From the Education Cart: Fort Howard
Fur Trade: The Beaver Pelt
During the fur trade, the beaver
pelt was the most desired commodity—especially in the Midwest. Not only are
they incredibly soft, but they are also warm and waterproof. Fur traders often
travelled by water, so to survive brutal Wisconsin winters during their
voyages, they looked to the beaver.
Beavers
were such a central point to the fur trade that, when they began to be
overhunted, the fur trade began to collapse. Other animals were just as
accessible as the beaver, but they were not as desirable. Deer and muskrat
pelts were just as abundant as beavers once were; however, they did not have
the same insulation or waterproof quality. Thus, the demand was much lower for
these furs, causing the fur trade to collapse.
At this
time, Green Bay heavily relied on the fur trade for its economy, but, luckily,
two other industries were on the rise that gave the city the support it needed
to flourish: railroads and dairy. Fort Howard, formerly Green Bay’s military
fort, was bought out by railroad companies. Therefore, trains would come
through the city, stopping at Fort Howard. By the end of the fur trade, dairy
farms had begun to pop up all throughout Wisconsin to the point where the
Wisconsin Dairymen’s Association had to be established to promote the
production of cheese and inform farmers on more effective ways to go about
their work.
As for our furry friend, the beaver? They are on the rebound! There are about 150 times more beavers across North America as there was at the end of the fur trade.
Porcelain Doll
During the 19th century,
dolls were a popular toy among girls. A porcelain doll, though, would only be
played with by a daughter of wealthy parents because of the material’s high
price. More commonly, dolls were made of cloth and scrapped together at home.
They would often be stuffed with cotton, feathers, or straw. Plastic, a cheap
source for dollmaking that is commonly used today, would not come around until
the early 1900s.
Play in this time was not the same
as play in the modern day. Parents viewed a child’s playtime as a “practice
run” for adulthood. Using their dolls, young girls would learn how to behave
like a proper lady and mother. This dealt with everything from running a
household to dealing with death.
Despite
a porcelain doll’s elegant features, what lies inside of her is much less
sophisticated. The body of these toys are made of fabric that is filled with
either bran or sawdust. The 1860s would make way for celluloid, a cheaper and
less fragile material that would replace many of the porcelain dolls. Even
though the fragile dolls lost much of their popularity, they continue to be
made to this day because many people want to hold on to the status symbol of centuries
ago.
Schoolhouse Slate
As the
middle class began forming in the 1800s, more children began to attend school. At
the time, these schools were one-room schoolhouses where young children and
older children would learn together. The older kids would pass down the
knowledge they had learned previously in school to the younger children.
The slate
and chalk were common tools used in the classroom, similar to the modern-day
whiteboards and markers. When a teacher would ask a question, the students
would often write their answers on the slate, and when it was time to move on,
they would wipe their work away with a cloth or wet sponge.
This
was the only writing tool accessible for students; they had nothing to take
permanent notes on. Therefore, they were forced to pay close attention to
lessons and memorize what their teachers said. Still, slates were the most
popular tool classroom tool at the time. If a child would go on to a university
after finishing their education in the one room schoolhouse, that would still
be their primary utensil.
Even
though the bigger version of a slate, the blackboard, lived on into the early
21st century, slates were largely replaced with paper and pencils in
the 1930s.
For three centuries, the musket was
one of the most popular pieces of weaponry. It got the United States through
its two wars against Great Britian: The American Revolution and the War of
1812. They were created as a larger version of the harquebus, the first gun
that fired off the shoulder. Early muskets had to be operated by two people
from a portable rest because they would usually weigh around 20 pounds. These
weapons did not have much accuracy either.
Luckily,
later versions of the musket improved its many flaws. With greater accuracy and
being lighter weight, these weapons carried the western world through its
conflicts for centuries. From smaller wars in the nation--such as the Seminole
Wars, between the Seminole tribe and the United States—to bigger wars for an
empire, such as the Napoleonic Wars, everyone relied on muskets.
By the
1850s, though, the musket began to be almost permanently replaced by the rifle
that had been in development since the 17th century (100 years after
the first musket was used). They were more accurate and evolved way past the
musket. The Civil War was right at the shift of the weapons’ popularity, so
different types of rifles were mostly used. Seeing a musket was not uncommon
during this time, though. By World War One, muskets were obsolete; the Great
War was the last major conflict that they were present during.
In the
1800s, fur was a major source of warmth for Midwesterners in the wintertime;
however, it was not the only material used. Wool was also very popular because
it provided secure insulation, and the fabric was found especially useful after
the fur trade had ended.
With
the turn of the century from the 1700s to the 1800s came a new sheep: the
Spanish merino. American farmers wanted to make sure to provide fleece just as warm
and suitable for humans to wear, so they bred their sheep to produce the
American merino, which had a heavier, more insulated fleece compared to the
Spanish’s fine wool. Of course, to those living in colder climates, the
American merino had a more suitable coat, so the American wool industry and the
Midwestern consumer both won in this case.
The
Civil War also helped the wool industry expand. Cotton production was mainly in
the South, so the North could not use the plant. Wool provided the same warmth
as cotton, and it was similar enough that turning machinery from being used for
cotton to wool was not a drastic shift.
With
the end of the war came the second industrial revolution, which made way for
manmade fibers. Even though the wool industry was still thriving at the time,
many smaller mills had to shut down. These manmade fibers were revolutionary,
and as they have been on the rise since their invention, wool has been on the
decline.
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