38 10 378 https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/changemakers/files/original/8c7f93ed63f37006b1335a0ed3139398.jpg d369866a7ef213d9571aeda0ee003593 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Civil War and Reconstruction Description An account of the resource The Civil War was undoubtedly one of the most important events in American history. The war challenged not only the issue of slavery, but the also the balance of federal versus state powers and the power of constitutional government. In the end, not only did the war preserve the Union as Lincoln had spoken of, but it also freed nearly four million African Americans from slavery. The war also highlighted stark differences in regions of the country. These differences ranged from political to religious to economic. There were many cases of brother fighting brother, neighbor fighting neighbor, and men who had previously been in the United States military service choosing to fight for the Confederacy, most notably, Robert E. Lee. The war also saw an increase in battlefield news coverage and photography, along with the first assassination of an American President. Following the war, the nation was faced with the problem of Reconstruction. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were aimed towards providing full equality for African Americans, but did face opposition on many levels. Despite headway, the North and the South both had strong objections to Radical Reconstruction and full social and racial democratization. Many Americans opposed the idea of redistributing wealth and were still in favor of strong local rights and government. In some cases, Reconstruction increased the racial divide, giving rise to movements such as the KKK. Learn more in the National History Content Standards. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1850-1877 Person An individual. Birth Date 1820 Birthplace Essex Death Date 1871 Occupation Member of the Virginia Convention Bibliography Image courtesy of the Library of Virginia. Biographical Text William Breedlove (ca. 1820-June 15, 1871), son of a white man and a free African American woman, worked as a blacksmith in Tappahannock. A literate man, he accumulated real estate and personal property and may have begun operating a ferry service across the Rappahannock River by 1860. In November 1863 Breedlove and William Chandler, his free black employee, transported an African American man across the river under the impression that he had a pass authorizing him to travel, when in fact he was a runaway slave. The ferrymen were arrested and convicted in Essex County of assisting in a slave’s escape. The penalty prescribed by law was that both men be "sold into absolute slavery." The prosecuting attorney and some of the justices of the peace who convicted Breedlove and Chandler recommended gubernatorial clemency, believing they had not known that the man was a slave. Other local dignitaries described Breedlove as a valuable member of the community. Governor John Letcher pardoned him in December 1863. These legal travails may have sparked Breedlove’s postwar political activism. In October 1867 blacks in Essex and Middlesex Counties selected him as their candidate for the state constitutional convention. In the election, Breedlove received votes from only three white men, but black voters outnumbered white voters in both counties, and he easily defeated the white candidate. During the convention Breedlove sat on the Committee on Taxation and Finance. He served inconspicuously and voted consistently with the Radical majority. In July 1869 the military commander in Essex County appointed Breedlove one of six new justices of the peace for the county. Breedlove also served on the town council of Tappahannock, and his appointment in March 1870 as postmaster there outraged many local whites. He stepped down as postmaster in March 1871, possibly because of failing health. William Breedlove died of "Brain Fever" three months later. <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/trailblazers-2007" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2007</a> African American Trailblazers honoree, Library of Virginia. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource William Breedlove Subject The topic of the resource African American Trailblazers Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2007 African American Trailblazers Honoree Description An account of the resource A free African American before the Civil War, William Breedlove won election in 1867 to a convention called to rewrite Virginia's state constitution. Government and Law https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/changemakers/files/original/45ea96b72ce2284b0de789c88630d881.jpg c9f789ba74577fdfd7f8b79822a91c84 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Development of the Industrial United States Description An account of the resource From Reconstruction to the end of the 19th century, the United States went through a dramatic shift in its economic landscape. Industrialization changed not only the nature of business, but also brought technological advances and demand for an ever-increasing workforce. A rapid expansion of the power of big business was countered with the rise of labor movements, and often resulted in conflict, sometimes violent in nature. In contrast to the positive outcomes of technological developments, there were ecological effects not understood at the time, and unhealthy working conditions that often sparked big labor disputes and strikes. This shift was felt not only in the industrial big cities of the North and Midwest, but also in the realm of farming, where the United States was now put into the role of the world’s premier food producer. This era is defined largely by unprecedented immigration and urbanization, both of which fed the industrial system. Immigrants, for the first time, were less and less likely to come from Western Europe, now coming from Southern and Eastern Europe, Asia, Mexico, and Central America. Along with the need for expanding educational systems, which were often structured to push assimilation, the rise in immigration also led to religious tensions as Protestantism was no longer the dominating faith of immigrants. At the same time as immigrants were flooding the ports of the United States, the government launched wars against the Plains Indians, forcing the “second great removal” and defining a federal Indian policy that would last for decades. Learn more in the National U.S. History Content Standards. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1870-1900 Person An individual. Birth Date 1846 Birthplace Portsmouth and Norfolk County Death Date 1927 Occupation Educator and Journalist Biographical Text John Wesley Cromwell (September 5, 1846–April 14, 1927) was born into slavery in Portsmouth, Virginia, but became a powerful leader and educator. By 1851 he, his parents, and siblings were all free, and the family had settled in Philadelphia. Educated at a Quaker school, he taught in Pennsylvania and Maryland schools and in various Virginia locales before entering Howard University's law school in 1871. Cromwell worked at the Treasury Department until 1885 and then he practiced law. When he appeared before the Interstate Commerce Commission as counsel for the plaintiff in William H. Heard v. the Georgia Railroad Company in 1887, he was likely the first African American attorney to argue a case before such an important federal body. From 1889 until at least 1919, Cromwell taught or served as principal at several District of Columbia schools. He initially supported Booker Taliaferro Washington's vision of black education, but his support of Washington waned as Cromwell came to believe that the quest for education and material success should be subordinate to seeking political solutions for racial problems. After a Richmond meeting of the Virginia Educational and Literary Association in 1875, his keynote speech was published as an Address on the Difficulties of the Colored Youth, In Obtaining an Education in the Virginias (1875). A gifted organizer, Cromwell was involved in the creation of the Virginia Educational and Historical Association, the National Colored Press Association (after 1894 the National Afro-American Press Association), and the Bethel Literary and Historical Association, among others. He was a leader in most of these organizations and participated in many other beneficial societies. In 1879 Cromwell was president of the Banneker Industrial Education Association. He served the Hampton Negro Conference from 1897 until at least 1903. Cromwell helped found the American Negro Academy in 1897. He became the public face of the ANA and in 1919 became the academy's fourth president. Cromwell began publishing the People's Advocate in Alexandria in 1876 and continued to own and manage it for at least eight years. He often wrote on educational and historical subjects, including The Jim Crow Negro (1904), The Negro in American History: Men and Women Eminent in the Evolution of the American of African Descent (1914), and articles for the Journal of Negro History. He died in Washington, D.C., in 1927 and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery there. <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/trailblazers-2008" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2008</a> African American Trailblazers honoree, Library of Virginia. Bibliography Image Courtesy of the Library of Virginia. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource John Wesley Cromwell Subject The topic of the resource African American Trailblazers Description An account of the resource Born into slavery, John Wesley Cromwell went on to become an attorney, educator, and publisher of the People's Advocate. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008 African American Trailblazers Honoree Education Government and Law Sports and Media https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/changemakers/files/original/3541c54f31727dd4d2a2da5f7bae091d.jpg 9508fa3134c97710a4c2b73637890a4f Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Civil War and Reconstruction Description An account of the resource The Civil War was undoubtedly one of the most important events in American history. The war challenged not only the issue of slavery, but the also the balance of federal versus state powers and the power of constitutional government. In the end, not only did the war preserve the Union as Lincoln had spoken of, but it also freed nearly four million African Americans from slavery. The war also highlighted stark differences in regions of the country. These differences ranged from political to religious to economic. There were many cases of brother fighting brother, neighbor fighting neighbor, and men who had previously been in the United States military service choosing to fight for the Confederacy, most notably, Robert E. Lee. The war also saw an increase in battlefield news coverage and photography, along with the first assassination of an American President. Following the war, the nation was faced with the problem of Reconstruction. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were aimed towards providing full equality for African Americans, but did face opposition on many levels. Despite headway, the North and the South both had strong objections to Radical Reconstruction and full social and racial democratization. Many Americans opposed the idea of redistributing wealth and were still in favor of strong local rights and government. In some cases, Reconstruction increased the racial divide, giving rise to movements such as the KKK. Learn more in the National History Content Standards. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1850-1877 Person An individual. Birth Date ca. 1817 Birthplace Richmond and Alexandria Death Date 1897 Occupation Baptist Minister and Republican Party Leader Biographical Text Fields Cook (ca. 1817-January 21, 1897) was born into slavery in King William County and rose to become a prominent African American leader in Richmond and Alexandria. In 1847 he began writing a narrative of his life, one of the longest manuscripts known to have been composed by an enslaved Virginian. Part of the memoir survives at the Library of Congress. He received permission about 1834 to live in Richmond, where he presumably participated in the illegal but common system of self-hiring. He married an enslaved domestic servant named Mary and became the father of at least three children. Gaining his freedom by 1850, he had managed by 1860 to free most of his family. After the Civil War, Cook became a Baptist minister and emerged as one of the most important African American leaders in Richmond. In 1865 when federal military authorities imposed harsh regulations on freedpeople, Cook and other leaders collected evidence of military and civilian misbehavior and called a mass meeting. Cook chaired the delegation chosen to present their case to the governor and to the president of the United States. Cook represented Richmond in the first state convention of African Americans. He wrote the convention's address to the public in which he argued that African Americans deserved full equality and must have the vote for their own protection. Cook's radical vision was at variance with ideas of subservience that the state's white leaders offered. In 1869 Cook attended the National Convention of the Colored Men of America in Washington, D.C., and was elected to its national executive committee. From 1867 to 1869 Cook worked for the Republican Party. He had an uneasy relationship with the Radical Republican leaders, as he favored a more inclusive party than they did. As an independent candidate for a seat in Congress in 1869 Cook received less than 1 percent of the vote. In 1870 Cook and his wife moved to Alexandria. As prominent there as he had been in Richmond, Cook remained in the Baptist ministry and was active in politics, supporting the Readjusters during the 1880s. He died in 1897, five years before Virginia stripped African American men of the vote, the franchise for which Cook had fought for three decades, claiming it as a right and a necessity. He was buried in Alexandria's Bethel Cemetery. <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/trailblazers-2008" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2008</a> African American Trailblazers honoree, Library of Virginia. Bibliography Image Courtesy of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Alexandria. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Fields Cook Subject The topic of the resource African American Trailblazers Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008 African American Trailblazers Honoree Description An account of the resource Born into slavery, Fields Cook became a prominent African American leader in Richmond and Alexandria in the aftermath of the Civil War. Arts and Literature Government and Law Religion https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/changemakers/files/original/b5f324a034c89b0d6bdd7399acf5d8c5.jpg 3191a2806688da7a20167bfe3c4b7ed8 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Expansion and Reform Description An account of the resource Between 1800 and 1860, the United States underwent a period of increased territorial expansion, immigration, economic growth, and industrialization. At the same time as the nation was increasing in population and size, regional differences were becoming more and more pronounced, and politically confrontational. The idea of “Manifest Destiny” led to movements first across the Appalachians, then across the Mississippi, and finally with the goal of reaching the Pacific Ocean, encouraged by the Gold Rush. This expansion, however, did have some negative results, most notably, the removal of many Indian nations in the Southeast and old Northwest. While the Louisiana Purchase increased the size of the nation more or less peacefully, large amounts of square footage were also acquired through the America’s victory in the Mexican-American War. Economic development, while increasing wealth and prosperity, also brought regional differences more sharply into focus. While the North began its path of Industrial Revolution, its increased urbanization and technological advancements separated it even further from an agrarian South. There was also a "transportation revolution" involving railroads, canals, and trans-regional roads, many times centered in the North. Slavery was also becoming a larger factor in the South, and would cause strife and political debate as new territory was added to the Union, particularly in the case of the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas–Nebraska Act which effectively repealed it. Despite expansion, free African Americans and women were still largely disenfranchised. Reforms movements occurred in bursts, setting the stage for post-Civil War major reforms. Learn more in the National U.S. History Content Standards. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1800-1860 Person An individual. Birth Date ca. 1805 Birthplace Lynchburg Death Date 1855 Occupation Musician Biographical Text Billy, or Blind Billy (ca. 1805–April 19, 1855), was a Lynchburg fifer who was so renowned that his death was noted not only in Lynchburg newspapers but also in Richmond. A slave, he eventually gained his freedom. Blind Billy, as he was named in all known references, was part of a long tradition of black military musicians. Fifers and drummers played on almost every public occasion. After parades, they would perform around town. One chronicler described Blind Billy standing on a street corner late into the evening playing "delightful old time music." Blind Billy and Tom Perkins, a bank clerk and violinist, "would stand in the later hours of the night in front of the bank in which Mr. Perkins was employed, [where] they would send forth melody that would inspire a stoic with cheerfulness." One of the songs associated with Blind Billy, "Wandering Willie," was a popular tune with diverse titles, which he reportedly played with much pathos. Like typical fifers of his time, Blind Billy played at balls and parties as well as on public occasions. As with other antebellum black musicians throughout the South, he drew from British tunes and African melodic traditions to create an American music. Blind Billy was said to recognize the voices of all who spoke to him as he walked the city's streets unaided. No source explains his sightlessness. His obituary noted that he had been raised and owned by Howell Davies, but that he had obtained his freedom a few years earlier. Blind Billy's tombstone reads, "Erected by Ann Armistead, in memory of her husband Blind Billy." But Billy's surname remains unknown. Whether slave or free, Ann Armistead might have retained her last name if marrying an enslaved person. Blind Billy died in 1855 and was buried in Lynchburg's Old City Cemetery (also known as the Old Methodist Cemetery) by the Overseers of the Poor. An incorrect death date on the marker suggests that it was placed well after his death. <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/trailblazers-2008" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2008</a> African American Trailblazers honoree, Library of Virginia. Bibliography Image Courtesy of the Southern Memorial Association, Lynchburg, Virginia. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Blind Billy Subject The topic of the resource African American Trailblazers Description An account of the resource An enslaved man, Blind Billy was a renowned Lynchburg fifer. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2008 African American Trailblazers Honoree Arts and Literature https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/changemakers/files/original/91600ec2f0dbba65247f3585ea8abbc1.jpg f02b9cfc141ef895e107d25cd16d25fa Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Civil War and Reconstruction Description An account of the resource The Civil War was undoubtedly one of the most important events in American history. The war challenged not only the issue of slavery, but the also the balance of federal versus state powers and the power of constitutional government. In the end, not only did the war preserve the Union as Lincoln had spoken of, but it also freed nearly four million African Americans from slavery. The war also highlighted stark differences in regions of the country. These differences ranged from political to religious to economic. There were many cases of brother fighting brother, neighbor fighting neighbor, and men who had previously been in the United States military service choosing to fight for the Confederacy, most notably, Robert E. Lee. The war also saw an increase in battlefield news coverage and photography, along with the first assassination of an American President. Following the war, the nation was faced with the problem of Reconstruction. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were aimed towards providing full equality for African Americans, but did face opposition on many levels. Despite headway, the North and the South both had strong objections to Radical Reconstruction and full social and racial democratization. Many Americans opposed the idea of redistributing wealth and were still in favor of strong local rights and government. In some cases, Reconstruction increased the racial divide, giving rise to movements such as the KKK. Learn more in the National History Content Standards. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1850-1877 Person An individual. Birth Date Circa 1815-1816 Birthplace Richmond Death Date 1897 Occupation Abolitionist and Performer Biographical Text Born into slavery in Louisa County, Henry Brown (1815 or 1816-June 15, 1897) became a skilled worker in a Richmond tobacco factory. About 1836 he married Nancy, an enslaved woman owned by another master, and the couple had at least three children. Brown was able through overwork to rent a house for his family. In August 1848 Nancy Brown's owner suddenly sold her and the children out of the state. With nothing to keep him in Richmond, Brown resolved to escape to freedom. Working with a free black dentist and a white shoemaker, he concocted a scheme to ship himself north. On March 23, 1849, his co-conspirators sealed Brown into a wooden crate and placed it on a train bound for Philadelphia. After twenty-six hours, Brown arrived at the office of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, where he was unboxed, alive and free. As Henry Box Brown, he began an active career lecturing and performing. He worked with the artist Josiah Wolcott and others to create a moving panorama to illustrate his lectures about slavery. Henry Box Brown's Mirror of Slavery opened in Boston on April 11, 1850. During the lecture, Brown would climb into a replica of the box and re-create his unboxing. By October 1850, after an abortive kidnapping attempt and fearful that he would be arrested and returned to Virginia under the new federal Fugitive Slave Act, Brown sailed for England, where he remained for more than a decade. In his performances in England and Wales, Brown mingled his antislavery lecture and panorama with entertaining acts. In 1875 he returned to the United States with a wife, whom he had married by 1859, and a daughter. The Browns performed at Milbury and Worcester, Massachusetts, at the beginning of 1878, and an Ontario newspaper reports a performance of the Brown Family Jubilee Singers at Brantford on February 26, 1889. By that time Henry Box Brown was living in Toronto, where he died on June 15, 1897. He was buried in Necropolis Cemetery there. Nominated by Brynn Sprinkle and Maya Wimer, Mary Johnston's first-grade class (2009-2010), Clark Elementary School, Charlottesville. <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/trailblazers-2011" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2011</a> African American Trailblazers honoree, Library of Virginia. Bibliography Image Courtesy of the Library of Virginia. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Henry "Box" Brown Subject The topic of the resource African American Trailblazers Description An account of the resource After his family was suddenly sold out of the state in 1848, he shipped himself in a wooden crate to freedom in 1849. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2011 African American Trailblazers Honoree Arts and Literature Civil Rights and Reform https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/changemakers/files/original/6e2b0c445204acdb6b53a9f544e3b9d3.jpg 783d7d6121cf365ac2abf78d2729f93e Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Civil War and Reconstruction Description An account of the resource The Civil War was undoubtedly one of the most important events in American history. The war challenged not only the issue of slavery, but the also the balance of federal versus state powers and the power of constitutional government. In the end, not only did the war preserve the Union as Lincoln had spoken of, but it also freed nearly four million African Americans from slavery. The war also highlighted stark differences in regions of the country. These differences ranged from political to religious to economic. There were many cases of brother fighting brother, neighbor fighting neighbor, and men who had previously been in the United States military service choosing to fight for the Confederacy, most notably, Robert E. Lee. The war also saw an increase in battlefield news coverage and photography, along with the first assassination of an American President. Following the war, the nation was faced with the problem of Reconstruction. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were aimed towards providing full equality for African Americans, but did face opposition on many levels. Despite headway, the North and the South both had strong objections to Radical Reconstruction and full social and racial democratization. Many Americans opposed the idea of redistributing wealth and were still in favor of strong local rights and government. In some cases, Reconstruction increased the racial divide, giving rise to movements such as the KKK. Learn more in the National History Content Standards. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1850-1877 Person An individual. Birth Date 1833 Birthplace Wheeling Death Date 1906 Occupation Plaintiff in Cause Célèbre Biographical Text Nothing is known of the early life of Sara Lucy Bagby Johnson (ca. 1833-1906). In 1852 she was sold in Richmond to William S. Goshorn of Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia). She escaped from her owner in October 1860 and eventually made her way to Cleveland. The Western Reserve area of Ohio was known for abolitionism. Bagby worked as a domestic servant for A. G. Riddle, a Republican Congressman-elect, who would later serve as a member of her defense council. At the time of her arrest under the Fugitive Slave Act on 19 January 1861, Bagby was a domestic worker in the household of jeweler L. A. Benton. Republicans viewed Bagby's case in the context of the sectional crisis. They did not want to give proslavery secessionists a pretext to brand their party as radical and lawless. Bagby's admission that she was indeed Goshorn's slave, a lack of any mitigating evidence, and the surprising acquiescence of Ohio's white abolition community sealed her fate. Black abolitionists, however, gathered at a station along the rail line carrying Bagby back to bondage, hoping to liberate her by force, but the train's engineer sensed the danger and did not stop. Bagby returned to slavery in Wheeling, but when Union forces took control of northwestern Virginia in June 1861, she was freed and her former master jailed. Bagby returned to Ohio, and abolition leaders in Cleveland held a Grand Jubilee for her on 6 May 1863. She married a former Union soldier, F. George Johnson, and lived in Pittsburgh until returning to Cleveland for the last years of her life. <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/trailblazers-2010" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2010</a> African American Trailblazers honoree, Library of Virginia. Bibliography Representative Image Courtesy of the Library of Virginia. Unidentified woman by David Hunter Strother, Contrabands in Virginia (1862). Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sara Bagby Subject The topic of the resource African American Trailblazers Description An account of the resource With "a decided taste for freedom," Sara Lucy Bagby was embroiled in a celebrated legal case that tested the infamous Fugitive Slave Act during the secession crisis. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010 African American Trailblazers Honoree Civil Rights and Reform https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/changemakers/files/original/a8a37e951ee3769c642429b07d21af8f.jpg af51bf725f51a50d70f318e16af069cc Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Expansion and Reform Description An account of the resource Between 1800 and 1860, the United States underwent a period of increased territorial expansion, immigration, economic growth, and industrialization. At the same time as the nation was increasing in population and size, regional differences were becoming more and more pronounced, and politically confrontational. The idea of “Manifest Destiny” led to movements first across the Appalachians, then across the Mississippi, and finally with the goal of reaching the Pacific Ocean, encouraged by the Gold Rush. This expansion, however, did have some negative results, most notably, the removal of many Indian nations in the Southeast and old Northwest. While the Louisiana Purchase increased the size of the nation more or less peacefully, large amounts of square footage were also acquired through the America’s victory in the Mexican-American War. Economic development, while increasing wealth and prosperity, also brought regional differences more sharply into focus. While the North began its path of Industrial Revolution, its increased urbanization and technological advancements separated it even further from an agrarian South. There was also a "transportation revolution" involving railroads, canals, and trans-regional roads, many times centered in the North. Slavery was also becoming a larger factor in the South, and would cause strife and political debate as new territory was added to the Union, particularly in the case of the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas–Nebraska Act which effectively repealed it. Despite expansion, free African Americans and women were still largely disenfranchised. Reforms movements occurred in bursts, setting the stage for post-Civil War major reforms. Learn more in the National U.S. History Content Standards. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1800-1860 Person An individual. Birth Date 1823 Birthplace Hampton Death Date 1862 Occupation Educator Biographical Text Mary Smith Kelsey Peake (1823-1862) was born in Norfolk, the daughter of a free black woman and a prominent Englishman. When she was six, Mary was sent to live with her aunt and uncle to attend a school for African Americans in Alexandria, which was then a part of the District of Columbia. During her schooling, she probably learned mathematics, reading, writing, and sewing skills. Peake returned to Norfolk in 1839. In 1847 Peake moved with her family to Hampton. While supporting herself as a dressmaker, she secretly began teaching from her home, instructing African Americans of all ages. She also founded the Daughters of Zion to provide aid to the poor and the sick. In 1851 she married Thomas Peake, a former slave. Early in the Civil War, the Peake family home was destroyed when Confederate forces torched Hampton. Many of the displaced African American families from Hampton were forced to seek refuge at nearby Fort Monroe. In September 1861, Peake started a school near the fortress, within the present grounds of Hampton University. Her enrollment grew from six to more than fifty students in a matter of days. Peake was a dedicated instructor, creating a school for adults in the evenings and continuing to teach despite failing health, even when was she was bedridden. She died of tuberculosis in February 1862. Her school was one of the first of its kind and served as a model for a number of other schools that taught African Americans throughout the South in Union-occupied territory. Today, the city of Hampton honors Peake with a school, a street, and a park. <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/trailblazers-2010" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2010</a> African American Trailblazers honoree, Library of Virginia. Bibliography Image Courtesy of Hampton University Archives Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Mary Peake Subject The topic of the resource African American Trailblazers Description An account of the resource Mary Smith Kelsey Peake was an educator of both free and enslaved African Americans prior to and during the Civil War. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2010 African American Trailblazers Honoree Education https://www.lva.virginia.gov/collections/educator-resources/changemakers/files/original/3663abfd0289333febc195b2ee87664f.jpg d4238a4d6b5bbc6ba53e35321bdde3ac Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Civil War and Reconstruction Description An account of the resource The Civil War was undoubtedly one of the most important events in American history. The war challenged not only the issue of slavery, but the also the balance of federal versus state powers and the power of constitutional government. In the end, not only did the war preserve the Union as Lincoln had spoken of, but it also freed nearly four million African Americans from slavery. The war also highlighted stark differences in regions of the country. These differences ranged from political to religious to economic. There were many cases of brother fighting brother, neighbor fighting neighbor, and men who had previously been in the United States military service choosing to fight for the Confederacy, most notably, Robert E. Lee. The war also saw an increase in battlefield news coverage and photography, along with the first assassination of an American President. Following the war, the nation was faced with the problem of Reconstruction. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were aimed towards providing full equality for African Americans, but did face opposition on many levels. Despite headway, the North and the South both had strong objections to Radical Reconstruction and full social and racial democratization. Many Americans opposed the idea of redistributing wealth and were still in favor of strong local rights and government. In some cases, Reconstruction increased the racial divide, giving rise to movements such as the KKK. Learn more in the National History Content Standards. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1850-1877 Person An individual. Birth Date 1820 Birthplace Culpeper County Death Date 1859 Occupation Participant in John Brown's Raid Biographical Text Dangerfield Newby (ca. 1820-1859) was born in Culpeper County, the oldest child of Henry Newby, a white man, and Elsey Newby, an enslaved black woman. In 1858, Henry Newby sold his land in Culpeper and moved with his family to Bridgeport, Ohio, thereby freeing his wife and their children. Shortly after moving to Bridgeport, Dangerfield Newby began raising money to buy his own wife and children, who were enslaved in Prince William County, Virginia. In the spring and summer of 1859 his wife wrote to him three times expressing concern that her owner would sell her before Newby was able to raise the money to free her. "Come this fall with out fail monny or no monny I want to see you so much," Harriet Newby wrote. "[I]t is said Master is in want of money[:] if so I know not what time he may sell me an[d] then all my bright hops of the futer are blasted."  Newby raised nearly $742 toward the $1,000 price that Harriet Newby's owner had set for her and one child, but he was unable to free his family. Shortly after learning of this disappointment, he joined John Brown in the planning for the raid on Harpers Ferry. During the raid, Newby shot and killed a grocer before he himself was shot and killed. His wife's letters were found on his body. In the 1890s his remains were moved from an unknown location to John Brown's Farm in North Elba, New York. <a href="https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/trailblazers-2009" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2009</a> African American Trailblazers honoree, Library of Virginia. Bibliography Image Courtesy of the Library of Congress. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Dangerfield Newby Subject The topic of the resource African American Trailblazers Description An account of the resource Dangerfield Newby was one of five African Americans who took up arms against slavery with fellow abolitionist John Brown at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in October 1859. Military