1.
Wood engraving
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Wood engraving is a printmaking and letterpress printing technique, in which an artist works an image or matrix of images into a block of wood. Functionally a variety of woodcut, it uses relief printing, where the artist applies ink to the face of the block and prints using relatively low pressure. By contrast, ordinary engraving, like etching, uses a metal plate for the matrix, and is printed by the method, where the ink fills the valleys. As a result, wood engravings deteriorate less quickly than copper-plate engravings, Thomas Bewick developed the wood engraving technique at the end of the 18th century. His work differed from earlier woodcuts in two key ways, first, rather than using woodcarving tools such as knives, Bewick used an engravers burin. With this, he could create thin delicate lines, often creating large areas in the composition. Second, wood engraving traditionally uses the woods end grain—while the older technique used the side grain. The resulting increased hardness and durability facilitated more detailed images, wood-engraved blocks could be used on conventional printing presses, which were going through rapid mechanical improvements during the first quarter of the 19th century. The blocks were made the same height as, and composited alongside, the combination of this new wood engraving method and mechanized printing drove a rapid expansion of illustrations in the 19th century. Further, advances in stereotype let wood-engravings be reproduced onto metal, by the mid-19th century, many wood engravings rivaled copperplate engravings. In 15th and 16th-century Europe, woodcuts were a technique in printmaking and printing. They were still made for printing press work such as newspapers or almanacs. The beginnings of modern wood engraving techniques developed at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, Bewick generally engraved harder woods, such as boxwood, rather than the woods used in woodcuts, and he engraved the ends of blocks instead of the side. Finding a woodcutting knife not suitable for working against the grain in harder woods, Bewick used a burin, from the beginning of the nineteenth century Bewicks techniques gradually came into wider use, especially in Britain and the United States. Alexander Anderson introduced the technique to the United States, Bewicks work impressed him, so he reverse engineered and imitated Bewicks technique—using metal until he learned that Bewick used wood. This was, in ways a unnatural application, since engravers had to cut away almost all the surface of the block to produce the printable lines of the artists drawing. Nonetheless, it became the most common use of wood engraving, in the United States, wood-engraved publications also began to take hold, such as Harpers Weekly. A single design was divided into a grid, and each worked on a square
2.
John Brown (abolitionist)
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John Brown was an American abolitionist who believed armed insurrection was the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States. Brown first gained attention when he led groups of volunteers during the Bleeding Kansas crisis of 1856. Dissatisfied with the pacifism of the organized abolitionist movement, he said, during the Kansas campaign, Brown commanded forces at the Battle of Black Jack and the Battle of Osawatomie. He and his supporters killed five pro-slavery supporters in the Pottawatomie massacre of May 1856 in response to the sacking of Lawrence by pro-slavery forces, in 1859, Brown led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, to start a liberation movement among the slaves there. During the raid, he seized the armory, seven people were killed and he intended to arm slaves with weapons from the arsenal, but the attack failed. Within 36 hours, Browns men had fled or been killed or captured by local farmers, militiamen. Marines led by Robert E. Lee and he was tried for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, the murder of five men and inciting a slave insurrection. He was found guilty on all counts and was hanged, Historians agree that the Harpers Ferry raid escalated tensions that, a year later, led to the Souths secession and Civil War. David Potter has said the effect of Browns raid was greater than the philosophical effect of the Lincoln–Douglas debates. Some writers, including Bruce Olds, describe him as a zealot, others. Oates, regard him as one of the most perceptive human beings of his generation, David S. John Browns Body was a popular Union marching song during the Civil War and made him a martyr. Browns actions prior to the Civil War as an abolitionist, and he is sometimes memorialized as a heroic martyr and a visionary, and sometimes vilified as a madman and a terrorist. John Brown was born May 9,1800, in Torrington and he was the fourth of the eight children of Owen Brown and Ruth Mills and grandson of Capt. Brown could trace his ancestry back to 17th-century English Puritans, in 1805, the family moved to Hudson, Ohio, where Owen Brown opened a tannery. Browns personal religion is well documented in the papers of the Rev Clarence Gee. Browns father had as an apprentice Jesse R. Grant, father of Ulysses S. Grant, at 16, Brown left his family and went to Plainfield, Massachusetts, where he enrolled in a preparatory program. Shortly afterward, he transferred to the Morris Academy in Litchfield and he hoped to become a Congregationalist minister, but money ran out and he suffered from eye inflammations, which forced him to give up the academy and return to Ohio. In Hudson, he worked briefly at his fathers tannery before opening a successful tannery of his own outside of town with his adopted brother, in 1820, Brown married Dianthe Lusk
3.
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
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Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. It was formerly spelled Harpers Ferry with an apostrophe and that continues to appear in some references. It is situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers where the U. S. states of Maryland, Virginia and it is the easternmost town in West Virginia. The towns original, lower section is on a plain created by the two rivers and surrounded by higher ground. Historically, Harpers Ferry is best known for John Browns raid on the Armory in 1859, the population was 286 at the 2010 census. The lower part of Harpers Ferry is within Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, most of the remainder, which includes the more highly populated area, is included in the separate Harpers Ferry Historic District. Two other National Register of Historic Places properties adjoin the town, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy headquarters is in Harpers Ferry and the town is one of only a few through which the Appalachian Trail passes directly. Other popular outdoor activities include white water rafting, fishing, mountain biking, tubing, canoeing, hiking, zip lining, and rock climbing. In 1733, Peter Stephens, a squatter, had settled on land near The Point, fourteen years later, while traveling from Maryland to Virginia, Robert Harper passed through the area which was named The Hole. Harper recognized the potential for industry, given the power the two rivers could generate, and the traffic he could ferry across the Potomac River, Harper paid Stephens 30 British guinea for what was essentially Stephens squatting rights, since the land actually belonged to Lord Fairfax. In April 1751, Harper purchased 126 acres of land from Lord Fairfax, in 1761, the Virginia General Assembly granted Harper the right to establish and maintain a ferry across the Potomac River. In 1763, the Virginia General Assembly established the town of Shenandoah Falls at Mr. Harpers Ferry, on October 25,1783, Thomas Jefferson visited Harpers Ferry. He viewed the passage of the Potomac through the Blue Ridge from a rock that is now named for him and this stop took place as Jefferson was traveling to Philadelphia and passed through Harpers Ferry with his daughter Patsy. Jefferson called the site one of the most stupendous scenes in nature. George Washington, as president of the Patowmack Company, traveled to Harpers Ferry during the summer of 1785 to determine the need for bypass canals, in 1794, Washingtons familiarity with the area led him to propose the site for a new United States armory and arsenal. In 1796, the government purchased a 125-acre parcel of land from the heirs of Robert Harper. Construction began on the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry in 1799 and this was one of only two such facilities in the U. S. the other being Springfield, Massachusetts. Together they produced most of the arms for the U. S. Army
4.
American Civil War
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The American Civil War was an internal conflict fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. The Union faced secessionists in eleven Southern states grouped together as the Confederate States of America, the Union won the war, which remains the bloodiest in U. S. history. Among the 34 U. S. states in February 1861, War broke out in April 1861 when Confederates attacked the U. S. fortress of Fort Sumter. The Confederacy grew to eleven states, it claimed two more states, the Indian Territory, and the southern portions of the western territories of Arizona. The Confederacy was never recognized by the United States government nor by any foreign country. The states that remained loyal, including border states where slavery was legal, were known as the Union or the North, the war ended with the surrender of all the Confederate armies and the dissolution of the Confederate government in the spring of 1865. The war had its origin in the issue of slavery. The Confederacy collapsed and 4 million slaves were freed, but before his inauguration, seven slave states with cotton-based economies formed the Confederacy. The first six to declare secession had the highest proportions of slaves in their populations, the first seven with state legislatures to resolve for secession included split majorities for unionists Douglas and Bell in Georgia with 51% and Louisiana with 55%. Alabama had voted 46% for those unionists, Mississippi with 40%, Florida with 38%, Texas with 25%, of these, only Texas held a referendum on secession. Eight remaining slave states continued to reject calls for secession, outgoing Democratic President James Buchanan and the incoming Republicans rejected secession as illegal. Lincolns March 4,1861 inaugural address declared that his administration would not initiate a civil war, speaking directly to the Southern States, he reaffirmed, I have no purpose, directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the United States where it exists. I believe I have no right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so. After Confederate forces seized numerous federal forts within territory claimed by the Confederacy, efforts at compromise failed, the Confederates assumed that European countries were so dependent on King Cotton that they would intervene, but none did, and none recognized the new Confederate States of America. Hostilities began on April 12,1861, when Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter, while in the Western Theater the Union made significant permanent gains, in the Eastern Theater, the battle was inconclusive in 1861–62. The autumn 1862 Confederate campaigns into Maryland and Kentucky failed, dissuading British intervention, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which made ending slavery a war goal. To the west, by summer 1862 the Union destroyed the Confederate river navy, then much of their western armies, the 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River. In 1863, Robert E. Lees Confederate incursion north ended at the Battle of Gettysburg, Western successes led to Ulysses S. Grants command of all Union armies in 1864
5.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
6.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
7.
P. T. Barnum
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Phineas Taylor P. T. Barnum was an American politician, showman, and businessman remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Barnum is widely, but erroneously, credited with coining the phrase Theres a sucker born every minute, born in Bethel, Connecticut, Barnum became a small-business owner in his early twenties, and founded a weekly newspaper, before moving to New York City in 1834. Barnum used the museum as a platform to promote hoaxes and human curiosities such as the Feejee mermaid, in 1850 he promoted the American tour of singer Jenny Lind, paying her an unprecedented $1,000 a night for 150 nights. After economic reversals due to bad investments in the 1850s, and years of litigation and public humiliation, he used a lecture tour, mostly as a temperance speaker and his museum added Americas first aquarium and expanded the wax-figure department. While in New York, he converted to Universalism and was a member of the Church of the Divine Paternity, Barnum served two terms in the Connecticut legislature in 1865 as a Republican for Fairfield. It may tenant the body of a Chinaman, a Turk, elected in 1875 as Mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut, he worked to improve the water supply, bring gas lighting to streets, and enforce liquor and prostitution laws. Barnum was instrumental in starting Bridgeport Hospital, founded in 1878, the circus business was the source of much of his enduring fame. He established P. T. Barnums Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome, a circus, menagerie and museum of freaks. Barnum died in his sleep at home in 1891, and was buried in Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport, Barnum was born in Bethel, Connecticut, the son of inn keeper, tailor and store-keeper Philo Barnum and second wife Irene Taylor. He was the great grandson of Thomas Barnum, the English immigrant ancestor of the Barnum family in North America. His maternal grandfather Phineas Taylor was a Whig, legislator, landowner, justice of the peace, and lottery schemer, Barnum was adept at arithmetic but hated physical work. He started as a store-keeper, and he learned haggling and using deception to make a sale and he was involved with the first lottery mania in the United States. At the age of 19, he married Charity Hallett, the young husband had several businesses, a general store, a book auctioning trade, real estate speculation, and a statewide lottery network. He became active in politics and advocated against blue laws promulgated by Calvinists who sought to restrict gambling. Barnum started a paper in 1829, The Herald of Freedom, in Danbury. His editorials against church elders led to libel suits and a prosecution which resulted in imprisonment for two months, but he became a champion of the movement upon his release. In 1834, when lotteries were banned in Connecticut, cutting off his income, Barnum sold his store. Joice Heth died in 1836, no more than 80 years old, Barnum improved the attraction, renamed Barnums American Museum, upgrading the building and adding exhibits, and it became a popular showplace
8.
Jenny Lind
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Johanna Maria Lind, better known as Jenny Lind, was a Swedish opera singer, often known as the Swedish Nightingale. She was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music from 1840, Lind became famous after her performance in Der Freischütz in Sweden in 1838. Within a few years, she had suffered damage. She was in demand in opera roles throughout Sweden and northern Europe during the 1840s. After two acclaimed seasons in London, she announced her retirement from opera at the age of 29, in 1850, Lind went to America at the invitation of the showman P. T. Barnum. She gave 93 large-scale concerts for him and then continued to tour under her own management and she earned more than $350,000 from these concerts, donating the proceeds to charities, principally the endowment of free schools in Sweden. With her new husband, Otto Goldschmidt, she returned to Europe in 1852 where she had three children and gave occasional concerts over the two decades, settling in England in 1855. From 1882, for years, she was a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music in London. Born in Klara, in central Stockholm, Lind was the daughter of Niclas Jonas Lind, a bookkeeper, and Anne-Marie Fellborg. Linds mother had divorced her first husband for adultery but, for religious reasons, Linds parents married when she was fourteen. Linds mother ran a day school for girls out of her home, when Lind was about nine years old, her singing was overheard by the maid of Mademoiselle Lundberg, the principal dancer at the Royal Swedish Opera. Lind began to sing onstage when she was ten and she had a vocal crisis at the age of 12 and had to stop singing for a time, but recovered. Her first great role was Agathe in Webers Der Freischütz in 1838 at the Royal Swedish Opera, at age 20 she was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and court singer to the King of Sweden and Norway. Her voice became seriously damaged by overuse and untrained singing technique, so damaged was her voice that he insisted that she should not sing at all for three months, to allow her vocal cords to recover, before he started to teach her a secure vocal technique. After Lind had been with García for a year, the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer, an early and faithful admirer of her talent, arranged an audition for her at the Opéra in Paris, but she was rejected. The biographer Francis Rogers concludes that Lind strongly resented the rebuff, Lind returned to the Royal Swedish Opera, greatly improved as a singer by Garcías training. She toured Denmark where, in 1843, Hans Christian Andersen met, although the two became good friends, she did not reciprocate his romantic feelings. She is believed to have inspired three of his tales, Beneath the Pillar, The Angel and The Nightingale
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