President: Franklin Pierce until March 4th; James Buchanan thereafter
VP: vacant until March 4th, John Breckinridge thereafter
Date, Event
Jan 9th 7.9 magnitude earthquake (Fort Tejon earthquake) hits Parkfield, CA
Feb 21st The Act of February 21st, 1857 authorized the issuance of the Flying Eagle Cent
Mar 4th James Buchanan succeeds Franklin Pierce as President
Mar 6th Supreme Court rules in the Dred Scott decision that Blacks are not citizens and property cannot sue for freedom
Mar 23rd The first Otis elevator is installed
Aug 24th Ohio Life Insurance & Trust Company fails due to fraudulent management activity
Sep 11th Mountain Meadows Massacre occurs in Utah where Mormons hired Paiute Indians to murder 120 westward bound emigrants
Sep 12th The S.S. Central America sinks off of North Carolina killing 425 passengers & sinking 30,000 pounds of gold, contributing to the Panic of 1857
Sep 28th Most Pennsylvania banks stop paying out in specie (coin)
September Railroad stock prices decline due to the economic downturn in the west; Railroad lines shut down; Banks pressured by failing merchants and uncollected credit
September Panic of 1857 begins
Oct 13th New York banks close & do not reopen until December 12th
Other
Bleeding Kansas continues (1854-1860)
Utah War between Mormon settlers in Utah & the U.S. government
Last piece of track is laid connecting St. Louis to New York by rail
Since 1853, the United States has acquired 157 million acres of land from 52 treaties with Indian tribes
Several thousand companies go bankrupt
Seances & mysticism becomes popular
George Pullman invents the Pullman Sleeping Car for train travel
Births
Sep 13th Milton S. Hershey (Businessman)
Sep 15th William Howard Taft (27th President/Supreme Court Justice)
