The United States has existed for more than 200 years and has significantly impacted the world’s history. Photographic technology was introduced to the world in the early 1800s, signaling the start of a completely new era. Before then, photographs were unheard of; the early 1800s was the first time in history that records images of ordinary life and nature were kept. These iconic images, which span from 1820 to 1860, show what life was like in each state at the start of the 19th century.

Indiana – Confederate Prisoners In Indiana
This photograph was taken during the Civil War. Camp Morton was used as a military training camp before the start of the war. The primary Union fighters showed up at the camp in 1861, presumably a few years before when the oldest photograph is believed to have been taken.

After, it became a camp for prisoners, with large numbers of Confederate soldiers detained there for lengthy periods throughout the war. In 1865, Cutter captured a group of dissident confederate prisoners before they were set free.