Joshua larwence chamberlin
Joshua larwence chamberlinMy name is Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain; I am going to tell you a brief history on what the United States was like before I was born. In 1788 the United States became an independent nation. It was made up of thirteen states and owned several territories on the western side of the Mississippi River. The countries population was about four million people that lived mainly in the eastern states. In 1787 the country expanded its boundaries and accepted a new territory to the original 13 colonies. The new territory was called the “Northwest Territory.” The Northwest Territory was in equal basis to the laws and rights of the eastern states. The government formed states out of the territories west of the original 13. Ten new states formed between 1791 and 1820. Through the years the government also purchased many states form other countries, such as Florida (from Spain), and the Louisiana Purchase (from France), which almost doubled the United States in size.
The United States was forming different sections during the early 1800s. In the Northeast big cities and industry thrived, and the South consisted of large farms. These different sections had different views. Slavery was the biggest issue that the north and south disagreed on. People in the south said that they needed slaves for help with harvesting crops. But people in the north wanted slavery to be abolished.
I was born September 8, 1828, in Brewer, Maine. Maine is the northern most state on the Atlantic coast of the continental United States. I grew up on a 100-acre farm, the oldest of five children. I had three brothers: Horace, John, and Thomas and one sister Sarah. My mother, Sarah Dupee Brastow Chamberlain, was a woman of great wit, a gentle but firm hand, and strong Christian faith. My father, Joshua Jr., was a strict but generous man, who taught his children to think for themselves, but who never let his children forget who was boss. As a boy I briefly attended Whiting's Military and Classical School, my father intended to fit me for West Point. But my mother wanted me to study for the ministry. I didn't care to do either, but I especially didn't care to go into the army in peacetime. I eventually conceded to my mother's wishes, but only if I could serve as a missionary overseas. In 1846, I decided to attend Bowdoin College in Brunswick. My years as a Bowdoin student were filled with studies and other activities.
At First Parish Church, I first set eyes on the pretty, dark-haired Frances Caroline Adams known to friends and family as Fannie. She was the adopted daughter of First Parish Church's pastor, the Rev. George Adams; Fannie had been born and raised in Boston, but was sent at a very young age to live with her father's nephew and his wife. I fell head-over-heels in love with Fannie, a very well educated young woman herself, skilled in both music and art. She...
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