United States of America

    Place Unit Type
    Nation
    Containing Unit
    Date Type
    - A large new comet, visible to the naked eye, is observed all over the northern hemisphere Science/Technology
    A National Day of Fasting and Prayer is held across the North Religion/Philosophy
    A partial eclipse of the Sun is visible in northwestern North America Science/Technology
    - A total eclipse of the Moon late in the evening is visible across much of the United States Science/Technology
    - Around midnight, a total eclipse of the Moon is visible across much of the United States Science/Technology
    As the year closes, the armed forces of the United States reach a strength of more than 680,000 men Battles/Soldiers
    Figures show that there were more than five thousand bank failures in the United States between December 1856 and December 1857 Business/Industry
    First perforated U.S. Postage stamps issued Business/Industry
    National day of "fasting, humiliation, and prayer" takes place throughout the United States Education/Culture
    Railroad deaths in 1860 down by more than half compared to 1859 Business/Industry
    Statistics indicate deaths from steamboat boiler explosions down for the year 1860 Crime/Disasters
    Thanksgiving Day is celebrated across the country Religion/Philosophy
    The "Great Comet of 1860" reaches its closest point to the Earth Science/Technology
    The Bank of England raises its discount rate as financial disruption in the United States effects Europe Business/Industry
    The Bank of England replenishes its gold reserves as American financial disruption effects Europe Business/Industry
    The first overland mail for California leaves St. Louis for San Francisco Business/Industry
    The U.S. Government counts only eighteen veterans remaining from the Revolutionary War Lawmaking/Litigating
    The United States and several European powers sign a joint trade agreement with Japan. US/the World
    The United States Navy celebrates the eighty-fifth anniversary of its founding Education/Culture
    Treaty signed between United States and China US/the World
    United States Gold Coinage in 1859, by the numbers Business/Industry
    Name Type
    Alabama State or Province
    Alaska State or Province
    Arizona State or Province
    Arkansas State or Province
    Arkansas River Rivers/Waterways
    California State or Province
    Chesapeake Bay Region
    Colorado State or Province
    Connecticut State or Province
    Cumberland Valley Region
    Dakota Territory State or Province
    Deep South Region
    Delaware State or Province
    Des Moines River Rivers/Waterways
    District of Columbia State or Province
    Florida State or Province
    Georgia State or Province
    Idaho State or Province
    Illinois State or Province
    Indian Territory State or Province
    Indiana State or Province
    Iowa State or Province
    Kansas State or Province
    Kentucky State or Province
    Louisiana State or Province
    Lower North Region
    Maine State or Province
    Maryland State or Province
    Mason-Dixon Line Region
    Massachusetts State or Province
    Michigan State or Province
    Minnesota State or Province
    Mississippi State or Province
    Mississippi River Rivers/Waterways
    Mississippi River Valley Region
    Missouri State or Province
    Missouri River Rivers/Waterways
    Mobile River Rivers/Waterways
    Montana State or Province
    Nebraska State or Province
    Nevada State or Province
    New England Region
    New Hampshire State or Province
    New Jersey State or Province
    New Mexico State or Province
    New York State or Province
    North Carolina State or Province
    North Dakota State or Province
    Northern Seaboard Region
    Northwest Region
    Ohio State or Province
    Ohio River Rivers/Waterways
    Ohio River Valley Region
    Oklahoma State or Province
    Oregon State or Province
    Pennsylvania State or Province
    Platte River Rivers/Waterways
    Potomac River Rivers/Waterways
    Red River Continent
    Rhode Island State or Province
    Shenandoah River Rivers/Waterways
    South Carolina State or Province
    South Dakota State or Province
    Susquehanna River Rivers/Waterways
    Tennessee State or Province
    Tennessee River Rivers/Waterways
    Texas State or Province
    Upper South Region
    Utah Territory State or Province
    Vermont State or Province
    Virginia State or Province
    Wabash River Rivers/Waterways
    Washington Territory State or Province
    West Region
    West Virginia State or Province
    Wisconsin State or Province
    Wyoming State or Province
    Date Title
    New Orleans (LA) Picayune, “The Fugitive Slave Law,” June 18, 1851
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “The Cuban Movement,” November 11, 1852
    John Henry Hill to Philadelphia Vigilance Committee, November 1, 1853
    Debate over the Estimates for Rivers and Harbors, House of Representatives, January 6, 1854
    New York Times, “Tendencies Towards Free-Trade,” March 23, 1857
    New York Times, “England and America,” April 29, 1857
    Richmond (VA) Dispatch, "England and America," May 14, 1857
    New Orleans (LA) Picayune, “Great Britain in Honduras,” May 24, 1857
    New York Times, “The American Panic,” October 14, 1857
    San Francisco (CA) Evening Bulletin, “Immigration into the United States for the Last Fifteen Years,” June 24, 1858
    Milwaukee (WI) Sentinel, "The Atlantic Telegraph Cable," June 29, 1858
    New York Times, “A Telegraphic Bureau,” September 1, 1858
    New York Times, “The Boundary Survey between Mexico and the United States,” September 27, 1858
    New York Times, “The Home Squadron,” October 27, 1858
    New York Herald, “Gen. Walker Submitting to a ‘Legal Experiment,’” November 19, 1858
    Boston (MA) Flag of Our Union, “Uncle Sam’s Farm,” December 11, 1858
    New York Times, “The Cuban Scheme at the South,” February 15, 1859
    New York Herald, “Immigration into the United States,” February 20, 1859
    New Orleans (LA) Picayune, “Russia and America,” March 20, 1859
    San Francisco (CA) Evening Bulletin, “Filibusterism and Disunion,” April 1, 1859
    Washington (DC) National Intelligencer, “Railroad Disasters,” July 4, 1859
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “The Next Census,” August 18, 1859
    William Wilkins to James Watson Webb, March 26, 1860
    New York Herald, “The Mode of Taking the Census,” June 10, 1860
    Boston (MA) Advertiser, “Relations with Japan in Jeopardy,” June 30, 1860
    New York Herald, “The Ovations to the Prince of Wales,” August 9, 1860
    New York Times, “The Nonsense of Disunion,” September 22, 1860
    Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, "The Prince of Wales," October 16, 1860
    Newark (OH) Advocate, "The Prince's Visit from a Canadian Point of View," November 2, 1860
    New York Herald, “The English Press Upon the Prince's Visit,” December 2, 1860
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, "The Prime Cause," December 8, 1860
    Lowell (MA) Citizen & News, “British Views of Secession,” December 14, 1860
    New York Herald, “Is South Carolina Out of the Union?,” December 30, 1860
    New York Times, “Flight of a Great Criminal,” December 31, 1860
    Richmond (VA) Dispatch, “The One Man Power,” January 11, 1861
    New York Times, “Secession of Florida,” January 23, 1861
    New York Herald, “Resignations in the Army, Navy and Civil Service of the Federal Government,” March 3, 1861
    New York Herald, “The Republican Party and their Professions for the Poor,” March 31, 1861
    Chicago (IL) Tribune, “War Inaugurated!,” April 13, 1861
    Richmond (VA) Dispatch, “New European Views of the South,” May 17, 1861
    Fayetteville (NC) Observer, “Abusing England,” May 27, 1861
    Charleston (SC) Mercury, “The Military Policy of the North,” May 29, 1861
    Newark (OH) Advocate, “England and the United States,” May 31, 1861
    New York Times, “One of their Errors,” June 3, 1861
    Entry by Kate Stone, July 4, 1861
    Gideon Welles to Abraham Lincoln, August 5, 1861
    How to Cite This Page: "United States of America," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/9093.