1850-1860 :: Essays Papers

1850-1860 The decade of the 1850’s bought about an era of change for American citizens, which included economic revolutions and a rise in agriculture and manufacturing. This was largely due to a revolution in transportation. In 1851, a 483-mile Erie Railroad was completed which linked the Hudson River to Lake Erie (Brown 88). 1852 transformed the history of the Chicago railroad with the construction of Illinois Central. This proved to be very profitable. In fact, an 1852 report to Congress concluded "a farmer would save a large amount of money by shipping his goods by railroad, rather than by steamboat or ordinary roads" ("The City Transformed" 14). Trains raised the standards for the U.S. because it enabled people in our economy to transport cotton and wheat to European markets. Trains were able to ship material faster to different harbors, which helped the shipping industry. During this time, however, slavery and child labor were very common. Consistent with economic expansion, the na tion also began to expand communications. People had access to a mailing system, a daily newspaper and the use of the telegraph. However, most of the people in the country were unable to use these resources. For example, only 10 percent of the nation could afford the paper (Brown 51). These changes were not only facing America, but spread globally throughout this decade. Influential world events took place during these years. Many kings and emperors were replaced, and wars between foreign countries began. In 1851 President Louis Napoleon led a coup d’etat in France. Only one year later he proclaimed the Second Empire in France, and Louis Napoleon was named Napoleon III on December 2, 1852. During this time, Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, and Auguste Comte wrote works on social class structure. In 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (Brown 8). Religion was also an important issue during this time period. Catholic Bishops began to accept titles in Europe, and religious organizations began to form. Landscape painting was the major art movement during this period. Most of the paintings were depictions of the wilderness, but they also portrayed ideas such as mortality. Between the periods of 1850 to1870, a new era of artists introduced a greater sense of realism rather than the romantic style used by their precursors (Brown 27). Their work was more detailed because they used a style called luminism. This style relied heavily on the effects of light, the atmosphere and scenery (Brown 27).