" HAD YOU LIVED THEN ... AMERICA AROUND 1800 " EDUCATIONAL FILM ABOUT 19th CENTURY USA 43924

had you lived around 1800 when Thomas Jefferson was president you might have lived in one of the large cities the largest was Philadelphia with a population of about 41,000 or like ninety percent of all Americans you might have lived on a farm or in a small community near a farm had you lived in the city depending on your income you might have lived here or here in the country you might have lived in one of these houses the Wilson family lived in this six room home are joining a farm upstairs were three bedrooms in each besides the bed there were also a few chairs a dresser and a war stand tuck snugly into the base of the parents bed was a trundle in which a small child could sleep the room was pleasant and comfortable but in winter it could become bitter cold so the Wilson slept with night caps on under plenty of warm covers and in long woolen nightshirts mornings in the Wilson house started here at the washstand in some other pitcher was always filled but in winter water left overnight would freeze so the two Wilson boys took turns bringing a hot supply from the kitchen fireplace mrs. Wilson made the soap for her family's cleaning and washing it wasn't too difficult but it did take time first ashes from the fireplace were put into a tub out in the backyard over these rain water was poured this drip slowly through the barrel until it became live water and then drained out through a hole at the bottom of the tub the liquid was boiled together with waste cooking grease and cooled the result was soap as fine as you could buy and much cheaper you couldn't wash thoroughly in the small bedroom basins so every Saturday night down in the kitchen next to the cozy fireplace each member of the Wilson family had a bath an overall scrubbing for the week the Wilsons always kept their fire going down here day and night all year round a fire wasn't easy to start from a tinderbox they had to take a Flintstone and hit it hard with a piece of steel until it sparked when this happened they had a piece of flax ready to ignite with this they would light a few small sticks of wood well it took a long time to get a spark so once the fire was lit the Wilsons kept it going at night since they didn't want an unwatched fire to burn while they slept they covered it very carefully with ashes before going to bed beneath the ashes the fire burned safely and in the morning they removed the ashes put on kindling wood and fanned the air with the bellows until the flames sprung up again had you lived in the time of the Wilsons you'd know how important a fire was to daily life to cook meals to heat water or just to keep the house warm and aired when mrs. Wilson wanted to light a candle Oh mr. Wilson wanted light his pipe they caught the flame here with a spill a spill was a stick of tightly rolled paper most often newspaper paper was expensive in those days so the flame was snuffed out right away and the spill saved for later at the fireplace mrs. wilson also toasted bread her toaster could be turned to brown the slices evenly on both sides she baked her bread and her pies in the oven next to the fireplace this was usually a weekly chore for it took at least two hours to bring the oven to baking temperature above the fireplace she dried vegetables for cooking and herbs for making medicines and spices the family ate their meals at the table in the kitchen this was the only room that was always warm in the winter and being near the fireplace meant that mrs. Wilson didn't have to carry anything very far for everything in the house was heavy the firewood the pots the pans the teakettle the poking iron and the big buckets of water which had to be brought in from the well outside with husband's at work and children at school this was the woman's job women's chores were many in these times mrs. Wilson had to make her own butter first she put fresh cream into a wooden container and then churn and churn and churn but then mr. Wilson bought a new kind of churner which hung from a rocker who ever walked by gave it a sharp kick that kept the rocker going and the cream churning except in the large cities most Americans of mr. Wilson's time were farmers but many even while running a farm also had a business or profession some were lawyers doctors and bankers Fred Wilson owned the general store early morning he would tend to his farm then on the way to the store at an easy pace of four miles an hour he would switch from thinking like a farmer to thinking like a merchant fred wilson sold everything in his store that the people of his community could want dry goods household articles china harness equipment tobacco because hard cash was rare with farmers many customers preferred bartering to buy him they bring in homemade fabrics and candles or farm products and trade them for merchandise in the store or exchange them for something that another farmer might have left for barter like this homemade apple peeler the apple was placed on these nails the knife mounted on a handle to peel an apple you simply turn the wheel this type of flat iron was relatively new then it had a compartment to hold a piece of iron which had been hung over the fire until it was red-hot by hanging several of these fillers over the fire and replacing them in the compartment as often as needed women did not have to stop and reheat the whole flat iron hitching weights like this one permitted drivers to secure their horses where there were no hitching rails or posts the driver would carry the weight with him put it on the ground at his destination and attach it with a strap to the bit in the horse's mouth the weight alone couldn't stop the horse but the strap pulling on the bit like a rain would keep him from running away this weight was made by the local blacksmith an important person in the community he made most of the iron articles used in the houses and on the farms of course what kept him busiest was making horseshoes his shop was a gathering place for all the young boys many of them wanted to be blacksmiths for this was a job for strength and muscle but first the Smith would always tell them go to school everyone should learn how to read and write the Smith was sorry he never did but when he was a boy there were only few schools since the war since the country had become independent there were schools everywhere the new schools were bright and cheerful all the children of the community regardless of age or grade were taught in the one-room schoolhouse then Wilson light school there he learned writing on slates on a slate it was easy to wipe off a mistake then he learned reading from books first from alphabet books then from books on manners on morals on history true historical stories were the most popular with the children then Wilson's favorite was about Sir Walter Raleigh the first person in Europe to try smoking not a very healthy thing to do when Raleigh servants saw his master smoking for the first time he thought he was on fire and threw a bucket of water on him that taught history and tomorrow Ben's owner sister Beth went away to a boarding school in Boston this meant traveling which Beth enjoyed although traveling was not easy in those days the stagecoaches were small three narrow benches held nine cramped passengers long trips were especially uncomfortable also most coaches started early in the morning very early sometimes at five or even at three or two o'clock and you didn't dare be late because if you were the coach left without you there were no alarm clocks to rely on so her family had to take turns staying up all night so that that would be awake in time and when she got into the coach before dawn it was so dark that she could barely see who was sitting next to her in those days roads were muddy in full of ruts and holes the coach often came dangerously close to tumbling over the driver would call out ladies and gentlemen to the left please and then now to the right you can be sure that everyone quickly followed orders on most trips passengers spent one or more nights in roadside taverns deaths trip from New York to Boston took 46 hours with two nights for eating and resting at the ends whenever coach arrived at a tavern the place was filled with waiting townspeople eager to chat with the travelers and get the news of the day the men ate in the tavern bar here the fire always burned even in hottest summer so that the gentleman could light their pipes ladies were not permitted where men drank they ate in another room their own little gossipCenter not all traveling in those days was done on roads you could cross a river by ferry or travel on a steamboat steamboats were new then and just beginning to open up America's great rivers to a lively passenger and freight traffic there were corn husking zat harvest time and barn dances and festive holidays but mostly they pass their evenings quietly in their little sitting room near the kitchen here mr. Wilson would read his newspaper which the mail coach brought twice a week or he would go over the household accounting book which was seldom out of his reach the rest of the family would sit around the table knitting reading doing homework making a dress for a doll are playing a game of checkers with slices of core Cobb's two or three times a year when there was something special to celebrate the Wilsons would invite friends to dinner mrs. Wilson would cook an elaborate meal and open up the parlor the family didn't ration candles then for the parlor was a beautiful room and they were proud of it in it was a piano for their youngest daughter who loved music there were only a few pieces she knew how to play and her playing was not always perfect but it was like the mood of the time nothing was perfect yet but had you lived then you would have seen the growth and the exciting changes around you people were working to develop the comforts of everyday living that had just become available to a young nation

Channel: PeriscopeFilm

Views: 25,193

Rating: 4.895082 out of 5

Keywords: Periscope Film, Stock Footage

Id: Im5ViTzqXtE

Length: 15min 39sec (939 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 17 2020