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Post by terrus on Jun 15, 2014 6:36:11 GMT -5
Just a thread for notes to make, when I see something that bears notation. There's been some talk of recent about law enforcement (thanks to Jay). A note to make here: the only law enforcement personnel existing at this time are court bailiffs (whose sole authority is in the courtroom), rural Sheriffs (appointed by the governor, they were paid by task, i.e.: serving a warrant, so they rarely did investigative work), urban Constables (appointed by the city, they had to handle all warrant execution and health/sanitation enforcement, and so rarely got to do investigative work), and urban Watchmen (volunteers that walked the city at night, and "raised cry" to wake up people upon witnessing a crime; people were required under city law to help a watchman in distress). We're about to creating the United States Marshals, who will be the first full-time law enforcement personnel in the history of the United States. Philadelphia will be the first locality to create full-time law enforcement personnel, when it makes being a watchman a full-time job, and hires "wardens" to oversee the watchmen. But the modern police force won't emerge until 1833, when the Philadelphia Police Department is formed.
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Post by Gordon Battle Hughes on Jun 15, 2014 15:44:44 GMT -5
If this is in relation to what I did, the way Bluto and I discussed it was that the local sheriff approved Bathurst's presence (at Bathurst's offer) out of fear that there might be danger at the homestead and Bathurst being an incredibly violent person (as a character I want to push).
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Post by terrus on Jun 15, 2014 15:56:02 GMT -5
I did post it in relation to what you did, but not as a correction. Nothing y'all posted seemed unrealistic. I just happened to know that, and figured it might be of interest given that it's just come up in the game. Speaking of things that came up in the game, we've found ourselves talking about education in Congress, and so let me note for you all... Public education scarcely existed in this time. Massachusetts established some religious schools back in 1647, but these had fallen to the wayside by the end of the revolutionary war. The only schools operating at this point are private schools, which serve the rich, and religious schools, which mostly also serve the rich. Thomas Jefferson did envision an educational system, but he felt it should have two tracks -- one for the poor, to be taught as laborers, and one for the rich, to be properly educated. Jefferson favored scholarships so as to allow the "raking [of] a few geniuses from the rubbish." The Continental Congress laid out the first federal attempt at education in 1785, when it set aside land in the NorthWest territory for schools; these "land grants" became the basis of many modern state universities. Pennsylvania in 1790 will establish the first public education system, though it will only provide education for poor children, rich children being expected to buy their own education. A private society of wealthy individuals in New York will establish public schools there in 1805, though the ratio of students to teachers will be in the hundreds to one given private funding. The State of New York would not become interested in providing public education until much later (even though NYC was already the largest city in the nation). Boston will next establish a public education system, though ironically, this system will be opposed by the poor, who do not want to pay the taxes to support it. Massachusetts in 1851 would be the first state to make public school compulsory. Public school systems would spread around the nation from the 1820s-1910s until, in 1918, Mississippi became the last state to provide free, compulsory public education. The United States federal government finally concluded in 1930 that 100% of children had attended school.  |
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Post by surratt on Jun 15, 2014 22:30:44 GMT -5
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Post by terrus on Jun 26, 2014 22:07:33 GMT -5
We've had our first character die in-game, so it seems as good a time as any to talk about life expectancy.
Most people think that the average 18th century American only lived through his/her forties, and that the average 14th/15th century European only live through his/her twenties/thirties. But in reality, many common citizens lived to old age in these periods, and an adult was not truly expected to die until s/he reached his/her 50s or 60s. The average lifespan stood in the 20s or 30s, though, because of the excessively high infant mortality rate. If you made it to adulthood, you had a really good chance of making it to old age. The challenge was making it through infancy.
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Post by surratt on Jun 26, 2014 22:46:15 GMT -5
brush your teeth and wipe your...face.
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Post by terrus on Jun 29, 2014 21:18:22 GMT -5
A number of players have suggested the national capital should be established on the Maryland/Virginia border (like in real life). So I felt it prudent to discuss the federal capital.
The Constitution directed Congress to establish a federal district to contain the federal capital, a response to the Pennsylvania Mutiny that drove Congress from Philadelphia to New York City. The framers felt that the federal government needed to be able to protect itself from the public, or from a state's rebellion, and could only do so if it had its own district. The concept made sense at the time.
Every state naturally wanted the capital within its borders, given the economic activity and prestige associated with hosting the capital (even if it legally was a separate entity). Over time, Pennsylvania made deals with the Northern states, getting support for a location at Columbia, Pennsylvania. Over time, MD/VA made deals with the Southern states, getting support for the RL location of the capital. But the North and South strongly opposed one another's locations.
The North and South finally reached a deal when the South agreed to approve the assumption act, in return for which the North agreed to the MD/VA capital. But this deal only came after lengthy, intense political bargaining. Prior to that point, nobody supported a capital outside his/her own state, and indeed doing so represented political suicide as it meant supporting another state's prospects over one's own.
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