1850 Vice President Millard Fillmore succeeded President Taylor, who died in office
Compromise of 1850, including Fugitive Slave Law, passed
National women's convention held in Worcester, Massachusetts
Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter published
Emerson's Representative Men published
Harper's Monthly Magazine began publication
1851 Henry Rowe Schoolcraft's six-volume work on Native American history and culture began publication (completed 1857)
Melville's Moby-Dick published
Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables and The Snow-Image published
Fugitive slave Shadrach Minkins spent night in Concord en route to Canada via Underground Railroad
Fugitive slave Thomas Sims was returned to master in Georgia
1852 Democrat Franklin Pierce elected to presidency
Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin published
Hawthorne's Blithedale Romance published
1853 Crystal Palace Exhibition held in New York City
Feminist periodical Una began publication
1854 Thoreau's Walden published
North American Review began publication (later bought by Ticknor and Fields)
Thoreau delivered "Slavery in Massachusetts" address in response to fugitive slave case of Anthony Burns
1855 John Brown moved to Kansas
Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha published
Whitman's Leaves of Grass published
