Prior to Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860, the southern states had already threatened to secede. The southern states were not ready for a Republican president especially one who raised serious questions about slavery. Lincoln was against the spread of slavery, and he made his position public. After the elections, and by the time he was giving his inauguration speech in 1861, seven southern states lived up to their threats and seceded. The seven southern states officially instituted the Confederate States of America and elected Jefferson Davis as their president. The move was considered illegal by the official United States government and led to the onset of the American Civil War in April 1861. After the start of the Civil War, four more southern states declared secession and joined the Confederacy. The war raged on until Confederate forces surrendered and the Confederate government was disbanded.
Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
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