Discovery of Antarctica
Charts a long stretch of Antarctic coastline later associated with Wilkes Land, strengthening the case for Antarctica as a continent
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1840 in United States of America
Explore 9 historical events and records for United States of America in 1840.
Historical records for United States of America in 1840
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 9 of 9 unique records.
9Unique records
1 of 1Page
9Named events on this page
4Named people on this page
4Places on this page
January
Other events (month unknown)
Federal Disbursements Receive New Procedures
Administration of the Independent Treasury required more direct government control over how federal payments were made.
Federal Money Removed From Bank Custody
The new law sought to end reliance on selected commercial banks for safeguarding federal deposits.
Hyde Travels On Overseas Mission
Orson Hyde undertook a mission that eventually included travel to Jerusalem as the church's international activity developed.
Independent Treasury Legislation Enacted
Congress enacted the first Independent Treasury Act in July 1840 under President Martin Van Buren.
Public Funds Segregated From Bank Credit
The reform aimed to prevent federal money from being used as the basis for lending by private deposit banks.
Public Receivers Become Federal Depositaries
The subtreasury scheme assigned custodial duties to designated public officers who handled federal revenue.
Treasury Independence Becomes Election Issue
The subtreasury scheme became an important political dividing line in the presidential election campaign of 1840.
Woodbury Administers New Treasury Framework
The Treasury Department began implementing arrangements to receive and hold federal revenues through government custodians.
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.