Nineteenth Century Life Documents

This is another section of the Armistead report which details the battle of Fort McHenry, and Baltimore, in September of 1814. 

At the close of the 19th century, Boston's penal institutions - discussed in this article by William I. Cole - were permitted to house children as you...

This is part 2 of an article by William I Cole discussing Boston's penal institutions near the close of the 19th century.  Such places were allow...

This is page 2 of Charley Williams' story. Note that to maintain authenticity, writers transcribed the oral histories - including Charley's - using t...

This is page 3, of Charley Williams' story, and concludes his oral history as a former American slave. Note that to maintain authenticity, writers tr...

  Five members of the nine-man Military Commission signed a Clemency request for Mary Surratt on the same day - June 30, 1865 - that the tribuna...

This poem (noted in the document as "Lines") celebrates the life of the much-loved Confederate Lt. General Thomas J. ("Stonewall") Jackson.  His ...

John Randolph (1773-1833), from Virginia, opposed admitting Missouri as a "free" state not because he approved of slavery but because he disapproved o...

Among other criticisms of women's rights in general, and the Declaration of Sentiments in particular, we read the following from the August 1, 1848 is...

Image of a broadside printing called The Defense of Fort McHenry, which detailed the background for Francis Scott Key's poem. Click on the ...

Bookcover image of Dostoevsky: The Miraculous Years, 1865-1871, by Joseph Frank.

After Elizabeth Packard began expressing her views on religious topics, in a Bible-study class held in her village of Manteno (Illinois), her husband ...