A Report of an Exploration of the Country Lying between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains on the Line of the Kansas and Great Platte Rivers,” by John Charles Frémont, March 1, 1843
The official report from John C. Frémont, explorer, soldier, & politician, on his expedition into the Rocky Mountains, 170 years ago.
Supported by Frémont’s father-in-law, a powerful senator and strong proponent of western expansion, the expedition’s goal was to survey and map the Oregon Trail to the Rocky Mountains. The senator hoped it would encourage Americans to emigrate and develop commerce along the western trails.
Frémont’s report provided practical information about the geology, botany, and climate of the West that guided future emigrants along the Oregon Trail; it shattered the misconception of the West as the Great American Desert. Frémont dictated much of the report to his wife, Jessie Benton Frémont, a gifted writer. “The horseback life, the sleep in the open air,” she later recalled, “had unfitted Mr. Frémont for the indoor work of writing,” and so she helped him. Distilled from Frémont’s notes and filtered through the artistic sensibilities of his wife, the report is a practical guide, infused with the romance of the western trail.
Keep reading at Eyewitness: America on the Move
Statement on Reduction of Compensation to Members of Congress, 2/25/1843
Records of the U.S. Senate
This ledger was used to clarify a proposed reduction in compensation for Congress in 1843, thus reducing the Congressional budget. Congress sets the budget for its operations, including pay for Members of Congress.
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America and Britain draw the line
On August 5, 1846, President James K. Polk proclaimed the Treaty with Great Britain, in Regard to Limits Westward of the Rocky Mountains. This treaty resolved the Oregon border dispute by drawing a straight line along the 49th parallel. The line extended the existing boundary between the United States and Britain (Canada) over the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.
Presidential Proclamation regarding the Oregon Treaty, 08/05/1846
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Memorial of Joseph Smith, praying to be authorized to raise a body of armed volunteers for the protection of citizens of the United States emigrating to the adjoining territories, 03/26/1844
Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saints movement, submitted this request to Congress on March 26, 1844, only 3 months before his death at the hands of a mob in Carthage, IL.
This treaty, signed on February 2, 1848, ended the war between the United States and Mexico. By its terms, Mexico ceded 55 percent of its territory, including parts of present-day Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah, to the United States.
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo [Exchange copy], 02/02/1848
Abducted from Africa and then shipped from Cuba aboard the schooner Amistad as slaves, fifty-three Africans overcame their captors and gained control of the ship. However, the Amistad would be seized by the Navy off Long Island, New York, and the Africans imprisoned, charged with murder and facing extradition to Cuba. Dated January 7, 1840, this document was submitted on their behalf by a group of American attorneys representing them before the Federal District Court in Connecticut.
Answer of S. Staples, R. Baldwin, and T. Sedgewick, Proctors for the Amistad Africans, to the several libels of Lt. Gedney, et. al. and Pedro Montes and Jose Ruiz, January 7, 1840; Records of the District Courts of the United States; Record Group 21; National Archives.
Spotty Lincoln
Congressman Abraham Lincoln drafted this resolution asking President Polk to prove that the spot where American and Mexican troops clashed was really in the United States. Polk used the incident to lead the nation into war, which Lincoln opposed.
Resolution introduced by Congressman Abraham Lincoln to “establish whether the particular spot of soil which the blood of our citizens was so shed was, or was not, our own soil.” Often referred to as Lincoln’s Spot Resolution., 12/22/1847
Sewing Machine, By Elias Howe, Patent granted September 10, 1846, Ink and wash on paper, 17” x 23 1/2”
On September 10, 1846, Elias Howe was granted a patent for his Sewing Machine. Howe claimed that his machine could sew 250 stitches a minute. Invention of the sewing machine revolutionized the textile and garment industries.
