INTRODUCTION

During the twenty year span from 1850-1870, the United States is seeking stability and identity. Different ideas concerning the well being of the nation create tension within all areas of life. In art education, two markedly different approaches emerge. Some educators call for a rigidity and practical learning while others foster natural, creative expression through sensory learning. Both methods become the foundation for practices and theories which will bud in the years to come.

 

Timeline of Important Events:

1850 - Missouri Compromise

1850 - Fugitive Slave Law of 1850

1854 - Walker Expedition

1856 - Pottawatomie Massacre

1857 - Dred Scott v. Sanford

1861 - Confederate States of America is founded

1861 - Abraham Lincoln becomes president and is assassinated in 1865

1861 - 1865 - The Civil War

1862 - Emmancipation Poclamation is issued

1866 - Civil Rights Act of 1866

1866 - Ku Klux Klan founded

1867 - Reconstruction Acts

1868 - The Typewriter is invented