Notes from the 1830s

1831    William Lloyd Garrison introduces a new newspaper called The Liberator, dedicated to the abolition of slavery.

 

1831    Nat Turner leads a slave revolt in Virginia that resulted in the death of 50 whites.

 

1832    Andrew Jackson re-elected as President.  Chooses Martin Van Buren as V.P.

 

1833    John Deere patents the steel plow.

 

1833    Oberlin College founded in Ohio, becomes the first co-ed college in America.

 

1834    Cyrus McCormick introduces the mechanical reaper.

 

1835    21 year-old Samuel Colt receives patent for the revolving pistol – a six-shooter.

 

1835    New Orleans enhances public transportation by providing steam streetcars for its residents.

 

1836    All Texas rebels killed at the Alamo.  Sam Houston and his men later capture General Santa Anna and gain independence from Mexico.

 

1837    Panic brings about an economic depression in the United States.

 

1837    Martin Van Buren inaugurated as America’s 8th president.        

 

1837    Smallpox epidemic wipes out thousands of lives in the Dakota Territory – mostly the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara.

 

1837    Reverend Elijah P. Lovejoy slain while defending his printing press from an angry mob.

 

1838    18,000 Cherokee Indians driven from their land in tragedy known as “The Trail of Tears”.

 

1839    Charles Goodyear discovers, by accident, a method for vulcanizing rubber.

 

1839    Military cadet, Abner Doubleday, records the rules for a new game called Baseball.