- Political leaders of the 1840s
Calhoun, Webster, and Thomas Hart Benton are all pictured in fine oil paintings from the Smithsonian Institution collection. The up and coming Jefferson Davis, future Confederate president, is also present.
- Congressman Abraham Lincoln
During his one and only term in Congress, Lincoln opposed the Mexican War and the expansion of slaveholding territory. So unpopular did his view become that he chose not to run for another term. This photo is from the Library of Congress.
- War documents
Stephen F. Austin in defense of Texas Independence (1836); Texas Declaration of Independence (1836); Texas Annexation (1845); Declaration of War with Mexico (1846) -- Polk's message to Congress; Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo (1848). From the Archives section for 1806-48 of the online site for the PBS video series "The West."
- U.S. Capitol building (ca. 1846)
The Capitol around the time of the Mexican War. Note that the telltale dome would not be built until the Civil War. From the Library of Congress collection.
- White House
Usually called the President's House in the mid 1840s, it looks remarkably the same as it does today. From the Library of Congress collection.
- California Gold Rush
Documents and images reflecting both the triumphs and defeats of "gold fever." From the Documents (1848-56) section of the PBS video series "The West." (see next link)
- Click here for the full website for the series.
- Frontier Violence: Two Perspectives on an Indian Massacre of Pioneers
Read Catherine Sager's account of the 1847 Waiilatpu Massacre, a rare event that left her and her siblings orphans.
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