Abstract
After the Civil War the United States enjoyed some decades of peace, industrial growth and relative prosperity. Though still primarily an agrarian nation, availability of jobs in the new industries was drawing people to urban areas. America had a growing middle class with more free time to take an interest in world events. The transit of Venus of 1874 was the first such transit to occur after the creation of this growing nation.
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Cottam, S., Orchiston, W. (2015). Popular Astronomy and the Transits of Venus of 1874 and 1882. In: Eclipses, Transits, and Comets of the Nineteenth Century. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 406. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08341-4_5
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