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18th Century Textile Inventions
Rachel Jackson, the wife of President Andrew Jackson, was born in 1767 before the United States of America existed. She lived in a rural part of the Colony of Virginia in a small log cabin. Life for Americans in rural areas could be difficult. They had to be responsible for making everything they needed for daily life including basic things such as soap, and clothes. From the time of her birth in 1767 to her death in 1828, Rachel Jackson would have seen dramatic changes in the process of making cloth and clothing. It is likely that her family wove their own cloth and sewed their own clothes early in her life. By the time of her death however, cloth was being mass produced in the United States. This lesson will take a look at the changes in this process due to inventions and industrialization.
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A River Trip to Nashville
Just before Christmas on December 22, 1779, twelve year old Rachel Donelson the future wife of the seventh President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, began an adventure with her family that proved to be a long and perilous journey. Their trip began at Fort Patrick Henry on the Holston River and ended four months later at the French Salt Springs on the Cumberland River, the rough location of present day Nashville, Tennessee. This journey was accomplished entirely by water beginning on the Holston River and ending on the Cumberland River. Along the way they encountered attacks by Native Americans, rapids, boat wrecks, illness, childbirth, hunger, exhaustion, and death. This journey was chronicled by John Donelson, Rachel’s father who kept a journal of all that happened.
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A History of Country Music
The Election of Andrew Jackson in 1828 brought a change to the tenor of government in the United States. The first six presidents were members of the Gentry or upper class. Andrew Jackson ran his campaign on the fact that he was a “common man.” And although he was born in South Carolina his base of operation was the state his wife Rachel’s family was instrumental in settling, the state of Tennessee. General Jackson had made his name during the War of 1812 at the Battle of New Orleans. This war had given rise to American nationalism and as perhaps the war’s greatest hero Jackson rode this nationalism along with his “back woods” support and his fame as an Indian fighter into the White House in 1828. His base of support was the rural population of the United States which at the time was the largest segment. Those people who voted Jackson into the Presidency lived a much different lifestyle that that of Jackson’s predecessors. This can be seen in their appearances and heard in their music. This lesson will look at the history and development of music in rural America that with the dawn of recording in the early 1900’s eventually became known as Country Music.
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A Gathering of Cultures: First Peoples in Tennessee
Rachel Jackson had intimate knowledge of the Native American tribes in Tennessee, having been part of early settlement efforts in that territory. In the meantime, Native American populations were trying to figure out how to deal with this hoard of white people who were steadily taking over their lands. One of the great losses to American society has been the loss of the knowledge, stories, and understandings that Native Americans possessed (and still, to some extent, possess).
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Great States: Exploring Tennessee
Rachel Donelson, who would later become Rachel Jackson, moved to Tennessee with her family and 600 other settlers from Pittsylvania County, Virginia when she was twelve years old. Her second husband, Andrew Jackson, who would eventually become the 7th President of the United States, practiced law in Tennessee and was in fact a member of the convention that created the Tennessee Constitution. He was elected in 1796 as Tennessee's first US Representative and then as US Senator in 1797. The Jackson’s had deep ties to the state of Tennessee and Jackson was the first president elected from a state outside of the original thirteen. Tennesee became the 16th state in 1796 and has played a major role in US History from the American Revolution to the present day.
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Listening to the Beating Heart: The History of the Stethoscope
Rachel Jackson passed away in the short period of time between her husband Andrew Jackson being elected to the presidency, and his taking office. She had been a target of political attack during the election of 1828. She had been accused of adultery, and bigamy and had been physically and emotionally affected by the scrutiny and stress of this situation. She had a heart attack shortly before Christmas and although she seemed to be recovering she died on December 22. At the time of her death the study of heart disease and other thoracic conditions was in its infancy. In 1816 twelve years before her death French Physician René Théophile Hyacinthe Laennec, known as the father of modern knowledge of pulmonary disease, invented the stethoscope which he called the chest examiner. Although its use may not have prevented her death, his invention and it’s subsequent use throughout the years have saved countless lives through his then revolutionary method of diagnosing diseases called auscultation which involves listening to and identifying various sounds made by different body structures.
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The Hermitage: Refuge in a Time of Trouble
Rachel Jackson the wife of President Andrew Jackson never lived to become the First Lady. She died in 1828 just prior to Andrew Jackson taking office. He was devastated, and blamed his political opponents for her death because she had been a target of their mudslinging campaign. He had her buried at he favorite place in the world, their home and plantation in Tennessee, which was called The Hermitage. She was buried in the estates gardens and in 1831 Jackson hired architect David Morrison to construct a Grecian style monument for her. After his passing Andrew Jackson was also buried under this tomb.
Jackson loved his plantation and spent as much time there as he possibly could. It was there he went following his presidency and there he eventually died and was laid to rest beside his beloved Rachel.
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Wonders of the World: Past and Present
The very first list of the Seven Wonders of the World was proposed over 2,000 years ago by the Greek historian, Herodotus. Other lists were created in the Middle Ages. The 18th and19th centuries, during the lifetime of Rachel Jackson, was also a time of world-wide exploration, and because people were seeing—often for the first time—marvels of nature and creations of man, many lists of “wonders” were presented. However, most people have agreed at least on the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, and the fun of creating new lists of wonders continues today.
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Great Cities of the World: New Orleans
Although Rachel Jackson died before her husband Andrew Jackson was inaugurated as the seventh United States President, she was married to him in 1794 and certainly helped to celebrate his victory as the hero of the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. It was this battle and this city that gave Jackson the popularity as the candidate of the “common man,” that probably won him the Presidency. New Orleans has been an important city in the history our nation for many reasons, not least of which is its location at the mouth of the Mississippi River.
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The Mill Girls of Lowell, Massachusetts
Toward the latter part of Rachel Jackson’s life, the cotton mills in Massachusetts became world-renowned as “humane” working places for girls and young women. Whether or not they were humane, they created a considerable amount of debate. The textile industry was one of the first to hire large numbers of female workers. Their lives and working conditions, so unlike Rachel Jackson’s, must have been known to her, and were perhaps, a matter of concern.
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The Phenomenon of White Indians: Captive Women in Early American History
The phenomenon of “White Indians” is part of the story of colonial America on into the 19th century as whites continued their march inland from the Atlantic coast and settled in lands held by Native Americans. Stories of whites captured by various Indian tribes fall into the category called “captivity narratives,” and relate “capture stories” of both men and women. However, stories of women captives became highly popular, as well as highly sensationalized, in part because the lives of women in these years were rigidly controlled by values that regarded women as “lesser, “ “weaker,” and less able to cope with violence, hard work, and difficult travel than men. In addition, the white perception of Native Americans as savages was supported by these stories and helped whites rationalize their steady encroachment into Indian lands.
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