This Overview is a brief look at the time and the influence of Cycles. Significant events from each decade are noted along with the position of the Cycles to show how history is moving in Rhythm. Enjoy the walk through history.

See the go to Timelines here link near the top for a detailed look at Cycles for this century.

See the Matrix links above left for navigating through all Overviews and Timelines by Time, Subject, or Cycle as described in Introduction to Part II.

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top 1800-1810: The Jeffersonian Revolution brought major reforms to government as the century began with an Emo-Intellectual Dbl. 3rd Qtr. of Review & Reform. This produced Repeal of Taxes, establishment of Judicial Review, and Impeachment of Members of the Judiciary by both the House and the Senate. Our first period of reform ended as Cycles changed to an Emo-Intellectual Dbl. 4th Qtr. of Alternatives and a search for the new. A Physical Upward Crossove in 1803 ended a Three-Way Low. We Waged War with Tripoli and won. In the subsequent Physical High the Lewis and Clark Expedition and journeys by other historic explorers headed to new ground. The Louisiana Purchase then expanded American territory by 140%. Congress also formatted the military and we had a rise in industry. America advanced.

top 1810-1820: The Era of Good Feelings is how the Columbian Sentinel in Boston named the Monroe presidency and the Emotional High that rose throughout the decade. In breaking out of the Low, we had an Emotional Upward Crossover in 1811-1812. "War Hawks" in Congress pushed for war, we were near a Physical Peak and we had the War of 1812. The Physo-Emotional High ended with the beginning of a <Physical 3rd Qtr. of Review in 1817. Styles of furniture and architecture soon turned back to Greek Revivalism. An Intellectual 4th Qtr. of Experimentation brought the "New England Renaissance" of transcendentalism in literature. This ended with an Intellectual Upward Crossover in 1819 and the economic "Panic of 1819." Change continued.

top 1820-1830: From Nationalism to Democracy we changed a nation. During a Physical 4th Qtr. of Alternatives the Federalists Were Ousted from power on the national level in the 1824 Congressional elections. The Democratic Party Formed out of the former Democratic-Republican Party in the Intellectual 1st Qtr. of Precedents and they sent Andrew Jackson to serve as the first Democrat president. The Intellectual High brought us "Technology," first coined as a term in 1829, and scientific advances like the acoustic telegraph and electromagnet. An Emotional High in the 1820s brought to a festive mood reflected in Mardi Gras celebrations that began in 1827. A Rise in Arts, Literature and Education lasted throughout the 1820s as did an Emo-Intellectual High. This mood would change.

top 1830s: Age of Reform: (The Early Years)is what historians call the period from 1830 to 1850, with little wonder. A string of 3rd Qtrs. ran from 1829 to 1852 during which all three Cycles went through their 3rd Qtrs. of Review and Reform. An Emotional 3rd Qtr. gave us the Underground Railroad that helped slaves to freedom with kindred spirits in the newly formed American Anti-Slavery Society. "The Liberator" newspaper also formed in the Quarter and the Liberty Party held a national platform opposing slavery. A Physical High and 1st Qtr. of Precedents & Foundation advanced as both the General Trades Union and the National Trades Union Formed. McCormick invented the Reaper and Balloon Frames Houses set a 150-year Standard for Construction. In the Physical 2nd Qtr. of Improvement and Improvements Baseball was invented as a variation of the English game of Rounders. An Intellectual 2nd Qtr. of Improvements brought us Electromagnetic Induction and Electromotive Force, Samuel Morse developed the Telegraph from Joseph Henry's electromagnet. Soon the Physical and Intellectual Cycles would begin their 3rd Qtrs.

top 1840s: Age of Reform: (The Latter Years) remained as the string of 3rd Qtrs. yielded a Physo-Intellectual Dbl. 3rd. Qtr. of Review & Reform for part of the decade. The Abolition Movement continued and the Free Soil Party Formed to oppose Slavery. Before the Dbl. 3rd Qtr. ended in 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" would appear with profound impact. Other reforms like Herman Mellville's "White Jacket" Revealed Inhumane Conditions on sailors in 1850. Congress Abolished Flogging in the Navy that same year and Michigan became the first state that Abolished Capital Punishment (1846). Reform continued and Dorothea Dix initiated profound humanitarian reforms on Insane Asylums. We had a Physical High in the first half of the decade and a 2nd Qtr. of Improvement and Improvement and Iron Replaced Wooden Railroad Tracks and the First Great Clipper Ship advanced shipping. As the Cycle changed we had a Physical Crossover in 1845 and President Polk sent troops toward the Mexican border to prepare for war, which they did. The Mexican War followed. We also had Anti-Rent Wars in New York during the Crossover. An Emotional 4th Qtr. of Alternatives & Experimentation formed and Transcendentalists Emerged in philosophy, literature and communities. Henry David Thoreau conducted his Walden Experiment and a Utopian Community began near Harvard Massachusetts. When the Cycle rose to an Emotional 1st Qtr. of Foundation & Precedents, the Modern Feminist Movement Began essentially began with the Women's Rights Convention in Seneca, New York. The Emotional High also added fever to the California Gold Rush of 1849. Cycles continued.

top 1850s: A House Dividing threatened the standing of the United States. America was in an Emotional High and Physo-Intellectual Low and the issue was slavery. An Emotional High added righteous fury against the immorality. Many northerners and some Southerners opposed the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of in 1854 that split the issue of slavery to accept it in some areas. The Republican Party Formed in 1854 in the Emotional 1st Qtr. of Foundation, Precedents & Unification to oppose slavery. They out lived other parties formed at this time that were not base on unity, (like the American Nativist or Know-Nothing Party and the Young American Party). Cycles were in conflict, however. It was during a Physical 4th Qtr. of Alternatives that the State Disunion Convention in 1857 preceded the split between the Confederacy and the Union. In the Physo-Intellectual Low ruin came to thousands of businesses in the Panic of 1857 and 1858. Recovery was difficult as a Dbl. 4th Qtr. brings an element of entropy. A rise brought the Physical Upward Crossover of 1859. Radical abolitionist John Brown led a Raid on Harper's Ferry (now West Virginia) to seize a federal arsenal. Many consider this attack to be the beginning of the Civil War.

top 1860s: Civil War began while we had a Physo-Emotional High and Intellectual Low. Opposing parties were impassioned for a fight and we were not likely to legislate a solution. A Physical 1st Qtr. of Precedents lasted through the war and developments in warfare showed up like the First Battle Between Ironclad Ships, (the Monitor and the Merrimack, in 1862). We had an Intellectual Upward Crossover into a 1st Qtr. during an Emotional High and President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 to strengthen abolition with moral precedent. He also gave the Gettysburg Address which stands as a landmark of historic orations. An Emotional Downward Crossover followed in 1865 and we had a crisis. Lincoln was assassinated by and angry soul disgruntled over losing the war. After the war a Physical High that led to a massive Reconstruction Period in the South. A Physical High and Emotional Low existed in the latter part of the decade and Carpetbaggers entered the South opportunistic interests and little regard.

top 1870s: Reconstruction ended in 1877 during a Physical Low. General Custer's Last Stand also came in the Low and he lost the Battle at Little Big Horn. Physical 3rd Qtr. of Review & Reform came on the heels of a pre-existing Emotional 3rd Qtr. and we had significant reforms. The Credit Mobilier Scandal implicated high government officials in 1873. "Boss Tweed" Was Convicted for scheming New York out of more than $30 million. Secretary of War Belknap Resigned to avoid impeachment for bribery in 1876. The Whiskey Ring Scandal led to 110 convictions for Liquor Tax Evasion. Meanwhile, an Intellectual High brought advancements to science. Albert Edison Perfected the Light Bulb in 1876 and the Age of Electricity began. The "Edison Effect" in 1883 became the basis of electronics. During the Intellectual 2nd Qtr. of Improvement & Improvement, inventions took new form. Bell Invented the Telephone in 1876 and the telegraph became obsolescent. Ericson designed the Solar Powered Electric Motor. The fugue went on.

top 1880s: Changing Energies brought changing times. Every Cycle Crossed Over in one direction or the other in the 1880s. The decade began with a Physical Low and Congress Forbid Fencing by Cattle and Railroad Companies. A Physical 4th Qtr. of Alternatives Progressivism ∓ Experimentation, the Progressive Movement formed in industry and a group of liberal Republicans known as "Mugwumps" Searched for an Alternative Political Machine. During the Physical Upward Crossover fishing disputes with Canada brought some talk of war. A Physical High followed and Business saw a Railroad and Construction Peak in the latter 1880s. With a Physical 1st Qtr. of Foundation & Precedents, the Scottish game of Golf Organized in the US (1888), the First all American Football team formed (1889), Basketball was Invented (1891) and the First US Hockey League Formed (1892). Another rise produced the Emotional Upward Crossover of 1883-84. Severe riots in Cincinnati turned the city into chaos over issues of injustice. Police and state militia were called but could not contain armed and dangerous rioters for six days. Afterwards, in an Emotional High, advancements for women reflected in publications like "Ladies Home Journal" and "Cosmopolitan" that both began in the 1st Qtr. The Intellectual Cycle ended a High with an Intellectual Downward Crossover of 1885-86. The Knights of Labor Launched a Strike against the Railroads and more than 9,000 strikers blocked off about 5,000 miles of track. This came a year when more than 600,000 strikers went out across the nation and damage exceeded $33 1/2 million dollars. An Intellectual 3rd Qtr. of Review & Reform followed and the First Anti-Trust Laws appeared in a dozen states (1889 -1891). Congress Passes the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890). The decade began with a Physo-Emotional Low and Intellectual High, then ended with a Physo-Emotional High and Intellectual Low.

top 1890s: The Gay Nineties are remembered as a jubilant time of more open courtship, handlebar mustaches, striped beachwear and bicycles built for two. It was a Physo-Emotional High. In a Physical 1st Qtr. of Precedents, the First Gasoline Powered Automobiles appeared and the First Marathon Race ran from Hopkinton, Massachusetts to Boston. In the following 2nd Qtr. of Improvements; Trains Became Subways, Gliders Turned to Steam Powered Flight, and Submarines Became Gasoline Powered. While in a Physical High we waged and Won the Spanish American War against Cuba in 1898. An Emotional High brought advancements to women as the American and National Suffrage Groups Merged, then Colorado Adopted Women's Suffrage by popular vote and Idaho Adopted Women's Suffrage as an amendment to its constitution. We also had an Intellectual Low, however, and a decline in industry and the Depression of 1893 to 1897 when we hit an Intellectual Trough and gold reserves fell below $90 million. The Cycle turned and rose through the 4th Qtr. of Alternatives Progressivism & Experimentation and John Dewey began the Progressive Education Movement. As a Low Intellectual Cycle rose and the High Physical & Emotional Cycles declined, we entered the twentieth century.