On History & Timeline 1700-1900, 4: What makes the Timeline unique
On History & Timeline 1700-1900, 4: What makes the Timeline unique
How Timeline 1700-1900 is different from other timelines.
In the earlier posts in this series, we looked at why history matters, why the best way to study it is as a series of ideas rather than a random sequence of events, and why Timeline 1700-1900 is organized by decades.
In this post: what makes the Timeline unique?
1. Categories
Unlike most timelines, this one includes a broad range of categories.
Major Events and Trends. For each decade, I give a bird’s-eye view of what’s going on, including types of government, the state of the economy, the direction of scientific theories and discoveries, and major shifts in public opinion. For the arts, this section includes new genres, subjects, and styles.
Politics Worldwide. Wars (hot and cold), rulers, the rise of major political movements, exploration and colonization, and much more. Entries in the Worldwide category are chosen on the grounds that sooner or later, they significantly affect the United States.
Presidents of the United States. For each, there’s a brief bio, a look at the issues facing him and his achievements, plus a quote that reveals at least some of his priorities.
US Politics & Culture. Includes major legislation and Supreme Court decisions, the creation of cabinet departments, constitutional amendments, the movement of the frontier, etc.
Economics. Includes major theoretical works (Mandeville, Malthus, Marx, Mill and more), plus notes on employer / employee relations, panics and recessions, tariffs, etc.
Science & Technology. Divided into Math & Physics, Earth & Space, Animals & Plants, and Technology. Not all of these appear in every decade.
Philosophy & Religion. Broad views on reality, the nature of man, free will, politics, faith, and so on, by authors ranging from Locke and Cotton Mather through Kant, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche.
Education. Theories on who, how, and what to teach, from Diderot and Rousseau to Wollstonecraft and Dewey.
Nonfiction. Includes massively influential works that don't fit tidily into any other category, for example: Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France, Frederick Douglass's autobiography, and Mahan's Influence of Sea Power Upon History.
Esthetics. Theoretical works on the arts, from Winckelmann and Burke to Kant and Ruskin.
Architecture. Milestones from the Baroque Abbey of Melk to Sullivan's Carson Pirie Scott.
Painting. Major works from Watteau and Canaletto to Monet and Winslow Homer.
Sculpture. Major works from the Trevi Fountain to Frederic Remington.
Fiction. Novels and short stories ranging from Defoe's Robinson Crusoe through Austen's Sense and Sensibility and on to Dreiser's Sister Carrie.
Poetry. Works by Alexander Pope, William Blake, Rudyard Kipling, and many more.
Drama. Major works by Congreve, Schiller, Goethe, Hugo, Ibsen, and more.
Opera. Works by Handel, Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, and more.
Music. Orchestral works ranging from Handel and Vivaldi through Beethoven, and on to Debussy and Elgar.
2. Cross-references
The second unique feature of the Timeline is a multitude of cross-references between categories and decades—a reminder that no entry occurs in a vacuum. For example:
The entry for Delacroix’s famous painting Liberty Leading the People includes a cross-reference to France’s July Revolution {7/26/1830 World}.
The entry on Jacksonian Democracy {1825ish US} includes cross-references to the Democratic-Republican party {1789 POTUS}, J.Q. Adams {1825 POTUS}, Manifest Destiny {1845 US}, and the Whig party {1834 US}.
3. Illustrations and excerpts
The third feature that makes the Timeline unique is a selection of illustrations and excerpts that help bring the spirit of that decade vividly to life. The excerpts are from both fiction and nonfiction works. The illustrations include not only artworks, but major scientific and technological achievements.
In the next post: suggestions for how to use Timeline 1700-1900.