Took Seriously.”) The symptoms when it first started spreading were just those of a severe cold. However, the first death was a 25-year-old man, on December 28, 1889, in Massachusetts. As the death toll rose, America started becoming more scared of this influenza.

When the pandemic started to disappear in 1890, over 1300 people died in the U.S. New York was struck the hardest, having a total of 2,503 deaths. It came in waves again in the winter, but most people had grown immunity to them by that time. There is no concrete conclusion as to where this influenza came from, only that it spread from close contact, and seemed to attack people more with underlying health conditions. This was a big piece of history that many people have forgotten about. But it was one of the first pandemics that was really recorded and was the last pandemic of the 19th century.

War of 1812:

The War of 1812 was Between the U.S. and the British. This Was started from conflict because of the British and their harsh maritime practices during the Napoleonic Wars. The British wanted to prevent any shipment to France during the Napoleonic Wars, so that meant stopping the U.S. The U.S. made legislation to prevent the British from checking their cargo and interfering. When the British refused to stop interfering, the U.S. declared War on them in June of 1812. The British maintained their blockades and burned buildings down in Washington DC when the U.S. reacted in similar ways.

Finally, The commissioners signed a treaty on December 24, 1814. “The Treaty of Ghent did not resolve the issues that had caused the war, but at that point Britain was too weary to win it, and the U.S. government deemed not losing it a tolerable substitute for victory.” (Bluhm, Raymond K. “War of 1812 - Final stages of the war and the aftermath.”) After the war patriotism in the U.S. increased, as well as respect for the U.S. from other countries, and the United States military and manufacturing strengthened.

The invention of the Telephone:

In 1876, the first telephone networks were installed in the U.S. This allowed people to communicate quickly, easier, and more efficiently. Businesses and governments thrived with this technology. “Telephone technology all started with the invention of Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone in 1876.”(Seaver, Carl. “What Were The Most Important Events of the 19th Century?”) He called this the “speaking tube”, it allowed two people to be able to talk to each other at the same time. In 1877 He added an earpiece, and it was called the “telephone”. In 1877 the Bell Telephone Company was founded. Over 150,000 people had telephones by 1878. It eventually became one of the most successful products, as it was able to be produced and sold more.

Not everyone viewed this telephone as something beneficial. Many people are afraid of things they do not understand. People knew that anyone in the same room could hear your conversations, even sometimes when they weren't in the same room. Not everyone trusted this device, mostly because they did not know how it worked. So they feared it because of the unknown

Novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe

• A two volume book published in 1852

• Uncle Tom’s Cabin tells the story of Uncle Tom, an enslaved person, depicted as saintly and dignified, noble and steadfast in his beliefs.

Watercolor of Uncle Tom's Cabin

https://youtu.be/-CoO7KGXlCE

- this video gives an explanation behind what 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' story was written about

19th Century Timeline:

19th Century STEAM:

Works Cited

Bluhm, Raymond K. “War of 1812 - Final stages of the war and the aftermath.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/event/War-of-1812/Final-stages-of-the-war-and-the-aftermath

. Accessed 7 May 2023.

Daugherty, Greg. “The Russian Flu of 1889:The Russian Flu of 1889: The Deadly Pandemic Few Americans Took Seriously.” The Russian Flu of 1889: The Deadly Pandemic Few Americans Took Seriously, A&E Television Networks, 23 March 2020, https://www.history.com/news/1889-russian-flu-pandemic-in-america.

Accessed 7 May 2023.

“Mapping the 1889-1890 Russian Flu – Circulating Now from the NLM Historical Collections.” Circulating Now, 11 August 2014, https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/08/11/mapping-the-1889-1890-russian-flu/.

Accessed 7 May 2023.

Seaver, Carl. “What Were The Most Important Events of the 19th Century?” History Defined, 22 July 2022, https://www.historydefined.net/what-were-the-most-important-events-of-the-19th-century/

. Accessed 7 May 2023.