V'-^'/ v"^-'\/ \.''^'/ ^^^'••.••■3- ''^'^B:> /^'^iX .^^^^^%°- .^- .0. '0^ ^^°^ " or WvvSN^ ^ V- ■♦** ,0 «» 3P -^j 1^ ^ " ^°^ 0^ A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY BY CHARLES ELLSWORTH MARTZ '(o^. /U A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY BY Charles Ellsworth Martz PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN THE WEST CHESTER (PA.) STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 1920 COPYRIGHT 1920 BY C. E. MARTZ ©CI,A565941 HORACE F. TEMPLE. PUBLISHER WEST CHESTER. PA. MA\ -I 1920 A Review of American History THE EUROPEAN BACKGROUND We must look upon the discovery of America as one of a great number of events and movements that center about the year 1450, a period which we usually associate with the name of the RENAISSANCE. The Feudal System of the Middle Ages was breaking down and was giving way to more centralized govern- ments. The Tudors brought Tudor Absolutism to England; Ferdinand and Isabella were married and Spain became a united kingdom; Portugal became a single monarchy under Henry. These changes led to an increased feeling of nationality on the part of the people of each of these nations and made possible the rivalries which played such an important part in the development of American History. The Crusades, which began about 1100, brought Europe into touch with an East which could supply luxuries. It soon became evident that the Mediaeval barter was bound to give way to an exchange where money played a big part ; surplus products began to be sold for money. This brought a whole train of results. It gave a greater place to commerce ; it made possible the accumula- tion of capital which was a great force in the development of America. Long before 1400, then, a flourishing trade had been developed with the East in which spices, perfumes, silks and like goods were the staples. The student should discover the routes used with the aid of a map. It will be evident that each of the known routes necessitated a portage of some distance across the desert from the Mediterranean waters to those of the Indian ocean, and it can be readily estimated that a land trip was at least four times as expensive as a water trip. The cost of this transportation had made it a serious problem of merchants to find a new route long before the coming of the Ottoman Turks in 1453 made this step absolutely necessary. This tribe from Central Asia captured Con- 4 A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY stantinople and practically closed the Mediterranean to Western commerce. The new commercial spirit was not thus easily to be snuffed out and a determined movement was in the air for the finding of a new route. The newly born spirit of nationality made the finding of the route a subject for international competition. Into this struggle we find the first activity to come from little Portugal. With Prince Henry the Navigator as their patron saint, the Portuguese navigators set out to find a new route along their natural pathway : down the African coast past the Azores. Diaz got as far as the tip of Africa in 148G ; l^'asco da Gania suc- ceeded in getting around the point and to the Indies in 1497, thus becoming the national hero of Portugal. Spain entered the scene of competition with the work of Columbus. Born at or near Genoa somewhere about the year 1450, Columbus had spent his early days in that city, which was one of the Italian cities which carried on a rivalry for the trade of the Mediterranean. Ships formed the basis of their existence. Columbus went to sea very early in life, acquiring along with the practical knowledge of the sea an interest in map making. In 1475 he went to Portugal, the center of the interest in the new route, but his ideas of reaching the Indies by sailing westward did not meet encouragement. Columbus had the idea firmly fixed; he had the tenacity of purpose to carry out his project; resources to defray the necessary expense, however, he had not. To supply this lack he went from court to court in Europe and finally came to that of Ferdinand and Isabella, where the queen was willing to back the new "admiral." A sum of money esti- mated by Thacher to be about $100,000 in modern value was raised, and eventually the little expedition of three ships left Palos. The proposed westward trip developed from geographic considerations to be a southwestward trip, for the winds of the Atlantic blew Columbus down to the West Indies, and the same winds later blew the founders of Jamestown first to the West Indies. The remainder of the life of Columbus is taken up with vain attempts to reconcile what he had really found with what he had attempted to find. He made three other voyages, the third taking him to the mouth of the Orinoco River and the last skirt- A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY <, ing the shores of Panama. The expectations that he had aroused in the minds of profit-seeking Spaniards were not fulfilled and Columbus, discredited and wretched, was mercifully relieved by death in 1506. The new world which had been discovered soon became the scene of a series of exploring expeditions of which the following should be carefully noted : Vespuccius Coast of Brazil. (Account of voyage leading to name.) Magellan Around world. (Died in Philippines.) Cortez Mexico. (Conquest.) Balboa Panama and Pacific Ocean across Panama. DeSoto Gulf States. Narvaez Gulf States. de Leon Florida. Coronado Southwestern U. S. Pizarro Peru. Mark each of these on map so that the territory claimed by Spain is clear. The Portuguese interests were to the east around Africa, and to prevent a clash between Spain and Portugal for new lands, the Pope drew the famous "PROCLAMATION LINE," a line from North to South, which just cut ofif the tip of Brazil, all the land east of which was to go to Portugal and all west of it to Spain. The French nation was also becoming nationalized, and its sailors were seeking some of this new world. They did not ven- ture into Southern waters but came straight across. The follow- ing should be noted in this earlier period : Verrazano From the Hudson River northward. Cartier 1534, in the St. Lawrence. Champlain 1608, founded Quebec. English activity in the early period is limited to the voyage of John Cabot in 1498, who explored the northerly coast. The strength of the Spanish on the sea made it impossible for the English to interfere to a greater extent. However, a change comes during the reign of Queen Elizabeth (after 1550). A period of 6 A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY prosperity came to England and with it came a series of seamen who dared dispute Spanish supremacy. Hawkins and Drake are the great names of the period, men who were really pirates, but living in an age when piracy practiced against the Spanish was a virtue. Their lives are filled with romance and adventure. Incensed by the exploits of these men and angered because of Elizabeth's refusal to marry him, the king of Spain sent prac- tically all of his sea power against England in a great fleet known as the Spanish Armada. This was defeated in 1588, and that date marks the downfall of Spain as a maritime power and the rise of the importance of England. COLONIZATION French Hugenots formed the first settlement in 1562 at Port Royal, under the leadership of Ribault. In 1565, Menendez brought some Spaniards to St. Augustine and founded the first permanent colony, for one of his first acts was to destroy the French colony, largely because it stood as a threat to the Spanish treasure ships en route to Spain. In the Elizabethan period, the English began to interest themselves in colonization. There was a considerable body of free capital looking for investment ; men were dissatisfied with the feudal tenure of land, and were intoxicated with the supposed possibilties of the new world. Individual men attempted to form colonies and we should note three, all of whom were failures: Gilbert In Newfoundland. Gosnold Along Cape Cod. Raleigh Roanoke Island. The failure of these colonies showed the need of more capital and, to secure this, two stock companies were formed, the London Company and the Plymouth Company, with monopolies of the right to profit from trade with America, the land being divided between them, the Plymouth Company to the North. (Conc'-v.t map for these grants.) A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY 7 The Plymouth Company sent over a colony, which landed at the mouth of the Kennebec River, usually called the POPHAM Colony (1607). This colony was a failure and the Plymouth Company went out of existence, its rights going to a new corpora- tion known as the COUNCIL FOR NEW ENGLAND. 1607. VIRGINIA. The London Company was more fortunate and its colony arrived in 1607 on the James River in Virginia. It must be remembered that this was a business venture, and that the pur- pose was to make money for the stockholders. The men who came over were merely employees of the company. The colony came close to a failure the first year because : (1) The men were largely gentlemen adventurers not used to work. (2) They came not to make homes but to get rich easily and go home. (3) The common storehouse system encouraged idleness. This common storehouse was the store of the company, from which the employees were supported. In this wild land this had to be regardless of their producing power and so no incentive was put on efficient labor. JOHN SMITH, one of the first governors, by his initiative and boldness, did much to remedy this state of afTairs and time after time saved the colony by getting supplies from the Indians. DALE, a later governor, abolished the common storehouse. and introduced individual holdings of land. Since the company, located in England, was given both the power to make what profits they could from the land, but also to govern it, the colony is now called PROPRIETARY. The com- pany had supreme power. This power met a check in 1619, when the company had to organize the first REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY in America with power to have a say in law- making. The same year, 1619, the first negro slaves were brought to Virginia, where tobacco growing had already become the important industry. cS A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY 1624, the king took the charter from the London Company and its assets, including Virginia, went to him. A colony in which the king is the proprietor is called ROYAL. Virginia remained royal until the Revolution of 1775. The date 1660 marks an important breaking point in Ameri- can history. In Virginia it marks the return of BERKELEY as governor. His rule was arbitrary and absolute and soon made for discontent. He put men into offices who were unfit ; he con- trolled the lawmaking by his "rotten assembly," an assembly con- trolled by himself, which he kept in office for fourteen years. This discontent became gradually more serious until, finally, it took but a little thing to touch it off into flame. Berkeley refused to take active measures against the Indians who were making raids against the frontier farms, because of his desire to preserve his profits from the Indian fur trade. Finally a raid on the farm of Nathaniel Bacon caused the owner to raise a force, defeat the Indians, and then, in 1676, march against Berkeley, putting him to flight. BACON'S REBELLION seemed about to succeed when Bacon died, and the movement fell through. NEW ENGLAND THE RELIGIOUS SITUATION IN ENGLAND. The coming of Protestantism to England was accompanied by the beginning of a bitter quarrel as to the extent of the revolt from Romanism. Many wished to remain in the Roman Catholic Church ; many wished to stay in the one established church, but wished to make it less like the Catholic ; many despaired of changes within the church and decided in favor of a separate church. As against these discontented elements there was the great body of the Church of England, supported by the govern- ment which tried to force everybody to conform. For the flight of Catholics to America see the Maryland Colony ; the last class, known as the Separatists, were the first to leave England, going first to Holland and then finally deciding to come to America. Those who wanted to change the church, but who still maintained A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY Q that all should belong to one state church, were known as Puri- tans, and to them we owe the development of Massachusetts. 1620. PLYMOUTH. The Separatists who were living in Holland got permission from the London Company to come to America, made arrange- ments with some merchants to advance the needed capital on the security of the labor of the colonists, and then set out on the Mayflower for America, and landed at what they called Plymouth. They had no charter, so before landing they drew up the "May- flower Compact," which bound all to obey the government which they should set up. John Carver was the first governor, but he soon died, and was succeeded by William Bradford' the o-reatest governor. They went through the usual "starving period," but soon abandoned the common storehouse idea. 1629. MASSACHUSETTS BAY. In 1628, six men, including JOHN ENDICOTT, formed the Massachusetts Bay Company for commercial purposes, mostly for fishing ofif Cape Cod. For this purpose several small villages were formed. In 1629 the Puritans of England wanted to leave and decided to go to the new villages. The company had been given power to govern their own colony, and so it was made a condition by the Puritans that the members of the Company should come to America with them. JOHN WINTHROP was the new leader, and within a few years over 30,000 people came to Massachusetts. Gradually the company began to admit the men of the colony to the corporation so that we have a new sort of colony — a proprietary colony governed by a company of which most of the male citizens were members. This is virtually a self- governing colony and is called a CORPORATE colony. The Puritans did not believe in religious toleration, and admitted no one to the corporation except members of their church. In fact, others were persecuted. The situation led to complications which brought about the settling of Rhode Island and Connecticut, for which see below. lO A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY 1636. RHODE ISLAND. The Puritans who controlled Massachusetts Bay believed in a state-controlled church. Those not in the state church were given no political power and were often persecuted. Roger Ji^illioinS' a minister, was one of those who objected to this. He preached that the state should have no control over religion and, further, that the land was the property of the Indians, and should be purchased from them. He was banished from the colony and fled south and founded Providence in 1636. It became a corporate colony. Mrs. Anne Hutchinson was also banished for heresy and settled near Providence. 1636. CONNECTICUT. Not only did the state control the church but the church con- trolled the state. It was a "religious oligarchy." Some people objected to this. The congregation of Thomas Hooker, driven by the hope of getting better land in the Connecticut valley, and also protesting against religious control, moved in a body from Massa- chusetts Bay and founded Hartford and some other towns. These towns were finally united with New Haven, which had been founded in 16,38, to form a new corporate colony to be called Connecticut. The colonies of New England, with the exception of Rhode Island, united in 1643 to form the NEW ENGLAND CONFED- ERATION for the purpose of defense against the Indians, against the Dutch in New Amsterdam and against the French of the North. The plan was for a council of two delegates from each colony. In contrast with this equal vote, when a war was entered upon the colonies furnished money and men in proportion to their population. This worked against Massachusetts. After about forty years, this defect broke up the confederation when Massa- chusetts refused to join an expedition against the Dutch. A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY II OTHER COLONIES 1634. MARYLAND. The other religious sect of England to be persecuted was the Catholic group. George Calvert, who had failed in his colony of Avalon, became a Catholic and founded Maryland, as a proprie- tary colony on a grant which he had received from the king. St. Mary's in 1634 was the first settlement. The colony was charac- terized by absolute religious toleration. Later Puritans from the north came to the colony and injected their religious disputes into the colony and toleration was destroyed. 1664. NEW YORK. In 1609, the Dutch had entered the new field with the voyage of Hudson^ and in 1632 New Amsterdam was settled. It did not prosper, however, as it was a commercial colony with absolute government, neither condition being conducive to a permanent settlement. By giving large tracts along the Hudson to "PATROONS," men who would bring over 50 families for per- manent settlement, an attempt was made to remedy the situation, but with little success. Charles II began a series of wars against the Dutch for commercial supremacy, and, as part of his cam- paign, his brother, James of York, was given permission to take New Amsterdam. This he did in 1664, and it became New York. The last Dutch governor was Peter Stuyvesant. In 1685 James became king and the colony became a royal colony. At first it included what is now New Jersey, but this was given to Carteret and Berkley who divided it between them. 1681. PENNSYLVANIA. George Fox was the founder of another religious sect, the Quakers, who were bitterly persecuted, fl'illiaiii Peim was one of his converts. Penn was the son of the famous Admiral Penn, to whom the king was greatly in debt. Penn asked the king for a grant as payment for the money owed, with the idea of planting a colony to be run on the Quaker principles of equality, good will, etc. Pennsylvania was founded, a proprietary colony in 12 A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY 1681. All who believed in one God were welcomed, all Christians were given a share in the government, by Penn's constitution, which was the most liberal in the colonies. In order to control the mouth of the Delaware, Penn pur- chased the lower counties of Delaware from the Duke of York in the next year. These had the same proprietor but separate colonial governments. 1663. CAROLINA. Another proprietary colony was begun by a group of noble- men in the south. The most interesting fact about it is the "Grand Model," a Utopian frame of government, prepared by John Locke, providing for a modified feudal system, utterly unsuited to a wild country and never put into effect. The colony soon became royal. 1732. GEORGIA. The last colony was founded by James Oglethorpe as a refuge for those put in prison for debt in England. It bordered Spanish territory and thus had many quarrels over land claims. Jt became royal soon after its foundation. THE COLONIES — 1650-1750 The colonial governments may be divided into three groups : L. PROPRIETARY, in which one man or a group of men are given the land and the right to govern the land. 2. ROYAL, a proprietary colony where the king is the pro- prietor. 3. CORPORATE, or charter, where the voters of the colony govern the colony according to a charter granted by the king. In discussing the characteristics of the colonies it is conve- nient to divide them into three groups: New England, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies. These geographic groups present some instructive comparisons. A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY j^ INDUSTRY. New England had four chief industries: Fishing, Ship- building, Commerce, Rum-making. The Middle Colonies were provision colonies and furnished grain, dairy products. The Southern colonies are divided into two groups : Virginia and Maryland grew tobacco almost exclusively. Carolina and Georgia grew rice and indigo. (No cotton.) LABOR. New England industry was built upon free labor. Southern industry was built upon slave labor. Middle colonies had both. EDUCATION. New England had schools and colleges and education was pretty general. The South had few schools and educated only the rich. RELIGION. New England was strongly Congregational. The South was predominantly Church of England. SOCIETY. New England had little of aristocracy of wealth. The South had a wealthy planter class, a poor white class and the slave class, a caste system rigidly adhered to. LOCAL GOVERNMENT. New England had the town as its unit and its government centered in the town meeting. The South had the county as the unit and did not have the democracy of the town meeting. IN THE ABOVE RESPECTS THE MIDDLE COL- ONIES WERE A MIXTURE OF NORTHERN AND^ SOUTHERN CHARACTERS. 14 A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY COLONIAL GOVERNMENT. All of the colonies of New England were corporate. The South was characterized by royal colonies. The Middle colonies were proprietary. 1660— A BREAKING POINT The Puritan Revolution in England, which resulted in the death of Charles I in 1649, lost ground with the death of Crom- well, and, in 1660, Charles II was put on the throne. His acces- sion marks an important turning point in colonial history. THE NAVIGATION ACTS. After the downfall of the Spanish the Dutch had become the great commercial nation. Charles II and his advisers wanted to put England back into the competition. To do this was the pur- pose of the first Navigation Act in 1660. It provided that all colonial trade had to be in English or colonial ships manned by a predominantly English or colonial crew. At this time a new school of economists were beginning to teach the MERCANTILE THEORY, which said that the wealth of a nation would be increased if she had a sure supply of raw materials, if she had control of the shipping and if she had a sure market for her manufactured products. To further this program, they had a clause put into the first Navigation Act which said that certain raw materials called the ENUMERATED COMMODI- TIES should be sent by the colonists only to England, thus giving England a monopoly of the raw materials. In 1663 the mercantilists got another point in the second Navigation Act. This provided that manufactured goods of most kinds could be bought by the colonies only from England. To administer these acts a series of other acts were passed becoming progressively more and more severe. The New England rum trade was a matter of difficulty, for the colonists insisted upon buying the molasses for their business from the French West Indies. The planters of the English West Indies brought pressure to bear and Parliament passed the Sugar A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY iq and Molasses Act of 1733, putting a prohibitive tax upon French sugar and molasses. None of these acts was respected by the colonies and smug- gling became a patriotic and profitable industry. This situation came to a crisis after 1760. NEW ENGLAND. Charles II and the colonies of New England, particularly Massachusetts, were in a state of constant friction. The king had many charges against the colonists. 1. The colonists were extreme Protestants and the king was Roman Catholic. 2. The colonists insisted upon coining money contrary to his will. 3. Massachusetts had annexed Maine in defiance of his order. 4. New England was the centre of the smuggling trade. 5. The New England colonies were all self-governing. 6. New England filled no place in the program of the mer- cantilists. For these, and many other reasons, the king determined to act. Randolph was sent over as an agent to get evidence and his report confirmed the king's suspicions. Therefore, in 1684, all of the charters of New England were annulled and EDMUND ANDROS was sent to be governor of a royal province, the DOMINION OF NEW ENGLAND, which was to embrace all of New England, with New York and New Jersey. Andros suc- ceeded in getting all of the charters except Connecticut and Rhode Island, where the colonists by tricks kept them hidden. Andros ruled absolutely, setting aside all of the colonial assem- blies ; he established the Church of England as the State Church ; he levied taxes by order of the governor. The people were ready for action and the chance came when, in 1688, the people of England overthrew James II who had sent Andros. The col- onists thereupon captured Andros and sent him to England. The charters were gotten out and the old governments resumed. Massachusetts and Plymouth were united by a new charter in 1691. l6 A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY THE FRENCH IN AMERICA As we have noticed the French had some part in the early explorations around the St. Lawrence River. Little expansion came until after 1670. The predominating motives of the French were: (1) The Christianizing of the Indians and (2) the fur trade. In 1673, MARQUETTE and JOLIET went part of the way down the Mississippi. In 1681, LA SALLE reached the mouth of the River. At once a flood of missionaries and fur traders took possession of the whole Mississippi valley and began to expand up the Ohio River. This would naturally bring them into contact with the English, who were just beginning to expand over the mountains. This friction became acute and needed little excuse to bring it to actual lighting. The occasion came with a series of wars in Europe between the mother countries. Four wars should be known. 1689-1697. King William's War. 1702-1713. Queen Anne's War, ended by Treaty of UTRECHT, by which England got a considerable body of land at mouth of St. Lawrence. 1744-1748. King George's War. 1754-1763. The French and Indian War, with the Treaty of PARIS, by which England got Canada and all East of Mississippi, including Florida. In the first year of the French and Indian War, a Congress of all the colonies was called for ALBANY, to provide for unified action against the enemy. At this congress, FRANKLIN pre- sented his "Plan of Union," for perpetual union of the colonies. A governor-general appointed by the king was to be the execu- tive, a council of representatives of the colonies was to have charge of matters concerning all of the colonies, levying taxes and spending the money. The plan was rejected by both the king and the colonies, showing the growing distrust between these two. The plan later became the basis of the Articles of Confederation. These wars had far-reaching influence upon the coming events. The Treaty of Paris gave England her first dreams of "Empire." An empire took more money than England had, and A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY 17 the urgent necessity for more money led to a new plan— the taxa- tion in the colonies. Then the navigation acts came to the front once more. The colonies insisted upon trading with the French even during the war, virtually treason from England's viewpoint. This made England determined to see that the acts were enforced to the letter. These two movements made tip the cause of the American Revolution. To these may be added the minor influences of the removal of the French threat on the north making the colonists more inde- pendent, the training in warfare, the experience in union, the new idea that the red-coats could be beaten, etc. THE CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION The individual events by which the two movements above suggested were carried out must be learned in detail. In outline they are as follows : To enforce the navigation acts the English made use of WRITS OF ASSISTANCE, which were blank search warrants, permitting the searching of any place for anything. The legality of such writs was strongly contested by JAMES OTIS. 1^6^ — A new Sugar and iMolasses Act was passed, making the tax on French sugar higher, with the hope of cutting ofif that trade. 1765— THE STAMP ACT, calling for taxes upon all period- icals and legal documents. The colonists protested and their opposition took the following forms : (Ij Violence. (2) The formation of the Sons of Liberty. (3) Protests by colonial assemblies and (4) The meeting of the STAMP ACT CONGRESS. The Stamp Act had been proposed by GRENVILLE, and after his resignation it was repealed (17G6). ] 767— THE TOWNSHEND ACTS, of which three should be remembered : (1) New taxes upon glass, paper, painters' supplies, etc., imported. l8 A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY (2) A new commission to enforce the navigation acts. (3) An act suspending the New York Legislature because they had not appropriated money to support British soldiers as had been ordered by the Mutiny Act. These acts met opposition of a more subdued nature. SAMUEL ADAMS, of Massachusetts, wrote a protest to the king; JOHN DICKINSON, of Pennsylvania, began to write his Farmers' Letters. Non-Importation agreements were revived. 1770— The Boston Massacre. In this year, also, the taxes of the Townshend Acts were all repealed except that on tea. 1773_The Boston Tea Party. The king sought to aid the East India Company by sending the tea very cheaply to America. The presence of a small tax, however, made the colonists reject the tea and the affair in Boston followed. 1774 — This act of defiance resulted in the passage of the FIVE INTOLERABLE ACTS. (1) The Boston Port bill, closing the port of Boston; (2) The Massachusetts Act, which took away the charter of Massachusetts and gave it a military government; (3) The Quartering Act, for the billeting of troops on the people ; (4) An act for the sending of certain offenders to England for trial ; and (5) The Quebec Act, extending the terri- tories controlled by Quebec, a province which was both abso- lutely governed and Catholic. The opposition to these measures did not come by any means from a united American people. It is estimated that the popula- tion of the colonies at this time was 2,500,000. These w^ere dis- tributed as follows : 1,500,000 neutrals, who cared nothing for the quarrel. 250,000 Tories, or those who sided with the king. 750.000 Patriots or Revolutionists. The result of the Intolerable Acts was. that in 1774. there met the FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, which is called the First Party Convention, because it was a meeting represent- ing only the patriot party. This Congress made protests and again stated their case to the king. A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY IQ In 1775, the SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS met. By this time actual hostilities began and this Congress, although it had no real authority, took charge of the war and appointed Washington commander-in-chief. In 1775, there was very little sentiment in favor of independ- ence, but in the next year opinion in the Patriot Party turned, and, in 1776, the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, was signed. This recited the grievances of the colonies and stated that they were free and independent. The Continental Congress, which was the only governing body, had no real authority, its powers being all assumed. In order to get the state to delegate definite powers. Congress passed the ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION in 1777. The structure of the government thus established should be learned. THE GOVERNMENT UNDER THE ARTICLES OF CON- FEDERATION: 1. No executive was provided. Had to depend upon state governors to enforce laws of Congress. 2. No courts provided. State courts only. 3. There was a CONGRESS. One House : 2 to 7 members from each state not accord- ing to population. Powers : To conduct foreign relations. Raise and control an army. Raise money by (1) borrowing, (2) levying quotas, (3) making it. Powers denied to Congress : To tax the people and collect the tax. To regulate commerce of any kind. The defects of this government are obvious to us . Provision was made that these Articles were to go into effect when all 13 of the colonies had ratified them. Ratification was difficult. The greatest stumbling block was the fact that several of the states (Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, chiefly) had 20 A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY conflicting land claims in the region north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi. This tract is called the NORTHWEST TER- RITORY. The matter was finally settled when the states all gave up their Western claims to the new central government. This cession had very important results, among which were : 1. It made possible the ratification of the Articles of Con- federation. 2. It gave an impulse to union by the common ownership of land. 3. It made necessary an act to govern this land, the NORTHWEST ORDINANCE. 1787— The NORTHWEST ORDINANCE was passed to govern the Northwest Territory. It provided that the govern- ment should go through three stages: 1. It was to be governed by a governor and some judges appointed by Congress; they to select laws from those in force in other states. 2. When the population reached 5000, the voters were to elect an assembly to make laws, subject to the veto of the governor. A delegate was to sit in Congress. 3. When the population reached 60.000, Congress might admit as a state on an equality with the original states. This was the beginning of our colonial system, which is an original American institution. Our colonies, which have been admitted as States, now outnumber threefold the original mother country. 1783 — The Treaty of Paris closed the Revolution. Some of its terms were: England agreed : 1. To give up all land east of the Mississippi. 2. To pay for slaves taken in the United States. The United States agreed : 1. To see that Loyalists were not mistreated. 2. To see that the collection of debts to Englishmen should not be obstructed. A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY 21 Neither side lived up to the terms of this treaty and the whole question was opened later at the time of Jay's Treaty in Wash- ington's administration. THE CRITICAL PERIOD. With the independence of the states granted, a period fol- lowed which was very serious for the following reasons : 1. Foreign commerce was at a standstill. 3. Interstate commerce was small because of state rivalry. 3. The currency was depreciated. 4. The resulting stoppage of industry brought practical anarchy. 5. The government was unable to remedy the situation. A number ot remedies to this situation were suggested, among which were : 1. An amendment giving Congress the right to regulate commerce. The required unanimous ratification could not be gotten. 2. The Mount Vernon Conference. Did little but call the next Convention. 3. 1786. THE ANNAPOLIS TRADE CONVENTION. Only five states represented. Did nothing but ar- range for a new convention the following year. 4. 1787. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION in Philadelphia. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. The 1787 convention contained most of the great men of the country. Washington was chairman. They -met to revise the Articles of Confederation, but it soon became evident that a new constitution was needed. The Virginia delegates drafted a plan which they proposed. This is called the VIRGINIA PLAN or the RANDOLPH PLAN or the BIG STATE PLAN. It pro- vided for three departments to the government, the legislative bodies to be based upon population. 22 A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY This latter provision would be distasteful to the small states, and they, through Patterson, of New Jersey, introduced a plan providing for equal representation for all the states. This plan was called the NEW JERSEY PLAN or the PATTERSON PLAN or the SMALL STATE PLAN. After a great struggle the two sides agreed to compromise, and it was decided to have the lower house based upon popula- tion and the upper house with equal representation. This is the First Great Compromise. The second Compromise was as to whether slaves should be counted in the population. It was finally decided to count five slaves as three. The third Compromise was on the control of the slave trade. It was decided that Congress could not interfere with this trade for twenty years. After a few months of strenuous sessions, the convention adopted the constitution and provided that it was to go into effect when nine of the states had ratified it. The struggle for ratificaT tion was bitter. The people had fought the Revolution to get away from a strong central government and they were not anxious to get into another one of their own making. New York was a crucial state and it was swung over by ALEXANDER HAMILTON almost single-handed. Hamilton, Madison and Jay wrote a series of papers, the FEDERALIST papers, explain- ing the new government, which had a great influence. Finally the required nine states were secured and the constitution went into efifect with the inauguration of Washington in 1789. THE GOVERNMENT UNDER THE CONSTITUTION. 1. Executive. President. At least 35 years old. Native born. Term four years. Elected by Presidential electors chosen by states. (Look up.) Powers : Enforce the laws of Congress. Carry on foreign relations. A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY 2^ Command army and navy. Veto or approve laws of Congress. Make treaties and appointments. (Senate.) 2. Legislative: House of Representatives. Age 25. Term two years. Elected by voters. Sole Powers : 1. Impeachment. 2. Initiate money bills. 3. Elect President if electors do not. Senate. Age 30. Term 6 years. Elected by legislatures. Sole Power : 1. Try impeachment cases. 2. Ratify treaties. 3. Ratify appointments. 3. Judiciary : Supreme Court and other courts. Judges of Supreme Court appointed by President for life. Tries cases dealing with Constitution or U. S. laws, or in which the U. S. is a party or between two states, etc. Congress is given a list of DELEGATED POWERS, among which are the power to tax and the power to regulate commerce — both interstate and foreign. This list of powers has been inter- preted very liberally to make the Constitution fit modern condi- tions. AMENDMENTS. The ratification of some of the states was secured by a promise that there would be passed immediately a series of amendments safeguarding the rights of the people. Therefore there were passed the first ten amendments, which were called the AMERICAN BILL OF RIGHTS, providing for such things as free speech, religious freedom, right of jury trials, etc. The other amendments will be taken up at the proper place.. A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY THE NEW NATION GEORGE WASHINGTON— 1789-1797. The first electoral college chose George Washington unani- mously. His task was to organize the new government. To aid him in administration several departments were organized. To manage foreign affairs came the State Department, with Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State ; Alexander HainiUon was made Secretary of the Treasury; General Knox was Secretary of War; Edmund Randolph was Attorney General. These officers were not appointed as a CABINET. The SENATE was intended to be an advisory body to the President. This plan proved impos- sible, and Washington took to the practice of asking advice from the heads of the departments and the Cabinet as at present formed grew up outside of the Constitution. THE TREASURY— (Hamilton). Hamilton found the country practically bankrupt, with no credit, no income and a depreciated currency. His recommenda- tions to Congress were passed by that body as follows : 1. FUNDING THE DEBT. This was the issuance of new bonds to all creditors of the government, thus recognizing all debts at par. The effect of this was to materially raise the credit of the government. 2. ASSUMPTION OF STATE DEBTS. The states had contracted debts during the Revolution, paying .for armies, etc. This was really a national duty and Hamilton wanted Congress to fund these state debts with its own. The states, notably Vir- ginia, which had paid most of their debts, objected, but Virginia was bought over by the agreement that the new capital should be put on the Potomac. 3. IMPORT AND EXCISE TAXES. Although they would bring in little revenue, Hamilton had Congress pass acts putting taxes on imports and on some goods made in this coun- try, notably liquors. The farmers of western Pennsylvania refused to pay the whiskey tax, thus putting the new govern- A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY 2.S merit to the first test. Would it insist upon its authority? Wash- ington called upon the troops and put down this WHISKEY REBELLION, thus establishing a sound precedent. 4. A UNITED STATE BANK. To carry on the financial work of the government Hamilton wanted a bank chartered in which the United States should hold part of the stock, the bank to transact all government business. This met opposition from a great party led by JEFFERSON, who claimed that Congress had no power under the Constitution to charter a bank. They insisted upon STRICT CONSTRUCTION and they formed a party which took the name REPUBLICAN. Hamilton said that the Constitution must be subject to LOOSE CONSTRUCTION, giving much power to the central government, and his party took the name FEDERALIST. Much debate followed upon the "necessary and proper" clause. The Federalist party had the most of the moneyed or creditor class, while the Republican party had the masses of non-moneyed or debtor classes. Congress chartered the bank. ENGLAND. Neither side had lived up to the Treaty of 1783, Moreover the United States needed a commercial treaty with Britain to secure some trade with British colonies. JOHN JAY, who had been the first Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court, was sent to England, and he negotiated JAY'S TREATY. 1795- This treaty repeated the terms of the Treaty of 1783, but such was the lack of respect toward the United States as a nation that no commercial privileges could be gained. The treaty was very unsatisfactory to the people of this country, but it is now thought that Jay did as much as could have been done at the time. SPAIN. A treaty was secured with Spain granting to us the right to use the mouth of the Mississippi River. FRANCE. In 1789 the French Revolution had occurred and the Revolutionary party had gone to war with England. They claimed that in accordance with our treaty of alliance of 1778, we were bound to aid them. We were in no condition for war and Washington issued his PROCLAMATION OF NEUTRALITY, claiming that the treaty held only in case of a defensive war. The French then sent over CITIZEN GENET, to try to secure 20 A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY the aid, and he shared the general European idea that we had no government which was to be respected. Genet landed at Charles- ton, S. C, and on his way north acted as if the United States were already in the war. He arranged for captured prizes to be brought here, for admiralty courts of France, for troops, etc., and met some popular approval. Finally, however, he became bolder and there was a reaction against him, and, at the request of Washing- ton, he was recalled. JOHN ADAMS— 1797-1801— Federalist. France, angered at this rebufif, and at our making a treaty with England, began to attack our shipping and, finally, Talley- rand refused to receive our minister. We sent three envoys to obtain redress, and they were met by three Frenchmen, known as X, Y and Z, who finally announcd a demand for a $350,000 tribute. A cry for war arose in America, and a short naval war followed, which was ended when Napoleon came into power in France. The Republican Party had taken sides with France in this quarrel, and the Federalist party in jpower, against France and with England. The Federalists, in fear of the mass of French sympathizers, passed the ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS, enabling the President to remove from the country objectionable aliens and punishing any persons criticising the government. These acts were branded as unconstitutional by the Republi- cans, and formal protest was made by the VIRGINIA AND KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS, in which, under the leadership of JefTerson and Madison, these two states held that a state need not obey a law of Congress if the state thought it unconstitutional. This is one of the first cases of the theory of states' rights and nullification. This quarrel solidified the Republican party to such an extent that they were able to win the election in iSoo by a good major- ity. JefTerson called this election the REVOLUTION OF 1800, since he claimed that the capitalistic class had been ousted from the government and the people returned to control. A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY 2/ According to the constitutional method of electing the Presi- dent, the electors wrote two names on each ballot. The party organization of the Republicans was so perfect that all their electors wrote the same two names, JEFFERSON and BURR, with the unexpected result that there was a TIE. This had to be settled by the House, and they finally elected Jefiferson. With the great change in parties, the Federalists made a last attempt to retain some control when John Adams spent the last few days in office making thousands of appointments to govern- ment offices, the MIDNIGHT APPOINTMENTS. Many of these were turned out by Jefferson, but he could not change the most important of these, that of JOHN MARSHALL as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. THOMAS JEFFERSON— 1801-1809— Republican. One of the fundamental principles of the Republican party was economy in government expenditures, and, under ALBERT GALLATIN, Secretary of the Treasury, the debt was gradualJv reduced. Another great doctrine of the party was Strict Con- struction, but this was soon neutralized by the Louisian Purchase. 1803— LOUISIANA PURCHASE. By a secret treaty with Spain, Napoleon, who was in power in France, had gotten Louisiana. We began negotiations to get a little strip at the mouth of the river, but when Napoleon became discouraged in his attempt at an empire, and needed money, he offered to sell the whole tract for $15,000,000. Jefferson concluded the purchase in 1803. There being nothing in the Constitution about the purchase of new territory, this was counter to Jeffer- son's political faith. "Strict construction never meant the same after the Louisiana Purchase." After buying Louisiana, explorers were sent out to examine it ; among whom the most notable were Lci^'is and Clarh who got as far as Oregon, and ^ikc- who went into the Southwest. 28 A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY THE NAPOLEONIC WARS. With Jeflferson's inauguration we come to the period of the wars of Napoleon, which were to last until 1815. To hinder the enemy, each side, England and France, passed edicts known as ORDERS IN COUNCIL or DECREES, which were Paper Blockades of the enemy coasts. Our ships going either to Eng- land or France were taken as prizes, a practice which we claimed was against international law, and a violation of neutral rights. Protests did no good, and in 1807 Congress passed the EM- BARGO Act, prohibiting ships to leave our ports for Europe, in the hope that want of our products would make the nations give in. Nothing of the kind happened, and our own suffering wa> such that it was repealed, and, in 1809, the NON-INTER- COURSE ACT was passed, shutting ofif trade with only the warring nations.. This was also unsuccessful, and then in 1810 was passed MACON'S BILL, which was a shameful bid for rights. We agreed that if either nation would remove the objec- tionable acts, we would agree not to trade with the other. France made the agreement, but did not abide by it. There we will leave the quarrel until the next administration. JAMES MADISON— 1809-1817— Republican. With this administration a new man, HENRY CLAY, .appears in Washington, to be the leading actor for the next forty years. He began to see that the actions of Europe were a cause for war, and became the leader of the "War Hawks," finally get- ting Congress to declare war upon England in 1812. It must be remembered that Congress was divided, the Republicans siding with France against England, and the Federalists, who were strong in New England, with England against France. The war ■was very unpopular in New England and was called Mr. Madi- son's War. On land the war was rather unsuccessful and the Federalists hecame more and more discontented. In addition to a refusal to support the government, the opposition finally became more active with the calling of the HARTFORD CONVENTION in A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY 29 1815. This convention passed measures looking toward constitu- tional amendments to make another war to which they objected impossible, and to take the control of the Presidency from Vir- ginia. The delegates arrived in Washington at the same time as the news of the victory at New Orleans, and in the state of mind of the nation after a victory, the movement had little effect other than to practically KILL THE FEDERALIST PARTY. It never again put up a candidate. The causes of the war may be stated : 1. Illegal blockading; 2. Impressment of our sailors. The TREATY OF GHENT, which closed the war, was nothing but an agreement to stop lighting. England refused posi- tively to agree that either of these practices should be discon- tinued. The end of the Napoleonic Wars removed the causes for them, however. It will have been seen that before the War of 1812 our political independence gained in the Revolution was of little use to us. Genet, the X, Y, Z affair, the Orders in Council and Decrees all showed our real dependence upon Europe. With the struggle of the last two administrations came a change. The Embargo of 1807 cut us off from Europe and we began manufacturing ; for a market we began to look to our own West. This development brought an entire change in pohcy after 1816. In quick succession we have the first PROTECTIVE TARIFF, the ARMY AND- NAVY BILL, the building of the NATIONAL ROAD and the ERIE CANAL, and as we shall see later a new confidence in our foreign affairs resulting in the Florida episode in 1819 and the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. The year 1816 marks the beginning of the nation- JAMES MONROE— 1817-1825.— Republican. Since the Hartford Convention had ruined the Federalist party, Monroe was elected with but one party in the field and so he called it an ERA OF GOOD FEELING. It was not this in reality, as new issues soon arose. 30 A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY 1 1819— FLORIDA. At the close of the Revolution, Spain had received Florida, -and during this period w^as unable to police it properly. The Indians made repeated raids across our border. Andrew Jackson was sent down to drive out the Indians, and in his zeal continued into Florida, incidentally executing some British subjects. He was hurriedly recalled, but a demand made upon Spain that she should either properly police Florida, or sell it to us, and stating that if she did neither, we would take it. She sold it to us in 1819. 1820— THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE. The great slavery question in the United States is whether SLAVERY SHOULD BE ADMITTED INTO THE NEW TERRITORY. The question only became important after the acquisition of new territory. The Louisiana Purchase began to fill with people after the war and the question came up soon, ''shall it be slave or free?" The Southerners held that Congress could pass no law on the subject, since the word "territory" in Section 3, Clause 2, meant land actually owned by the govern- ment, and not land merely governed. Congress looked at it from the northern standpoint and passed the Missouri Compromise in 1820, making Missouri a slave state, but shutting slavery out of all "territory" north of the line 36-30. Congress has a strong hold of the situation. Watch how this attitude changes in 1850. It is this change which brings the Civil War. 1823— THE MONROE DOCTRINE. At the Congress of Vienna, 1815, the monarchs of Europe, to prevent a repetition of the French Revolution, made an alli- ance, agreeing that if a revolution broke out in any of their lands they would all unite to put it down and keep themselves in power. This agreement was worked both in Spain and in Italy. An unexpected case came when the Spanish colonies in South America revolted under the leadership of San Martin and Bolivar- The alliance threatened to send forces to regain the colonies for Spain. This was distasteful to England, which had secured quite A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY ^I a trade with the new Latin states. The English minister, GEORGE CANNING, not wishing to act alone, suggested to the United States that the two nations jointly prevent the action of the alliance. Our Secretary of State, JOHN OUINCY ADAMS, and the President were against a joint action. We were inter- ested from the standpoint of self-protection. We were also inter- ested because the Russians in the west were adding to their terri- tory south of Alaska. Finally we decided to protest alone and, in 1823, Monroe, in a message to Congress, voiced what is known as the MONROE DOCTRINE. It is a statement of our policy which says that the Americas shall not be considered as open to settlement by any European nation, and that if any European nation should get more land over here, it would be considered by us as an unfriendly act- This statement had the desired effect at the time largely because we were backed by the English fleet. The Monroe Doctrine is now considered by the United States as a national policy. Watch through the remainder of the his- tory for incidents involving the Monroe Doctrine, and come to your own decision as to whether we ought still to hold to it. 1824r-THE ELECTION OF 1824. There being only one party in the field, the election became a struggle between favorite candidates of dififerent sections. The chief candidates were Jackson, J. Q. Adams, Crawford, Clay and Calhoun. Calhoun dropped out and the other candidates fin- ished in the order named, with no one having the required major- ity. As provided in the Constitution, the House had to elect from the first three. Clay, who thus was ruled out, was the Speaker of the House. His influence was used to get the House to elect Adams. The election had two important results. Adams chose Clay Secretary of State, and it was claimed that there was a corrupt deal between them. It does not seem that there was any such deal, but the suspicion killed Clay politically. The other result was the attitude of Jackson. Being convinced that he had been defeated by a deal, he began at once to organize a new party for the next election. Thus we have a split in the Republican party. 3-2 A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY The Adams men took the name National Republicans and after- wards WHIGS; the Jackson men were the Democratic Republi- cans or the DEMOCRATS. The two parties lasted until after 1854. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS— 1825-1829— Whig. This administration saw little done because of the party- strife. CLAY, the Secretary of State, was a great influence. One of his hobbies, while in the House, was the recognition of the South American Republics. He kept his interest in them and advocated the proposed conference of all the Latin-American states called for Panama. The conference was held, although our delegates did not arrive in time for it. These congresses have been held at intervals ever since, the subjects discussed being now mostly of a commercial nature. Clay preached a doctrine which he called the AMERICAN SYSTEM, which meant that the development of the United States internally was the chief function of the central govern- ment. This could be done by protective tariffs, by the building of roads, the latter at federal expense, and by other national improvements. This period saw the passage of two protective tariffs, 1824 and 1828, the latter called by the South, the TARIFF OF ABOMINATIONS. South Carolina particularly objected, since she had to buy all of her manufactures and since she was in bad condition financially, due to the decline in the price of her long-staple cotton. Led by JOHN C. CALHOUN, she passed the SOUTH CAROLINA EXPOSITION, which stated that the law was unconstitutional, not being uniform, and for that reason the state did not propose to obey it. It suggested that the matter be decided by a referendum to the states, a three-fourths vote of the states in favor of the law settling it. In the meantime an attempt to enforce the law would be resisted with force. ; A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY T^T^ ANDREW JACKSON— 1829-1837— Democrat. Jackson met the situation in South Carolina by preparing to use force to collect the tax, but Congress put the decision off by passing the Compromise Tariff of 1833, which reduced the tariff- Jackson went into office as a man of the common people ; he began with a very riotous and inelegant inaugural reception, and proceeded to disregard many of the precedents set for the Presi- dent. He got most of his advice from a group of his unofficial friends, the group known as the "Kitchen Cabinet." He turned out of office thousands of his political enemies, this practice get- ting the name the "Spoils System." With these offices he rewarded his own followers. The sectionalism which had cropped out in the struggle over the Tariff of 1828 became more evident. The North and the South each was bidding for the support of the new West. One episode is famous. In a debate on Foote's Resolution on the dis- posal of western lands, there came a debate between WEBSTER of the North and HAYNE of the South, which turned upon the question of State Rights. Hayne held that the states were superior to the Federal government, while Webster held that the nation was supreme and the states subordinate. The debate had no immediate results but it points the direction in which the two sections are traveling. The great episode of Jackson's time is his fight upon the U. Sl Bank. The bank was first chartered at the request of Hamilton and its charter had been once renewed, the renewed charter being about to expire in 1836. Jackson was against the bank because he held that : 1. It was unfair for a small group of men to profit from the use of government money. 2. It was unsafe for a small group of men to control the government surplus, which at the time was very great. 3. The bank had been a political force against Jackson. This last is probably the important consideration. It seemed that Congress would charter the bank and so Jackson took the question into the campaign of 1832. He was elected upon a platform calling for the destruction of the bank. 34 A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY and he immediately decided to destroy it. The Secretary of the Treasury was ordered to withdraw the U. S. funds ; he refused, and was replaced by a new man. He in turn refused and was removed. Finally Taney was appointed and he withdrew the funds. The bank, after a short struggle, went out of existence. The next question was as to what to do with this money. Jackson decided that it was to be distributed among the state banks, and this was done. This would distribute the profits and the control of the money. To get this money hundreds of banks sprang up all over the land with little backing. They are the WILDCAT BANKS. Many banks, the PET BANKS, received more than their share of the money. This distribution brought a lot of money into the market just at the time of a great movement toward the purchase of western lands. The banks lent this money on the security of western lands ; they issued millions in bank notes ; the circulation became highly inflated. Then Jackson did two things which brought a crisis. He decided that the great balance in the Treas- ury should be distributed among the states. The banks were called upon to produce much of the government deposit. At the same time he issued the SPECIE CIRCULAR, demanding that all payments to the government for lands be in gold and silver. These two demands upon the banks were more than most of them could stand and there ensued the Panic of 1837. This came in the next administration and will be treated there. In the meantime history was being made in Texas, which was a part of Mexico. The fine lands of Texas had attracted thousands of Americans, who had gone there encouraged by the Mexican government. At the period of Jackson, Mexico attached Texas to the Mexican State of Coahuila, thereby putting the Americans and their property under the rule of the Mexican government of that province. Protests came forth and hostili- ties soon started, the Texans led by SAM HOUSTON. At the Alamo the Mexican SANTA ANNA massacred a garrison, but at San Jacinto- the Mexicans were defeated by Houston (1836), and Texas was recognized as an independent state. The Ameri- can population of Texas immediately applied for admission to the A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY ^ c; union. It would be a slave state and its admission was opposed by Northern Congressmen. It was not finally admitted until 1845. Jackson had absolute control of his party machinery and practically named the new President. He had planned to put Calhoun forward, but he discovered that Calhoun had been opposed to his part in the Florida struggle way back in 1818-19, and so Jackson turned to Martin VanBuren, a New York poli- tician and he was elected. MARTIN VAN BUREN— 1837-1841— Democrat. Van Buren came into office with the coming of the Panic of 1837. This panic had two important results: 1. To do away with bank troubles the government estab- lished an INDEPENDENT TREASURY SYSTEM. 2. The selling of western lands being part of the cause of the trouble, the government began the practice of giving away the lands to actual settlers. In this period the slavery question began to have a moral turn. The work of WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON, the editor of the iLibcrafor' showed the most radical side. His ideas were not generally accepted at first. Gradually the North began to line up in opposition to slavery. By means of the Underground RaikvaX' runaway slaves were aided to Canada. Anti-slavery petitions began to flood into Congress. This movement was making for a break between the two sections. At the next election, the Whigs, with William Henry Har- rison as candidate, carried on a spirited campaign. Remember- ing Harrison's victory over the Indians, the Whigs used the cam- paign cry "Tippecanoe and Tyler, too," and won out. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON (TYLER)— 1841-1845— Whig. Harrison died soon after his inauguration and Tyler. Avho was really a Democrat, became President. He had trouble with the Whig Congress and very little was accomplished. The WEBSTER-ASHBURTON TREATY settled the boun- dary line between Maine and Canada. 36 A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY We have already traced the Texas question up to the demand for admission to the union. This question became an issue at the election of 1844; the Democrats favored admission and the Whigs, with Clay as their candidate, opposed admission. Polk, the Democratic candidate, won. Between election and inaugura- tion Tyler decided that if annexation was inevitable he might as well have the credit for it, and thus Texas was admitted early in 1845. JAMES K. POLK— 1845-1849— Democrat. MANIFEST DESTINY is an expression used to describe the feeling of national ambition which pervaded the nation during this decade. A feeling was widecast that the United States should extend to the Pacific. This would necessitate the acquisition of the land west of the Rockies. The northern half of this was OREGON. This was claimed by the United States because of the work of Lewis and Clarke, Captain Gray and the settlement of Astor and others. England claimed it chiefly by the discovery of Drake. In 1818, it had been decided that the territory should be occupied jointly. After 1840 we find a demand that England give up her claims. Marcus Whitman, a missionary, had gone there in 1835, and inspired much interest in the region. The introduc- tion of Linn's Bill shows the interest of Congress. The nation soon demanded that England give up her claims as far north as 54-40 — "5440 or Fight." In 1846, the matter was adjusted by dividing this territory; the boundary was fixed at the 49th parallel. The acquisition of the rest of the territory demanded by manifest destiny was hastened by a quarrel with Mexico, who owned the southern section. The causes for our troubles with Mexico may be summarized: 1. The demand for California (Alanifcst Destiny). 2. The desire for the adjustment of debts owed to some of our citizens by the government of Mexico. 3. A dispute over the boundary, Mexico claiming that it was the Xiteces River, and the Uniteci States claiming that it was the Rio Grande. A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY XJ SLIDELL was sent to Mexico with the suggestion that the debts be settled by the cession of California, but our activities along the border when our troops invaded the contested area, caused Mexico to refuse to treat with our envoy. War then was precipitated, in which the United States won every battle. The treaty which closed the war provided : 1. The boundary of Texas to be the Rio Grande. 2. The United States to get all the territory between Oregon and Texas north of the Gila River. 3. The United States to pay Mexico $15,000,000, and the money claims to be arranged for. It is stated by some that this war was unjustified, and that it was a steal by a stronger nation from a weaker. Come to some definite decision yourself on this point. The acquisition of all this new territory brought the slavery question once more to the fore. First it was brought up when the House was to appropriate money to end the war. The WILMOT PROVISO was tacked onto the bill as an amendment. It provided that no slavery should ever exist in the land acquired from Mexico. In the debate in Congress this clause was defeated, but the struggle for it showed the attitude of the two sections. ZACHARY TAYLOR— 1849-1853— Whig. The questions at issue between the North and South, chiefly that of slavery in the Mexican cession, had to be settled. CLAY once more led and, after a violent debate, secured the passage of 'the OMNIBUS BILL or the COMPROMISE OF 1850. The chief provision was that Congress decided not to dictate whether this territory should be slave or free, but left it to the localities to decide— SQUATTER SOVEREIGNTY. The importance of this is in the change of attitude since 1820. Then Congress took upon itself the right to shut slavery out of the territory ; in 1850, Congress assumed that it had no such power, which was a violent swing toward the Southern point of view. This act applied only to the Mexican cession, but with this attitude in Congress, the South immediately began to think of having the Missouri Com- promise repealed. Other provisions of the bill of 1850 were a new ^8 A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY and stricter Fugitive Slave Law, making it the duty of federal officials to aid in returning runaway slaves ; the prohibition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia ; the admission of Cali- fornia as a free state. This latter had been made necessary by the discovery of gold in that region in 1849, resulting in a great rush of the 49'ers into the gold field. In 1850, Taylor died, and Fillmore became President. The opening of California brought up the question of a canal across Panama. England, with her policy of controlling the seas, did not relish the idea of the building of such a canal by the United States, and so we agreed to the CLAYTON-BULWER Treaty, by which it was agreed that if a canal were to be built it would be a joint project. This treaty held until it was super- seded by the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty in 1901. FRANKLIN PIERCE— 1853-1857— Democrat. In this administration the question of the right of Congress to rule slavery out of the territories once more became acute. This right, which had been taken in 1820, had ruled slavery out of the Louisiana Purchase north of 36-30. The change of front indicated by the act of 1850 reopened the question, and there was a determination to get Congress to repeal the Missouri Compro- mise. STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS, the Senator from Illinois, from motives that are not altogether clear, introduced, in 1854, the KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL, and secured its passage. This provided that the Missouri Compromise should be repealed, and. that the territory north of 36-30 should be organized into two ter- ritories, which should, when they were ready to enter the union, decide for themselves whether they should be slave or free. This gave the South practically a complete victory, as they now had access to all the territories, and that was the kernel of the slavery dispute. This bill had two great results : 1. Since popular vote was to decide in each territory whether it was to enter as a slave state or a free state, both North- erners and Southerners flocked into Kansas, and attempted to kill oflf the opposing voters before election. Thus the BLOODY A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY .^Q KANSAS episode, in which John Brown first becomes a national figure. 2. The apparent victory of the Southerners showed those opposed to the extension of slavery that their only hope of suc- cess was to get control of the government. This could be done only by the organization of a new party, as the two old parties would not take sides upon the question. Those opposed to the extension of slavery into the territories began to unite and we find the beginning of the present-day REPUBLICAN PARTY. The publication of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," by Harriet Beecher Stowe, did much to fire the spirits of the Northerners, particu- larly of the Abolitionists. JAMES BUCHANAN— 1857-1861— Democrat The Republican Party had not sufficient strength to win this election, although they had a candidate in the field. The need for the new party was accentuated by the DRED SCOTT DECISION in 1856. DRED SCOTT was a slave who had been taken into terri- tory made free by the Missouri Compromise. He thereupon claimed his freedom and the fight was carried to the Supreme Court, where it was decided, among other things, that Scott was not free because the Missouri Compromise Avas unconstitutional. Congress having no power to legislate slavery out of the terri- tories. This made a complete victory for the Southerners, and the new Rejniblicans became more determined to win control of the government. This constitutional point was the chief subject of the LIN- COLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES. Lincoln and Douglas were can- didates for the Senate from Illinois, and they arranged a series of meetings where they should speak from the same platform. Douglas was a Northern Democrat, and Lincoln, a Republican, with leanings toward abolition. Douglas upheld "Squatter Sov- ereignty" as the principle of his Kansas-Nebraska Bill. At the Frccport debate, Lincoln, b}^ a skillful question, got Douglas to say that people of the territory itself could keep slavery out, although Congress could not. This appeased the people of Illi- 40 A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY nois, and Douglas was elected to the Senate, but it angered the South so that they would have none of Douglas when he came up for the Presidency in 1860. John Brown, whom we have seen in Kansas, in 1859 took it upon himself to free the slaves, and in the process he attacked the government arsenal at Harper's Ferry. He was captured and hanged for treason, but the excitement added to the ferment which made the election of 1860 one of the most violently con- tested in history. In 1860, the Republicans passed over Seward, the logical can- didate, and nominated ABRAHAM LINCOLN, upon a platform calling for the abolition of slavery in the territories- The Demo- crats nominated STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS. His Freeport Doc- trine had so angered the South that they left the convention and put up a separate candidate, BRECKENRIDGE. Some of the middle states did not wish to take a violent ground upon the subject of the day, and formed a Union Party, nominating BELL, upon a neutral platform. The South frankly threatened that if Lincoln won upon such a platform as the Republicans had adopted, they would not remain in the union. At the ELECTION of 1860 the Republicans won, largely because of the split in the Democratic ranks, and the Southern states, led by South Carolina, immediately announced their secession. Opinion in the North was divided, many able men being in favor of allowing the South to secede. The break came when South Carolina attempted to capture the government property in her harbor and fired upon Fort Sumter. This firing upon the flag was what was needed to arouse the North and an army was recruited. The fighting continued four years, with the govern- ment finally successful. A REVIEW OF AMERICAN HISTORY 4 I ABRAHAM LINCOLN— 1861-1865— Republican. The administration of Lincoln is taken up entirely with the Civil War. The chief men of his cabinet were Seward, Secretary of State ; Stanton, Secretary of War, and Chase, Secretary of the Treasury. The military history of the war will not be considered here. Note first the foreign relations of the period. RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND. England, with her big interests in the manufacture of cotton bought from the South and in the sale of goods to the South, had nothing to lose and everything to gain by the success of the Southern cause. The government of England issued a proclama- tion of neutrality, itself a blow at the North, because it gave the rebels as we called them, the rights of belligerents. Great friction came when Mason and S Udell' two Southern envoys, were taken from an English vessel by a United States captain, thus violating the neutral rights of English ships. After some debate the men were ordered given up to England. The most serious trouble came when an English firm fitted out some ships of war for the South. In spite of the protests of our minister to England, Adams, the English government allowed the ships to sail, and they did great damage to United States ship- ping. The most. important of these ships was the ALABAMA. After the war a demand was made that England pay for the '..-^^ %,^ '^ 5^..-^' "-> «> * « N '* . V' f , c \0 V. 0° l^"- °o -^'^V-"-'- '-*' V^' V.s^^ ^^•i- *^0 **•.-<•' A? %, "oho- o o5°<^ ^^<>^ o -^-^^V o '^r>9" VV V ,.^^ 'Cp«i~ L^ » " • q,_ "oho N. MANCHESTER, INDIANA 46962 ^. .<6 .'M^^ ^<6. .^ .*^^^Vo »^. .,-?. **. i5;ni:flS-;Mi^J'y!;Kt-l;l^