Nineteenth Century Life Documents

What made the 19th century an interesting but tumultuous time? What technological, cultural and social changes influenced life then? Explore those issues in this story collection.

Magazine cover image of Vremya ("Time"), an 1863 edition of the monthly journal which Dostoevsky founded (in 1861) with his brother Mikhail.

How did his contemporaries view the job performed by Judge Isaac Parker (sometimes known as "The Haning Judge" of Ft. Smith, Arkansas? Take a look at ...

This image depicts the cover of a book by Anna Dostoevsky (Anna Dostoyevskaya), the wife (then widow) of the famous Russian writer, Fyodor Dostoevsky....

This is page one of President Lincoln's handwritten second-inaugural address.  Click on the image to expand its view.

This is page two of President Lincoln's handwritten second-inaugural address.  Click on the image to expand its view.

This image depicts the text of a "marriage bond" between Edgar Allan Poe and Virginia Clemm. The document contains an error.  Virginia's age is ...

During America's years of chattel slavery, people could be bought and sold.  If an "owner" of slaves died, the slaves would be inventoried as "pr...

Mary Todd Lincoln's letter to her husband, the President, notes discussions in Washington D.C. regarding the slow reactions of General McClellan. ...

Bookcover image of Memoirs from the House of the Dead, by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Missouri's application for statehood is dated November 21, 1818.  This is the first page of the application. Click on the image for an expanded...

Missouri's application for statehood is dated November 21, 1818. This is the second page of the application.Click on the image for an expanded view.

Handwritten report of the House and Senate Conference Committee which hammered-out the details of the Missouri Compromise.  House members wanted...

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