A Cultural Encyclopedia of the 1850s in America

(Hardback)

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Description

The 1850s were a particularly fruitful and eventful period in American history, a time of unrest and preparation for change. This reference work provides a thorough record of the cultural happenings in America during that period. The volume is divided into several sections. It begins with a chronology that presents the events of the 1850s in capsule form year by year. A list of entries follows. The encyclopedia that comes after the list of entries contains brief, alphabetically arranged articles for performers, military personnel, theologians, composers, critics, educators, explorers, historians, industrialists, inventors, authors, artists, physicians, scientists, sculptors, and numerous events and creative works. A bibliography, divided into topical sections, directs the reader to the best sources of additional information. An appendix lists the biographical entries according to professional categories, and a detailed index adds to the usefulness of the volume.

Reviews

.,."Gale has captured the flavor of the decade in this collection of 437 entries on all aspects of the period between the Mexican and Civil wars. ...useful are collected entries for topics such as "first ladies," "historians," "presidential elections," and "sports." A useful starting point for further study of individuals and events of antebellum American."-Choice
...Gale has captured the flavor of the decade in this collection of 437 entries on all aspects of the period between the Mexican and Civil wars. ...useful are collected entries for topics such as "first ladies," "historians," "presidential elections," and "sports." A useful starting point for further study of individuals and events of antebellum American.-Choice
Librarians will be eager to acquire [this book], and all students and teachers of American life will be grateful when they do....it should prove a reference work that future encyclopedists will assess carefully, admire, and probably fail to surpass.-South Atlantic Review%R
This excellent resource on American cultural history actually covers the years 1849 through 1860. Highly recommended for all fairly extensive history reference collections.-Reference Book Review
"Librarians will be eager to acquire this book, and all students and teachers of American life will be grateful when they do....it should prove a reference work that future encyclopedists will assess carefully, admire, and probably fail to surpass."-South Atlantic Review%R
"Librarians will be eager to acquire [this book], and all students and teachers of American life will be grateful when they do....it should prove a reference work that future encyclopedists will assess carefully, admire, and probably fail to surpass."-South Atlantic Review%R
"This excellent resource on American cultural history actually covers the years 1849 through 1860. Highly recommended for all fairly extensive history reference collections."-Reference Book Review
..."Gale has captured the flavor of the decade in this collection of 437 entries on all aspects of the period between the Mexican and Civil wars. ...useful are collected entries for topics such as "first ladies," "historians," "presidential elections," and "sports." A useful starting point for further study of individuals and events of antebellum American."-Choice

Author Bio

ROBERT L. GALE is Professor Emeritus of American Literature at the University of Pittsburgh. An authority on the nineteenth century, his many publications include A Henry James Encyclopedia (Greenwood Press, 1989), A Nathaniel Hawthorne Encyclopedia (Greenwood Press, 1991), and The Gay Nineties in America: A Cultural Dictionary of the 1890s (Greenwood Press, 1992).