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Suffrage in Wyoming

Suffrage in Wyoming "Women Suffrage in Wyoming Territory" "Women Suffrage in Wyoming Territory.-- Scene at the Polls in Cheyenne," Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, 1888. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Document Text Summary AN ACT TO GRANT TO THE WOMEN OF WYOMING TERRITORY THE RIGHT OF SUFFRAGE AND TO HOLD OFFICE A law to grant Wyoming women the right to vote and hold political office Be it enacted by the Council and House of Representatives of the Territory of Wyoming: The Council and House of Representatives of the Territory of Wyoming is passing the following law: Sec. 1. That every woman of the age of twenty-oen years, residing in this territory, may, at every election to be holden under the laws thereof, cast her vote. And

2023-04-04T09:10:02-04:00
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Sex Trafficking

Sex Trafficking “The Man Filled Both My Hands With Gold and I Then Became His Slave” “The Man Filled Both My Hands With Gold and I Then Became His Slave,” The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]), 02 April 1899. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Library of Congress. Sex work in the American West has been romanticized in popular culture. But the reality was often much bleaker. For example, the arrival of thousands of single Chinese men during the California Gold Rush created a huge demand for Chinese sex workers. But the Chinese women and girls brought to the U.S. to fulfill this demand often had little choice in the matter. Some were kidnapped. Some were sold by their impoverished families. Some

2024-03-14T13:23:20-04:00
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Life Story: Elizabeth Kahuga Shoeboots

Life Story: Elizabeth Kahuga Shoeboots The Trail of Tears Robert Lindneux (1871–1970), The Trail of Tears, 1942. Woolaroc Museum. Elizabeth Kahuga Shoeboots was born in 1806 on a farm on the Etowah River in the area that is today called Georgia. Her father was famed Cherokee warrior Shoe Boots. Her mother, Doll, was a Black woman enslaved by Shoe Boots. At the time of Elizabeth’s birth, the Cherokee were only just beginning to practice slavery, so it is very likely that Doll was the only enslaved Black woman in her community. Shoe Boots gave Elizabeth the Cherokee name Kahuga, but he could not make Elizabeth a citizen of the Cherokee tribe. By Cherokee custom, tribal citizenship was inherited through the mother. It is unknown who gave Elizabeth

2023-04-04T09:07:16-04:00
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Life Story: Keziah Grier

Life Story: Keziah Grier "Register of Negroes and Mulattoes, Gibson County" "Register of Negroes and Mulattoes, Gibson County," 185?, Princeton Public Library. Keziah Grier was born around the year 1800. She spent her early years enslaved in South Carolina. When she was a teenager, her enslavers forced her to move with them to the Northwest Territory. Slavery was technically illegal in the Northwest Territory, but no one enforced this law. Like many other white settlers, Keziah’s enslavers brought her so she could do the difficult work of turning their new land into a working farm. It was a hard and dangerous life. Local Indigenous communities resented the arrival of settlers, and the outbreak of the War of 1812 brought violence to the area. But Keziah survived.   Keziah

2024-01-23T13:30:16-05:00
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Life Story: Ah Yuen

Life Story: Ah Yuen China Mary, ca. 1930. University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center, Photofile: China Mary. China Mary, ca. 1930. University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center, Photofile: China Mary. The first thing to know about Ah Yuen is that many parts of her life are shrouded in mystery. For example, even the name we know her as was probably not her given name. Yuen is a Cantonese surname, but the word “Ah” is similar to the word “Miss” in English. So, the name Ah Yuen translates to “Miss Yuen.” Her personal name has been lost.  Historians know that Ah Yuen arrived in the U.S. around the year 1863, and that she was probably born between 1848 and 1854. This means that she was incredibly young when

2023-02-07T12:28:59-05:00
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The Weeping Time

The Weeping Time Document Text Summary Daphney’s Baby The family of Primus, plantation carpenter, consisting of Daphney, his wife, with her young baby, and Dido, a girl of three years old, were reached in due course of time. Daphney had a large shawl, which she kept carefully wrapped round her infant and herself. This unusual proceeding attracted much attention, and provoked many remarks, such as these: Next was Primus, a plantation carpenter. He was being sold with his wife Daphney, their three year old daughter, and their newborn baby. Daphney and the newborn were wrapped up in a large shawl. This was unusual, and the attendees made comments like: “What do you keep your nigger covered up for? Pull off her blanket.” “What’s the matter with the gal? Has she got a headache?” “What’s the fault of

2023-04-04T08:56:25-04:00
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The Factory Floor

The Factory Floor Spinning cotton with self-acting mules of type devised by Richard Roberts  Spinning cotton with self-acting mules of type devised by Richard Roberts, 1825. World History Archive / Alamy Photo One of the hallmarks of the Industrial Revolution was the invention of machinery that could quickly mass produce items that were traditionally made by hand. The first major advances were in the textile industry, where the invention of water- and steam-powered spinning mules and looms made the production of threads and fabric much faster. This image shows the factory floor of a cotton mill in 1825. The spinning mules are spinning cotton fibers into thread that is being collected in the bobbins at the top of the machine. The women are overseeing

2022-12-05T12:31:52-05:00
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Urbanization

Urbanization The Five Points The Five Points, ca. 1827. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Mrs. Screven Lorillard (Alice Whitney), from the collection of Mrs. J. Insley Blair, 2016. The Industrial Revolution led to the rapid movement of people from rural to urban areas. This movement coincided with a big increase in the number of immigrants arriving from other countries. As a result, the populations of U.S. cities exploded. For example, between 1820 and 1860, the population of New York City quadrupled from 200,000 to 800,000.  The new arrivals came in search of jobs. But they also needed places to live. During the rush to expand cities, no one oversaw the development of new neighborhoods and buildings. Desperate workers simply lived wherever there was a

2024-01-23T13:12:47-05:00
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Ice Cream Maker Patent

Ice Cream Maker Patent "No. 3,254 Artificial Freezer" N. M. Johnson, "No. 3,254 Artificial Freezer," September 9, 1843. United States Patent Office. Document Text Summary UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. NANCY M. JOHNSON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA. ARTIFICIAL FREEZER, Specification of Letters Patent No. 3,254, dated September 9, 1843; Antedated July 29, 1848. To all whom it may concern;  Be it known that I, NANCY M. JOHNSON, of the city of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Art of Producing Artificial Ices, and that the following is a full and exact description of the machinery for carrying into effect the said improvement. I, Nancy M. Johnson, from Philadelphia, PA, invented a new machine for making ice cream. Here, I will describe the machine and what

2023-04-03T11:59:10-04:00
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Home Improvements

Home Improvements Home Washing Machine & Wringer "Home Washing Machine & Wringer," ca. 1869. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Some U.S. inventors of the Industrial Revolution focused on how to bring the wonders of mechanization into the home to relieve the burdens of daily live. One major advancement was the home washing machine.  Washing laundry by hand was extremely labor and time intensive. It was such a hated chore that any woman who could afford it hired someone else to do it for them. The home washing machine cut down on physical labor needed to wash clothing. Instead of individually scrubbing and wringing each piece of clothing by hand, a woman could turn a crank and let the machine do it for her. The

2022-12-05T12:34:52-05:00
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