Printable Timeline
Timeline
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1800
Songs of America
James Hewitt (1770-1827) composes 'The Wounded Hussar.'
Hon'hewachi Song from the Blue Spot ceremony, sung by a group of Omaha men and women. Recorded by Francis La Flesche, September, 1895. The purpose of the ceremony was to honor a female relative of a society member. La Flesche wrote that this song was composed by Old Blackbird of the White Horse family, which may have been Chief Blackbird.
Culture
Ludwig van Beethoven composes Christ on the Mount of Olives, Piano Concerto no. 3
In the News
Gabriel Prosser slave rebellion uncovered in Virginia
U.S. population is 5.3 million, including 1 million Blacks, 90% of whom are slaves
Congress convenes in Washington, the new federal capital. President Adams moves into what will become known as the White House.
A smallpox epidemic sweeps through American Indian tribes of the plains and northwest coast. Chief Blackbird of the Omaha dies of the disease.
Library of Congress established
Johnny Appleseed begins distributing apple seeds and trees
Francis La Flesche 
The White House -
1801
Songs of America
William Little and William Smith publish their shape-note system The Easy Instructor, or a New Method of Teaching Sacred Harmony
In the News
Ballot count shows a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr; House of Representatives chooses Jefferson as third President
John Marshall becomes chief justice of U.S. Supreme Court
The Barbary or Tripolitan war, begins (ends in 1805)
Shape-notes -
1802
In the News
United States Military Academy established at West Point, New York
West Point -
1803
Songs of America
Alexander Reinagle (1756-1809) writes his chorus Masonic Ode
The lyrics to "Jefferson and Liberty" are written (anonymously) to the tune of "Anacreon in Heaven" by John Stafford Smith
Culture
Ludwig van Beethoven composes Eroica Symphony, Kreutzer Sonata
In the News
Louisiana Purchase doubles the size of the United States
Ohio becomes 17th state, and the first in which slavery is illegal from the beginning
Marbury v. Madison establishes role of judicial review for U.S. Supreme Court
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1804
Songs of America
Samuel Holyoke (1762-1820) writes the sacred collection, The Christian Harmonist, designed for Baptist congregations.
Culture
German playwright and philosopher Johann Friedrich von Schiller writes William Tell
In the News
Lewis and Clark begin their expedition through the Louisiana Purchase to the Pacific Coast
Vice President Aaron Burr mortally wounds Alexander Hamilton in a duel
William Tell 
Lewis and Clark 
[The Burr and Hamilton duel, 11 July, 1804, at Weehawken, N.J.] -
1806
Songs of America
Music teacher and composer, Uri Keeler Hill (1780-1844) compiles his tune book The Sacred Minstrel.
Culture
Noah Webster publishes Compendious Dictionary of the English Language
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1807
Culture
A series of essays titled Salamagundi marks the beginning of the Knickerbocker school of writers, who prize realism and humor, plus American subject matter.
In the News
Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat (better known as Clermont) begins regular steamboat service between New York City and Albany, N.Y.
The slave trade is outlawed by England, France, Spain and Portugal
Embargo Act curtails foreign trade; repealed 1808
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1808
Songs of America
Thomas Moore publishes his first volume of Irish Melodies.
In the News
Jefferson follows Washington's precedent and does not run for a third term
African slave trade now illegal in the U.S.
Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826 -
1809
Songs of America
Psallonian Society is founded in Providence, R.I.
Culture
Washington Irving's humorous Knickerbocker’s History of New York
In the News
James Madison inaugurated as the fourth president of the U.S.
Illinois Territory formed from Northwest Territory
Shawnee Chief Tecumseh begins to organize a confederacy of American Indian Tribes
Washington Irving -
1810
Songs of America
Benjamin Carr publishes Six Ballads from the Poem of the Lady of the Lake, op. 7 on poems of Sir Walter Scott.
Culture
Chopin and Schumann are born
In the News
Cornelius Vanderbilt begins career in transportation, starting a ferry service between Manhattan and Staten Island
Six ballads from the poem of the Lady of the Lake -
1811
Songs of America
"Wake Up Sleepy" or "Steamboat," sung by Henry Truvillion. A work song about loading cotton onto a steamboat on the Mississippi. Recorded by John Avery Lomax and Ruby Terrill Lomax in Newton County, Texas, May 16, 1939.
In the News
The New Orleans, built in Pittsburgh and designed by Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston, begins steamboat service
William Henry Harrison is victorious over Shawnee leader Tecumseh at the Battle of Tippecanoe in Indiana
[Henry Truvillion and wife, in the garden, near Newton, Texas] 
Steamboat -
1812
Songs of America
Eliakim Doolittle writes "The Hornet Stung the Peacock," a song about how the American sloop of war Hornet engaged and sunk the British brig Peacock during the War of 1812. The song is published in February 1813
Englishman James Sanderson composes the tune of "Hail to the Chief," though the words (now never sung) are originally from Sir Walter Scott's The Lady of the Lake (1810)
"Flag Song," a patriotic song sung by the host drum at the 1983 Omaha powwow in Macy, Nebraska. This is one of two anthems for the Omaha Nation.
Rufus White talks about the meaning of the "Omaha Flag Song (part 1)." Recorded by Alan Jabbour and Laurel McIntire, Nebraska, July 7, 1999.
Rufus White talks about the meaning of the "Omaha Flag Song (part 2)." Recorded by Alan Jabbour and Laurel McIntire, Nebraska, July 7, 1999.
In the News
War of 1812 begins between the United States and Britain
Napoleon retreats from Moscow
The Omaha Nation signs a treaty in which they pledge to be an ally in support of the United States Government.
The word "gerrymander" enters political vocabulary after Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry manipulates a political map before an election; the rigged district resembles a salamander.
War songs -
1813
Songs of America
"Perry's Victory," a ballad sung by Captain Pearl R. Nye. Recorded by John Avery Lomax in June, 1937 in Akron, Ohio.
In the News
"Uncle Sam" appears for the first time in the Troy Post
The Battle of Lake Erie was won by Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, September 10, 1813. It was the biggest naval battle of the War of 1812.
Battle of Eerie. -
1814
Songs of America
"James Bird," a ballad sung by Captain Pearl R. Nye [alternate title "Bird's Farewell"]. Recorded by John Avery Lomax in Akron, Ohio, June 27, 1937.
Francis Scott Key writes his poem "The Star-Spangled Banner" to the tune of John Stafford Smith's "To Anacreon in Heaven
Culture
Invention of the metronome by Johann Nepomuk Mälzel
"The Eighth of January," a popular dance tune, commemorated the U.S. victory at the 1814 Battle of New Orleans. Performed by Tommy Rhoades on guitar and J.D. Allen on fiddle. Recorded by Recorded by Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin at the Visalia FSA Camp California, August 6, 1940. In 1958, James Morris (Jimmy Driftwood) composed lyrics to the old tune and recorded it as "The Battle of New Orleans."
In the News
The British set fire to the Capitol and the White House; they unsuccessfully try to take Fort McHenry in the Baltimore harbor
Napoleon abdicates when British invade France, is sent to the island of Elba.
Louis XVIII becomes King of France
Lieutenant James Bird, who was distinguished for bravery at the Battle of Lake Erie, is executed for desertion Oct 22.
Treaty of Ghent ends War of 1812. Signed in Belgium on Dec. 24, 1814, word of the treaty did not reach the U.S. until weeks later.
Antiwar Federalists begin meeting at Hartford Convention
Original manuscript of "The Star Spangled Banner" 
White House fire 
Treaty of Ghent -
1815
Songs of America
"Backside of Albany, or, The Siege of Plattsburg," by Micah Hawkins, is the first 'black-dialect' minstrel song published in the United States.
Culture
Handel and Haydn Society organized in Boston
Congress authorizes the purchase of Thomas Jefferson's library, to replace the books in the Library of Congress burned by the British
First issue of the scholarly journal North American Review
Thomas Jefferson sells personal library to the federal government after the Library Congress is burned by the British.
In the News
In January Andrew Jackson leads troops to victory against the British at the Battle of New Orleans in Louisiana
"100 days of Napoleon" marks escape from Elba until the Restoration of Louis XVIII; Battle of Waterloo
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1816
Songs of America
Ananias Davisson’s shape-note tunebook Kentucky Harmony is published.
In the News
First independent Black church in America, African Methodist Episcopal Church, is organized in Philadelphia
Bishops of the A.M.E. Church -
1817
Songs of America
Conductor and composer, Anthony Philip Heinrich (1781-1861) leads one of the first known performances of a Beethoven symphony in America (Lexington, KY). He is considered by many to be America's first "professional" composer and was known in his time as the "Beethoven of America."
In the News
James Monroe inaugurated as fifth President of the U.S.
Second Bank of the United States chartered, headquartered in Philadelphia
American Colonization Society founded
First Seminole War in Florida
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1818
In the News
Frederick Douglass born in Maryland; then known as Frederick Bailey
Frederick Douglass -
1819
Songs of America
"The Hunter's Horn, a new sporting cavatina" by Englishman T. Philipps, is registered in America, "the first song in the earliest volume of copyright songs in the Library of Congress"
Culture
Beethoven: Hammerklavier Sonata
In the News
Alabama becomes the 22nd state
The U.S. pays Spain five million dollars for the Florida territory
Panic of 1819, financial downturn
Sonate für das Hammerklavier -
1820
Songs of America
'Hail to the Chief,' words by Sir Walter Scott and music by James Sanderson, is published in New York City by E. Riley [ca. 1820]. The song was published earlier in London. The words are from Scott's narrative poem The Lady of the Lake, published in 1810. The composer was a self-taught English violinist and the conductor of the Surrey Theatre, London, who wrote many songs for local theatrical productions during the 1790s and the early years of the nineteenth century.
Culture
At the age of 13, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow has his first poem published: "The Battle of Lovewell's Pond."
In the News
Missouri Compromise, in which Missouri entered the U.S. as a slave state, Maine as a free state, and sets the 36° 30' line as the dividing line between slave and free states in the former Louisiana Purchase land
Continent of Antarctica discovered
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807-1882 -
1821
Songs of America
"Ain't No More Cane on the Brazos," sung by Rev. Moses "Clear Rock" Platt. A work song recorded at Hotel Blazilmar, Taylor, Williamson County, Texas by John Avery Lomax and Ruby Terrill Lomax, May 10, 1939.
In the News
Stephen F. Austin initiates the settlement of a colony on the Brazos River in Texas. In the 1820s, he is credited with first growing sugar cane in Texas.
Mexico gains independence from Spain
Emma Willard founds the Troy Female Seminary, a women's school in New York that will later become first women's college.
Liberia founded in West Africa as a colony for former African-American slaves and other immigrants.
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1822
In the News
Denmark Vesey slave rebellion in South Carolina thwarted by informer
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1823
Songs of America
Anthony Philip Heinrich writes The Sylviad, or Minstrelsy of Nature in the Wilds of North America
Culture
Beethoven composes his Ninth Symphony
Schubert composes Die Schöne Müllerin
James Fenimore Cooper's The Pioneers is published
"Home Sweet Home" debuts in London
"A Visit from St. Nicholas" appeared anonymously in the Troy Sentinel; will be better known as "The Night Before Christmas"
In the News
Monroe Doctrine issued in President Monroe's annual message to Congress, declaring the Americas closed to colonization and foreign intervention
The Monroe Doctrine -
1824
In the News
Representative Henry Clay of Kentucky introduced American System promoting ideas including internal improvements and protective tariffs for American products
The Marquis de Lafayette arrives for a year-long American tour
Marquis de Lafayette -
1825
Songs of America
The completion of the Erie Canal, in October, will lead to many songs, including "Low Bridge" and "The E-Ri-E Canal."
"Take a Trip on the Canal" and "Let's Pump Out Lake Erie," composed and sung by Captain Pearl R. Nye. Two humorous songs about life on the Ohio and Erie Canal. Many more verses of "Take a Trip on the Canal" are available in the collection. Recorded by Ivan Walton in Akron, Ohio, September 22, 1938.
"The Old Skipper," sung by Captain Pearl R. Nye. Recorded by Alan and Elizabeth Lomax in Akron, Ohio, November 3, 1937.
"Jesucristo me acompañe" (May Jesus Christ Accompany Me), sung in Spanish by Esequiel Arellano. A song from a passion play. Recorded by Juan B. Rael in Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico, July 30, 1940.
Culture
Thomas Cole's work launches the Hudson River School of landscape painting
Following Mexican independence, priests and missionaries of the Catholic Church withdraw from western Spanish provinces of what will become the southwestern U.S. in 1848, leaving rural people to develop their own worship, stemming from ancient traditions.
In the News
John Quincy Adams inaugurated as sixth President of the U.S. after disputed election against Andrew Jackson decided by the House of Representatives. Jackson supporters will claim a "corrupt bargain" was made between Adams and Henry Clay.
The Erie Canal is opened to shipping.
Robert Dale Owen founded utopian New Harmony settlement in Indiana
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1826
Songs of America
'Araby's Daughter' words by Thomas Moore and music by George Kiallmark is published by James L. Hewitt in Boston [ca. 1826.]. The words are derived from "The Fire-Worshippers," the third of the four tales that comprise Moore's Lalla Rookh, published in London, 1817. The music was adapted later to Samuel Woodworth's poem "The Old Oaken Bucket."
Culture
James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans is published
In the News
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both die on July 4; the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence
The Last of the Mohicans -
1827
Songs of America
American minstrel performer George Washington Dixon popularizes his song "Long Tail Blue", the first song of the black dandy
Culture
Schubert composes his song cycle Winterreise
In the News
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad chartered
Long tail blue -
1828
Songs of America
Opera singer Charles E. Horn (1786-1849) composes his Ode to Washington
Culture
Noah Webster's monumental American Dictionary of the English Language is published
John James Audubon's first volume of Birds in America is published
In the News
"Tariff of Abominations" passed by Congress; opposed by Southerners who felt that tariff benefitted Northern manufacturers
Cherokee in northern Georgia publish Cherokee Phoenix newspaper
Summer red bird. Tanager -
1829
Songs of America
The hymn tune "New Britain" is published in the shape-note tunebook Columbian Harmony; the melody becomes paired with the text of "Amazing Grace"
"Amazing Grace," a hymn sung by Jesse Allison, Vera Hall, and Dock Reed. Recorded by John Avery Lomax and Ruby Terrill Lomax in Livingston, Sumter County, Alabama May 26, 1939.
American minstrel performer George Washington Dixon popularizes his song "Coal Black Rose," the first blackface comic lovesong
In the News
Andrew Jackson is inaugurated in March as seventh President of the U.S.
Tremont Hotel, the first modern hotel in the U.S., opens in Boston
Louis Braille publishes first book using the Braille System for the blind
Crowd at White House during inaugural celebration for Andrew Jackson 
Braille Reading Room -
1830
Songs of America
"Half-Breed Song," performed at the 1983 Omaha pow-wow. Recorded by Carl Fleischhauer, in Macy, Nebraska, August 13, 1983. According to Rufus White, this was composed by Louis Saunsoci. AFC 1986/038: 0446.
Culture
Godey's Lady's Book begins publication
In the News
Mormon Church officially established
Webster's reply to Hayne delivered in Congress
Jackson signs Indian Removal Act, forcing American Indian tribes in the eastern U.S. tpo move West of the Mississippi River
The Nemaha Half-Breed Reservation is established in Nebraska for people with Indian and European heritage. During this era, "half-breed tracts" are set aside in several states in order to assimilate descendants of mixed backgrounds into American society. This reservation participated in the Underground Railroad.
Wester's reply to Hayne -
1831
Songs of America
"Home in the Rock," a spiritual sung by Vera Hall, May 27, 1939. The singer says that she learned it from her mother. Recorded by John Avery Lomax and Ruby Terrill Lomax in Livingston, Sumter County, Alabama, May 27, 1939.
Culture
Vincenzo Bellini composes Norma
Victor Hugo's Notre Dame de Paris is published
After Nat Turner's rebellion there is a more widespread effort to convert slaves to Christianity, but with white ministers. Slaves continue to develop their own religious expressions as "bush" or "camp" meetings in secret.
In the News
William Lloyd Garrison founds the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator
Nat Turner leads a rebellion of slaves in Southampton County, Virginia; he is executed
Secretary of War John Eaton, resigns as a result of cabinet crisis triggered by social snub of his wife, Peggy O'Neal Eaton, by other cabinet wives.
Norma, op. 463, no. 13 / Bellini [notated music] -
1832
Songs of America
The America (My Country 'Tis of Thee) with words by Samuel Francis Smith set to the tune "God Save the King" is published in Lowell Mason's collection The Choir, or, Union Collection of Church Music.
In the News
The Oregon Trail emerges as primary route for settlers of the West
Jackson vetoes rechartering of Bank of the United States, leading to a "bank war"
Nullification Crisis with South Carolina over implementation of the 'Tariff of Abominations'
Black Hawk War with Indians in northern Illinois
Black Hawk War -
1833
Songs of America
English poet and lyricist Thomas H. Bayley composes "Long, long ago," which is published in Philadelphia in 1844 and becomes one of the most popular songs in 19th-century America
Culture
New York Sun, the first penny newspaper, begins publication
In the News
American Anti-Slavery Society is founded in Philadelphia
Oberlin College in Ohio is the first to admit women alongside men, and the first to admit Blacks
Great Britain abolishes slavery in her colonies
Jackson orders removal of government funds from the Bank of the United States to "pet banks"
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1834
Songs of America
Minstrel singer George Washington Dixon's tune "Zip Coon" becomes popular, and in 1861, Dan Bryant writes lyrics of "Turkey in the Straw" to that tune
Culture
The Stuttgart Congress of Physicists decides on 440 Hz as the tone "A" in treble clef
Southern Literary Messenger begins publication in Richmond, Virginia
In the News
Whig Party formed in opposition to Andrew Jackson
Cyrus McCormick patents his mechanical reaper for harvesting grain
Historian George Bancroft's History of the United States from the Discovery of the American Continent is published
Zip coon -
1835
Songs of America
'Amazing Grace' is published with the hymn tune 'New Britain' in William Walker's shape-note tunebook Southern Harmony
[Song about the departure of Seminole Indians from Florida for Oklahoma], sung by Katie Smith and Courtney Roberts. The recording quality is extremely poor, though the melody can be heard. Additional Seminole recordings are available from this collection. Recorded in Florida in 1940 by Corita Doggett Corse and Robert Cornwall.
Culture
Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America is published
In the News
Under the Indian Removal Act (1830) and the Treaty of Payne's Landing, the U.S. Government orders the Seminole Indians removed from Florida to western territories in 1835. The Seminole fight back in the Second Seminole War (1835-43), and though many remain, many are relocated in Oklahoma.
Radical wing of Democratic Party gain nickname "locofocos" after using this type of match to illuminate a meeting
The Southern harmony -
1836
Culture
Ralph Waldo Emerson's first essay, Nature, an early landmark of American Transcendentalism, is published
William Holmes McGuffey's First and Second Readers are published. His series of graded primers were the most widely used textbooks in American schools, selling an estimated 120 million copies between 1836 and 1960.
In the News
Battle of the Alamo, in which Anglo-Texan and Tejano defenders were decimated by Mexican troops under General Santa Anna
Texas achieves independence from Mexico; Sam Houston becomes first President
The Arkansas territory becomes a state, June 15, 1836.
House of Representatives institutes a "gag rule" forbidding the introduction of anti-slavery petitions
Jackson issues the Specie Circular; government lands must be purchased with gold or silver, not paper money.
Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1870), is born -
1837
Songs of America
Henry Russell composes "Woodman, Spare that Tree," which sets the text of George Pope Morris and is considered by many to be the first environmental protest song in American history
Culture
Charles Dickens publishes Oliver Twist
First daguerreotype
In the News
Martin Van Buren inaugurated as eighth President of the U.S.
Queen Victoria crowned queen in Great Britain
Financial Panic of 1837 begins
Abolitionist editor Elijah Lovejoy murdered by a mob in Illinois
John Deere begins farm machinery company
Horace Mann becomes secretary of Massachusetts Board of Education; his ideas of public education adopted in other states
Oliver Twist -
1838
In the News
Government-sponsored Wilkes expedition leaves to explore the Pacific Ocean
"Trail of Tears," the removal of Cherokee to west of the Mississippi River begins
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1839
In the News
The U.S. and Canada come close to war in 1839 in a dispute over lumbering by Canadians in lands claimed by Maine. The "Aroostook War" is settled peacefully, and the border between New Brunswick and Maine is permanently established in 1842.
Aroostook War -
1840
In the News
Liberty Party formed by abolitionists
William Henry Harrison run by Whig Party on a "log cabin and hard cider" campaign, with running mate John Tyler ("Tippecanoe and Tyler too")
Harrison and Tyler campaign emblem -
1841
Songs of America
Richard Storrs Willis is the first American to study music in Germany; in the next decades this will become a frequent path for American composers. Willis will return to the United States in 1847 and become an important music critic
Culture
Ralph Waldo Emerson's first series of essays is published
Richard Henry Dana publishes Two Years Before the Mast
In the News
First Whig president William Henry Harrison catches cold at his inauguration as ninth President of the U.S. and dies a month later; John Tyler succeeds him as the tenth president
John Quincy Adams argues before the Supreme Court for the Amistad slave mutineers and they are freed
Anthem of liberty / Richard Storrs Willis [notated music] -
1842
In the News
P.T. Barnum opens museum in New York City
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1843
In the News
B'nai B'rith organized in New York City
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1844
Songs of America
Stephen Foster (1826-1864) composes his first song: 'Open Thy Lattice, Love,' setting to musing a poem by George Pope Morris
Benjamin Franklin White's (1800-1879) The Sacred Harp is published (PDF at MSU)
"Stolen Souls from Africa," performed by Mike Seeger at the Library of Congress, March 16, 2007. This is a version of "The Song of the Coffle Gang," from oral tradition.
Marion Dix Sullivan's song "The Blue Juniata" is published. It becomes the first commercial hit in America written by a woman.
"Jubilee," sung by the Sacred Harp Singers (an African American Sacred Harp group, possibly from Dothan, Tennessee). Recorded by John Wesley Work, III, September 1938.
Culture
Photographer Mathew Brady opens his portrait studio in New York
Alexander Dumas, pére's Three Musketeers is published
The Sacred Harp is first published, providing "shaped notes" to facilitate hymn and psalm singing for people who cannot read music
The Liberty Minstrel, by George W. Clark is published by Leavitt and Alden in New York. The volume of Abolitionist songs includes "The Song of the Coffle Gang," which is not only reprinted several times but enters oral tradition. The melody is by Clark. Though the publication attributes the words of the song to the slaves forced to march chained together, it seems more likely that they were written by an abolitionist.
In the News
Samuel F. B. Morse sends the first telegraph message, "What hath God wrought?" from Washington, DC to Baltimore
The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) is founded in London
Democrat James K. Polk elected eleventh president on openly expansionist platform
Stephen Foster -
1845
Songs of America
Stephen Foster hears Negro singing and minstrel shows in Cincinnati.
"Samson," by Sylvester "Deacon" Johnson. An example of an African American spiritual that uses a biblical story to express anger about bondage. Recorded by John Avery Lomax and Ruby Terrill Lomax, New Zion Baptist Church, Knight Post Office, Vernon Parish, Louisiana, May 17, 1939.
Culture
Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven and Other Poems is published
William Henry Fry’s opera Leonora is the first grand opera by an American composer.
George F. Bristow composes Symphony no. 1 in E flat Major, op. 3
Author Henry David Thoreau moves to a cabin at Walden Pond near Concorrd, Massachusetts to live for two years.
Frederick Douglass's autobiography, Narrative of the Life of an American Slave, is published
In the News
Republic of Texas votes to join U.S. and becomes 28th state
Great Famine, which lasts through 1852, spurs immigration from Ireland
First use of the term 'Manifest Destiny' to describe belief in America's fate to spread its borders and cultural influence throughout North America
Act of Congress sets the Tuesday after the first Monday in November as national presidential Election Day
Naval Academy opens in Annapolis, Maryland
Walden Pond -
1846
In the News
Mexican War (1846-1848) begins between the United States and Mexico
California declares independence; briefly the Bear Flag Republic
Wilmot Proviso introduced in Congress to forbid introduction of slavery in territory secured from Mexico; never becomes a law
Smithsonian Institution chartered
Elias Howe patents the sewing machine
Bear Flag 
Smithsonian Institution -
1847
Songs of America
Stephen Foster has his first big hit with "Oh! Susanna!"
The first publication in America of a song by German composer Franz Schubert.
'The Handcart Song,' a song of the Mormon pioneers, sung by L.M. Hilton, of Ogden, Utah. Recorded by Austin Fife in 1946.
Culture
Anthony Philip Heinrich composes his symphonic work The Ornithological Combat of Kings, or The Condor of the Andes and the Eagle of the Cordilleras
In the News
Pre-paid postage stamps introduced
Stamped envelope -
1848
Songs of America
"Clementine," a traditional song sung by John McCready. Recorded by Sidney Robertson Cowell in Groveland, California, 1939.
"Iruten har nuzu" [I am making wool], sung in Euskara (Basque language) by Mrs. Francisco Etcheverry. A work song for spinning wool thread. Basque music from the Spanish Navarre.
Recorded by Sidney Robertson Cowell in Fresno, California Basque sheep herder in Idaho on September 11, 1940.
Amuma Says No: Traditional and Contemporary Basque Music from Idaho, performed at the Library of Congress, July 14, 2010. [webcast]
"Atotonilco," a song performed in Spanish by Olive Flores (lead singer), Frank Cunha, and Joachim Flores. The performers are Hispanic Californians. Recorded by Sidney Robertson Cowell in Oakland, California on April 12, 1939.
"Ket hold foldje" (Two acres of land), sung in Hungarian language by Mary Gaidos. Recorded by Sidney Robertson Cowell in Oakland, California on January 3, 1940.
"Caminito" [The little road], sung in Spanish and played on guitar by Julio Gomez. Gomez is a Hispanic Californian. Recorded by Sidney Robertson Cowell in Carmel, California on February 18, 1939.
"The Texas Ranger," sung by E. A. Briggs. Recorded by John Avery Lomax and Ruby Terrill Lomax near Medina, Bandera County, Texas, May 5, 1939.
Culture
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels's Communist Manifesto is published
In the News
Gold is discovered at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California.
A wave of immigrants from Hungary arrive in the U.S. as they flee from retribution by Austrian authorities after the defeat of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848.
Basques migrate to the western U.S. in a wave that peaks in 1860. Traditional sheep herders, they sometimes came in conflict with cattle ranchers competing for the same grazing lands.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed. Western lands of what are now California, New Mexico, and Nevada are annexed to the U.S. following the Mexican War. Mexican nationals living in those territories are promised that they will become citizens "at the proper time."
Texas's frontier police, the Texas Rangers, are largely disbanded after the Mexican War. The Rangers are then recommissioned following the Civil War.
Cornerstone of Washington Monument laid in Washington, D.C. on July 4
Declaration of Sentiments for Women's Rights produced by convention at Seneca Falls, New York
Free Soil Party organized
Basque sheep herder in Idaho 
Discoverer of gold, at Sutter's Mill -
1849
Songs of America
"The Days of Forty-Nine," sung by Leon Ponce. Recorded by Sidney Robertson Cowell in Groveland, California, 1939.
Stephen Foster composes "Nelly Was a Lady," "Nelly Bly," "Summer Longings," and "My Brudder Gum."
"Sweet Betsy from Pike," by John A. Stone, dates from the era of the '49s Gold Rush. It is performed on guitar by Zelmer Ward.
"Bound for the Promised Land," sung by Sylvester "Deacon" Johnson and the New Zion Baptist Church Congregation, Vernon Parish, Louisiana, May 17, 1939. This is a different version of the spiritual than that Sarah Bradford reports Harriet Tubman sang for her. Recorded by John Avery Lomax and Ruby Terrill Lomax in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, May 17, 1939.
Culture
Henry David Thoreau writes his essay Civil Disobedience
Elizabeth Blackwell is the first woman in American to receive a medical degree
Amelia Bloomer begins publication of The Lily
In the News
Zachary Taylor inaugurated as twelfth President of the U.S.
California Gold Rush begins
Harriet Tubman escapes slavery in Maryland and walks north to Philadelphia. She returns to rescue members of her family.
The First Woman Physician