I'm just curious what life was like in the 1840's in America - especially in the South. Any info will be appreciated, or if you can point me in the direction of a good book for someone who isn't normally a history buff, that would also be useful.
2007-03-07 04:14:29 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
One of your best sources is a book called "The Writers Guide to Life in the 1800s." It has everything from clothing to slang and the living conditions.
That little poem someone mentioned had a Winchester. Wrong era. In the 1840s the most popular rifles were still musket loaders with a percussion cap firing system. A lot of old flintlocks were just converted over to percussion caps. There was an 1843 model that was really popular and the Kentucky rifle was known for its accuracy.
As for handguns, the first Colt revolver with it's high-powered advertising campaign happened in 1849-1850. Before that there was a handgun called the Allen pepperbox that was popular.
I had to research all this for Letters Through Time (http://www.lettersthroughtime.com)
2007-03-07 05:09:45 · answer #1 · answered by loryntoo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First thing that comes to mind is a t.v. movie that starts out in the early 1840s in Texas and Georgia and goes up past the civil war. It stars Angelina Jolie, Dana Delaney, Annabeth Gish, etc. You could probably find it on Amazon.com
It's calle True Women. Made in 1997. Really is well done. I hope this helps.
(oh! I should tell you this one thing if you end up seeing it- Angelina Jolie doesn't appear at the begining. It's a while into it. See, she plays the older version of that character. Younger is played by Rachal Leigh Cook- so that's who you'll see at the begining.)
2007-03-07 12:45:35 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dunno. As old as I feel, I wasn't alive then...
Life in eighteen-forty
Was as bad as the year before
Working the top forty
Our need was for more and more
Daddy had a Winchester
He used it every night
Killing through the winter
To save us from our plight
Cattle are a problem
And cowboys just as bad
Rounding up the dogies
Was the best love... I ever had...
Paul
2007-03-07 12:51:32 · answer #3 · answered by cwoodsp 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pretty good if you were rich...
Pretty bad if you were poor..
2007-03-07 12:30:42 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
may or may not help
read up
2007-03-07 12:19:47 · answer #5 · answered by Jester 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋