Emancipation reform of 1861 Emancipation reform of 1861 The Emancipation Reform of 1861 in Russia ( - "peasants' reform of 1861") was the first and most important of liberal reforms passed during the reign (1855-1881) of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. The reform effectively abolished serfdom throughout the Russian Empire. The 1861 Emancipation Manifesto proclaimed the emancipation of the serfs on private estates and of the domestic (household) serfs. By this edict more than 23 million people received their liberty. Serfs gained the full rights of free citizens, including rights to marry without having to gain consent, to own property and to own a
What It Was, Was Football film. What It Was, Was Football Mason “What It Was, Was Football” is a monologue by actor-comedian Andy Griffith. The monologue is a description of a college football game, as seen by a naive country preacher who attends the game by accident and is entirely puzzled by it. At Griffith's request, Milton Alderfer (who was only 19 at the time), recorded and produced the original master tape in Greensboro, North Carolina. The master was then sent to Chapel Hill, North Carolina and mass-produced by the Colonial Records label in late 1953. Soon, after Colonial had sold nearly 50,000 copies of