CMmilHHI :molp C E A ^r 'VPPKiMai MHM COLONIAL COSTUMES A DIGNITARY IN THE I8TH CENT. AN OFFICER IN THE REVOLUTION K GENTLEMAN A GENTLEMAN ABOUT THE TIME ^ MERCHANT •' "^ THE REVOLUTION ^ GENTLEMAN ABOUT THE TIMF 0" THE REVOLUTION ^ COLONIAL GOVERNOR IN THE 18TM CEN THE HOUSEHOLD HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES AND ITS PEOPLE FOR TOUNG JMERICJNS BY EDWARD EGGLESTON COLONIAL COURT-HOUSE NEW YORK D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 1901 THE LIBRARY CONGRESS, Two CoH.ts Received lUN. 13 1901 COPVHIGNT ENTRY ^ASS <^XXc. No. COPY G. APPLETON AND 'COMPANY. PREFACE The present work is meant, in the first instance, for the young— not alone for boys and girls, but for young men and women who have yet to make themselves familiar with the more important features of their country's history. By a book for the young is meant one in which the author studies to make his statements clear and explicit, in which curious and picturesque details are inserted, and in which the writer does not neglect such anecdotes as lend the charm of a human and personal interest to the broader facts of the nation's story. That history is often tiresome to the young is not so much the fault of history as of a false method of writing by which one contrives to relate events without sympathy or imagina- tion, without narrative connection or animation. The attempt to master vague and general records of kiln-dried facts is certain to beget in the ordinary reader a repulsion from the study of history— one of the very most important of all studies for its widening influence on general culture. As the traits which render an historic narrative attractive to the young are likely to make it interesting to older people, I do not despair of finding readers beyond the special class for which this book is prepared. There are intelligent people, no longer young, may be, who will think none the worse of my book that it strives to make the causes and results of public events clear, and to trace with simplicity our present institutions from their springs downward, that it relates curious details of life and manners, and now and then turns aside to tell an incident illustrative of character, or dwells with a little momentary fondness on the exploits of a Benjamin Church, the heroism of a Nathaniel Bacon, and the adventures of a Daniel Boone. I know of no surer way of making life tedious to a reader than the method of considering the early history of the United States as the history of thirteen petty communities and their intestine squabbles. It is, of course, indispensable that one shall give an account of the origin of each of the thirteen colonies, but for the rest I have preferred to consider the country as a whole, and the people before and after the Revolution as essentially one, omitting particulars which are neither interest- ing nor instructive. Two classes of facts have especially claimed attention : First, those events, great or small, which have exerted an influence on the general current of our history or modified our institutions. These must be understood, in order to keep in mind that chain of causes and effects which makes history reasonable and intelligible. The second class includes those facts which make the individual traits of great men vivid to us, and, more important still, those which enable us to understand the character and modes of life of the body of the people in times different from our own. The old his- torians took note of nobody but princes, courtiers, and generals. But history, like everything else, has become more democratic PREFACE. y in these modern days, and the real hero of the historian's story to-day is the community itself. " We need a history of lire- sides," said Daniel Webster. It would be specially unfortunate if the writer on the history of a repubHc like ours should be so taken up with what Sir Walter Scott would call " the big bow-wow " of public events as to neglect the story of the evolution of a great people. As its title indicates, this is a " household edition." The school edition of the book has already appeared, and the instantaneous favor it has met with, not only as a text-book, but also as a book for general use, encouraged the preparation of the present edition. The omission of a hundred pages of questions and other machinery for teaching has enabled the writer to greatly enlarge the text by incorporating many interesting facts which could not be compressed into the limits of a school edition. To adapt the work to the pur- poses of the general reader, the text has been rearranged and in many parts rewritten. Of course, I am aware that ore of the very chief attrac- tions of the book is due to the liberality with which the publishers have availed themselves of so many of the resources of the modern art of illustration to enhance its value. The pictures represent the work of many of the best designers and engravers of our time. A very considerable body of knowl- edge regarding the history of civilization may be acquired from the illustrations of costume, armor, inventions, implements, sea and river craft, vehicles, and of manners generally. The drawings have been mostly made under the personal super- vision of the writer, and have required no less tliought and care than the text itself. Many of these designs are founded on rare prints, and others are from ancient original drawings not before engraved, while a few have been made from written descriptions of contemporary writers. Mr. John A. Fraser has had charge of the book on its artistic side, and the illustrations have been made under his direction. For assistance in pro- curing illustrations I am indebted to the kindness of several friends, and especially to Justin Winsor, LL. D., Librarian of Harvard University ; Major J. W. Powell, of the U. S. Geo- logical Survey ; and Prof. G. Brown Goode, of the Smithsonian Institution. Special acknowledgment is likewise due to the Century Company for favors in this matter. The main purpose in making so great a number of small maps has been to preserve the utmost simplicity. A crowded map is a ve.\ation to the brain and e3-e. In most cases a map for historical illustration should be a diagram of the fact under consideration, showing no names or details not necessary to the comprehension of that fact. Not only is the reader saved from much needless toil by this plan, but maps thus arranged serve the double purpose of elucidating the narrative and impressing it on the memory at the same time by giving it form to the eye. Each little map becomes a local diagram of some historical fact, and the form of the map will remain in the memory inseparably associated with the event to which it belongs — a geographical body to an historical soul. This smaller history by its earlier issue reaps a benefit from many laborious years of investigation for a larger work yet far from ready for publication, and some facts of consider- able importance first see the light in these pages. Statements in this narrative which seem novel and different from those hitherto accepted are based upon a personal study of original authorities, and in many cases are the result of an examination of ancient manuscripts in the British Public Record Office, the British Museum, the Library of Congress, and some other collections, public and private. It is impossible, however, to write a book covering the whole period of the history of the United States without incur- ring obligations to a great multitude of other writers and investigators. I owe much to the several writers in Mr. Winsor's " Narrative and Critical History of America," to Mr. Parkman's various works relating to the conflicts between the English and French colonies, and to Mr. Schouler's " History of the United States under the Constitution." I am also indebted to Mr. Bancroft, to Mr. Lossing, and to Mr. Mc- Master. Nor ought I to omit Ripley's '• Mexican War " or Dodge's " Bird's-Eye View of the Civil War." For the rest I must crave indulgence. It would be impossible to enu- merate here or even to recall all the writers on special subjects to whom I have referred. One word is due in regard to the treatment of recent events. Occurrences of our own time do not properly belong to his- tory, nor can a dispassionate and historical judgment be formed regarding the debates and conflicts in which living men have borne a part. I have, therefore, treated the period from about 1850 by a method different from that employed in giving an vni PREFACE. account of earlier times, contenting myself with a narrative of the events, and not venturing on premature judgments. We who were in some sense victims of the passions of the civil-war period are not the best judges of questions between the participants. Moreover, I have desired that this little book, which will be read largely by the young, may contribute to bring about that oneness of sentiment in which lies the onlj' hope for national union and prosperity. The true work of patriotism in this time is conciliation and the consolidation of our national life. Edward Eggleston. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE How Columbus discovered America i Illustrations : The ships of Columbus ; Head-piece ; Prow of ancient war-ship ; Sailor ; Columbus ; Ferdinand and Isabella ; Stem of ancient war-ship ; Map, World as known when CoUtnibtis sailed. CHAPTER n. Other Discoveries in" America 8 Illustrations: Americus; Cabot at Mecca; Henr)' VII; Indian needles for making nets ; Indian trap ; "A great man of that time " ; Caught in an Indian trap ; Map, Voyages of Columbus, Magellan, and Da Ga7na \ Magellan ; Spanish explorer. CHAPTER HI. Sir Walter Ralegh tries to settle a Colony in America . 14 Illustrations: Sir Walter Ralegh; Queen Elizabeth; Map, Roanoke Island; Sir Francis Drake ; Ralegh on fire ; Indian pipes. CHAPTER IV. How Jamestown was settled 20 Illustrations : James I ; A merchant of the V'irginia Company ; Present appear- ance of Jamestown ; The night-watch ; Captain John Smith ; Soldier with matchlock- gun ; Map, Jamestovjn and Roanoke Island. CHAPTER V. The Starving Time, and what followed 26 Illustr.\tions : Deliverance of Jamestown ; Lord De la Warr ; Pocahontas; Com- mon people in the seventeenth century. CHAPTER VI. The Gre.\t Charter of Virginia, and the First Massacre by THE Indians 32 Illustrations : English countryman ; countrywoman ; " Jack of the Feather " ; The warning. CHAPTER VII. The Coming of the Pilgrims 37 Illustrations : Ship ; Puritan man ; Puritan woman ; Pilgrim farewell at Delft Haven; Map, Plymouth and jfamestoivn ; Map, Vicinity o/ Plymouth ; "Welcome, Englishmen " ; Pilgrims going to church. X CONTEA'TS. CHAPTER VIII. PAGE The Coming of the Puritans 42 Illustrations : Oliver Cromwell ; Puritan gentleman ; Puritan lady ; John Win- throp ; John Davenport ; House of the first Governor of Rhode Island ; Merchant's wife, 1620 ; Map^ Early New England settletnents. CHAPTER IX. The Coming of the Dutch 47 Illustrations ; The Half-Moon in Hudson River ; Dutch country people, seven- teenth century ; Dutch women, seventeenth century ; Map^ Early Dutch and Swedish settlements ; Peter Stuyvesant ; Street in New Amsterdam ; New York in the Dutch period. CHAPTER X. The Settlement of Maryland and the Carolinas ... 52 Illustrations : First Lord Baltimore ; Charles I ; Second Lord Haltimore ; The landing in Maryland, 1634; Map^ Virginia and first Maryland settlement; Charles II ; Huguenot merchant and wife ; Map, Early Settlements in the Carolinas. CHAPTER XI. The Coming of the Quakers and others to the Jerseys and Pennsylvania 58 Illustrations : Scotch woman ; Scotch man ; William Penn ; Penn's house in Philadelphia ; Map, Settlements in the Jerseys and Pennsylvania ; Treaty-belt. CHAPTER XII. The Settlement of Georgia, and the Coming of the Germans, Irish, and French 63 Illustrations: General Oglethorpe; Map, Coast 0/ Georgia and Carolina; a Georgia road ; Highland piper ; German countryman ; German countrywoman ; Irish man ; Irish woman ; French countryman ; French countrywoman. CHAPTER XIII. How THE Indians lived 69 Illustrations : Indian mother and child ; Medicine-man, 15S5 ; Indian cliildren playing ; Navajo Indian woman weaving a belt ; Wampum ; Indian wigwams of bark ; Manner of boiling ; Zurii Indian woman making pottery ; Indian bottle ; Indian manner of broiling in 1585 ; Stone axe ; Indian kindling fire ; Making a canoe ; Indian vase ; Indian girl with baskets ; Indian girls with water-jars ; Pottery from Missouri, CHAPTER XIV. Early Indian Wars 78 Illustrations : Shell axe ; Florida warrior, 1565 ; Calumet ; Indian mask ; Iroquois Indian mask ; Belt of wampum ; King Philip ; North Carolina warrior, 1585. CONTENTS. CHAPTER XV. XI PAGE Traits of War with the Indians 86 Illustrations : War-club ; Matchlock ; Matchlock-gun ; Soldier with matchlock-gfun ; Pikeman ; Matchlock-gun ; Snow-shoes ; Block-house ; Tail-piece. CHAPTER XVI. Life in the Colonial Time 91 Illustrations : Cabin of round logs ; A calash ; Birch canoes ; Pack-horses ; School scene in 1740 ; A wedding in New Amsterdam ; Dutch woman skating. CHAPTER XVII. Farming and Shipping in the Colonies 99 Illustrations : Colonial plow ; Flag of the New York merchant-sliips ; Ensign carried by New England ships ; Pirate Blackbeard. CHAPTER XVIII. Bondservants and Slaves in the Colonies .... 104 Illustrations : English farm laborer, seventeenth centur>' ; Kidnapping a man for the colonies ; Sir John Hawkins. CHAPTER XIX. Laws and Usages in the Colonies 108 Illustrations : Drumming for meeting ; The ducking-stool ; The sto.ks ; Punish- ment of a drunkard. CHAPTER XX. The Spaniards in Florida, and the French in Canada . .113 Illustrations : Champlain ; Quebec in Champlain's time ; La Salle ; French gentle- man, 1700 ; Coureur des Bois ; Missionary priest ; Long-house of the Iroquois ; Map, French claim in Maine \ Map, Present territory of the United States, showing by whom it was claimed before 1 763. CHAPTER XXI. Colonial Wars with France and Spain 120 Illustrations : Map, The home of the Iroquois; Queen Anne ; Old house at Deer- field ; Gateway at St. Augustine ; Map, Georgia and Florida in Oglethorpe's time. CHAPTER XXII. Braddol'k's Defeat, and the Expulsion of the Acadians . . 128 Illustrations: Map, French and Indian Wars; Washington rallying Braddock's troops ; Map, Braddock's march ; Sir William Johnson ; Map, Lake George and vicinity ; Lord Loudon. CHAPTER XXIII. Fall of Canada 134 Illustrations : William Pitt ; Amherst ; Map, Acadia ; Wolfe ; Montcalm ; Wolfe scales the Heights of Abraham ; Map, Vicinity of Quebec j Old view of Quebec. xii CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXIV. PAGB Characteristics of the Colonial Wars with the French. . 139 Illustrations : French officer ; French regular ; Canadian soldier ; Flint-lock ; In- dian moccasins ; Flint-lock gun ; Lord Howe ; Lord Howe washing his linen ; Rogers's slide, Lake George ; White captives ; Redoubt at Pittsburg, built 1764. CHAPTER XXV. How the Colonies were Governed 148 Illustrations : Colonial court-house, Philadelphia ; A hatter's shop in old limes. CHAPTER XXVI. Earl'v^ Struggles for Liberty in the Colonies .... 153 Illustrations : The pillory as used in America ; Governor Andres. CHAPTER XXVII. The Causes of the Revolution 159 Illustrations : James Otis ; Patrick Henry ; Hanover Court-House ; Samuel Adams ; *' The Boston Tea-party." CHAPTER XXVIII. The Outbreak of the Revolution, and Declaration of Inde- pendence 165 Illustrations : Pine-tree flag ; General Gage ; Ethan Allen ; Ruins of Ticonder- oga ; Battle of Bunker Hill ; Map, The Revolution about Boston ; Rattlesnake flag ; Map, The Revolutionary War at large ; American flag, beginning of the Revolu- tion ; Monticello, the home of Jefferson. CHAPTER XXIX. The Battle of Trenton, and the Capture of Burgovne's Army 174 Illustrations : George III ; Destroying the statue of George III in New York city ; Admiral Lord Howe; Map, The Revolution about Neiu York; The retreat from Long Island ; Hessian trooper ; Map, Trenton and Princeton ; Hessian trooper's boot; American flag, 1777; General Burgoyne; Map, Lake Champlain and vicin- ity ; Hessian made prisoner by militiaman ; General Gates. CHAPTER XXX. The Dark Period of the Revolution i8o Illustrations: General Sir William Howe ; .Ifap, The Revolution about Rhiladel' phia ; Baron Steuben ; De Kalb ; La Fayette ; Sir Henry Chnton ; Pulaski ; General Lincoln ; General Moultrie ; General Sumter ; General Marion. CHAPTER XXXI. The Closing Years of the Revolution 186 Illustrations : Uniforms of French soldiers in America ; Map, Revolutionary posts on the Hudson ; Benedict Arnold ; Major Andr^ ; Map, The Revolution at the CONTENTS. Xiii PAGE South \ Colonel Tarleton ; one of Morgan's riflemen ; General Nathanael Greene ; Royal flag of France ; Lord Cornwallis ; Rochambeau ; American artillery drawn by oxen ; Map, Vicinity of Yorktown \ House in which the surrender at Yorktown was made. CHAPTER XXXII. Traits and Incidents of the Revolutionary War . . .190 ILLUSTR.\TI0NS : Esek Hopkins ; American seaman, 1776 ; John Paul Jones ; Amer- ican marine, 1776; A Revolutionary block-house; Revolutionary powder-horn and canteen ; Soldier of the Congress ; American rifleman ; American major-general ; English grenadier ; Israel Putnam ; " Brown Bess." CHAPTER XXXIII. Adoption of the Constitution 194 CHAPTER XXXIV. The New Republic and its People 200 Illl'STRations : George Washington ; Diagram of comparative population \ Map, The United States at the close of the Revolution ; Wagons and carriages of that time; Singing with the harpsichord and, flute; River bateau; Benjamin Franklin; Birthplace of Franklin. CHAPTER XXXV. Home and Society in Washington's Time 209 Illustrations : Wool-wheel ; Flax-wheel ; Hat of Washington's time ; High head- dress of the time. CHAPTER XXXVI. Washington's Presidency, from 1789 to 1797 213 Illustrations : Martha Washington ; Alexander Hamilton ; Kentucky captives ; General St. Clair ; Anthony Wayne ; Map, Wayne's caynpaign ; Mount Vernon. CHAPTER XXXVII. Troubles with England and France. — Presidency of John Adams 221 Illustrations: John Jay; John Adams; Cannoneer, 1797; Seaman, 1798; The White House. CHAPTER XXXVIII. Election of Jefferson. — War with Tripoli 225 Illustrations : Jefferson's seal ; Thomas Jefferson ; American seaman in Jeffer- son's time ; American soldiers about iSoo ; Map, The Barbary states ; Stephen Decatur. CHAPTER XXXIX. The Settlement of the Great Valley ...... 231 Illustrations ; Daniel Boone ; Map, Northwest Territory. XIV CONTENTS. CHAPTER XL. p^^ce The Purchase of Louisiana, and the Treason of Aaron Burr 238 Illustrations: Maps, The United States be/ore the purchase of Louisiana; The United States after the purchase of Louisiana ; Aaron Burr. CHAPTER XLL Beginning of the Second War with England . . . .242 Illustrations: George Clinton ; Tecumseh ; Map, Tippecanoe battle-ground \'\\ie. Prophet ; Map, Detroit and the Western forts ; Madison's home at Montpelier. CHAPTER XLH. The Navy in the War of 1812 248 Illustrations : James Madison ; Constitution and Guerriere ; British flag ; Mrs. Madison ; The Constitution ; Seaman, 1815 ; Lawrence. CHAPTER XLIH. The Army in the War of 1812 255 Illustrations: Map, Detroit and vicinity; Infantrj-man, 1S12-1834 ; Perry; Map, Battle of Lake Erie; French Canadian; French Canadian woman; Map, Lundy's Lane and vicinity ; Map, Battle of Lake Champlain ; Macdonough ; Map, British capture of Washington; The Star-Spangled Banner, 1795-1818; Map, Jackson's defense of Ne7v Orleans ; Major-general, 1S12. CHAPTER XLIV. Expansion of the Union 263 Illustrations : Gentleman's riding-dress ; Head-dress, 1806 ; Turban head-dress ; Opera head-dress ; Evening dress in Jefferson's time ; Map, New States admitted up to 1821 ; Child's dress ; Walking costume, 1S07. CHAPTER XLV. From Monroe to Van Buren.— Rise of the Whigs and Demo- crats 269 Illustrations : James Monroe ; Spanish standard ; Monroe's home at Montpelier, Va. ; John Quincy Adams ; Adams houses at Braintree, Mass. ; Andrew Jackson ; Dress of a lady in Jackson's time ; " The Hermitage " of Jackson ; John C. Calhoun ; Home of Calhoun ; Henry Clay ; Birthplace of Clay ; Daniel Webster ; Webster's home. CHAPTER XLVL The Steamboat, the Railroad, and the Telegraph . . .277 Illustrations : Robert Fulton ; Baltimore clipper ; Fulton's first steamboat ; The first railroad passengeror in England ; First steam passenger-train in America ; S. F. B. Morse ; Little girl's dress ; A bonnet of 1830. CONTENTS. XV CHAPTER XLVII. PACE Annexation of Texas.— Beginning of the Mexican War . . 282 Illustrations : William H. Harrison ; John Tyler ; James Knox Polk ; Sam Houston ; Diagram, Comparative size of Texas and France ; Map, Texan annexa- tion and disputed territory, 1845 ; Mexican flag ; Map, Taylor's campaign. CHAPTER XLVni. The Close of the Mexican War and the Annexation of New Territory Illustrations: Santa Anna; .Map, Relation 0/ Scott's to Taylor's campaign; Map, Scott's campaign ; Winfield Scott ; Map, sliouiing territory acquired from Mexico ; Map.^ The Oregon country. CHAPTER XLIX. The Question of Slavery in Politics 295 Illustrations : Zachary Taylor ; Millard Fillmore ; I'ranklin Pierce. CHAPTER L. Break-up of Old Parties.— Approach of the Civil Wai Illustrations : Stephen A. Douglas ; James Buchanan. CHAPTER LI. Hovif THE Great Civil War began .... 301 306 3'i Illustrations: Map, Charleston and vicinity ; Jefferson Davis; Confederate flag of 1861 ; Map, Seceding States. CHAPTER LII. Confederate Victory at Bull Run.— The Fir.st Western Cam- paign Illustrations : Map, Campaigns in Kentucky and West Virginia ; Map, First battle 0/ Bull Run ; Irvin McDowell ; P. G. T. Beauregard ; Charging an' earth- work ; Map, Battles in Missouri and Arkansas \ Andrew H. Foote ; John Pope ; Map, From Fort Donelson to Corinth ; A. S. Johnston ; D. C. Buell. CHAPTER LHI. The War in the East.— From Bull Run to Gettysburg . . 318 Illustrations : George B. McClellan ; Stonewall Jackson ; Map, Peninsular cam- paign ; Map, The campaigns about Washington ; A. E. Burnside ; George G. Meade ; Map, The campaign in Pennsylvania. CHAPTER LIV. Various Operations in 1862 and 1863 323 Illustrations : Map, Hampton Roads ; John Ericsson ; The Monitor and the Mer- rjmac; Farragut; Map, Capture of New Orleans; Braxton Bragg; Map, The cam- paign against Vicksburg. XVI CONTENTS. CHAPTER LV. PAGE The Campaign between Nashville and Atlanta .... 329 Illustrations : Holding the line ; W. S. Rosecrans ; Map, Battles about Chatta- nooga \ George H. Thomas ; J. E. Johnston ; J. B. Hood ; Map, I-rom Naslwille to Atlanta. CHAPTER LVI. From the Wilderness to Petersburg. — The War in the Val- ley 334 Illustrations : Ulysses S. Grant ; Robert E. Lee ; Map, Wilderness campaign ; Map, The Valley campaign ; Jubal Early ; Philip H. Sheridan ; Cold comfort. CHAPTER LVH. Close of the Civil War 342 Illustrations : General Schofield ; William Tecumseh Sherman ; Map, Sherman's march ; Map, Lee's retreat. CHAPTER LVHI. Traits and Results of the Civil War.— Death of Lincoln . 346 Illustration : Abraham Lincoln. CHAPTER LIX. Political Events since the Civil War 352 Illustrations: Andrew Johnson ; Rutherford B. Hayes ; James A. Garfield ; Ches- ter A. Arthur ; Grover Cleveland ; Benjamin Harrison. CHAPTER LX. Later Developments of the Country 361 Illustrations: Map, Alaska; Custer; Indian watching for buffaloes; Battle of Washita. CHAPTER LXL Population, Wealth, and Modes of Living 366 Illustrations: Present flag; Map, Centers of population since 1790; The Penn- sylvania fireplace ; Old fireplace. CHAPTER LXn. Literature and Art in the United States 370 Illustrations : Rittenhouse ; Washington Irving ; William Cullen Brjant ; Henry W. Longfellow ; Oliver Wendell Holmes ; Edgar A. Poe ; Ralph Waldo Emerson ; James Fenimore Cooper ; Nathaniel Hawthorne; Harriet Beecher Stowe ; William H. Prescott ; John L. Motley ; John J. Audubon ; Benjamin West ; John S. Copley ; Gilbert Stuzirt. CHAPTER I. HOW COLUMBUS DISCOVERED AMERICA. It is now about four hundred years since Columbus Trade with mdia discovered America. People in Europe, up to that time, co.umb"r °' had known nothing of any lands on the western side of the Atlantic. Travelers were very liable to be robbed as soon as they reached a foreign land, and the ships of the time made but short voyages, and were often plun- dered by ships of other nations. The people of Europe, therefore, did not know much of Asia, except that it was the land of spices, which spices, grown in India, were sold from one country to another until the Turks sold them to European merchants. But, about two hundred years before Columbus was born, a Venetian, by the name of Marco Polo, had succeeded in visiting China, and had written a book giving many wonderful accounts of the splendor of the Chinese cities and of the riches of the Eastern countries generally, as well as many curious stories about the ^ people who lived in those far-away lands. HISTORY OF THE UMTED STATES. Porlugue: explorati( When Columbus was a boy, there was a prince ot Portugal, Don Henrique by name, who is known to us as Prince Henry the Navigator. He first turned men's minds in the direction of discover}'. Though the maps of his time made Africa extend to the south pole, Prince Henry believed, from what he found in ancient books, that there was a wa}- to get around Africa to India and China, and thus to bring the spices and other commodities of those lands to Europe by sea. But the seamen of that day were accustomed to sail mostl)' in the Mediterranean, and they were timid in the Atlantic Ocean. The Portuguese sent out expe- dition after expedition for seventy years before they succeeded in discovering the Cape of Good Hope, and they had not yet got around that cape when Cohmibus offered to find a new and shorter way to India. Christopher Columbus, the most renowned of all discoverers, was born in the city of Genoa, in Italy. The exact date of his birth is uncertain. His father was a wool-comber by trade, but, though the family was humble, Columbus received considerable education, and he was all his life studious to acquire knowledge about navigation and about geography as far as it was then understood. He knew Latin, wrote a good hand, and drew maps exceedingly well. He sometimes supported himself b}' making maps and charts. At fourteen he went to sea, and before his great voyage he had sailed to almost all the countries of the known world. He had gone some distance down the newl}' discovered coast of Africa with the Portuguese, and to the north bej-ond Ice- land. Columbus married the daughter of a Portuguese navigator, and thus came into possession of his charts. I/On- COLUMBUS DISCOVERED AMERICA. As learned men already be- lieved the world to be round, Co- lumbus asked : Why try to get to India and China by going around Africa? Why not sail straight to the west around the world to Asia ? He did not know that America was in the wav, and he thought that the world was small- er than it is, and therefore he believed that he could reach the rich lands of gold and spices in Asia by sailing only two or three thousand miles to the westward. So that Columbus discovered America in consequence of two mistakes. He first offered to make this discovery for the city of Genoa, in which he was bom. Then he offered his plan to the King of Portugal. But a voyage on the great Atlantic Ocean seemed a dreadful thing in those days. It was called the " Sea of Darkness," because no one knew anything about it, and people imagined that it was inhabited by hideous monsters. The King of Portugal was an enlightened man, and the ideas of Columbus made an impression on him after a while. But he did not like to grant the great rewards demanded by the navigator if he should find land ; so he secretly sent out a ship under another commander to sail to the westward and see if there was any land there. The sailors on this ship were easily discouraged, and they returned laughing at Columbus and his notions. But Columbus was not a man to be discouraged. No rebuff from the great, no amount of ridicule, no bitter- Colum in Spa HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. D ISABELLA. ncss of poverty, could ever make him give up his great thought of discovering the western boundary of the At- lantic. Finding that he had been trifled with, he proudlv refused to reopen negotiations with King John of Portugal. Poor and in debt, he secretly left that country and traveled into - Spain afoot, leading his little son by the hand. He had determined to offer his idea to the King and Queen of Spain, the celebrated Ferdinand and Isabella. The Spanish monarchs were very busy in their war against the Moors, and Columbus spent six or seven 3^ears in tr3'ing to persuade them to furnish him ships and sail- ors for his voyage. The matter was at one time re- ferred to a meeting of learned men, some of whom tried to ])r()ve from the Scriptures and other writings that the \vt)rld was flat and not round. Others said that, if the world was round and a ship sailed down one side, it could never get back up again. During his long waiting on the king and queen, Columbus followed the Spanish court in its movements in the war with the Moors, and he even took a brave part in some of the battles of the time. He was laughed at for a visionar}', and the children in the streets tapped their foreheads with their fingers when he passed by, to intimate their belief that he was crazy. At length, when the war was over, his affair was consid- V ered and his offer rejected. For eighteen years he had A sought in vain an outfit for his voyage. But, not yet 'Sjij^ out of heart, he resolved to quit Spain, and he set iKl I ^- out to begin his solicitations anew at the court of the King of France. Some of his friends now made a strong appeal to the Spanish queen, which so ffOW COLUMBUS DISCOVERED A A/ERICA. 5 impressed Isabella that she offered to sell her jewels, if necessary, to procure money to send Columbus on his expedition. A messenger on horseback recalled him, and by this prompt action Spain secured the glory of finding the New World. Columbus sailed from Spain on the 3d of August, "■' departure on his great voyage, 1492, with three small vessels, two of which were with- and his discovery out decks, and he was more than two months on the voyage. The sailors were more and more frightened as they found themselves going farther and farther out of the known world. They some- times threatened to pitch Columbus over- board and return. He kept their cour- age up b\' every means he could think of, even by conceal- ing from them how far they had come. The flight of land-birds, the dis- covery of a twig, with berries on it, floating in the water, and at length the picking up of a carved stick, served to encourage the mariners, whose eyes were strained day after day to catch sight of anything but the wild waste of unknown waters through which they had been sailing for so many weeks. At last, one night, Columbus saw a glimmer of light, and the next morn- ing one of the other ships fired a gun, to signify that land was seen. This was the 12th of October, 1492. There was the wildest joy among the seamen. They had lately hated their commander, and wished to kill 6 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. him ; they now crowded about him to embrace him or to kiss his hands. What he had Instead of findinsj the rich cities of Asia, CoUnnbus found. ^ had come upon one of tlie smallest of the West India islands, which was inhabited by people entirely naked, and living in the rudest manner. He afterward dis- covered larger islands, and then sailed homeward. Return of Wq took with iiim to Spain some of the wild inhab- Columbus. _ _ '■ itants, who were exhibited at the court in all their show}- decorations of paint and feathers, and he also made a display of the golden ornaments he had pro- cured. Ferdinand and Isabella received him with the pomp due to a great conqueror, and he, who had been but a beggar before, was welcomed by the monarchs under a rich canopy of brocade of gold. The king and queen rose to welcome him, and made him sit down in their presence, a favor never shown except to the great- est grandees. The people, who had believed him a fool when he went away, followed him with cheers as he walked along the street. Later voyages Columbus, in his second voyage to America, planted a colony on the island of Hispaniola, or Hayti. In this and in two other voyages he discovered other islands and a portion oi the coast of South America, which he first saw in 1498. He made four voyages to America in all, setting out on the first in 1492, the second in 1493, the third in 1498, and the fourth in 1502. Though a great navigator, he was not a wise governor of the colonies he planted, and he had manv enemies. In 1500 he was cruelly sent home to Spain in chains. But Ferdinand and Isabella, as well as the people, were shocked at this degradation, and he was at once set of Colu HO IV COLUMBUS DISCOVERED AMERICA. 7 free. His last vo3'age was unfortunate, and when he returned to Spain, in November, 1504, the monarchs paid little attention to him. Queen Isabella died soon after his return, while Columbus lay sick, and when the great navigator came to court the king was deaf to his petitions. Worn out with fatigue, exposure, and anxiety, the great admiral died on the 20th of May, 1506. He never knew that he had found a new world, but lived and died in the belief that the large island of Cuba was a part of the mainland of Asia. The investigations of scholars give us some reason to believe that America may have been visited from Europe before the time of Columbus. The inhabitants of Scan- dinavia (the coimtry now divided into Denmark, Sweden, and Norway) were known as Norsemen. In the old romantic tales of Scandinavia there are stories which go to show that these Norsemen, under the command of Leif, the son of Eric, in the year looi, and afterward, probably explored the coast of America from Labrador southward for some distance. Fanciful theories have been built on these stories, such as the notion that the old stone windmill at Newport, Rhode Island, is a tower built by the Norsemen. There is also a tradition in Wales that one Madoc, a Welsh prince, in the jear 1 170, discovered land to the west of Ireland, and took a colony thither, which was never heard of afterward. If these stories of Leif and Madoc represent real voy- ages, the discoveries which they relate would probably never have been recalled to memor}- if Columbus had not opened a wide door at the right moment. 8 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER II. OTHER DISCOVERIES IX AMERICA. §A PART of the glory of Columbus's great discov- ery was taken away from him by accident. Instead of bearing the name of the great navigator whose persevering devotion to an idea led him to dis- cover it, the western hemisphere is named after .- i> Amerigo Vespucci, better known to us as Ameri- '"'""■■" cus Vespucius, the Latin form of his name. Vespu- cius was born in Florence, but he removed to Spain a Naming of little beforc Columbus sailed on his first vo\age. He was America. with an expedition that discovered a part of South Amer- ica in 1499. A false claim was made that Vespucius saw that continent twr j^ears earlier. But it is now believed that this first date is incorrect ; there are documents which go to show that Vespucius was in Spain during all that year, so that the earliest discovery of the South American Continent was by Columbus in 1498. Voyages of Amcricus undoubtedly went to America several Vespucius. times, both from Spain and Portugal. In 1503 he built a fort on the coast of Brazil ; and he left there a little col- ony, the first in that part of South America. Ferdinand of Spain made him pilot-major of his kingdom in 1508, and he died in 15 12. Americus wrote pleasantly about the new lands which he had seen, and some German geogra- phers were so pleased with his descriptions that they called the country America, in honor of Americus, sup- posing him to have first seen the continent. When North America came to be placed on the maps, this name was OTHER DISCOVERIES IN AMERICA. applied to it also. Thus, nearly half the world goes by the name of a man who had no claim to be called its discoverer. The voyage of Columbus was undertaken, as we have john cabot. seen, to open a trade with the Spice Islands of Asia, and the failure to find these was disappointing. There was another great Italian navigator living at the same time as Columbus, whose name was Zuan Caboto, who is called in English John Cabot. He, also, was probabl}' born in Genoa, but he was naturalized in Venice. He was living in Bristol, in England, in 1495, and had, no doubt, heard of the great discover)' of Columbus when he laid before King Henry VII of England his own plans for a voyage to the west. Columbus had been a traveler by sea, and had gone far to the southward and northward. Cabot had also been a traveler, but he had penetrated to the eastward overland, and had reached the citv of Mecca, HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Columbus Henry VII in Arabia, and had there seen the caravans bringing spices from India. He inquired of the people of these caravans where they got their spices. They said that other caravans brought them to their country, and that the people in those cai-avans re- ported that they bought them from people who lived yet farther away. From all this John Cabot con- cluded that the spices so much valued in Europe must grow in the most easterly part of Asia, and that he could reach this part of Asia by sailing to the west, as Columbus had done. While Columbus was trying to persuade Ferdinand and Isabella to send him on a voyage of discovery, he had sent his brother, Bartholomew Columbus, to make a like offer to the English king. When Bartholomew re- turned to Spain with King Henry VIl's answer, Christo- pher Columbus had already discovered the New World. But, though Columbus had found what he believed to be a part of Asia, he had not found the region of gold and spices. Cabot believed that he might be more for- tunate. He got permission from Henry VII to sail at the expense of certain English merchants, and in May, 1497, nearly five years after Columbus had started on his first voyage, Cabot set sail from Bristol with only one small vessel and eighteen persons. He discovered the Continent of North America, which he of course supposed to be a part of Asia. He did not meet any Indians, but he brought to King Henry one of their traps for catching game, and a needle for making nets. He FOR MAKING NETS. OTHER DISCOVERIES IiV AMERICA. ~i was received with great honor, and he who had gone away a poor Venetian pilot was now called " the Great Admiral," and dressed himself in silks, after the manner of great men of that time. The next year, accompanied by his son Sebastian he set sail with a much larger expedition, to find hi; way to Japan or China. After going far to the north, he sailed along what is now the coast of Canada and the United States as far to the south as North Carolina. But, as he did not find the riches of Asia, the English appear to have lo^i much of their interest in Western voyages. There is no account of John Cabot's second re- turn, nor do we know anything about him after his sailing to America the second time. His son Sebastian, who was a great geographer, and who lived to be very old, seems to have always spoken of second voyage 1 11,1111 1 of the Cabots. the voyages as though he had made them alone, but we now know that it was John Cabot who discovered North America. Five years after Columbus sailed to America, a Port- oa oama , „ J J • doubles the Cape uguese expedition, under V asco da (jama, succeeded in of Good Hope. sailing round the Cape of Good Hope, and reaching Calcutta in India. This was the accomplishment of the dream of Prince Henry the Navigator, who had at this time been dead thirty-four years. It was still believed that America was a part of Asia, and that Columbus's discovery had opened another road to the HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Balboa dis the Pacific Indies. It was not till after the death of Colum- bus that people began to suspect that the newly discovered lands were not parts of Asia. The Pacific Ocean was discovered at the west of America, in 15 13, by Vasco Nuiiez de Balboa, while this explorer was leading a Spanish expedition in Central America. An Indian chief's son, seeing the Spaniards quarreling over the gold they had got, and perhaps wishing to rid his own country of them, told them that, since they were so fond of gold, he could show them an ocean, on the shores of which was the great kingdom of Peru, rich in that metal. Balboa crossed the isthmus, and, wading full-armed into the waters of " The South Sea," as he called the Pacific, took possession of the ocean and all the countries on its coasts for the King and Queen of Spain. It now became a question of finding a way through or around America, so as to come to the rich trade with India, which the Portuguese had reached by the way of the Cape of Good Hope. The Spaniards ac- complished this by an expedition under an explorer named Magellan. Fernando Magellan was a native of Portugal. He served the Portuguese government in the East Indies, and was in tiie expedition that discovered some of the Spice Islands. Having received a slight from the Portuguese government, he renounced OTHER DISCOVERIES IN AMERICA. 13 his country and entered the service of the King of Spain. He sailed on his famous voyage in September, 1 5 19, with five ships. It was not known then that one could pass around Cape Horn, but South America was thought to reach to the south pole, and Magellan was therefore intent on finding some way of getting through that continent. On the coast of South America he lost one of his vessels, and suppressed a mutiny. In Octo- ber, 1520, he entered the straits that bear his name. His men were very reluctant to go on, and one ship turned back out of the channel and sailed home. With the three ships left he entered the Pacific. At the Philip- pine Islands he was killed in a battle with the natives, and many of his men were massacred. Onl\' one of his ships, the Victoria, succeeded in getting around the world, and she had but eighteen men left alive when she got back, and they were sick and almost starving This was the first voyage around the globe. But Magellan's route was too long a course for trade, and many other navigators sailed up and down the American coast, expecting to find some passage by which they could get through the continent to go to China, India, and Japan. They did not understand that Amer- ica was a continent ; they believed that it might prove to be cut through in some places by straits, like Ma- gellan's, if they could only find them. Several great English navigators tried to discover what they called the Northwest Passage, by sailing along the coast of Labrador and into the rivers and bays of America, while the French thought to get through to China by passing up the river St. Lawrence and through the great lakes at its head. Other explorers seek the North- west Passage. H HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Colonies pro- posed. For a long time after Cabot's discovery, nobody in England thought it worth while to send colonies to North America, which was regarded only as a bar to all attempts to reach Asia bj' the west. But, the colonists sent from Spain having found gold in great quantities in Mexico and South America, the English at length began to think of settling colonies in North America, to look for gold there also. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Sir Martin Frobisher and Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who were both great seekers after a northwest passage to India, united this with a search after gold, and they even made some feeble attempts to plant colonies on the North American coast. But it was not until that ver}- great man, Sir Walter Ralegh, undertook the work, that any wise or hopeful beginning was made in colonization by the English. Ralegh'! charterc CHAPTER III. SIR WALTER RALEGH TRIES TO SETTLE A COLONY IN AMERICA. If it had not been for the inter- est which Sir Walter Ralegh took oiony in plans for settling America, we might never have had a nation of English-speaking people in this coun- try. Ralegh was one of the most brilliant and one of tfie most ambitious men at the court of Queen Eliza- beth, as he certainly was one of the most gifted men 5/A' WALTER RALEGH'S COLONY. j t of that brilliant time. While yet young, he fought for years on the side of the Huguenots in the French civil wars, and afterward took part in the war in Ireland. On his return from Ireland, he is said to have won the queen's favor by throwing his new plush cloak into a muddy place in the road for her to walk on. It is certain that by some means he rose rapidly at court. Having received from Queen Elizabeth a charter which gave him a large territory in America, he sent out an exploring expedition in 1584, ninety-two years after the discovery by Columbus. Eighty-seven years had passed since John Cabot, in an English ship, first discovered the coast of North America, which had lain all this time unexplored, a m3'stery and a puzzle to the Old World. Ralegh's expedition was commanded by two cap- Raiegh sends c tains named Amidas and Barlowe. They landed on that part of the coast which we now call North Caro- lina. The country pleased them very much. They were especially wonder-struck at the surpassing abun- dance of wild grapes for which the North Carolina coast has always been famous, and they tell of great vines " climbing toward the tops of high cedars." To the first Indian they encountered, they presented a shirt and a hat, in which garments he probably felt very fine, for he rowed a little way off from the ship and fell to fishing with his rude tackle, and when he had almost swamped his canoe with fish, he divided them between the white men in the two ships. An Indian chief who visited the ships fancied a bright tin dish more than anything else the white men had. Having procured it by exchange, he made a hole in it, and hung it on his breast as an ornament. i6 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. The expeditii returns. Ralegh's expedition stayed about six weeks in the New World, and, everything here being strange to the eyes of the explorers, they fell into many mistakes in trying to describe what they saw and heard. When they got back to England, they declared that the part of America they had seen was the paradise of the world. Ralegh was much encouraged by the accounts which his two captains gave of the new country they had found. It was named Virginia at this time, in honor nf Oiieen Elizabeth, who was often t.illed the " Virgin Queen." But the name Virginia, which we ap- ply to two of our States, was " then used for all the territories claimed by the English in Amer- ica — that is to say, for the whole coast of the United States between d Georgia, so far as it #?/J ^> 1^M\i'^~K "'IS known. In 15S5, the year after the return of uEEN ELIZABETH. thc first cxpeditlou, Ralegh sent out a colony to remain in America. Sir Richard Grenville, a famous seaman, had command of this expedition ; but he soon returned to England, leaving the colony in charge of Ralph Lane. There were no women in Ralph Lane's company. They made their settlement on Roanoke Island, which lies near to the coast of North Carolina, and they explored the mainland in many directions. They spent much time in trying to find gold, and they seem to have thouglit that the shell-beads worn by thc Indians were pearls. Like all S//? WALTER RALEGH'S COLONY. 1/ the others who came to America in that time, they were very desirous of finding a way to get across America, which they believed to be very narrow. They hoped to reach the Pacific Ocean, and so open a new way of sailing to China and the East Indies. The Indians by this time were tired of the white men, and anxious to be rid of them. They told Lane that the Roanoke River came out of a rock so near to a sea at the west that the water sometimes dashed from the sea into the river, making the water of the river salt. Lane believed this Lane tries to find the Pacific story, and set out with most of his men to hnd a sea ocean, at the head of the river. Long before the_y got to the head of the Roanoke their provisions gave out. But Lane made a brave speech to his men, and they resolved to go on. Having nothing else to eat, they killed their two dogs, and cooked the meat with sassa- fras-leaves to give it a relish. When this meat was ex- hausted, they got into their boats and ran swiftly down the river, having no food to eat on the way home. Lane got back to Roanoke Island just in time to keep the Indians from killing the men he had left there Unluckily, the colony at this time had an im- expected visitor. Sir Francis Drake, one of the greatest of the naval commanders, who, in a pre- \ vious voyage, had discovered the coast of Califor- nia, and sailed round the globe in the track of Ma- gellan, had been about this time attacking the Spanish The colony in the West Indies. On his return he put in at Roanoke land with sir Island to inquire after the colony. He furnished the company on the island with a ship and with whatever SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. i8 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Tobacco brought to England. Ralegh's colony. else they needed. But, while he remained at Roanoke, a storm arose which drove to sea the ship he had given to Lane. This so discouraged the colonists that they returned to England in Drake's ships. Ralph Lane and his companions were the first to carry tobacco into England. They learned from the Indians to smoke it in Indian fashion, by drawing the smoke into their mouths and puffing it out through their nostrils. Ralegh adopted the practice, and many dis- tinguished men and women followed his example. The use of tobacco was greatlv promoted by an erroneous opinion of the time that it had great medicinal virtue. Some of the first tobacco-pipes in England were made ig a walnut-shell for the bowl of the pipe and a straw for the stem. It is related that, when Ralegh's servant first saw his master with the smoke coming from his nose, he thought him to be on fire, and poured a pitcher of ale, which he was fetching, over Sir Walter's head, to put the fire out. Ralegh set to work, with the help of others, to send out another colony. This time he sent women and chil- dren, as well as men, intending to make a permanent settlement. The governor of this company was John White, an artist, who had been with Lane's colony. White made many interesting drawings of the people, plants, and animals of the country, and some of his draw- ings are still preserved in London. In the chapters of this book devoted to the Indians are some pictures made from White's drawings. Soon after White's company SIJi WALTER RALEGH'S COLONY. jq had settled themselves on Roanoke Island, an English child was born. This little girl, being the first English child born in Virginia, was named Virginia Dare. |ohn White, the governor of the colonv, who was Ralegh's sec- ond colony Virginia Dare's grandfather, went back to England for disappears, supplies. He was detained by the war with Spain, and, when he got back to Roanoke Island, the colony had dis- appeared. Ralegh had spent so much money already that he was forced to give up the attempt to plant a colony in America. But he sent several times to seek for the lost people of his second colony, without finding them. Twenty years after John White left them, it was said that seven of them were still alive among the In- dians of North Carolina. After the failure of White's colony, Ralegh engaged in Death of Raiegh the defense of England against the Spanish Armada. On the accession of James I, he was thrown into the Tower of London, where he was kejit for more than twelve years, and then released. In 1618 King James had this great man put to death to please the King of Spain. When Ralegh was about to be beheaded, he felt of the edge of the axe, and said, " It is a sharp medicine to cure me of all my diseases." He was a great soldier, a great statesman, a great seaman, an excellent historian, and a charming poet. He is said to have first planted the potato in Ireland. But our interest in him here arises 20 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. from the fact that his was the first colony of English people that was ever actually landed in this country, and his experiments first showed the true way of plant- ing- colonies in North America. Motives to cc ony-planting. CHAPTER IV. HOW JAMESTOWN WAS SETTLED. Gosnold's colony. After the total disappearance of Ra- legh's second colony, Englishmen were for a while too much engrossed in the war with Spain and their own politics to give any attention to the peopling of " Virginia," as they called the coast of North America. But the stories of a virgin land, where grapes grew wild, which Ralegh's ships had brought back, probably kept alive the desire to plant a colony. Then, too, Spain, the great enemy of England at that time, was deriving vast wealth from the silver-mines of Mexico and South America, and men asked why Eng- land should not find silver and gold in the unexplored wilderness of northern America. In 1602, sixteen years after Ralegh had sent his second colony, Bartholomew Gosnold, a navigator of the west of England, tried to plant a colony. He sailed to the coast of New England, and gave to Cape Cod the name it bears now, and then, following the example of Ralegh's people, he selected an island on the coast for his colony. The island chosen was that now known as Cuttyhunk. HOW JAMESTOWN WAS SETTLED. This island contains a large pond, and in this pond is a small island, and on this little island Gosnold thought that with twenty men he might be safe from the attacks of the savages. Like a set of Crusoes, they proceeded to build a flat-bottomed boat to ply about the pond ; then they dug a cellar, and built a house on the little isl- and, thatching the roof with grass. But there sprang up a quarrel about the division of the profits on the furs they had bought from the Indians and the sassafras they had dug, and so the whole company returned to England, and the coast of New England lay without an English inhabitant for eighteen years longer. But Gosnold did not lie idle. The great thought of planting a new nation in America had taken possession of this sea-captain, as it had before of the brilliant imagina- tion of Ralegh. Joining himself with some of the mer- chants who had been partners in Sir Walter's last vent- ure, and others, Gosnold succeeded in forming what was generally called " The Virginia Company." This com- pany sent to America the colony that made the first per- manent beginning of English settlement in this country. It was in the stormy December of 1606 that the little colony set out. There were, of course, no steamships then ; and the vessels they had were clumsy, small, and slow. The largest of the three ships that carried out the handful of people which began the settlement of the United States was named " Susan Constant." She was of a hundred tons burden. Not many ships so small cross the ocean to-day. But the " God-speed " which went along with her was not half so big, and the smallest of the three was a little pinnace of only twenty tons, called " Discovery." : Virgi: npany. Departure of the 22 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. he voyage nd the arri 1 Virginia. Settlement at Jamestown. On account of storms, these feeble ships were not able to get out of sight of the English coast for six weeks. People in that time were afraid to sail straight across the unknown Atlantic Ocean ; they went away south by the Canary Islands and the West Indies, and so made the distance twice as great as it ought to have been. It took the new colony about four months to get from London to Virginia. They intended to land on Roanoke Island, where Ralegh's unfortunate colonies had been settled, but a storm drove them into a large river, which they called "James River," in honor of the king. They arrived in Virginia in the month of April, when the banks of the river were covered with flowers. Great white dog -wood blossoms and masses of bright -colored red -bud are in bloom all along the James River at this sea- son. It is not surprising, therefore, that the new- comers should declare that heaven and earth had agiced together to make this a countr\ to live in. * \ltti sailmg up and down the river to examine the country, they selected for their dwelling- place a low-lying but pleasant-looking peninsula, which, by the action of the water, has since become an island. They named this place Jamestown. They had delayed HOIV JAMESTOWN WAS SETTLED. 2% SO long that their supply of food was pretty well con- sumed, and it was too late to plant, even if they had had cleared ground. They had brought the wrong kind of people ; most of them were " gentlemen " un- used to work, and unlit for such hardships as now befell them. One small ladleful of pottage, made of worm-eaten bar- ley or wheat, was all that was given to a man for a meal. The settlers were attacked by the Indians, who wounded seventeen men and killed one boy in the fight. Each man in Jamestown had to take his turn every third night in watching against the Many of the coi- onists perish. Indians, lying on the cold, bare ground all night. The only water to drink was that from the river, which was bad. The people were soon nearly all of them sick ; there were not five able-bodied men to defend the place had it been attacked. Sometimes as many as three or four died in a single night, and sometimes the living were hardly able to bury those who had died. There were about a hundred colonists landed at Jamestown, and one half of these died in the first few months. All this time the men in Jamestown were living in wretched tents and poor little hovels covered with earth, and some of them even in holes dug into the ground. As the sickness passed away, those who remained built themselves better cabins, and thatched the roofs with straw. 24 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Adventures c Captain John One of the most industrious men in the colony at this time was Captain John Smith, a young man who had had many adventures, of which he was fond of -) )asting. Born in England in 1579, he went into the wars in the Netherlands while he was little more than a boy. He was after- ward shipwrecked, robbed, and in great peril from want in France. He was, he tells us, thrown overboard by superstitious pilgrims in a storm, as a kind of Jonah, but, finding no whale to save him, he man- aged to swim ashore. The Turks and Christians were at that time fighting in the east of Europe, and all sorts of adventurers sought these wars, among the rest this roving young John Smith. Here, if we may believe his own account of himself, he introduced a new way of signaling from one part of the army to another, and invented a destructive kind of lire-works. One day, while the Christians were besieging a town, a Turk rode out and challenged any Christian to fight him in mortal combat, for the amusement of the ladies, who found the time pass heavil\', no doubt, in a besieged city. Ladies in that day, whether Turks or Christians, liked these bloody encounters. Smith engaged the Turk and killed him, as he did another the next day, and then a tiiird. For this success. Smith was granted a coat of arms bearing three Turks' heads in a shield. He was at length made prisoner by the Turks and reduced to galling slavery, from which he escaped by beating out his master's brains with a flail, dressing himself in his master's clothes, mounting his horse, and JiOlV JAMESTOWN WAS SETTLED. !5 getting off into the wilderness with a sack of wheat for food, and so making his way into Russia, after sixteen days of wandering. After other adventures, he got back to England, still a young man. With a liking for bold undertakings, it was natural that he should join the new colony setting sail for Virginia. In Virginia he followed the same adventurous career. He took the little pinnace " Discovery " and sailed up and down the rivers and bays of Virginia, exploring the country, getting acquainted with many tribes of Indians, and exchanging beads, bells, and other trinkets for corn, with which he kept the Jamestown people from starv- ing. In one of these trips he was attacked by the In- dians, who killed ten of his men and made him prisoner. But he interested the savages in his pocket-compass, which was a great myster}' to them, and so diverted them from putting him to death. The Indians led him from one of their villages to another, probably to satisfy the curiosity of their people regard- ing this strange captive. He was brought at length to Powhatan, the head chief of about thirty tribes, who after a while set him free and sent him back to Jamestown. During this captivity he won the friendship of Pocahontas, one of the daughters of Pow- hatan. She was then about ten or eleven years old, and Captain Smith greatly admired her. Many years afterward he said that Powhatan had at one time or- dered his brains beaten out, and that, when his head was laid upon a stone for that purpose, Pocahontas had put her arms about his neck and saved his life. The story is so pretty and romantic that one does not like to disbelieve it. captured Indians. 26 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Captai explor ' p^ Island John Smith was the first to explore Chesapeake Bay, which he did in two voyages, enduring many hardships with cheerfuhiess. When it was cold, Smith and his men would move their fire two or three times of a night, that they might have the warm ground to lie upon. He managed the Indians well, getting corn for the settlers ; he con- trived to put down several mutinies at Jamestown, and rendered many other services to the colon3^ He was the leading man in the settlement, and came at length to be governor. But when many hundreds of new settlers were brought out under men who were his enemies, and Smith had been injured by an explosion of gunpowder, he gave up the government and went back to England. He afterward explored the coast north of Cape Cod, and named that countr}- New Eng- land. His chief fault was a vanit}- that led him to make the most of his adventures, which appear to have been romantic enough, even when allowance is made for his proneness to exaggeration in telling them. TYie starv time. CHAPTER V. THE ST.A.RVING TIME, AND WHAT FOLLOWED. When Captain John Smith went back to England, in 1609, there were nearly five hundred white people in Virginia. But the settlers soon got into trouble with the THE STAR VI XG TIME. 27 Indians, who lay in the woods and killed every one that ventured out. There was no longer any chance to buy corn, and the food was soon exhausted. The starving people ate the hogs, the dogs, and the horses, even to their skins. Then they ate rats, mice, snakes, toad- stools, and whatever they could get that might stop their hunger. A dead Indian was presently eaten, and, as their hunger grew more extreme, the people were forced to consume their own dead. Starving men wandered off into the woods and died there ; their companions, finding them, devoured them as hungry wild beasts might have done. This was always afterward remem- bered as " the starving time." Along with the people who came at the close of John sirTho Smith's time, there had been sent another ship-load of Bermui people, with Sir Thomas Gates, a new governor for the colony. This vessel had been shipwrecked, but Gates ■;m-=_^,^ — — — - — =r and his people had got ashoie on the Bei muda Islands TllLbt islands had no mhabitants at that time. Here these shipwrecked people lived well on wild hogs. When spring came, they built two little vessels of the cedar-trees which grew on the island. These they rigged with sails taken from their wrecked ships, and, getting 28 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Gates reache Jamestown. their people aboard, they made their way to James- town. When they got there, they found alive but sixty of the four hundred and ninety people left in Virginia in the autumn before, and these sixty would all have died had Gates been ten days later in coming. The food that Gates brought would barely last them sixteen days. So he put the Jamestown people aboard his little cedar ships, intending to sail to Newfoundland in hope of there falling in with some English fishing-vessels. He set sail down the river, leaving not one English settler on the whole continent of America. But, before Gates and his peo- ple got out of James River, they met a boat rowing up toward them. Lord De la Warr, whose name we now write Delaware, had been sent out from England as gov- ernor of Virginia. From some Englishmen stationed at the mouth of the river he had learned that Gates and all the people were coming down. He immediately sent his long-boat to turn them back again. On a Sunday morning De la Warr landed at Jamestown, which looked like some ancient ruin, because the wretched people had burned many of the palisades and cabins for fire-wood. De la Warr's first act was to kneel upon the shore awhile in prayer. Then he went to the little church, where he took possession of the government, THE STARVING TIME. 29 and rebuked the people for the idleness that had brought them so much suffering. But Lord De la Warr held to the notion of the De la warrs time, that there must be gold in almost every mountain in America ; so he wasted time in trying to penetrate to the mountains for gold, and in building a fort higher up the river, where Richmond now stands, which was abandoned as soon as finished. A great sickness pre- vailed, and a hundred and fifty of the colonists died. Lord De la Warr, finding himself very ill, left the col- ony, to the great discouragement of the people. The next year Sir Thomas Dale took charge, and he sir Thomas Dale remained in Virginia for five years, part of the time as governor-in-chief and part of the time as second in command under Sir Thomas Gates. Dale was a soldier, and ruled with extreme severity. He forced the idle settlers to labor, he drove away some of the Indians and settled new towns, and he built fortifications. But the people hated him for his savage harshness. He punished men by fiogging, and by setting them to work in irons for years. Those who rebelled in desperation, or tried to run away from their misery, were caught and put to death in barbarous ways. Some were burned alive, others tortured by being broken on the wheel, and one man for merely stealing food to satisfy his hun- ger was chained up in a cruel way and left to starve to death. Powhatan, the head chief of the neighboring tribes, The capture of Pocahontas. gave the colony a great deal of trouble during the first Her marriage. part of Dale's time. His daughter Pocahontas, who as a child had often played with the boys within the pali- sades of Jamestown, and had shown herself friendly to 30 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Pocahontas in England. Tobacco first raised in Vir- Captain Smith and others in their trips among the In- dians, was now a woman grown. While she was vis- iting a chief named Japazaws, an English captain named Argall bribed that chief with a cop- per kettle to betra}' her into his hands. Argall took her a captive to James- town. Here a white man by the name of John Rolfe married her, after she had re- ceived Christian bap- tism. This marriage brought about a peace between Powhatan and the English settlers in \'irginia. When Dale went back to England in 1616 he took with him some of the Indians. Poca- hontas, who was now called " the Ladv Rebecca," and her husband went to England with Dale. Pocahontas was called a " princess " in England, and received much attention. But when about to start back to the colon)' she died, leaving a little son. One of the first requisites for the success of a colonv is some commodity that may be exported to pav for clothing and those other necessaries of life which must be bought from older countries. The attempts to find gold or silver in Virginia had proved vain. Silk, cot- ton, and many other things were attempted at James- THE STAR VI XG TIME. 31 town from the very start, but the only product that was found really profitable was tobacco. This " weed," as it was even then called, was, like Indian corn and the po- tato, unknown to Europe until after America was dis- covered. It was introduced under the belief that it was of great value as a medicine. When Ralegh had made its use fashionable in England, the English people bought their tobacco from Spain. But John Rolfe, the same who married Pocahontas, and who seems to have been fond of new experiments, thought that, if the Virginia Indians could grow tobacco for their own use, he might grow it in Virginia for the English market. He tried tobacco-culture in 1612, and it was immediatelv so suc- READY TO GO TO VIR- SHOWINQ THE DRESS THAT TIME. cessful that tobacco became in three or four years the money by which trade was carried on and debts paid, and it remained the recognized currency of Virginia and Maryland for about a hundred and fifty years. Tobacco 32 HISTORY OF THE UXITED STATES. brought a large price in 1612 and for years afterward, and, as it furnished tlie first means by which people in Virginia might gain a living, it helped to make the colony successful. But in 1616, when Dale gave up the government, there were only about three hun- dred and fifty English people in Virginia, and none besides in North America. CHAPTER VI. THE GREAT CHARTER OF VIRGINIA, AXD THE FIRST MASSACRE BY THE INDIANS. Living ai ing in CO id work- Timon. During all the early years of the Virginia colony the people were fed and clothed out of a common stock of provisions. They were also obliged to work for this stock. No division was made of the land, nor could the industrious man get any profit by his hard work. The laziest man was as well off as the one who worked hard- est, and under this arrangement men neglected their work, and the colony was alwa^-s poor. The colonists had been promised that after five years they should have land of their own and be free, but this promise was not kept. In 1614 Sir Thomas Dale gave to some who had been longest in Virginia three acres of ground apiece, and allowed them one month in the year to work on their little patches. For this they must support them- selves and give the rest of their work to the common stock. Even this arrangement made them more indus- trious. But the cruel militarj' laws put in force by the THE GREAT CHARTER OF VIRGINIA. Zl governor made Virginia so unpopular that men sen- tenced to be hanged for petty felonies refused pardon when offered to them on condition of their going to the colony. Argall, who came after Dale, was a greedy rascal, th who governed very badly, and Virginia was almost ruined. In 1618 many new emigrants came out, and Lord De la Warr was again sent as governor, but he died on the way. The " Virginia Company," of London, which had the government of the colony about this time, began to come under the control of certain great states- men with liberal ideas. Among them was Sir Edwin Sandys and the Earl of Southampton. These men were engaged in Parliament in resisting the tyranny of King James's government, and in trying to establish liberty in England. This was slow work in an old country where the sovereign had long had almost absolute power. But Southampton and Sand3-s and their friends probably thought it best to begin rightly in Virginia, and so to make that countr}' a refuge for those who suffered from oppression in England. The Virginia Company, taking advantage of the power which the king had given to it, granted to Virginia, in November, 1618, a "Great Charter," under \vhich the people of the colony were allowed a voice in making their own laws. This was the beginning of free government in America. Under the charter the government of Virginia was put into the hands of a governor, a " council of estate," and a " Gen- eral Assembly." The members of the General Assembly were chosen to represent the different settlements or " boroughs " in Virginia. The other American colonies afterward took pattern from this threefold government. 34 HISTORY OF THE UXITED STATES. Features of the Xhc govcmment of the United States by a President, cnarter govern- ment that re- a Senate, and a House of Representatives shows that the ideas put into the Great Charter have left their mark on the Constitution of our country. The governments of all our States also show traces of the same idea. Each State has a governor, a Senate, and a House of Representa- tives. So that the plan arranged in 1618 for a few hun- dred people in Virginia was a tiny stream that has spread out into a great river. Division of land "Thg Great Charter also gave the people of Virginia the right to divide the land into farms, and to own and work ground each for himself. When the new governor, Sir George Yeardley, got to Vii-ginia in the spring of 1619, bringing this good news that the settlers were to live under laws of their own making, were to cultivate their own land, and enjoy the fruits of their own labors, they thought themselves the happiest people in the world. Sending of wives X\. this time there were but few women in Virginia, to Virginia. _ '^ and none of the men intended to remain there long. It was thought that the colony would be more firmly plant- ed if the colonists had wives. Young women were there- fore sent out to be married to the settlers. But, before any man could marry one of these, he was obliged to gain her consent, and to pay the cost of her passage, which was about a hundred and fifty pounds of tobac- co. This venture proved very satisfactory to the Vir- ginians, and ship-loads of women were therefore sent for wives from time to time for years afterward. When the colonists had land and houses of their own, with wives and children, they felt themselves at home in America, and no lonsrer thoug-ht of going back to England. THE GREAT CHARTER OF VIRGINIA. 35 Before this there had been a good many small wars Indian trouble and troubles of one kind or other with the Indians. But, as the Indians had few fire-arms, the white men could easily defend themselves. After 1619 many efforts were made to civilize and convert the savages. Money was given to educate their children, and a college was planned for them. To conciliate Opechankano, who was brother to Powhatan and had succeeded him, the white people built that chief a house. Nothing about this dwelling interested its owner so much as the lock, which was a great novelty to him. He took delight in locking and unlocking the door many times a day. One ambitious Indian brave, whom the white people "jack or the Feather." called "Jack of the Feather," and who was believed to be proof against bullets, was suspected of wishing war. At length he killed a white man, and the white man's serv- ants, in trying to take him to the governor, shot him. The Indians did not show any resentment at his death at first, and Opechankano said that the sky might fall soon- er than he would break the peace. But on the 22d of March, 1622, while the men of the colony were in the fields, the Indians suddenly fell on the settlements, killing the white people mostly with their own axes, hatch ets, and hoes. Three hundred and forty-seven men, women, and children were slain in a single day. One Indian lad, living in a white man's house, had been notified by his brother, who lav down by him during the night, that the massacre would take place the next day, and that he was expected to slay the man in whose house he dwelt, whose name was Pace. But 36 HISTORY OF THE UXITED STATES. The Virginia Company di; the boy could not bear to kill his benefactor, and when his brother had gone he got up and warned Mr. Pace of the impending danger. Pace hast- ened to Jamestown and noti- tied the governor, so that some of the settlements had time to put themselves in a state of de- fense. From this time there was almost continual war with the Indians for many years. King James did not like the Virginia Company after it passed into the hands of those who wished to establish the liberties of the people, and he made many efforts to get it out of their control. In 1624 the company was dissolved, and the colony was put under the government of the king. But the king, when he put down the Virginia Company, promised to the colony all the liberties which thev then enjoyed. This promise was not well kept by his successors in after-years ; the Virginians were often oppressed by the governors sent to them, and in 1639 one Kemp, the secretary of the colony, seems to have run away to England with the Great Charter of 161 8, of which no copy can now be found. But the right to pass laws in the General Assembly was never quite taken away. THE COMING OF THE PILGRIMS. Z7 CHAPTER VI r. THE COMING OF THE PILGRIMS. In the seventeenth century (that is, between the year 1600 and the 3'ear 1700) there was much religious per- secution. In some countries the Catholics persecuted the Protest- ants, in other countries the Protest- ants persecuted the Catholics, and sometimes one kind of Protestant persecuted another. There were people in England who did not like the ceremonies of the The sep: Church of England, as established b}- law. These were called Puritans. Some of these went so far as to sepa- rate themselves from the Established Church, and thus got the name of Separatists. They were persecuted in England, and many of them fled to Holland. Among these were the members of a little Separat- The Piig " ^ ^ in Hollar 1st congregation in Scrooby, in the north of England, whose pastor's name was John Robinson. In 1607, the year in which Jamestown was settled, these persecuted people left England and settled in Holland, where they lived about thirteen years, most of the time in the city of Leyden. Then they thought they would like to plant a colony in America, where they could be religious in their own way. These are the people that we call " The Pilgrims," on account of their wanderings for the sake of their religion. About half of them were to go first. The rest went down to the sea to say farewell to those who were going. THE COMIXG OF THE PILGRIMS. 39 It was a sad parting, as tlicy all knelt down on the shore and prayed together. The Pilgrims came to America in a ship called the Mayflower. There were about a hundred of them, and they had a stormy and wretched passage. They intend- ed to go to the Hudson River, but their cap- tain took them to Cape Cod. After exploring the coast north of that cape for some distance, they se- The voyage to lected as a place to land a harbor which had been called Mayflower. Plymouth on the map prepared by Captain John Smith, who had sailed along this coast in an open boat in 1614. All the Indians who had lived at this iilace had died The landing of . . the Pilgrims. a few years before of a pestilence, and the Pilgrims found the Indian fields unoccupied. They first landed at Plymouth on the nth day of December, 1620, as the days were then counted. This is the same as the 21st of December now, the mode of counting ha\ing changed since that time. (Through a mistake, the 22d of Decem- ber is sometimes kept in New England as " Forefathers' Day.") Before landing, the Pilgrims drew up an agree- ment by which they promised to be governed. The bad voyage, the poor food with which the}' were Hair of the Pilgrims die. provided, and a lack of good shelter in a climate colder than that from which they came, had their natural effect. Like the first settlers at Jamestown, they were soon nearly all sick. Forty-four out of the hundred Pil grims died before the winter was ended, and by the time the first year was over half of them were dead. The Pilgrims were afraid of the Indians, some of whom had attacked the first exploring party that had landed. To prevent the savages from finding out how much the colony 40 HISTORY OF THE UXITED STATES. cquaint- ith the Myles i and the Plymout with Ma nited chu- had been weakened by disease, they leveled all the graves, and planted Indian corn over the place in which the dead were buried. One day, after the winter was over, an Indian walked into the village and said in English, " Welcome, English- men." He was a chief named Samoset, who had learned a little English from the fishermen on the coast of Maine. Samoset afterward brought with him an Indian named Squanto, who had been carried away to England by a cruel captain many years before, and then brought back. Squanto remained with the Pilgrims, and taught them how to plant their corn as the Indians did, by putting cme or two fish into ever}^ hill for manure. He taught them many other things, and acted as their interpreter in their trading with the Indians. He told the Indians that the}' must keep peace with the white men, who had the pestilence stored in their cellar along with the gunpowder ! The neighboring chief, Massasoit, was also a good friend to the Pilgrims as long as he lived. Captain Myles Standish was the military commander at Plymouth. He dealt severely with any Indians sup- posed to be hostile. Finding that certain of the Massa- chusetts Indians were planning to kill all the whites, he and some of his men seized the plotters suddenlv and killed them with the knives which the Indians wore sus- pended from their own necks. The people of Plymouth sulTcred much from scarcity of food for several 3-ears. They had often nothing but oysters or clams to eat for a long time together, and no THE COMING OF THE PILGRIMS. 41 ^ £81^:%^ ) drink but water. They held their meetings in a square house on top of a hill. On the flat roof of this house were six small cannon. The people were called to church by the beating of a drum. The men marched in procession to church, followed by the governor, the elder or preacher, and Captain Standish. They carried loaded fire-arms with them when they went to meeting on Sunday, and put them where they could reach them easily. The town was surrounded by a stockade, and had three gates. Eld- er Brewster was the religious teacher of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, their minister, John Robinson, having stayed with those who waited in Holland, and died there. It is said that Brewster, when he had nothing but shell-fish and water for dinner, would cheerfully give thanks that they were " permit- ted to suck of the abundance of the seas and of the treasures hid in the sand." Like the Jamestown people, the\ tried a plan of living out of a common stock, but with no better suc- cess. In 1624 each family received a small allotment of land for its own, and from that time there was always plenty to eat in Plym- outh. Others of the 4^ H/STOJiy OF THE VXITED STATES. Pilgrims came to them from Holland, as well as a few emigrants from England. Phmouth Colony was, next to Virginia, the oldest colony of all, but it did not grow very fast, and in 1692, by a charter from King William III. it was united with Massachusetts, of which its terri- tory still forms a part. CHAPTER VIII. *^r*N-. t CROMWELU Settlers along chuSettS BaV the New Eng- The English Puritans. THE CUMING OF THE TLRITANS. Before the Pilgrims had become comfortably set- tled in their new home, other English people came to various parts of the New England coast, to the northward of Plymouth. About 1623 a few scattering immigrants, mostlv fishermen, traders with the Indians, and timber-cutters, began to settle here and there along the sea about Massa- and in what afterward came to be the colonies of New Hampshire and Maine. We have seen in the preceding chapter that tiie Pil- grims belonged to that partv which had separated itself from the Church of England, and so got the name of Separatists. But there were also a great many people who did not like the ceremonies of the Established Church, but who would not leave it. These were called Puritans, because they sought to purify the Church from what thev thought to be wrong. They formed a large part of the English people, and at a later time, under Oliver Cromwell, they got control of England. But at THE COMING OF THE PURITANS. 43 PURITAN GENTLEM the time of the settlement of New England the party opposed to the Puritans was in power, and the Puritans were persecuted. The little colony of Plymouth, which had now got through its sufferings, showed them a way out of their troubles. Many of the Puritans began to think of emigration. In 1628, when Plymouth had been settled almost eight years, the Massachusetts Company was formed. This was a company like the Virginia Company that had governed Virginia at first. The Massachu- setts Company was controlled by Puritans, and pro- The Massachu- " .... . setts Company posed to make settlements within the territory granted sends out its to it in New England. The first party sent out by this ^^^^ '^° °"^' company settled at Salem in 1628. Other settlers were sent the next 3-ear. But in 1630 a new and bold move was made. The The great mi- gration to Mas- Massachusetts Company resolved to change the place sachusetts, 1630. of holding its meetings from London to its new colony in America. This would give the people in the colony, as members of the company, a right to govern them- selves. The principal founder of the Massachusetts Col- ony and the most remarkable and admirable man among its leaders was John Winthrop, who was born in 1588. He was chosen Governor of the Massachusetts Company in order that he might bring the charter and all the ma- chinery of the government with him to America. When this proposed change became known in England, many of the Puritans desired to go to America. Winthrop, the new governor, set sail for Massachusetts Bay in 1630 with the charter and about a thousand people. The governor and a part of his company settled at Boston, and that became the capital of the colony. 44 HISTORY OF THE UXITED STATES. Character of Winthrop. Emigration to New England. Winthrop was almost continually governor until he died, in 1649. He was a man of great wisdom. When another of the leading men in the colony wrote him an angry letter, he sent it back, saying that " he was not willing to keep such a provocation to ill-feeling by him." The writer of the letter answered, " Your overcoming vourself has overcome me." When the colony had little food, and Winthrop's last bread was in the oven, he di- vided the small remainder of his flour among the poor. That very day a ship-load of pro- visions came. Winthrop dressed plainly, drank little but water, and labored with his hands among his servants. He counted it the great comfort of his life that he had a " loving and dutiful son." This son was also named John. He was a man of excellent virtues, and was the first Governor of Connecticut. None of the colonies was set- tled more rapidly than Massachu- setts. Twenty thousand people JOHN WINTHROP. came between 1630 and 1640, for New England was at this time regarded as a great refuge for the Puritans who suffered persecution in England. The Puritans themselves were not free from the intoler- ance of the times ; and when a new religious partv, led by a Mrs. Hutchinson, arose in Boston soon after the set- tlement, the adherents to the new doctrines were banish- ed for disturbing the peace of the infant colony. .About the same time there came the war with the Pequot In- dians, about which more will be told in another chapter. THE COMING OF THE PURITAXS. 45 Some of the Puritans in Massachu- setts were dissatisfied with their lands. In 1635 and 1636 these people, under the leadership of a great divine named Thomas Hooker, crossed through the unbroken woods to the Connecticut River and settled the towns of Wind- sor, Wethersfield, and Hartford. There- were already trading-posts on the Con- necticut River ; but this emigration of Hooker and his friends was the real beginning of the Colony of Connecticut. Another col- ony was planted in 1638 in the region about New Haven. It was made up of Puritans under the lead of the Rev. John Davenport. In 1665 the New Haven Colony was united with Connecticut. In 1636 Roger Williams, a minister at Salem, in Mas- sachusetts, was banished from that colony on account of his peculiar views on several subjects, religious and political. One of these was the doctrine that every man had a right to worship God without interference by the government, a very strange doctrine in that day. Will- iams went to the head of Narragansett Bay, and estab- lished a settlement on the principle of entire religious lib- erty. The disputes in Massachusetts resulted in other settlements of ban- ished people on Narragansett Bav, 1636. New en Colony Rog r Willi am lays the fou nd tions of Rhc de Islar d, 1636. 46 Jf /STORY OF THE U. VI TED STATES. I Hampshire. wliich were all at length united in one colony, from which came the present State of Rhode Island. The first settlement oi New Hampshire was made at Little Harbor, near Portsmouth, in 1623. The population of New Hampshire was increased by those who left the Massachusetts Colony on account of the religious disputes and persecutions there. Other set- tlers came from England. But there was much con- fusion and dispute about land-titles and about govern- ment, in consequence of which the colony was set- tled slowly. New Hampshire was several times joined to Massachusetts, but it was finally separated from it in 1 74 1. As early as 1607, about the time \'irginia was set- tled, a colon)^ was planted in Maine. Like the people who settled Virginia, those who came to Maine in 1607 were looking particular!)- for gold-mines. The hard winter and other things discouraged them, and they went back the year after they came. Other settlers planted themselves on the coast for a time about 1622 and 1623, but the first permanent settlement seems to have been the one made at Pemaquid in 1625. The pioneers of Maine were not religious refugees, but men interested in the fisheries, the trade with the Indians, and the cutting of timber. The)- submitted to the gov- ernment of Massachusetts in 1652 ; but the " District of Maine," as it was called, sufTered disorders from con- flicting governments set up under different authorities until it was at length annexed to Massachusetts by the charter given to that colony in 1692. It remained a part of Massachusetts until it was admitted to the Union as a separate State in 1820. THE COMING OF THE PURITANS. 47 The New England colonies were governed under charters, which left them, in general, free from interference from England. Plymouth, Massachusetts, Con- necticut, New Haven, and Rhode Island were the only colonies on the continent that had the privi- lege of choosing their own gov- ernors. In 1684 the first Massa- chusetts charter was taken away, and after that the governors of Massachusetts were appointed by the king, but under a new charter given in 1692 the go colony enjoyed the greater part of its old liberties. ur rP-emaquid^i, y^ Plymouth^-,,- :^:i ncei '620. \ :) Providei HaHfSrd '^36 1635 nent in / Eng- CHAPTER IX. THE COMING OF THE DUTCH. While Captain John captain john Smith sends a Smith was in V^irginia (see map to Hudson Chapter IV), he had a notion that there was a passage into the Pacific Ocean somewhere to the north of the Virginia Colony. He may have got this opinion from some old maps, or from misunderstanding something that the Indians told him while he HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. Hudson ex- plores Hudson was exploring the Chesapeake Bay. He sent to his old friend Henry Hudson, in England, a letter and a map, which showed a way to go by sea into the Pacific Ocean, a little to the north of Virginia. Henry Hudson was an Englishman already known as a bold explorer. Of his birth and early life nothing is known, nor is an3'thing known of the early voyages by which he became famous. In 1607, in the employ of an English compan\% he undertook to find the much-desired route to China by sailing straight across the north pole. He failed, of course, though he got farther north than any other voyager had done. In the next year, 1608, for the same company, he tried to find a passage to the East Indies by sailing to the northeast. He did not succeed, but he sets down in his journal that some of his company saw one day a mermaid, with a body like a woman and a tail like a porpoise. Intelligent people believed in such monsters in that day. In 1609, soon after getting John Smith's letter and map, Hudson went to Holland and hired himself to the Dutch East India Company. This company sent him out with a little yacht, called the Half-Moon, manned by twenty sailors, to find a passage to China, by going around the north coast of Europe — a pas- sage only discovered in our own time. But Hud- apLe son found the sea in that direction so full of ice that he was obliged to give up the attempt to get to China in that way. So, remembering John Smith's map, he set sail for America, contrary to the orders of his employers. Hudson sailed as far to the south as the entrance to the Chesapeake, and then explored the coast to the THE COMIXG OF THE DUTCH. 49 northward. He went into Delaware Bay, and afterward came to anchor in New York Harbor. In hope of find- ing a way to the East Indies, he kept on up the river, which we now call Hudson River, for eleven days. But when he had sailed up its lovely reaches, and had passed through the bold highlands into the upper waters and so on, in view of the Catskills, nearly as far as to the place where Albany is now, Hudson became satisfied that the road to China did not lie there, and so he turned his ship about, sailed down the river, and returned to Europe. In the year fol- lowing he tried to find a way to China by the northwest, but, while sailing in what is now called Hudson Bay, part of his crew rose against him, and, putting Hudson and some of his men into an open boat, sailed away, leaving them to perish. Though Hudson was an Englishman, he made his '^''^ '^""''' "'''''" * ^ lish a fur-trade on voyage into Hudson River for the Dutch, and the very Hudson River. ne.xt year the Dutcli merchants began a fur-trade with the Indians on the river that Hudson had discovered. In the year that followed (1611) they explored the coast northeastward beyond Boston Harbor, and to the south- ward they sailed into the Delaware River, claiming all this countr\-, which was then without any inhabitants but Indians. They called this territory New Nether- land. Netherland is another name for what we call Holland. The Dutch had built a trading-post, called a " fort," The Dutch plant a colony in New at what is now Albany, and perhaps others like it else- Netheriand. where, but they did not send out a colon)- of people to settle the country until 1623. Then two principal set- 50 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. tlements were made, the one at Al- ban}-, the other at Wallabout, now part of Brooklyn. But the ishind of Manhattan, on which New York now stands, had been the center of the Dutch trade, and it soon be- came the little capital of the colony. The town which grew about the fort, that stood at the south end of what is now New York city, was called by the /J Dutch New Amsterdam, after the principal city ■■^■^ of Holland, their own country. It was a thrifty village, with a considerable trade with the Indian country in wampum, smoked oysters, and beaver-skins. The Dutch also had trading - posts on the Con- ng of New necticut River and on the Delaware River. But on :n, and its est by the tlic Connccticut River they got into trouble with the English settlers, who claimed the whole of that country, and presently crowded the Dutch out of it. On the Delaware River the Dutch had trouble with a company of Swedes, who had planted a colony there in 1638. This colony the Swedes called New Sweden, just as the Dutch called theirs New Neth- erland, and as the English called their northern col- onies New England, while the French named their settlements in Canada New France. After a great deal of quarreling between the Swedes and Dutch, the Dutch governor, Peter Stuyvesant, in 1655, mus- tered a little fleet with six or seven hundred men, and, sailing to the Delaware River, captured New Sweden, and it became a part of New Nether- PETER STUtVESANT. Umd. THE COMLVG OF THE DUTCH. 51 But the English at this time claimed that all the ter- The ritory between Virginia and New England belonged to eriai England. They said that all that coast had been discov- ered by Cabot for Henry VII more than a century and a half before. In 1664, in time of peace, four English ships appeared in the harbor of New Amsterdam and demanded its surrender. Stout old Peter Stuyvesant, the lame governor who had ruled in the Dutch colonies for ^^ many } ears, resolved to fight. But the city was weak English con New Neth- Tf-^ ' ^ — -^^.^ f ' . ' " and without ' - ' loi tihcations, and the people, seeing the uselessness of contending against the ships, persuaded Stuyvesant to surrender. The name New Amsterdam was immediately changed to New York, the whole prov- ince having been granted to the Duke of York. At the time of the surrender New York city had New becor but fifteen hundred people, most of them speaking the York. Dutch language. To-day there are nearly a thousand Amsterdarr les New 52 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. times as many people in the city. Many thousands of the inhabitants of New York and many in other States have descended from the first Dutch colonists and bear the old Dutch names. The Dutch settlers were gener- ally industrious, frugal, and religious. CHAPTER X. THE SETTLEMENT OF MARYLAND AND THE CAROLINAS. Virginii cut dow By the second charter given for planting the " First Colony of Virginia," as it was called, its breadth was cut down to four hundred miles along the sea- coast. Virginia had formerly included all that the English claimed in America. Part of the four hun- red miles was occupied by the Dutch in New Jersey and Delaware. And the territory of Virginia was, at length, further cut down by the taking of another part of it to form Maryland for Lord Baltimore. '%^J\ George Calvert, afterward Lord Baltimore, was a Secretary of State to James I. In 1621 he plant- ed a colon)- in Newfoundland, which he called Ava- MARYLAXD AND THE CAROLIXAS. 53 Ion. In 1627 he went to his colony in Newfound- land, but the climate was so cold that in 1629 he went to Virginia. Before going to Virginia he wrote to the king, begging for territory to plant a colony there. Lord Baltimore had become a Ro- man Catholic at a time when there were severe laws in England against Catholics. Even in the colonies Catholics were not allowed ; and the Virginians took advantage of the orders given them from England to insist that Balti- more must take an oath declaring that the king was the head of the Church. As a Catholic he Lord Baltimore's 11 1 1 • 11 ,^. . . Ill- 1 '''■^* colony fails. could not do this, and the V irgimans bade him leave the colony. Lord Baltimore returned to England, and got the Maryland grant- . . ed to Lord Bal- king, Charles L to give him a slice of Virginia north timore. of the Potomac. This country- King Charles named Maryland, in honor of the queen, his wife. For this Baltimore was to pay to the king two Indian arrows every year in recognition of the king's sovereignty. But, before Lord Baltimore could send out a colony, he died. The territor}- was then granted to Lord Baltimore's Maryland plant- ed by the second son, the second Lord Baltimore. He was given all Lord Baltimore, the powers of a monarch. The first settlers were sent out in 1633, and reached Maryland in 1634. This com- pany was composed of twenty gentle- men and three hundred laboring-men, and the first governor was Leonard Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore's SECOND LORD BALTIMORE. brothcr. Roiiian Catholic priests were %J0n'^._ Early yeai Maryland. CA HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. r I -. with them, '"^-^ and at their landing they set up a cross. But there were also a good man}' Prot- estants in the party, and Balti- more had resolved from the beginning that there should be no persecution of any Christians on account of re- ligion in his new province. In almost ever}' country in the world at that time the established religion, of whatever sort it might be, was enforced by law. The colonists came in two ships called the Ark and the Dove ; they settled first at a place which they called St. Mary's, on the St. Mary's River, not far from the Potomac. They bought from the Indians living on the place their village and corn-ground, and for the rest of that season they lived in half of the village with the In- MAJ?VLAX£> AND THE CAROLIXAS. 55 dians. The colony had man}' troubles and several little civil wars in its early years. These mostly grew out of the religious differences of the people. But after a while Maryland prospered and grew rich by raising tobacco. The money of Maryland as of Virginia was tobacco, and the two colonies were much alike in traits of their business and social life. After the settlement of New England by Puritans, n^ and Maryland by Catholics, there was a period of about thirty years in which no new colonies were planted. In this period occurred the Great Rebellion in England, in which Charles I was beheaded, and his son Charles II was kept out of England by the Puritans under Oliver Cromwell. But, after Cromwell's death, Charles II was brought back to the throne of England in 1660. This is known as the Restoration. After the Restoration there was a new interest in cj colonies. New York was taken from the Dutch, and to new colonies were planned. King Charles II was a very thoughtless, self-indulgent monarch, who freely granted great tracts of land in America to several of his favorites. To some of his courtiers he gave, in 1663, a large territor}' cut off from Virginia on the south, which had been known before this time as Carolana, but was now called Carolina, from Carolus, the Latin form of King Charles's name. This territory included what we call North and South Carolina. The eight noblemen and gentlemen to whom this territory was granted were called " The Lords Proprietors of Carolina." olina granted light proprie- 56 HISTORY OF THE VXITED STATES. Beginning of set- tlements in North Carolina in 1653. The Caroli Constitutio In the northeastern corner of this territory, on the Chowan River, a settlement had been made by people from Virginia, under the lead of a minister named Roger Green, in 1653. This was ten years before the coun- try was granted to these lords proprietors, and the land belonged to Virginia when they settled there. A set- tlement was made at Port Royal, in South Carolina, in 1670, but the people afterward moved to where the city of Charleston now stands. The foundation of this city was laid in 1680. A large number of Huguenots, or French Protestants, settled in South Carolina about this time. As America was a new countrv, people who had projects of any kind were always for trying them in some American colon}^ The lords proprietors of Caro- lina got up what they thought a beautiful system of gov- ernment. They proposed to have Carolina chiefly ruled by noblemen, who were to be divided into three orders, one above another. These noblemen were to be called palatines, landgraves, and caciques. They attached to this constitution a plan for laying off their territory into large square tracts of several thousand acres each. These were to be the property of their nobility and the pro- prietors ; the people were to be tenants paying rent. The men who adopted this plan had never seen Amer- ica. They knew nothing of the habits and necessities of settlers in a new country. Constitutions can not be made to order in this fashion ; they must grow out of the circumstances and character of the people. The clumsy arrangements of the proprietors all failed when they tried to apply them. Their degrees of nobility and the ofificers with titles were of no use in the woods of MARYLAND AXD THE CAROLIXAS. 57 l^^^^/Charleston. 1680. ^^^ort Royal, 1670. North Carolina Progress of the America ; their people did not care to rent land when so much lay vacant, and the machinery of their constitution was ridicu- lous when their agents tried to put it in motion. The Carolina colonies grew slowly at first. The introduction of rice- culture in 1696 proved of great ad- vantage to South Carolina, which im- mediately became prosperous. The people took to raising large herds of cattle which change of'gov roamed in the woods. This colony was involved in ^'■"'"'" ■ many local dissensions and petty civil wars. The Caro- lina proprietors, who had the appointment of govern- ors to both colonies, conducted their affairs in a selfish spirit. In 17 19 the South Carolina people rose in re- bellion, marched into Charleston, and threw off the yoke of the lords proprietors. In 1729 the king bought out the interest of all the proprietors except one, and after that period both North and South Carolina were gov- erned as royal colonies, the governors receiving their appointment from the king, while the laws were made by a General Assembly elected by the people and a Council appointed by the king. 58 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 8C0TCH WOMAN £ast and West Yorlc bcforc it was conqucred afterward became King of England, as James II CHAPTER XI. THE COMING OF THE QUAKERS AND OTHERS TO THE JERSEYS AND PENNSYLVANIA. We have seen that the Dutch territory of New Netherland extended at first to the Connecticut River on the east and to the Delaware River on the south. This included what we now know as New Jerse}', in which numbers of Dutch people had settled before the English took possession of New Netherland in 1664. Charles II, with his accustomed lavishness, gave away New Netherland to his brother the Duke of This Duke of York James kept the portion of it that is now called New York, which name it took from his own title. The part now called New Jersey he gave to Lord John Berke- ley and Sir George Carteret, who after a few years sold their interest to others. In 1674 the proprietors of New Jersey divided it into the colonies of East and West Jersey. It was a time of religious persecution. Many people emigrated to the colonies in order to get a chance to be religious in their own wav, and the proprietors of the New Jersey colonies promised to all who came lib- erty to worship in the way of their choice. The people of Scotland, who were Presbyterians, suffered horribly from persecutions after the restoration of Charles II, and East Jersey received many Scotch emigrants, driven out of their own country by the cruelt)' of the gov- THE COMING OF THE QUAKERS. 59 i come to d West ernment. Some people from New England also moved scotch people come to New into East Jersey. jersey. The religious sect most severely persecuted in Eng- land after the restoration of the king was the Soci- ety of Friends, whose members are sometimes called Quakers. The conscientious refusal of the Friends to Quak . . East take oaths in courts of law, their unwillingness to serve jerse as soldiers, and their refusal to take off their hats to people in authority, were deemed very serious offenses in that day. They were not only whipped, fined, and imprisoned in England, but also in Virginia, while in Massachusetts they were whipped and banished, and some of them were put to death for re- turning to the col- ony after banish- ment. Some of the people of this perse- cuted society came to East Jersey, but more to West Jer- sey, which had been bought by certain leading Friends. Among those who had to do with the management of the West Jersey colony was a famous Quaker preacher named William Fenn. He was born in London in 1644, and was son to Admiral William Fenn, who gained re- nown for the part he took in the English wars with the Dutch. The younger Fenn first came under the in- 5o HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. fluence of the Friends, or Quakers, while he was a stu- dent at Oxford, and he was expelled from the university, with others, for the resistance they made to certain re- ligious ceremonies introduced at that time. His father sent him to Paris, and he became an accomplished man of the world. But he afterward became a Friend, which so enraged the old admiral that he turned his son out of the house. It is pleasant to know, however, that in later years the father and son became reconciled. William Penn was repeatedly imprisoned for his re- ligious views, but he boldly asserted in the English courts the great principle of religious liberty. He traveled into Wales, Ireland, Holland, and Germany, in his preaching journeys, and many of his acquaintances in those countries afterward came to Pennsylvania. Though Penn would never take off his hat in the presence of the king, he had considerable influence at court, which he used to lessen the sufferings of the Quakers and others. Pennsylvania It was probably whllc Penn was engaged in the William Penn. affairs of West Jersey that he observed that the terri- tory on the other side of the Delaware was not oc- cupied except by a few Swedes, who had come over to the old colony of New Sweden before Peter Stuy- vesant conquered it for the Dutch. William Penn had a claim against the King of England for a consider- able sum of money due to his father. The king was in debt, and found it hard to pa}' what he owed. Penn, therefore, persuaded Charles II to settle the debt by granting him a territory on the west side ol the river Delaware. This new territory the king called Pennsylvania, which means something like Penn's For- THE COMING OF THE QUAKERS. 6i est. The name was given in honor of Penn's father, the admiral. What is now the State of Delaware was also put De under Penn's government by the Duke of York. Every- thing was done with ceremony in those days. When Penn got to New Castle, in Dela- ware, its govern- ment was trans- ferred to him in the following way : The key to the fort at New Castle was de- livered to him. With this he locked himself into the fort and then let himself out, in sign that the government was his. To show that the land with the trees on it belonged to him, a piece of sod with a twig in it was given to him. Then a porringer filled with water from the river was put into his hands, that he might be lord of the rivers as well as of the land. Penn sent his first emigrants to Pennsylvania in Penn settles ° Pennsylvania. 1681. Philadelphia, where they landed, was yet a woods, and the people had to dig holes in the river- banks to live in through the winter. Nearly thirty ves- sels came to the new colony during the first year. Although Pennsylvania was the last colony settled ''^p''' ?"-owth oi '^ J ■' Pennsylvania. except Georgia, it soon became one of the most popu- lous and one of the richest. Before the Revolution, Philadelphia had become the largest town in the thir- 62 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. The two Je united. teen colonies. This was chiefl}- owing to the very free government that William Peon founded in his colony. Not only English, but Welsh and Irish people, and many thousands of industrious Germans, came to Penn- sylvania. People were also attracted by the care that Penn took to maintain friendly relations with the In- dians, and to satisfy them for their lands. Another thing which drew people both to Pennsylvania and New Jersey was the fact that the land was not taken up in large bodies, as it was in New York and Virginia, for instance. In Pennsylvania and New Jersey the poor man could get a farm of his own. By the sale and division of shares, the pro- prietaries of both East and West Jersey be- came too numerous to manage their govern- ments well, and at length disorders arose which they were not able to suppress. In 1702 the govern- eys ment of both provinces was transferred to Queen Anne, and East and West Jersey were again united into the one province of New Jersey. But even to this day, in common speech, one sometimes hears the State of New Jersey spoken of as " The Jerseys " by people who do not know that two hundred years ago there were two colonies of that name. Pennsylvania remained in the hands of the Penn family, who appointed its governors, till the American Revolution. THE SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA. CHAPTER XII. THE SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA, AND THE COMING OF THE GERMANS, IRISH, AND FRENCH. Penn's settlement at Philadelphia was made, as we have seen, in 1681. This was seventy-four years after the settlement of Jamestown. In seventy-four years, which is not a very long lifetime, all the colonies were begun except one. But after the settlement of Georgia pro- jected. Pennsylvania there passed fifty-one years more before another colony was begun. As the borders of Carolina were supposed to reach to the Spanish territory in Flor- ida, and as New England touched the French territory in Canada, there appeared to be no room for any more colo- nies, until it was suggested that a slice might be taken off the south side of South Carolina, and a new colony be wedged in between Carolina and the Spanish colony in Florida. Indeed, long before Georgia as a separate col- ony was thought of, some benevolent people had the notion of settling " the south parts of Carolina," as they called what was afterward named Georgia, with distressed English peo- ple. But the project did not come to any- thing until it was taken up by General Oglethorpe, a most energetic and benevolent man. James Edward Oglethorpe was born in London in 1688. He was in the war of the Austrians against the Turks .r, ^/Charleston . 1680. ^ort Royal, 1670. C^'Savannah, 1732. 64 HISTORY OF THE UXITED STATES. in 17 16, and held a command under Prince Eugene in the brilliant and desperate campaign of 171 7, which ended in the surrender of Belgrade. He returned to England in 1722, and served in Parliament for thirty- two years afterward. He was opposed to the cruel system of imprisoning poor debtors which then pre- vailed, and he did much to improve the condition of this unhappy class. He was also interested in the efforts then made to convert the black slaves in the colonies to Christianity. Oglethorpe's jn settling Georgia, the views of Oglethorpe and his plans. associates were most benevolent. There had been much wild speculation in England, by which multitudes of people were ruined. Oglethorpe wished to provide a home for these, where they might in a new country hope to secure a competency. There was at this time much sympathy in England for the Protestants, who were suffering persecution in several of the countries on the continent of Europe, and Oglethorpe hoped to make the new colony a refuge for these. He also pro- posed to make his colony a military barrier against the encroachments of the Spaniards in Florida, who laid claim to all of South Carolina. In order that his peo- ple might not live in idleness, he did not permit any slaves to be bought ; to make them temperate, he for- bade the importation of rum. Georgia was thus for a while the only non-slaveholding colony, and the only place in Europe or America in which the sale of liquors was prohibited. Visionary ex- Like many other philanthropists, Oglethorpe tried to periments. do more than was possible. He thought that, by rais- ing silk-worms in Georgia, he might save to the Eng- THE SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA. 65 lish the money they paid to the Italians for silk. He also tried to raise many valuable tropical plants. There was hardly any