This polity period spans from American Independence in 1776 following the American Revolution, until 1865 with the end of the American Civil War.
| 7 N - 19 N |
| Antebellum US |
| New York | 1787 CE 1790 CE |
| Philadelphia | 1790 CE 1800 CE |
| Washington D.C | 1800 CE 2023 CE |
| United States of America | |
| USA | |
| US |
| 25,000 people | 1800 CE |
| 500,000 people | 1850 CE |
| 214,410,611 km2 | 1790 CE |
| 533,289,690 km2 | 1830 CE |
| 783,858,340 km2 | 1860 CE |
| 3,929,214 people | 1790 CE |
| 12,866,020 people | 1830 CE |
| 31,443,321 people | 1860 CE |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| Transitional (Absent -> Present) |
| present |
| inferred absent |
| inferred absent |
| present |
| present |
| Year Range | Antebellum US (us_antebellum) was in: |
|---|
The US did not have a capital city until 1787 when the first congress met in New York. In 1790 Philadelphia was established as a temporary national capital while Washington D.C, which was carved out from land straddling the states of Maryland and Virginia in 1788, became the national capital in 1800. [1] [2]
[1]: Volo and Volo 2004: xiii. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97
[2]: ‘List of Capitals in the United States’. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XYZ5KY4D.
The US did not have a capital city until 1787 when the first congress met in New York. In 1790 Philadelphia was established as a temporary national capital while Washington D.C, which was carved out from land straddling the states of Maryland and Virginia in 1788, became the national capital in 1800. [1] [2]
[1]: Volo and Volo 2004: xiii. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97
[2]: ‘List of Capitals in the United States’. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XYZ5KY4D.
The US did not have a capital city until 1787 when the first congress met in New York. In 1790 Philadelphia was established as a temporary national capital while Washington D.C, which was carved out from land straddling the states of Maryland and Virginia in 1788, became the national capital in 1800. [1] [2]
[1]: Volo and Volo 2004: xiii. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97
[2]: ‘List of Capitals in the United States’. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/XYZ5KY4D.
In terms of territory and population, the US in this period reached its peak in 1865, just before the start of the civil war.
Inhabitants.In 1800 New York and Philadelphia were the only cities to have a population of more than 25,000 people. By 1850 New York had grown to have 500,000 inhabitants. [1]
[1]: Volo and Volo 2004: 4. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.
in squared kilometers. The 1870 statistical atlas of the US listed the area and population of the states and territories every ten years from 1790. [1]
[1]: Walker 1874: 7. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/DUWG4XAX.
in squared kilometers. The 1870 statistical atlas of the US listed the area and population of the states and territories every ten years from 1790. [1]
[1]: Walker 1874: 7. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/DUWG4XAX.
People.The 1870 statistical atlas of the US listed the area and population of the states and territories every ten years from 1790. [1]
[1]: Walker 1874: 7. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/DUWG4XAX.
People.The 1870 statistical atlas of the US listed the area and population of the states and territories every ten years from 1790. [1]
[1]: Walker 1874: 7. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/DUWG4XAX.
levels.: 1. Capital City :: 2. Major cities ::: 3. Industrial towns ::: 4. Large towns. [1] ::::: 5. Small towns. [2] :::::: 6. Villages. [2] ::::::: 7. Plantations. [3]
[1]: Volo and Volo 2004: 17. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.
[2]: Volo and Volo 2004: 13. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.
[3]: Volo and Volo 2004: 8. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.
levels.The continental army was formed in 1775 to fight in the American Revolutionary War. In 1780 the ranks were reassigned as follows [1] : :General Officers : 1. Commander-in-chief :: 2. Major General ::: 3. Brigadier General :::: Field Officers :::: 4. Colonel ::::: 5. Lieutenant Colonel :::::: 6. Major ::::::: Junior Officers ::::::: 7. Captain :::::::: 8. Subaltern ::::::::: Non-commissioned officers ::::::::: 9. Sergeant Major :::::::::: 10. Sergeant ::::::::::: 11. Corporal :::::::::::: Enlisted :::::::::::: 12. Private
[1]: ’Continental Army’. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/VXB8B3A7
levels. [1] [2] [3] [4] _Federal Government_ Executive Branch : 1. President :: 2. The Cabinet (Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury etc) Legislative ::: 3. The Senate ::: 3.1 Committees ::: 3. House of Representatives Judicial :::: 4. Supreme Court ::::: 4.1 Lower Federal Courts _State Government_ Executive ::::: 5. State Governor "Upper House / Senate" :::::: 6. Senator :::::: 6.1 Party Secretaries, committee staff, etc "Lower House / House of Representatives" ::::::: 7. Members of the House _Local Government_ :::::::: 8. County governments / Town or township governments / Municipal governments / Mayors-Council. ::::::::: 9. Mayor / Commissioner :::::::::: 10. Governing board / City Manager ::::::::::: 11. Local authorities such as administrators, sheriffs, police etc.
[1]: Critchlow 2015: 18. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/YKCJXB2Y.
[2]: Volo and Volo 2004: 70. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.
[3]: Politics of the United States. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/DNTMUYZ9.
[4]: Branches of the U.S. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/MNYMTVJB.
The capital had federal government buildings, the states and counties had their own government buildings.
Icehouses were often shared between farms and houses and the first icebox was patented in 1803. Also more personal forms of food storage became available with the introduction of canning in 1825 Rice and corn was stored locally for human and animal food supplies and also in preparation for shipping. [1]
[1]: Volo and Volo 2004: 53, 57, 166. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.
Schools (common schools open to all children and private institutions for the wealthy). Colleges and universities were available for wealthy men, and some efforts were made to establish colleges that offered a higher education to wealthy women. Libraries, laboratories, observatories, scientific institutes, museums. [1]
[1]: Volo and Volo 2004: 32, 53, 66, 86-89, 112. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.
In the south of America, where there were sprawling plantations and few villages, there were few public houses available for travellers. Therefore, it was common for travellers to request lodging at a private home. Brothels and bordellos were common. [1]
[1]: Volo and Volo 2004: 13, 17. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.
Canals were used for expansion into the west and there was a huge investment in them during this period due to them being the preferred method of transporting heavy goods such as coal, wood and ore. [1]
[1]: Volo and Volo 2004: 4, 55, 316. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.
Scientists in the US were generally focussed on invention, mechanics, technology and medicine (in comparison to European theory). Drawings and explanations for inventions were submitted to the U.S. Patent Office. Findings on biological studies, such as Jeffries Wyman’s study of apes and gorillas were published. This study in particular contributed to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Universities taught and published on a variety of sciences such as geology, chemistry, biology, astronomy and natural philosophy. [1]
[1]: Volo and Volo 2004: 43, 54, 96-97. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.
The varied sects of Christianity across the US had their own religious texts to suit their beliefs e.g. The Mormon’s Book of Mormon. Sermons and religious essays were printed. There were also anti-Catholic texts printed. [1]
[1]: Volo and Volo 2004: 20-27, 31. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.
Books on cemeteries, headstones, emblems and their meanings were popular. Manuals for young women on how to behave, dress, socialise, mourn etc, such as Godey’s Lady’s Book() and Martine’s Hand-Book of Etiquette, and Guide to True Politeness (), as well as books specifically for mothers, such as Lydia Child’s Mother’s Book () and housekeepers, Miss Beecher’s Domestic Receipt-Book. Amelia Simmons was the first American author to write a cookbook, American Cookery, in 1796. Directions for Cookery, written by Eliza Leslie and published in 1837 was the most successful cookbook of the nineteenth century with sixty editions published. [1]
[1]: Volo and Volo 2004: 34, 36, 124, 178. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.
There was a growing interest in history, particularly American history, such as and George Bancroft’s History of the United States which was published in ten annual instalments from 1834, and the biographies of presidents such as The Life of George Washington (1855) during this period. William Hickling Prescott became famous in the US and Europe for his histories in Ferdinand and Isabella (1838), Conquest of Mexico (1843) and Conquest of Peru (1847). In schools, books such as Frost’s United States History were studied. Historical journals such as the North America Review and The National Journal were established during this period. [1]
[1]: Volo and Volo 2004: 83, 236-237. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.
Anti-Catholic literature such as Maria Monk’s Awful Discourses of the Hotel Dieu Nunnery of Montreal (1834). Literature now considered as ‘American Classics’ such as Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (). Less than 500 American-written titles were published in 1834, but by 1862 almost 4,000 were published, with romance, adventure and horror novels becoming increasingly popular. Poems, children’s stories, plays. [1]
[1]: Volo and Volo 2004: 31-32, 204, 211-216. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.
In 1811 the first steamboat was able to travel on the Mississippi River. However, in 1844 the Telegraph was invented, and as increasingly efficient and sophisticated methods of technology were created, over 23 thousand miles of telegraphs wires were hooked up across the US, allowing news to reach one end of the territory from another in the same day. [1]
[1]: Volo and Volo 2004: xv, 51. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.
The United States Customary Units (USCS) were developed from the English measurement system and were standardised in 1824. e.g. cubic inch, cubic foot, fluid ounce, US pint, US cup, US gallon. [1]
[1]: ‘United States Customary Units’. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/K2R2BW5U.
The United States Customary Units (USCS) were developed from the English measurement system and were standardised in 1824. e.g square foot, square mile, acre, section. [1] Farmlands and plantations were divided into acres. While plantations could be many thousands of acres, family farm standards were 160 acres, which was initially set by the way territory was divided up in the Midwest, and later adopted by the government as a standard measurement. [2]
[1]: ‘United States Customary Units’. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/K2R2BW5U.
[2]: Volo and Volo 2004: 62-63. https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/SIB5XSW97.