1846

Charles Loring Brace

• 1846 — Brace graduates from Yale and enters Union Theological Seminary in New York City, beginning theological studies.

Irish Potato Famine

1846 — Crisis deepens; policy shift and political turnover

• Early 1846: Continued reliance on a mix of limited state intervention and market assumptions; relief expands but remains constrained.
  • Source: Britannica (Joel Mokyr), Great Famine relief efforts. https://www.britannica.com/event/Great-Famine-Irish-history/Great-Famine-relief-efforts
  • Quote (locator: Britannica — “Great Famine relief efforts”, paragraph 1): “The British government’s efforts to relieve the famine were inadequate.”

Jun 1846: Corn Laws repeal passes (tariff liberalization framed as making food cheaper).

Source: UK Parliament overview. https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/parliamentandireland/overview/the-great-famine/

Quote (locator: UK Parliament — “Corn Law repeal moves” section): “In 1846 Peel moved to repeal the Corn Laws...”

Jun–Jul 1846: Peel falls; Lord John Russell forms a new government; administrative approach hardens around laissez-faire principles and limiting “dependency.”

Source: UK Parliament overview. https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/parliamentandireland/overview/the-great-famine/

Quote (locator: UK Parliament — “Corn Law repeal moves” section): “...Peel... resigned as Prime Minister...”

Late 1846: Public works expand sharply as the primary relief instrument (wage labor on roads and other projects).

Source: UK Parliament overview. https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/parliamentandireland/overview/the-great-famine/

Quote (locator: UK Parliament — “Ineffective” section): “Public works projects achieved little...”

Quote (locator: UK Parliament — “Ineffective” section): “A new government led by Lord John Russell did not handle the famine effectively.”

Great Famine Relief Efforts

• June 1846 — The Corn Laws were repealed, a victory for free trade but one that cost Peel the support of his own Tory party. Both Peel and his successor Russell refused all appeals to embargo food exports from Ireland.
  • Source: Peter Gray, "A Policy Disaster: British Famine Relief Measures," RTÉ History (2020).
  • Quote: "As free traders, both Peel and his successor Russell refused appeals to embargo food exports from Ireland, which were large in 1845 but smaller (if still significant) after the 1846 and subsequent harvests."
• July 1846 — Peel's Tory government fell; Lord John Russell's Whig administration took power. Charles Trevelyan, senior administrator at the Treasury, was given a much freer hand in rewriting relief policy.
  • Source: Peter Gray, "A Policy Disaster," RTÉ History (2020).
  • Quote: "Charles Trevelyan, the senior administrator at the Treasury carried over from Peel's administration, was now given a much freer hand in rewriting policy."
• Summer 1846 — A second, far more devastating potato failurestruck Ireland. The blight destroyed the crop nearly entirely, creating a crisis orders of magnitude worse than 1845.
  • Source: UK Parliament, "The Great Famine," http://parliament.uk/living-heritage.
  • Quote: "A new government led by Lord John Russell did not handle the famine effectively."
• August 1846 — The Labour Rate Actwas passed, continuing public works but on deliberately harsher terms: projects had to be of "no economic value" to landlords; wages were paid by piece rates pegged below private levels. The Relief Commission was dissolved, giving the Treasury direct control.
  • Source: Peter Gray, "A Policy Disaster," RTÉ History (2020).
  • Quote: "Projects were now to be of no economic value to landowners and wages were pegged below private levels and paid by 'piece rates', intended to stimulate work discipline but condemning the weak and elderly to hunger."

Lord John Russell

• 1846, 30 June — Became Prime Minister following the fall of Sir Robert Peel's government over Corn Law repeal. Russell formed a Whig ministry without a parliamentary majority
  • Source: Museum of the Prime Minister, "John Russell, 1st Earl Russell" — https://www.museumofpm.org/prime-ministers/lord-john-russell/
  • Quote: "As Prime Minister over 1846–52, he led a moderately reforming government, despite the lack of a Parliamentary majority." — Museum of the PM.

• 1846, Autumn — Second failure of the Irish potato crop. Russell's government replaced Peel's direct food-provision policy with public works schemes and limited food depots, placing financial responsibility on Irish ratepayers
  • Source: UK Parliament, "The Great Famine" — https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/parliamentandireland/overview/the-great-famine
  • Quote: "A new government led by Lord John Russell did not handle the famine effectively. Public works projects achieved little, while Sir Charles Trevelyan, who was in charge of the relief effort, limited government aid on the basis of laissez-faire principles." — UK Parliament.

Charles Hooper Trask; Abigail Hooper Trask; Richard Trask, Capt.

• 1846 — Captain Richard Trask dies from cholera, one year after retiring from the sea. All ships in Boston Harbor fly flags at half-mast in his honor. Charles would have been approximately 21 years old.
  • Source: The Manchester Cricket, "Abigail Trask: Manchester's Bosslady" (March 25, 2021)
  • Quote: "He was Manchester's most notable and wealthy citizen. All ships in Boston Harbor flew flags at half-mast in his honor."