(1 ;is,s Lj i 1 A A >K l)()()K lHii:SKNTEI) BY ^7 LEADING FACTS OF HISTORY SERIES. By D. H. MONTGOMERY. THE LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY With numerous Illustrations, Maps, and Tables. Mailing Price, $1.10; Introduction Price, $1.00. THE LEADING FACTS OF ENGLISH HISTORY. (Revised Edition.) With nunneious Maps and Tables. Mailing Price, $1.25; Introduction Price, $1.12. THE LEADING FACTS OF FRENCH HISTORY. With numerous Maps and Tables. Mailing Price, $1.25 ; Intro- duction Price, $1.12. BEGINNER'S AMERICAN HISTORY. With numerous Maps and Illustrations. Mailing Price, $.70; Introduction Price, $ .60. GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS. 'iS^r W^t Eeating jFacts of Jjistorg ScrifS. THE LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. BY D/h. MONTGOMERY. "America is another word for Opportunity." — Emerson. BOSTON, U.S.A. : GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS. 1894. En? , .1 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1890, by D. H. MONTGOMERY, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. All Rights Resbrved. Typography by J. S. Gushing & Co., Boston, U.S. A Presswork by Ginn & Co., Boston, U.S.A. Ai D. H. M. TO D. A. M. and 0. W. M. PREFATORY NOTE. lOi T^HIS work is based on a careful study of the highest recog- nized authorities on the subject. Its purpose is to present in a clear, connected, and forcible manner the important events in the history of our country. The author has had three chief objects in view, — accuracy of statement, simplicity of style, impartiality of treatment. In the preparation of this work his grateful acknowledgments are due to J. Franklin Jameson, Professor of History in Brown University, for his valuable assistance in the revision of the proof- sheets. The author also desires to express his thanks for the use of books and papers in the Library of Harvard University, the Library of Congress, the Library of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and especially for the aid courteously rendered by the Librarian and attendants of the Boston Athenaeum. DAVID H. MOxNTGOMERY, Cambridge, Mass. CONTENTS, SECTION PAGP 1. The Discovery ana Naming of America, 1492 to 1521 i II. Attempts at Exploring and Colonizing America (the Country, the Natives, Effects of the Discovery of America on Europe), 1509 to 1587 24 III. Permanent English and French Settlements (the Thirteen Col- onies, French Exploration of the West, Wars with the Indians and with the French, Colonial Life), 1607 to 1763 49 IV. The Revolution; the Constitution, 1763 to 1789 149 V. The Union, — National Development (Presidents from Washing- ton to Buchanan, inclusive), 1 789 to 1861 191 VI. The Civil War, 1861 to 1865 285 VII. Reconstruction, — the New Nation, 1865 to the Present Time. . . 324 APPENDIX.— 1 . The Declaration of Independence (with an Introduction) i 2. The Constitution (with an Introduction and Notes) vi 3. Table of Admission of States xix 4. Table of Presidents xxiii 5. Principal Dates in American History xxiv 6. List of Books on American History xxxii 7. Questions for Examination. xxxvi 8. Topical Analysis xlii 9. Index Iv LIST OF FULL AND DOUBLE-PAGE MAPS. MAP I. The World as known before the Sailing of Columbus 7 II. Frobisher's Map of America, 1576, , . , 33 III. North and South America, showing Routes of Columbus, Cabot, Magellan, Drake, and Gosnold (double page) 35 IV. Map showing the First Settlements made on the Eastern Coast of North America ...... o 51 V. En^and ^nd Holland, — the Homes of the Pilgrims (double page) 76 Xli CONTENTS. MAP PAGE VI. The Thirteen English Colonies and the French Explorations and Settlements in North America 126 VII. The Revolution, New England States, including New York City and Vicinity (colored) » 154 VIII. The Revolution, the Middle States (colored) 169 IX. The Revolution, the Southern States (colored) 180 X. Land Claims of the Thirteen States (colored) 182 ^ XI. The United States at the Peace of 1783 (colored) 184 v/ XII. The Northwest Territory, 1787 (colored) 187 XIII. Louisiana Territory (colored) • 204 XIV. The Civil War (colored) 292 XV. Territorial Growth of the United States from 1 783 to the Present Time (colored) 331 ^ XVI. Relief Map of the United States 333 XVII. General Map of the United States at the Present Time (colored) 356 LIST OF FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS. I. Stuart's Washington Frontispiece 11. Washington before the Revolution 134 III. Benjamin Franklin 147 IV. Battle of Bunker Hill (from an Old Print) 160 V. Franklin's Letter to Strahan 162 VI. Thomas Jefferson 165 VII. Henry Clay 225 VIII. John C. Calhoun 241 IX. Daniel Webster 242 X. Abraham Lincoln 279 XL Grant's " Unconditional Surrender " Letter 297 XII. General Lee 302 XIII. Lincoln's Proclamation of Emancipation . 305 XIV. View from Lookout Mountain 311 XV. General Grant 313 XVI. Admiral Farragut 317 XVII. Lee's Letter to Grant 321 THE Leading Facts of American History. OO^O^OO I. " He [the Most High] gave to thee [Columbus] the »keys of those gates of the Ocean . . . which were fast closed with such mighty chains." — Dream of Columbus, narrated in his Letter to the King and Queen of Spain^ 1503- *o* THE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. COLUMBUS. — CABOT. — AMERIGO VESPUCCLi I. Birth of Columbus; Ideas about the Earth; the *'Sea of Darkness.** — Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of Amer- ica, was born at Genoa, Italy, about the year 1436.^ At that time the earth was generally supposed to be flat, to be much smaller than it actually is, and to be habitable on its upper side alone. The only countries laid down on the rude and imperfect maps then in use were the continent of Europe,^ part of Asia, a narrow strip of Northern and Eastern Africa ; and, finally, a few islands, of which Iceland was the largest.* 1 Amerigo Vespucci (or Americus Vespucius) : Italian pronunciation, Ah-ma- ree'go Ves-poot'chee. 2 The exact year of his birth cannot be determined ; several excellent authori- ties favor 1436. 3 See Map No. i, page 2. •* Except, of course, Great Britain. LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. The Atlantic was popularly called the " Sea of Darkness." It was believed to be covered with thick, black fogs, and to be guarded by terrible monsters, which alike made it impassable. For these reasons, though the mari- ner's compass had long been known, yet navigators seldom dared to go out of sight of land, except to reach such islands as the Canaries and Azores, which some storm-driven sailor had originally discovered by chance. Europe, at this period, had no true ocean com- merce : its trade by sea was confined to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic coast. 2. The Voyages and Discoveries of the Northmen. — To these statements one marked exception must be made. The Northmen, those daring sailors of Norway and Denmark, from whom our own English-speaking race has largely sprung,^ braved even the tempests and the terrors of the Atlantic, By accident they made a number of remarkable discoveries several centuries before Columbus. Though they had no compass, — no guide, in fact, but the sun and "the stars,^ — yet they were accustomed to The world as known in 1436. The faint, dotted outline of the coast of Africa shows the unexplored por- tion. The monsters represent the terrors of unknown regions. 1 The Northmen invaded and permanently settled the northeastern half of Eng- land in the ninth century. In the next century they established themselves in North- western France, which district was called from them Normandy (the country of the Normans, or Northmen). In io66 the Normans crossed the Channel and conquered England. Hence many English, since the ninth century, and their descendants in America, must have sprung from the Northmen. 2 Sometimes the Northmen, in their distant expeditions, took ravens with them ; when doubtful which way to steer for land they let the birds loose and followed their flight. THE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. 3 make long voyages in rudely built vessels not larger than fishing- smacks. About the year 850 a famous sea-rover of the Northmen was caught in a violent tempest and driven upon the coast of Iceland. Not long after, an expedition was sent and a settlement made in the new land. In the course of the next hundred years the North- men pushed their light barks farther and farther west, until at last they reached the bleak shores of Greenland. There, also, they established a colony. But even that distant and dreary outpost was not to be the utmost limit of their wanderings. The coast of North America had already been seen by these adventurous explor- ers. In the year 1000 Leif, the son of Eric the Red, reached that coast, and was henceforth called " Leif the Lucky." The place where he and his companions landed, and where they later spent one or more winters, cannot be exactly determined. According to their account they found wild grapes growing in such abundance that they named the region Vinland.^ This may have been, as many have supposed, a part of Massachusetts or Rhode Island, or it may have been as far north as Labrador. There are no ruins or other remains to mark their temporary settlement on the American coast, although in Greenland the walls of a stone church and of other buildings show where they had a colony. 3. The Discovery of America by the Northmen had no Practical Result. — But however interesting it may be to us to know that the Northmen visited our shores as early as the year 1000, still their discovery led to nothing. The reasons are readily found. First, they were then only partly civilized, and appear 1 In the account of their return from Vinland to Greenland the records of the Northmen say : " And when spring came they got ready and sailed off; and Leif gave a name to the land after its sort, and called it Vinland (Vineland). They sailed then . . . until they saw Greenland . . . after that, Leif was called ' Leif the Lucky.' " It was thought at one time that the ancient round stone tower at Newport, com- monly called the " Old Stone Mill," was the work of the Northmen ; but that idea is now pretty generally abnndoned, and the old mill is believed to have been built by Governor Benedict Arnold of Rhode Island, in 1676-7. 4 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. to have made no efforts to establish a permanent settlement here. Next, their colony in Greenland perished after a while, and a great change for the worse also took place in Iceland. In the time of Columbus the inhabitants of that island had probably little, if any, communication or trade with any part of the world except Bristol, England. The energy and enterprise for which these men of the north had once been famous had in great measure died out. They no longer engaged in daring adventures. There is a strong probability that Columbus went to Iceland in 1477,^ but there is little likelihood that he got any information while there of a land farther west. Had he done so, he certainly would have mentioned the fact when he came to solicit help for his great voyage of discovery a number of years later. But though he urges every argument in favor of his enterprise, he says not a word of having had even a hint from the people of Iceland of such a country as Vinland. The truth seems to be that the dull and lazy descendants of " Leif the Lucky " and his brave comrades had lost all remembrance of any traditions or records of that far-off shore where their forefathers declared that they had feasted on American wild grapes. More than this, we have no evidence that the nations of Europe knew anything of such a country as Leif describes. It is there- fore quite safe to say that when Columbus sailed, in 1492, one half the world did not so much as suspect the existence of the other half. 4. What Land Columbus wished to reach ; Marco Polo*s Travels ; First Motive of Columbus. — What, then, let us ask, first induced Columbus to undertake a voyage that no other man of that age dared embark upon ? It was not the expectation of finding a new or fourth continent ; for he probably believed as 1 " In the year 1477, in February, I navigated one hundred leagues beyond Thule [Thule is generally thought to have been Iceland]. . . . The English, principally those of Bristol, go with their merchandise to this island, which is as large as England. When I was there, the sea was not frozen." — Letter of Columbus, THE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. 5 firmly as any one of his day that the three continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa, with some islands, comprised all the land in ex- istence. His object was not to reveal a new world beyond the western ocean, but simply to reach the Indies by saihng in that direction. The interest he felt was partly awakened by a noted book, published many years before, and partly it was the result of the condition of the India trade at the time when Columbus matured his enterprise. Let us see what that book was. In the thirteenth century ( 1 260- 1295) Marco Polo, a fellow-countryman of Columbus, made an overland journey to Central Asia and the far East. He spent nearly thirty years there, and on his return wrote a volume of travels of great value. In that remarkable work he described India and China, and spoke of the island of Cipango or Japan, whose ex- istence he then first made known to Europe. Polo gave the best account of the countries he visited which had been published since Alexander the Great penetrated India (327 B.C.), and he spoke particularly of the wealth and power of the Great Khan, or Emperor of China, in whose service he had spent upwards of seventeen years.^ This book made a deep impression on the mind of Columbus, and later he constructed a map of the world, based in large meas- ure on the geographical discoveries made by Polo. He burned with a desire to visit those marvellous Eastern lands, with which all intercourse, except that of commerce, had long practically ceased. His purpose, as he himself repeatedly tells us, was, first of all, that of a missionary,^ — he hoped to convert the Khan and 1 An eminent authority (M. Walckenaer) says, " When in the long series of ages we search for three men who, by th§ grandeur and influence of their discoveries, have contributed most to the progress of geography ... the modest name of the Venetian traveller [Marco Polo] presents itself in the same line with the names ot Alexander the Great and Christopher Columbus." 2 In this respect Columbus may be compared with the celebrated modern mis- sionary and explorer, Dnvid Livingstone, who did so much, a number of years since, toward opening up the " Dark Continent " of Africa, not only to religion, but to trade. 6 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. his people to Christianity. If they rejected the reUgion he offered them, then, according to the ideas of the time, any Christian king might aeize their possessions, and make slaves of them. Such was one great object with Columbus in going to the Indies, as all Eastern Asia was then called. Throughout his career he never lost sight of this purpose. In fact, he came at length to believe that the Most High had specially chosen him as his instru- ment to carry the light of faith into the kingdoms of Oriental paganism. That motive, whether wise or not, inspired the great Genoese navigator with a certain enthusiasm and dignity of char- acter which mark his course throughout. His life was not always blameless, — he shared many of the errors of his time, — but it was always noble. 5. The Second Motive of Columbus ; Trade with the In- dies. — But the question naturally arises, if Columbus wished to reach the Indies, why did he not follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Polo, and go overland to that country? The answer to that inquiry is found in the second motive which actuated him ; that was his desire to open up direct commercial intercourse with the East, not by land, but by the ocean. Columbus was, as we have seen, a sailor ; and for this reason the condition of trade had a great influence on his plans. Europe had at all times depended on the Indies for much of its supply of silks, cashmeres, and muslins, as well as for dyewoods, perfumes, spices, precious stones, and pearls. How large that trade was in the fifteenth century we cannot say with precision, but it must have been considerable. The control of it was then practically in the hands of the two rival Italian ports of Venice and Genoa. They held such complete possession of this lucra- tive traffic that it was said that no one in Western Europe could season a dish of meat or spice a cup of wine, without adding something to the profits of one of those cities. Each had a route of its own. Genoa took the northern one, and sent her ships by way of Constantinople to the ports of the it THE WORLD AS KNOWN SHORTLY BEFORE THE SAILING OF COLUMBUS. Light arrows show voyages made up to 1492; (light track, D? Gama's voyage, 1497). Dark arrows, voyages of Columbus and Cabot. White crosses, countries of which something was known before 1492. White area, including western coast of Africa, the world as known shortly before the sail- ing of Columbus. THE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. 7 Black Sea. There they loaded with goods brought either across from the Caspian Sea or up the valley of the Euphrates and the Tigris from the Persian Gulf — part of the way by boats, and part by caravan. Venice took the southern route, and conducted her traffic by way of Cairo and the Red Sea. This gave her the advantage of a nearly all-water line of communication with the East, though there were points where the navigation was both difficult and dan- gerous. Trade over these two competing routes had gone on for centuries ; but in 1453, when Columbus was a lad of seventeen, a great change suddenly took place. That year the Turks besieged and took Constantinople, which before that had been a Greek city. When they got possession they refused to allow the Genoese vessels to pass through the straits of the Bosphorus into the Black Sea. This completely broke up the commerce of Genoa with the East, and henceforth Venice had the trade entirely to herself That result, so disastrous to Genoa, must have made a decided impression on Columbus ; for in future he would see no more ships unload their rich cargoes of silks and spices at the wharves of his native city. 6. Attempt of the Portuguese to reach the Indies by a New Route. — While these events were happening on the Medi- terranean, the king of Portugal, anxious to get the control of the Oriental trade away from Venice, was doing his utmost to find an all-sea route to the treasures of the Indies. His plan was to send out successive expeditions to explore the western coast of Africa, in the hope of finding a way round that continent into the Indian Ocean. But the progress made was very slow. Though they had already done something, yet it took the cautious mariners of that age more than fifty years to creep down the coast — a distance of over five thousand miles — to the extreme southern point. Finally, in 1487, that feat was accomplished by a Portuguese captain of the name of Diaz.^ He, however, had such a rough experience that he named the point the Cape of Storms. 1 Diaz (Dee'az). 8 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. It is an interesting and significant fact that Bartholomew Colum- bus, Christopher's younger brother, accompanied Captain Diaz in that expedition. The elder Columbus must have felt no little in- terest in the success of the undertaking, since he himself was then maturing a scheme for seeking the Indies in a different direction. When Diaz returned with the news of what he had achieved, the Portuguese monarch felt sure that he should accomplish his end. To show his confidence in the new route which he foresaw would be opened, he called for Diaz's chart, drew his pen through the name Cape of Storms, and in its place wrote in bold letters that name full of promise. Cape of Good Hope. 7. Plan of Columbus for reaching the Indies by sailing West. — But Columbus thought that he could improve on the king of Portugal's project. He felt certain that there was a shorter and better way of reaching the Indies than the track Diaz had marked out. The plan of the Genoese sailor was as daring as it was original. Instead of sailing east, or south and east, he proposed to sail directly west. He had, as he beheved, three good and solid reasons for such an undertaking : First, in common with the best geographers of his day, Columbus was convinced that the earth was not flat, as most men supposed, but a globe. Secondly, he supposed this globe to be much smaller than it is, and the greater part to be land instead of water. Thirdly, as he knew nothing, and surmised nothing, of the existence of the continent of America or of the Pacific Ocean, he imagined that the coast of Asia or the Indies was directly opposite Spain and the western coast of Europe. The entire distance across to Cipango, or Japan, he estimated not to exceed between three and four thousand miles. His plan was this : he would start from Europe ; head his ship westward toward Japan, and follow the curve of the globe until it brought him to what he sought. To his mind it seemed as sure and simple as for a fly to walk round an apple. If successful in the expedition, he would have this immense ad- THE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. 9 vantage : he would enter the Indies directly by the front door, instead of reaching them in a roundabout way, and by a sort of side-entrance as the Portuguese must. We see that this man who understood practical mathematics, geography, and navigation, as well or better than any one of his day, was right on the first point, — the shape of the earth, — but utterly wrong on the other two. Yet, singularly enough, his errors were in one respect a help to him. The mistake that he made in regard to distance was a most fortunate one. Had Columbus correctly reckoned the size of the globe, and the true length of such a voyage, he probably would not have sailed, since he would have seen at once that the pro- posed Portuguese route was both far shorter and cheaper. Again, could he have imagined or in any way foreseen that the American continent lay right across his path, that in itself might not then have induced him to start on a voyage of discovery, for his object was not to find a new country, but a new way to an old one. 8. Columbus seeks and obtains the Assistance of Spain. — This project was not a recent thought of Columbus. He had meditated on it for many years, during which time he had sought to get the help first of his native city, then of Portugal, and finally of Spain. He had met with nothing but disappointment. He was regarded as a foolish schemer, and the street boys openly mocked him as a lunatic. At last Columbus, now fast sinking into poverty, received per- mission from the Spanish rulers to lay his plans before a committee or council. That body listened to his arguments with impatient increduhty. To them such a voyage " appeared as extravagant as it would at the present day to launch a balloon into space in quest of some distant star." The council ridiculed the idea that the earth is round like a ball. If so, said they, then the rain and snow must fall upward on the under side, — the side opposite where we stand, — and men there must walk with their heads downward : that would be incon- lO LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. venient, nay more, it would be impossible. Finally, they objected that in case the earth could be proved to be a globe, that very fact would render such a voyage as Columbus proposed a failure. For how, they asked of him, could your ships come back when they had once advanced so far west as to begin to descend the curve of the earth? Could they turn about and aail up hill to Spain again? No answer that Columbus could make seemed satisfac- tory to the council. After much deliberation and vexatious delays they made their report to Ferdinand and Isabella, joint sovereigns of Spain. The report stated that the scheme was " vain and im- practicable, and rested on grounds too weak to merit the support of the government." Sick at heart, Columbus set out to leave the country, when he was recalled. He had a few stanch friends at court who believed, with him, that "wherever ships could sail, man might venture." Through their influence, and especially through the generous en- couragement of Queen Isabella, he obtained the assistance he required.^ Thus, chiefly by a woman's help, the brave saflor got the power to undertake his daring enterprise. It was indeed high time that some one should furnish the means if Columbus was to be the leader; for he was then a gray-bearded man of fifty-six — an age when not many persons, however fond of adventure, care to embark on new and perilous expeditions. 9. Columbus sails. — Columbus had succeeded in getting his own terms, — he had received the rank of admiral, he was to be governor of all lands that he might discover or acquire, and he was to have a tenth of whatever treasure he might find. He now pushed forward his preparations for the voyage as rapidly as possi- ble. When all was ready, he and his men went to church, and implored the blessing of God on their great enterprise. The next day, Friday, August 3, 1492, "half an hour before sunrise," as 2 The whole amount raised to fit out the expedition was 1,640,000 maravedis, or (according to HarrisSe's estimate) about ^93,000, of which sum the Queen contributed over two thirds. tHE DISCOVERY AND NAMING OF AMERICA. 11 Columbus himself says, he set sail from Palos, Spain, with three small vessels, and one hundred and twenty men.^ Of these vessels, only the largest, the admiral's ship, had an entire deck, and even his was probably of not over one hundred tons' burden, or about the size of an ordinary coasting schooner. He took his route by way of the Canary Islands, because Cipango, or Japan, the nearest Asiatic land, was supposed to lie in that latitude.^ At the Canaries he was detained several weeks repairing the rudder of one vessel, and altering the sails of a second. On September 6th, he hoisted anchor, and resolutely set out to cross that ocean which no civilized man had ever before attempted to pass over. As the last dim outline of the islands faded from their sight many of the sailors were completely overcome. Some shed tears, as if they " had taken leave of the world " ; others, unable to restrain their grief, broke out into loud and bitter lamentations. But Columbus himself had no such fears. He did not feel that he was making a leap in the dark. He had carefully calculated everything and provided for everything. No one understood navigation better than he. Here was his equipment : First, he had a chart of the globe, made by himself, and based on the highest authorities. Next, he had the compass for his guide. Finally, he carried with him an improved astrolabe, or instrument for determining his position by observation of the sun. But these were not all. These, in fact, were but the material 1 Columbus kept a regular journal of the voyage from the start. In the intro- duction to that journal he says, respecting one object he had in view: " In conse- quence of the information which I had given to your Highnesses [the king and queen of Spain] of the lands of India, and of a prince who is called the Grand Khan, which is to say . . . King of Kings . . . therefore your Highnesses . . . deter- mined to send me, Christopher Columbus, to the said parts of India to see the said prince and the people and lands . . . and to discover the means to be taken for the conversion of them to our holy faith ; and ordered that I should not go by land to the East, by which it is the custom to go, but by a voyage to the west, by which course, unto the present time, we do not know for certain that any one hath passed." 2 See chart of Columbus, page 12, and compare also the chart of his course, page 13. 12 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. and mechanical means of success. He had the conviction that he was engaged in a Providential work, and that he was certain to accomphsh it. There are occasions in life when such a faith is worth everything to its possessor : this was one. Atlantic Ocean Tropic o/Ciwcerr Charf representing fhat by whtch Co/umbu53Qi/ed 170 10 ■& 28 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific, but they probably had a clearer idea of the actual width of that part of the new world than any one else in it ; for they literally knew every foot of the way. De Vaca brought reports of rich cities in the north. Coro- nado/ a Spanish governor in Mexico, set out to find them (1540). He discovered the Great Cafion of the Colorado and some of the Indian stone ^ cities of New Mexico — possibly he reached what is now Kansas. 22. De Soto's Expedition. — The next one to undertake the subjugation of Florida was Ferdinando De Soto,^ a Spaniard, as greedy of gold as he was cruel, and as daring as he was- greedy. He sailed from Cuba in the spring of 1539, with a force of about six hundred picked men and over two hundred horses. A num- ber of priests in their black robes accompanied the expedition, to De Soto's Expedition, 1539-1542 (The outlines and names of States are gi convenience in tracing De Soto's cour hold daily religious services in the wilderness. Bloodhounds and chains were provided, to hunt and enslave the Indians. Last of all, a drove of hogs was taken, in order that the men might be sure of an ample supply of fresh meat. ' CoTonado (Ko-ro-na'do). 2 And sun-dried brick. De Soto (Da-So'to). DE SOTO S EXPEDITION. 29 The expedition landed at Tampa Bay/ and began its march ot exploration, of robbery, and of murder. The soldiers seized the natives, chained them in couples so that they might not escape, and forced them to carry their baggage and pound their corn.^ The chief of each tribe through whose country they passed was compelled to serve as a guide until they reached the next tribe. If an Indian refused to be a slave or a beast of burden for these insolent Spaniards, his fate was pitiful. They set him up as a target, and riddled his body with bullets ; or they chopped off his hands, and then sent him home to exhibit the useless, bleeding stumps to his family. For two years this march went on. During that time De Soto and his men travelled upwards of fifteen hundred miles through what are now the States of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Missis- sippi. They found no gold worth mentioning ; but, in its stead, hunger, suffering, and death. They deserved what they found. In the spring of 1541 the Spaniards, worn out, sick, dis- gusted, emerged from the forest on the banks of the Mississippi.^ Cabeza ^ had seen one of the mouths of the river, but De Soto was probably the first civilized man that ever looked on the main body of that mighty stream which rolls for nearly three thousand miles through the hear^ of the continent, and, with its tributaries, has a total navigable length of over fifteen thousand miles.'^ The river at that point is so wide that a person standing on the bank can just see a man standing on the opposite side. Here the Spaniards crossed. They made a long circuit of many months' march, getting no treasure, but meeting, as they declared, " Indians as fierce as mad dogs." In May, 1542, they came back to the great river at that point in Louisiana where the Red River unites with it. 1 See Map, page 28. 2 Corn : it was pounded in a mortar. 3 Probably at or near a place now called De Soto Front, De Soto County ; in the northwestern corner of the State of Mississippi. 4 Cabeza De Vaca : see Paragraph 21. 5 This is the lowest estimate ; the highest is from 35,000 to 40,000 miles ! See " Encyclopaedia Britannica." 30 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. This was to be the end of De Soto's career. There he died, and was secretly buried at midnight in the muddy waters of the Mississippi. He had made the Indians beheve that he was not a human being, but a " child of the sun," and that deatli could not touch him. When the chief found that he had mysteriously dis- appeared, he asked where he was. The Spaniards rephed that their captain had gone on a journey to heaven ; but that he would soon return. What the chief said we are not told ; but he doubt- less hoped that if De Soto had gone there, that there he would stay. The sur\ivors at length reached the Spanish settlements in Mexico. Only about half of those that had landed in Florida were alive ; they were a miserable band, half-naked, half-starved, looking worse than the savages they had gone out to subdue. K 23. Attempts of the Huguenots^ to establish Colonies. — For twenty years after De Soto's death Florida, with the adja- cent country, was left to the undisturbed possession of the Indians. Then, in 1562, Jean Ribaut,^ taking out a small number of Hu- guenots, attempted to plant a colony at what is now Port Royal, South Carolina.^ After they had got established Ribaut went back to France. The settlers numbered less than thirty. That handful of men, shut up in a log fort on the Atlantic coast, represented the first efforts of Admiral Coligny * to establish a great Protestant com- monwealth in America. But the Huguenots found the wilderness lonesome ; at length homesickness made it intolerable. They set to work, cut down trees, constructed a rude vessel, took their shirts and bedding to make sails and rigging, and started for France. 1 Huguenots (Hii'ge-nots, g hard) : a name given to the early French Protestants. For a full account of them, see " The Leading Facts of French History," in this series. 2 Jean Ribaut (Zhon Re-boh', French pronunciation). 3 See Map, page 51. 4 Coligny (Ko-leen-ye', French pronunciation) : he was the champion of the French Protestants. DESTRUCTION OF THE HUGUENOT SETTLEMENT. 3 1 On the way they were picked up by a passing ship, and taken to England. Without that chance help they would probably have perished. The next year (1564) a second expedition was sent out under the leadership of Laudonniere.^ This time the French landed at the St. John's River in Florida, where they built a fort. Later, Jean Ribaut arrived with re-enforcements, determined, it would seem, to hold the peninsula against the Spaniards. 24. Menendez - destroys the Huguenot Settlement. — The king of Spain had heard of the new settlement, and resolved to break it up. Pedro Menendez, an officer of the royal navy, was commissioned to clear out the intruders from territory which the Spanish monarch claimed by right, first, of the discovery of America by Columbus,^ and next, of that of Florida by De Leon."* Menendez started with his fleet in the summer of 1565, and found the French at the mouth of the St. John's River ; but after some manoeuvring deferred the attack for that day. He accord- ingly set sail, and, proceeding southward down the coast about twenty miles, to a point where he had previously landed, there he built a fort at a place which he named St. Augustine. Meanwhile Jean Ribaut, leaving part of his men in their fort on the St. John's River, set sail with the rest to attack the Spaniards. A tempest came up, and they were wrecked. As soon as Menen- dez had made his preparations, he advanced to the St. John's, surprised the French garrison, and massacred all but the women and the children. Shortly after his return, the Indians reported that some of the 1 Laudonniere (Lo-don-yair', French pronunciation). 2 Menendez (Ma-nen'deth, Spanish pronunciation). 3 " The nations of Europe adopted the principle that the discovery of any part of America gave title to the government by whose subjects, or by whose authority, it was made, as against all European governments. This title was to be consum- mated by possession." — Bouvier's Law Dictionary, " Discovery." It will be seen from this that the Spanish title to Florida was good, but not complete, if by " pos- session " the actual settlement and holding of the country was meant. ■* See Paragraph 18. 32 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. ship^Tecked Frenchmen were on the beach not far off. Menendez soon found them. They were exhausted and practically helpless. They surrendered and were murdered. Next came the news that Jean Ribaut himself, with a large number of men who had been ^\Tecked in hke manner, was a few miles away.-^ When Menendez came up to the French, Ribaut with a hundred and fifty of his followers surrendered. The rest, who numbered two hundred, escaped in the night. They were eventually taken, and made slaves for life. Out of those who had surrendered with Ribaut five were for some reason spared. The hands of the others — a hundred and forty-six in all — were tied behind them; then they were marched to St. Augustine, or its vicinity, and deliber- ately massacred. Thus the foundation of the oldest town in the United States (1565) may be said to have been laid in blood. 25. Revenge by De Gourgues.^ — The king of France treated the affair with indifference ; but a French Catholic named De Gourgues vowed vengeance on the murderers of his countrymen. He fitted out an expedition at his own expense and sailed for Florida. Reaching the St. John's River, he surprised and captured the Spanish garrison that Menendez had left there when he took the French fort. Ha\dng bound the prisoners, he hung them. Over their heads he placed a pine board on which these words were ' burned with a hot iron : " I do this not as to Spaniards ; but as to assassins." Then De Gourgues, not having sufficient force to attack the Spaniards at St. Augustine, set sail for France. The French never made a second attempt to colonize Florida, and the Span- iards were left in full possession. 26. English Exploration: Frobislier; Davis. — Since the voyages of the Cabots (149 7-1498) the Enghsh had been occu- pied with other matters, and hence sent out no more exploring 1 They appear to have been on Anastasia Island, about five miles fi-om St, Augustine. 2 De Gourgiies (Deh Goorg, ^hard; French pronunciation). DRAKE S VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD. 33 expeditions to the west.^ But in 1576, nearly eighty years after the EngHsh flag had been planted on the North American conti- nent,^ Sir Martin Frobisher set out to see if he could not discover a northwestern passage to Asia. His object was to reach the Indies, and secure part of the trade for England ; for since the Portuguese had opened up a route to that country by way of the Cape of Good Hope,'^ they held the control of that commerce. Frobisher crossed the Atlantic and cruised about in the seas and straits north of North America, but accomplished nothing. Among the curiosities he carried back was a black stone. When examined in London this was said to have gold in it. The story soon got into circulation that the lucky captain had actually found the spot in those frozen regions of the north where King Solomon dug the gold for his temple in Jerusalem ! A stock company was formed, and Frobisher went out and brought back several ship- loads of black stones. What became of them does not appear. It was a subject the stockholders preferred not to talk about. That was the last heard of " Solomon's mines " ; and a few years later we find Frobisher's wife begging help of the government, and calling herself " the most miserable poor woman in the world." These expeditions were followed by a persistent attempt on the part of Captain John Davis to push his way through the same seas. He, like Frobisher, left his name on the map of that deso- late region, but that was all.* 27. Sir Humphrey Gilbert's Expedition ; Drake's Voyage round the World. — The next two expeditions by the English 1 See ■' The Leading Facts of English History," in this series. 2 See Paragraph 14. 3 Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese navigator (see Map, page 12), succeeded in doubling the Cape of Good Hope in 1497. He reached Calicut on the Malabar coast of India in 1498, and at a later period established a trading post there. The Portuguese thus became " the sole masters and dispensers of the treasure of the East," and held control of India for over a century. 4 The Map on page 33 is interesting as showing how little was then really known of the North American continent. By examining it, it will be seen that the upper 34 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. were of a different character. In 1578 Sir Humphrey Gilbert, half-brother to Sir Walter Raleigh, of whom we shall presently speak, obtained a charter from Queen Elizabeth granting him any new lands he might discover in America or the west. Gilbert started the next year, with his little fleet ; but one ship was lost, and he was compelled to turn back. In 1583 he made a second attempt, and landed on Newfoundland, of which he took posses- sion for the queen. Not long after, his largest ship was wrecked. But two vessels of the fleet were now left ; and Gilbert started in the smaller of them, a tiny craft of only ten tons, on his home- ward voyage. The weather was tempestuous, and the captain of the larger vessel begged Gilbert to go in the ship with him ; but he would not forsake his crew. " We are as near to heaven by sea as by land," said he. That was the last heard of him ; that night his little vessel was swallowed up by the waves. Let us trust that he found his brave words true. Meantime Sir Francis Drake had sailed (1577) on a piratical expedition against the Spaniards and their settlements in South America. He passed through Magellan's Strait, entered the Pacific, and made havoc as he went along. He kept on north- ward until he reached what is now the coast of Oregon.^ He hoped, in this part of his voyage, to find a passage opening through to the Atlantic which might be used for trade with the Indies. He landed at several points, and refitted his ships at a place now called Drake's Bay, about thirty miles north of San Francisco. The Spaniards, who had been there before him, had named the country California.^ Drake took possession of the whole coast, and gave it the name of New Albion.^ He then part was supposed to be very narrow, from north to south, with a broad channel through to the Pacific ; for Frobisher Strait and Davis Strait, see Map, page 35. 1 He reached latitude 43°, in Southern Oregon ; or, as some accounts say, 48°. 2 California: a name probably derived from a Spanish romance of 1510, in which a fabulous island rich in gold and precious stones is so called. 8 England is called Albion, a name once supposed to mean the Country of the White Cliffs. Drake saw a part of the shore of the Pacific coast of America, which, perhaps, reminded him of th6 <;halk cliffs of his native land. Av J^ « 'J \ / A N / / MAP SHOWING THE EARLY VOYAGES TO AMERICA, WITH THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS. The heavy black coast line indicates what parts of the two continents were then known. RALEIGH S EXPEDITION. 35 crossed the Pacific, and returned to England by way of the Cape of Good Hope/ having, as it was said then, " ploughed a furrow round the world." He was the first Englishman who circumnavi- gated the globe (i577-i579)- 28. Walter Raleigh^s Exploring Expedition to Virginia. — In 1584 Walter Raleigh,- a favorite of Queen Elizabeth, re- ceived a charter from her granting him the right to explore and settle the eastern coast of America. That charter made Raleigh governor, with full power to enact laws for any colony he might establish ; but it expressly said that the settlers were to enjoy all the political and religious rights and privileges which they had in England. Raleigh was one of the few men of that day who believed that the northern part of the new world was worth settling. Most of the expeditions, as we have seen, had for their object to find a way through or round the continent to Asia ; but Raleigh thought that perhaps in the end America might prove to be quite as profitable as the Indies. He sent out two ships, in the summer of 1584, to explore.^ The EngHsh reached Roanoke Island, off the coast of what is now North Carolina. There they landed, and were hospitably entertained by the Indians. The explorers were delighted with the "native Americans," and spent several weeks, as they said, "eating and drinking very merrily" with the red men. When the expedition returned to England, the queen was so highly pleased with their description of the " Good Land " and the good people in it, that she named it Virginia, in honor of her own maiden life, and knighted the fortunate Raleigh, who now became Sir Walter. 29. Sir Walter Raleigh's Colony; the New "Roof and the New Weed. — In the summer of 1585 Raleigh sent out a hun- 1 See Map on page 35, and also Map on page 12. 2 Raleigh (Raw'le, but usually pronounced Ral'ly in England). 3 Under the command of Captains Amidas and Barlow. 36 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. dred and eight emigrants under Ralph Lane, who was to act as deputy governor. The new colony established itself on Roanoke Island. It certainly did not lack room ; for Virginia, as held by Sir Walter's charter, extended from the southern boundary of what is now North Carolina to beyond Halifax.^ Westward it reached six hundred miles, or nearly to the Mississippi. But the colonists had not been well chosen. They would not work. Lane said, " they had little understanding, less discretion, and ^lore tongue than was needful." After less than a year's trial of the country the emigrants returned to England. Still the ex- periment had not been an utter failure, for they carried back a peculiar kind of "root" — as they called it. When boiled or baked, the English found it excellent. Thus the Potato^ became an article of food in the British Islands. But this was not all. The Indians had a weed whose leaves they dried and smoked with great satisfaction. They told the' white men of Roanoke that "it would cure being tired." The emigrants tried it, and one of them said that the plant had so many virtues that " it would take an entire volume to describe them all." The courtiers of Queen Elizabeth tested these virtues ; and the queen, after smoking a little of it, confessed that it was "a vegetable of singular strength and power." The consequence was that from that time the air of England was never entirely free from tobacco smoke. We shall see later that this plant was destined to have a very important influence on American trade, and also on American history. 30. Raleigh sends out a Second Colony ; Croatoan. — Raleigh, though disappointed at the return of his first colony, resolved to send out a second. The emigrants of 1585 were all 1 That is, from latitude 34<^ to 45°. The charter gave Raleigh control of the whole territory for six hundred miles in every direction round his settlement. 2 The potato, by which is meant the common not the sweet potato, was not cul- tivated by the Indians, and it is supposed that the Spaniards may have brought it to Virginia from some other part of the continent. The potato is an American vegetable ; strictly speaking, it is not a true root, but an underground stem. CROATOAN. 37 men; but those of 1587 were, many of them, men with wives and famiUes. Sir Walter's hope was that they would make per- manent homes in the wilderness, and establish a city named after him. John White, the deputy governor who was to act for Sir Walter, carried a charter, and proceeded to lay the log foundations of the " City of Raleigh." The governor's daughter, Eleanor Dare, was the wife of one of the settlers. Shortly after her landing, Mrs. Dare gave birth to a daughter. She was the first child born of English parents in America, and was baptized by the name Virginia. Governor White soon sailed for England to get further help for the colony, leaving his daughter and his granddaughter, little Vir- ginia Dare, to await his return. That was the last he ever saw of them. Circumstances prevented his return for three years. When he did go back Roanoke Island was deserted. The only trace of the missing settlers was the word CROATOAN cut in bold letters on a tree. It had been agreed, before White left, that if the colonists abandoned the settlement, they should carve the name of the place to which they had gone, on a tree or post. If they went away in distress, they were to cut a cross above the name. There was the name, but no cross. Croatoan, as shown on early maps, was an Indian village on an island not far away ; but though repeated search was eventually made there and elsewhere, not one of the colonists was ever found. Sir Walter Raleigh was obliged to give up his project ; and America was left with not a single English settler, but with many '' English graves." Raleigh had spent over forty thousand pounds on the colony. Such a sum probably represented upwards of a million of dollars now. He could do no more ; but he said, '^ I shall live to see it an English nation." He did Hve to see a permanent English settlement established in Virginia in 1607. A hundred and eighty- five years after that event (1792) Sir Walter's name was given to the seat of government of North Carolina, and thus the " City of Raleigh " was enrolled among the capitals of the United States. Sir Walter's example was not lost ; and from his day England 38 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. kept the colonization of America in mind, until she finally accom- plished it. For these reasons Raleigh is rightly regarded as one of the founders of the American nation. 31. White Settlers in 1600 in what is now the United States. — As late as the year 1600 there seemed small promise that this country would ever be settled and governed by the Eng- lish-speaking race. Look at the situation. More than a hundred years had passed since Columbus landed ; yet the only white in- habitants of the territory now embraced in the United States were a few hundred Spaniards in St. Augustine, Florida, and perhaps a few hundred more in Santa F6,^ New INIexico, the second oldest town. Over the rest of the country, embracing more than three millions of square miles, the Indians ruled supreme. France had tried to get a foothold on the Atlantic coast and had failed ; Eng- land had tried and failed likewise. Spain alone succeeded. In 1600 it certainly looked as though her flag was destined to wave over the whole land from sea to sea. 32. What America was found to be. — Confining ourselves to the territory now included in the United States, let us see what the explorers of that, and also of a later, age found America to be ? In great measure it seemed to them Europe repeated. It had practically the same climate and the same soil. It produced, or was capable of producing, the same trees, the same fruits, the same crops, with the valuable addition of cotton, sugar, and rice. In all ways it was equally favorable to human health and life. But this is not all. In two important respects America is supe- rior to Europe. That continent commands the Atlantic only; this commands two oceans, — the Atlantic and the Pacific. Ships can be sent direct to Europe and Africa from our eastern coast, and direct to Asia and Australia from our western. That is the first advantage. The second is that though America repeats the 1 Santa Fe (San'tah Fay, Spanish pronunciation) : see Map of United States. St. Augustine, it will be remembered, was settled by the Spaniards in 1565. The date of the settlement of Santa Fe is commonly given as 1582; Winsor gives 1605. THE INDIANS. ' 39 natural features of Europe in its lakes, mountains, plains, rivers, and forests, yet it repeats them on a far grander scale. Europe has nothing to compare with the Sierras and the Rockies, the Great Lakes, the Mississippi, Niagara, the Caiion^ of the Colorado, or the Western prairies. " America," says a distinguished English statesman, " has a natural base for the greatest continuous empire ever established by man."^ Such was the land spread out before the explorers. It seemed to offer to all who were disappointed with the Old World an opportunity to try what they could make of life under new and broader conditions. 33. The Indians ; the Population then and now. — One strange fact about the country was that east ^ of the Mississippi the whole vast area was well-nigh a solitude. Where to-day fifty millions of white men live, there were then only two or three hundred thousand Indians.^ In going through the forests, the explorers would sometimes travel for days without meeting a human being. The truth is, that the Indians cannot be said to have occupied the land ; they simply possessed it. To them it was mainly a hunting-ground" to roam over or a battle-field to fight on. 34. Personal Appearance of the Indians ; the ** Scalp- Lock.'^ — Columbus called the natives Indians ;^ but they called themselves simply " Men," or " Real Men " ; " Real Men " they cer- tainly often proved themselves to be. The most numerous body of Indians in the East was the Algonquins ; the ablest and most ferocious was the Iroquois.® They were a tall, well-made race, with a color usually resembling that of old copper. Their hair was like a horse's mane, coarse, black, and straight. Their eyes 1 Canon (Can'yon) : the Grand Canon of the Colorado River in Arizona is a gorge or chasm extending for about three hundred miles. Its rocky walls rise from 3000 to 7000 feet above the river. 2 Gladstone's " Kin beyond Sea." 3 West of the Mississippi the Indian population, in the southwest, was large. ^ The whole number of Indians in the United States now is estimated at about 250,000. It seems to be an error to suppose that they are dying out. 5 See Paragraph 11. « Iroquois (Ir-o-kwa'). 40 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. were small, black, and deep set. They had high cheek-bones and a prominent nose. The women let their hair grow long. The men cut theirs off close to the head with the exception of a ridge or lock in the middle. That was left as a point of honor. It was called the '^ scalp-lock." Its object was to give an adversary — if he could get it — a fair grip in fight, and also to enable him to pull his enemy's scalp off as a trophy of the battle. That lock was the Indian's flag of defiance. It waved above his head as the colors do over a fort, as if to say, ''Take me if you can ! " 35. How the Indians lived. — The Indians were savages ; but seldom degraded savages.^ They lived by hunting, fishing, and agriculture. Their farming, however, was of the rudest kind. For weapons they had bows and arrows, hatchets made of flint, and heavy clubs. The Indian believed in a strict division of duties. He did the hunting, the fighting, the scalping ; his wife did the work. She built the wigwam, or hut of bark.^ She planted and hoed the corn 1 Of the origin of the American Indians, nothing is positively known. They may have come from Asia ; or if America is, as some geologists believe, older than the Old World, then the people of Asia may have originated here. The language of the Indians appears to be unlike that of any other race. Their civilization, customs, and manners varied widely. Those of the northern part of the country were much more barbarous than those of the southwest. The four chief families east of the Mississippi were : I, The Algonquins, extending from that river to the Atlantic. II. The Iroquois, occupying the greater part of what is now the 'State of New York, and surrounded by Algonquins. III. The Mobilians of the southeast. IV. The Natchez of the southwest. Throughout the Mississippi Valley thousands of remarkable earthworks are found, such as fortifications, burial mounds, enclosures for villages, and ridges of earth shaped like serpents and animals. West of the Mississippi immense build- ings are found constructed of stone or sun-dried brick. These pueblos, as they are called, are often large enough to accommodate the population of an entire village. They are erected by the Indians of that region. The remains in the Mississippi Valley may have been the work partly of races which preceded the Indians and partly of the Indians themselves. They are of much interest to the antiquarian, but have no known connection with United States history. 2 The wigwams were of various kinds. Some would hold only a single family; INDIAN WORK. 41 Birch-Bark Canoe. and tobacco. She made deerskin clothes for the family. When they moved, she carried the furniture on her back. Her house- keeping was simple. She kindled a fire on the ground by rubbing two dry sticks rapidly to- gether ; then she roasted the meat on the coals, or boiled it in an earthen pot. There was always plenty of smoke and dirt ; but no one complained. House-cleaning was unknown. 36. The Moccasin, the Snow-Shoe, the Birch-Bark Canoe. — The most ingenious work of the Indians was seen in the moccasin, the snow- shoe, and the birch-bark ca- noe. The moccasin was a shoe made of buckskin, — durable, soft, pliant, noiseless. It was the best covering for a hun- ter's foot that human skill ever contrived. The snow-shoe was a light frame of wood, covered with a network of strings of hide, and having such a broad sur- face that the wearer could walk on top of the snow in pursuit of game. Without it the Indian might have starved in a severe winter, since only by its use could he mn down the deer at that season, others, as among the Iroquois tribe, were long, low tenement-houses, large enough for a dozen or more families. In some parts of the country the wigwams were made of skins stretched on poles : in others, they were built of logs. Snow- Shoes. 42 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. The birch-bark canoe ^ was light, strong, and easily propelled. It made the Indian master of every lake, river, and stream. Wherever there were water-ways he could travel quickly, silently, and with little effort. If he liked, he could go in his own private conveyance from the source of the Ohio to the Gulf of Mexico, or from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the Falls of Niagara. 37. Indian Government; << Wampum. '» — Politically the Indian was free. Each tribe had a chief, but the chief had little real power. All important matters were settled by councils. The records of these councils were kept in a peculiar manner. The Indian could not write, but he could make pictures that often did as well. The treaty made by the Indians with William Penn was commemorated by a belt made of " wampum," or strings of beads. It represented an Indian and a white man clasping each other by the hand in token of friendship. That was the record of the peace established between them, Treaty- Belt made of Wampum. But quite independent of any picture, the arrangement of the beads and their colors had a meaning. When a council was held, a belt was made to show what had been done. Every tribe had its ''wampum " interpreters. By examination of a belt they could tell what action had been taken at any public meeting in the past. The beads ^ of these "wampum" strings had another use ; they 1 In some parts of the country canoes were made by hollowing out logs. 2 Originally all "wampum" was made of white or colored shells strung on strings ; after the coming of Europeans glass beads were ojften used. INDIAN CHARACTER. 43 served for money, a certain number of them representing a certain fixed value.^ But the Indian rarely needed these beads for this purpose. The forest supphed him and his family with food, clothes, and medicine. Under such circumstances a pocket full of money would have been as useless to him as to a bear. 38. Social Condition of the Indians; << Totems.''— So- cially, the Indian had less liberty than the white man. He was bound by customs handed down from his forefathers. He could not marry as he pleased. He could not sit in whatever seat he chose at a council. He could not even paint his face any color he fancied ; for a young man who had won no honors in battle would no more have dared to decorate himself like a veteran warrior than a private soldier in the United States army would venture to appear at parade in the uniform of a major-general. Each clan* had a " totem," ^ or badge, to designate it. The " totem " was usually the picture of some animal. Among the Iroquois the figures of the Bear, Turtle, and Wolf were the coats-of-arms of the " first families " of the Indian aristocracy. The " totem " was also used as a mark on gravestones, and as a seal. The old deeds of land often bear these Indian marks, just as a grant of land made now by the United ''^dian Gravestone 1 -, . showing the Totem of the States has the government seal appended to it. Turtle. 39. Indian Religion ; Indian Character. — The Indian usu- ally believed in a Great Spirit — all-powerful, wise, and good ;^ but 1 For instance, a hundred. white bc^^ds, or fifty colored ones, would buy a certain quantity of corn. * A clan was made up of kinsmen, — the descendants of a common mother. 2 To'tem : the animal or other object represented by the "totem" was held in reverence by the tribe. They believed that they had descended from its spirit, and that it watched over them and protected them. S Some modern writers question this; but the weight of evidence would seem to show that the Indians worshipped — at least, at times — one omnipotent Power. „M^Ai^ 44 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. he also believed in many inferior spirits, some good, and some evil. Often he worshipped the evil spirits most. He reasoned in this way : The Great Spirit will not hurt me, even if I do not pray to him, for he is good ; but if I neglect the evil spirits, they may do me mischief. Beyond this life the Indian looke;d for another. There the brave warrior who had taken many scalps would enter the happy hunting-grounds ; there demons would flog the coward to never- ending tasks. It has sometimes been said that " the only good Indian is a dead Indian " ; but judged by his own standard of right and wrong, the red man was conscientious. He would not steal from his own tribe, he would not He to his friends, he did not become a drunkard till the white man taught him. « 40. The Indian's Self-Control ; Torturing Captives ; Respect for Courage. — The Indian rarely expressed his feelings in words, but he frequently painted them on his face. You could tell by his color whether he meant peace or war, whether he had heard good news or bad. He sometimes laughed and shogted ; he seldom if ever wept. From childhood he was taught to despise pain. A row of little Indian boys would sometimes put live coals under their naked arms, and then press them close to their bodies. The game was, to see which one would first raise his arms, and drop the coal. The one that held oat longest became the leader. If an Indian lad met with an accident, and was mortally wounded, he scorned to complain ; he sang his " death-song," and died like a veteran warrior. The Indians either adopted their captives or tortured them. They hked to see how much agony they could bear without crying out. The surest way for a prisoner to save his life was to show that he was not afraid to lose it. The red man never failed to show his respect for courage. An instance is found in the case of General Stark of New Hampshire. He was taken prisoner by the THE INDIAN AND THE WHITE MAN. 45 Indians (1752) and condemned to run the gauntlet. Two long rows of stalwart young warriors were formed. Each man had a club or stick to strike Stark as he passed. But Stark was equal to the occasion. Just as he started on the terrible race for life he snatched a club out of the hands of the nearest Indian, and knocking down the astonished savages right and left, he escaped almost unhurt. The old men of the tribe, who stood near, roared with laughter to see the spruce young warriors sprawling in the dust. Instead of torturing Stark, they treated him as a hero. ^41. The Indian and the White Man ; what the White Man learned from him. — The Indian was a treacherous and cruel enemy, .but a steadfast friend. He thought at first that the white man was a celestial being who had come from heaven to visit him. He soon found out his mistake, and acted accord- ingly. The Indian could return good for good, but he knew nothing of returning good for evil ; on the contrary, he always paid bad treatment by bad treatment, and never forgot to add some interest. If he made a treaty he kept it sacredly ; it is said that in no in- stance can it be proved that he was first to break such an agree- ment. Those of the early white settlers who made friends with the red-man had no cause to regret it The Indian's school was the woods. Whatever the woods can teach that is useful — and they can teach much — that, he learned. He knew the properties of every plant, and the habits of every animal. The natives taught the white man many of these things, but the most useful of all the lessons the American barbarians gave the civilized Europeans was how to raise corn in the forest without first clearing the land. They showed them how to kill the trees by burning or girdling them. Then, when the leaves no longer grew, the sun would shine on the soil, and ripen the corn. There were times in the history of the early settlements of white men when that knowledge saved 4-6 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. them from starvation ; for often they had neither time nor strength to clear the soil for planting.^ 42. Influence of the Indians on the Early History of the Country. — But the results of contact between the two races did not end here. The alliances formed between the Indians and the English on the one hand, or the Indians and French, who were rivals and enemies of the English, on the other, had important historical results. The hostiUty of the Iroquois nations of New York to the French in Canada prevented the French from getting possession of the Hudson River, and so separating the English colonies of New England from those of Virginia and Pennsylvania. This was a decided advantage to the English settlers, who thus got a firm foothold on the Atlantic coast. Finally, the Indian wars prevented the English from scattering over the country. These contests forced them to stand by each other, and thus' trained them for union and for independence. 43. Effects of the Discovery of America on Europe. — What, now, were the effects of the discovery of the new world on Europe ? They may be summed up as follows : — I. There was a sudden and immense increase of geographical knowledge. That made a new map of the earth necessary, — a map representing it not only as a globe, but as a globe enormously larger than had been conceived, for it was found to contain the continents of North and South America and the Pacific Ocean. II. The new world invited new enterprise : there were vast regions to be explored and conquered. Spain, Portugal, France, and England began to plan western empires beyond the Atlantic. These plans gave rise to a struggle for the mastery, and to im- portant and decisive wars, especially between England and France. Men of every rank turned their attention to America, — some seeking wealth, others political power, others a refuge from reli- 1 In recent times, the Sibley army tent, which is extensively used at the West by the United States troops, shows that useful lessons may still be learned from the Indians. It is constructed on a plan borrowed from the wigwams of that region. EFFECTS OF THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 47 gious or political oppression. Here was room and opportunity for all. III. The discovery of the precious metals in Mexico and South America had far-reaching effects. Before the mines were found there had often been great scarcity of gold and silver in Europe. Kings robbed the Jews, and hired pretended chemists to try to turn lead into gold. Now the treasure obtained from America enabled them to equip armies, build palaces, and make public improvements of all kinds. Thus the riches which poured in from the west gave a new impulse to the life of the Old World. IV. Intercourse with America had an immense influence on trade and navigation. Before Columbus sailed, the commerce of Europe was confined chiefly to the Mediterranean. Then little vessels crept cautiously along the shore, peddling out their petty cargoes from port to port. Now all was changed. Large and strong ships began to be built, fit to battle with Atlantic storms, and ocean commerce commenced. Trade took its first great step toward encircling the globe. V. New products were obtained from beyond the sea. America gave Europe the potato, Indian corn,^ the tomato, and the turkey, for which tens of thousands of half-fed peasants were grateful. To these important articles of food should be added such lux- uries as cocoa and tobacco, and such drugs, dyestuffs, and valu- able woods as Peruvian bark, cochineal, logwood, and mahogany. VI. Before the discovery of America, sugar, cotton, rice, and coffee, when used at all, were imported by Europe from the Indies. Only the rich could, as a rule, afford them. Now they were either re-discovered in America, or transplanted here. In time they became cheap and plentiful, and even the poor of the Old World came to regard them as necessaries of life. VII. The material and scientific results of the discovery and settlement of America were not the only ones. Men's minds grew larger to take in a larger world. The voyage to America 1 Maize, or Indian corn, if not first introduced to Europe from America, was first practically introduced from here ; so, too, was India Rubber. 48 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. was like a journey to another planet. It made Europe acquainted with new races, new animals, new plants, new features of nature, new fields of enterprise. All felt that America meant opportunity. That was a great thought — in some respects the greatest that had ever moved the minds and hearts of men. It roused new hope ; it stimulated new and independent effort. 44. Summary. — The period embraced in this section covers the greater part of a century. In it we have three classes of discoveries and explorations : 1. Those of the Spaniards; these were confined to the south. They comprised Florida, the Pacific, the Mississippi and Mexico. 2. Those of the French ; these related to the river St. Lawrence and to expeditions to the eastern coast of Florida and vicinity. 3. Those of the English ; these included explorations on the coast at the far north, those of Drake on the Pacific, but, more important than all, those on that part of the Atlantic coast then called Virginia. Ponce de Leon and De Soto attempted to conquer Florida. Then came the struggle between the French and the Spaniards for possession of that country, ending with the triumph of the latter, and the founding of St. Augustine (1565), the oldest town' in the United States. The English expeditions of Frobisher and Gilbert, with Raleigh's project of a Virginia colony, all failed, and the country was left with no white occupants but the Spaniards. Finally, we have the effects of the contact of the white and the Indian races considered, and the important results of the discovery of America on Europe briefly set forth. GOSNOLD S EXPEDITION. 49 III. '* It cannot be denied that with America and in America a new era com- mences in human aftairs." — Daniel Webster. -*<>•- PERMANENT ENGLISH AND FRENCH SETTLEMENTS. THE THIRTEEN COLONIES. — FRENCH EXPLORATION OF THE WEST. — WARS WITH THE INDIANS AND WITH THE FRENCH. — COLO- NIAL LIFE.— GENERAL VIEW OF THE COLONIES. 45. Opening of the Seventeenth Century ; Gosnold's Ex- pedition. — The seventeenth century opened with new, and, in the end, successful efforts on the part of both the Enghsh and the French to estabhsh colonies on this continent. In 1602 Gosnold, an English navigator, set sail for Virginia. Instead of taking the usual circuitous route by way of the Canaries and the West Indies, he struck boldly across the Atlantic.-^ By this course he saved nearly a thousand miles in distance, and at least a week in sailing time. He landed on a cape on the New England coast, which he named Cape Cod, from the abun- dance of those fish found there. Then doubling the cape, and sailing south, he reached Cuttyhunk Island,^ at the entrance to Buzzard's Bay. On that island he built the first house erected in Massachusetts, intending to leave a colony there ; but when he had got a cargo of sassafras root and cedar logs, the settlers determined to go back 1 Gosnold sailed from Falmouth on the southwest coast of England. Contrary winds drove him to the Azores ; thence he sailed a little north of west until he reached the New England coast. See Map of America, page 35. 2 See Map on page 78. 50 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. with him. The sassafras root was then in great djemand in Eng- land as a fashionable medicine and cure-all. Gosnold counted on a handsome profit on it. But Sir Walter Raleigh accused him of trespassing on his land/ and seized the cargo, much to the disap- pointment and disgust of the industrious sassafras-diggers. The expedition, however, had this result : it showed Englishmen a shorter and more direct route to America, and it kept up an interest in the country. I. Virginia (1607). 46. England^s Need of America; the King grants a Charter to settle Virginia. — The population of England was then small, but many were out of employment. There were two reasons for this : first, thousands of disbanded soldiers had returned from the European wars, and could get nothing to do at home ; next, many farmers, finding that wool-growing paid better than raising wheat or barley, had converted their farms into sheep- pastures. This threw multitudes of laborers out of work. Every- where there was distress. So men naturally turned their eyes toward America. Such an opportunity seemed providential. As one preacher declared, Virginia was the door which God had opened to England. Two companies were organized to send out emigrants. One was called the London, the other, the Plymouth Company. The charter ^ given by King James I. granted to the London Company the exclusive right to settle in Southern Virginia between Cape Fear and the Potomac. To the Plymouth Company he gave the entire control of Northern Virginia betv/een the eastern end of Long Island and the northern limit of the mainland of Nova Scotia.^ The object of the companies was trade and exploration. 1 It will be remembered that Raleigh's charter gave him control of the American coast from north latitude 34° to 45°. See Paragraph 29. 2 See definition of charter in note on page 24. 3 The London Company controlled the territory between the 34th and 38th degrees of north latitude; the Plymouth, that between the 41st and 45th degrees. / VIRGINIA. 5 1 The three most important articles of the charter were these : — I. The companies were to hold their lands free of any military or other service to the king, but were to give him a fifth part of any precious metals they might find. II. Each colony was to be governed by a council appointed by the king, and responsible to him.^ III. The settlers were to enjoy all the rights and privileges of English citizens at home. In addition to the charter, the king and the companies gave the emigrants a long list of instructions, and good advice enough for a population sufficient to settle the whole continent. These instruc- tions ordered — 1. That the Church of England — that is, the national Episco- pal Church — should be established in the colonies. 2. That for the first five years no land should be given to any one, but that every settler must deposit the products of his labor in the company's warehouse, out of which he would be provided with whatever he needed for his living. 3. That the colonists should carefully explore all rivers in their vicinity, to see if they could not find '^ a short and easy way to the South Sea " ^ and the East Indi 47. The London Company's Colony sails, 1607 ; Captain John Smith. — The first colony^ was sent out by the London Company on New Year's Day, 1607. It consisted of 105 per- sons, all men. Nearly half of these were classed as " gentlemen " ; ■* The intervening country (38th to 41st degrees) , embracing what is now the coasts of Maryland, New Jersey, and New York, was open to competition ; but neither company was to settle within 100 miles of the other. 1 Each colony was to be under the control of a resident council appointed by the king ; the council chose its own president. This in turn was to be governed by a general council in London : both were to be subject to the king's will. 2 The South Sea, that is, the Pacific Ocean. See Paragraph 19. 3 The Plymouth Company's colony is mentioned under Paragraph 93, note 7. 4 In England, a gentleman is usually understood to be a person of good family and of independent income. One or two of the " gentlemen " who went out to 52 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. that is, persons of good family, not brought up to manual labor. The remainder were mechanics, tradesmen, and laborers. Thus it will be seen that a very large proportion were unfit for such an undertaking — they were going out tender-handed to struggle with the rough life of the wilderness. Fortunately there was a young man of decided ability among the colonists. This was Captain John Smith. His energy and courage saved the settlers from starvation. 48. The Emigrants settle Jamestown, Virginia, 1607 ; Condition of the Colony. — The expedition went by way of the West Indies, in order to trade with the natives there, and reached the American coast in the spring. About the middle of May they sailed up a river of Virginia, which they named the James River, in honor of the king ; for the same reason they called the settlement which they began on a peninsula on that river, James- town.^ They found a country abounding in every natural advantage, and well deserving that name of the " Good Land," which the Indians are said to have given it. But they found themselves destitute of those rights and privileges which EngUsh citizens enjoyed, and which the charter expressly stated that they should continue to possess. At home many of them had a right to vote, and to take part in making the laws by which they were governed ; in the Virginia woods they could do neither, for they were ruled by a council that was in turn ruled by the king. Virginia had property, but most of them were younger sons who had not inherited money. They went hoping to make fortunes in the New World, either in Virginia, or in the Indies, which they supposed could easily be reached from there. 1 The peninsula is now an island. It is about thirty miles up the river, on the northern bank. SUFFERINGS OF THE COLONISTS. 53 Next, they owned no land, and the work of their hands did not belong to them. In this last respect they were worse off than the poorest day-laborer they had left behind them. Furthermore, the idle man was certain that he would not suffer, for he could draw provisions out of the common storehouse ; the industrious man, on the other hand, knew that by the sweat of his toil he must feed the idle. Considering this discouraging start, the wonder is that the colony not only lived, but lived to lay the foundation of a prosperous, powerful, and independent State. 49. Sufferings of the Colonists ; Search for the Pacific ; Pocahontas. — As the weather was warm, the new settlers built no houses at first, but lived under rude shelters made of branches or of old sails. The provisions they brought with them had partly spoiled, and the river water was unwholesome to drink. Many fell ill with fever. During the hot summer the mortality was terrible. By September, half of the settlers had died. The few who were able to be about had all they could do to tend the sick and dig graves. In the autumn matters somewhat improved ; log huts were built, and the settlers were made more comfortable. Later, they urged Smith to lead an exploring expedition to find the South Sea.^ They set out in high spirits, supposing that, at that point, the country was less than 200 miles across from the Atlantic to the Pacific ! ^ In the course of the exploration Smith was captured by the Indians, and taken to their chief, Powhatan.^ The chief was " a tall, sour-looking old man " ; he ordered his warriors to knock Smith's brains out. According to the valiant captain's account, he was saved by Pocahontas,'' the chiefs youthful daughter, who 1 See Paragraph 46, No. 3, of the Instructions to the Colonists. 2 A map of 165 1, sold in London at that date, represents Virginia as a nar- row strip of land between the two oceans. See a copy of the map in Winsor's " America," Vol. IIL, page 465. 3 Powhatan (Pow-at-an'). 4 Pocahontas (Po-ca-hon'tas). 54 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. ran up, just as the club was raised, and put her arms round the prisoner's head.^ Some years afterward, John Rolfe, a colonist who had come over to Virginia at a later period, became interested in Pocahontas. He labored for the conversion of the tender-hearted heathen, and labored so effectually that she not only embraced Christianity, but took Rolfe for her husband besides. The marriage was a fortu- nate one, since it made Powhatan the firm friend of the colony at a time when it needed all the friends it could get. King James, however, shook his head over the matter, and questioned whether Rolfe, being a man without rank, had not committed treason in presuming to marry a native American princess ! 50. Gold! the French settle in Canada, 1608; the Colony's Debt to Smith ; the Colonists leave Jamestown. — Not long after Smith's adventure with the Indians, one of the settlers found a yellowish substance which was said to be gold. In spite of the captain's vigorous protests, the colonists set to work to dig the "gilded dust" and load a vessel with it. When the cargo reached England, it was indeed found to be one sort of gold ; that is, it was that worthless kind of glittering iron ore popularly known as "fool's gold." In the summer of that year (1608) an event occurred destined to have important results. Champlain, a famous French explorer, sailed up the St. Lawrence to Quebec, and there established the first permanent French colony in America. It was the feeble beginning of a rival power which was one day to dispute the right of the Enghsh to possess any part of the country.^ Shortly after this date Smith was chosen president^ of the 1 Certain inconsistencies in Smith's account of the affair have caused most recent historians to question the truth of his story; otherwise it is not at all improbable. See Professor Arber's edition of Smith's works, and his article in the Encyclopcedia Britannica, on "John Smith." 2 De Monts, a friend of Champlain's, attempted to establish a colony in Acadia (Nova Scotia) in 1604, but his enterprise failed. The first permanent settlement in that,part of the country was not made until 1610. 3 See Paragraph 46, Article II., of the Charter, and note i on that paragraph. GOVERNOR DALE. 55 Council, and thus became head of the government of Jamestown. His rule was an encouragement to the industrious, but a terror to the lazy. Those who tried to live without working soon found that they must also try that harder thing — to live without eating. But the captain's term of office was short, for he met with a fear- ful accident that made it necessary for him to return to England. He never revisited the colony. After he had gone, the Indians began depredations. They had looked up to Smith as a superior being, and when they wanted rain used to beg him to pray for it for them. Now, they did not hesitate to rob and murder the settlers. Everything went to rack and ruin. Sickness and famine set in. In six months only sixty persons were left out of five hundred. A ship came, bringing more colonists and some sup- plies ; but matters looked so discouraging that it was resolved to abandon the country, and go back to England. Some of the settlers, when they left, were for setting fire to Jamestown, but fortunately that was not done. None shed a tear on going ; for, it was said, " none had enjoyed one happy day " there. 51. Lord Delaware; the New Charter; Governor Dale; the Great Reform. — The settlers had actually embarked, when they met Lord Delaware coming up the river with a fleet from England. He came out as governor under a new charter ^ which gave him the entire control of the colony. He had the power of ruling by military law, and could hang a man, without a jury to decide his guilt. Lord Delaware soon resigned, and was succeeded by Governor Dale. He was a stern old soldier, determined to preserve order. If a colonist talked against his regulations, the governor had a hole bored through his tongue : that kept him quiet for a while. 1 This second charter (1609) gave the London Company the entire control ol. the colony. They appointed a governor to act for them. Virginia was declared by this charter to extend 200 miles north of Point Comfort, and the same distance south. Westward it reached to the Pacific, and included all islands within 100 miles of either coast. 56 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. If a man refused to go to church, he was put on short allowance of victuals, and whipped every day until he repented. But the new governor was not simply a tyrant. He was a person of excellent judgment, and really sought the welfare of the colony. He practically abolished the old system of living out of the public storehouse.^ To every settler he gave a small piece of land, and allowed him a certain number of days in the year to work on it for himself.^ From this time a new spirit animated the community. Up to this year the laborer had been discouraged, for, no matter how hard he toiled, he had nothing he could call his own. Now, owing to the governor's wise provision, every man could look with pride on his little garden, and say, " This is mine^ That feeling gave him heart ; before, he had worked in silence ; now, he whistled while he worked. Before, he had not cared much whether he had the right to vote or not ; but now that he was a property-holder, he wanted that right. 52. What Tobacco did for Virginia. — In 161 2 John Rolfe, the husband of Pocahontas, began the systematic cultivation of tobacco.^ In the course of a few years it came to be the greatest industry in Virginia.* At one time even the streets of Jamestown were planted with it. It took the place of money, and clergy- men and public officers received their salaries in it. Before this, America had practically nothing to export. With tobacco, com- merce began ; for Europe would buy all the colonists could raise. King James denounced the use of the plant as " loathsome," " hateful," and " dangerous " ; but the English people filled their 1 See Paragraph 46, No. 2 of the Instructions to the Colonists. 2 Later, Governor Dale induced the London Company to grant 50 acres to any settler who would clear and settle on them, and pay a trifling rent to the king. For ^12 lOJ., or less than ^63, any one could purchase 100 acres where he pleased. Whoever performed a public service to the Company or Colony was to have a grant not exceeding 2000 acres. ^ See Paragraph 29. 4 The value of the tobacco crop of the United States is now nearly ^50,000,000 annually ; that of cotton, the cultivation of which was begun about the same time, but not then extended, is now about $270,000,000. TOBACCO. 57 pipes just the same, and smoked calmly on. Then His Majesty had to content himself with' laying a heavy tax on tobacco, thus making "the vile weed " help support the throne. The outlook of the colony now began to change for the better. The cultivation of tobacco had four important effects : i . It directly encouraged the settlers to clear the land, and undertake working it on a large scale. 2. It established a regular and highly profitable trade with Europe. 3. It induced emigrants who had some money, and also industrious farmers, to come over to Vir- ginia, and engage in the new industry. 4. It introduced the importation of negro slaves, as the cheapest means of carrying on great plantations. These plantations had a decided influence on the population. They kept it scattered ; and as the Virginians did not like to be cooped up in towns, few were built. The tobacco farms were on the banks of the James or other rivers, and vessels could load at them direct for England. Hence there was no need of a port to which to carry the produce. The cultivation of tobacco — espe- cially by unskilled slave labor — exhausted the soil, and so compelled the planters to constantly add new land to their estates, thus push- ing the owners farther and farther apart from each other. One result of this separation and of the lack of towns was that neither schools nor printing presses came into existence until very late, and the mass of the people had to get their education from nature, not from books or newspapers. Another result of the want of towns was that men seldom met to discuss public matters. 53. Virginia becomes practically Self-governing; Im- portation of Wives. — The year 1619 was a memorable one in the history of the colony. That year Sir George Yeardley ^ came over from England as governor. Acting under instructions from the London Company, he summoned a general assembly or legis- lature, to be elected by all the freemen of Virginia. 1 Yeardley (Yeerd'ly). 58 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. The colony now consisted of eleven plantations, or towns,^ later called boroughs.^ Each of these boroughs was invited to send two representatives or burgesses.^ They met in the church at Jamestown, Friday, July 30, 16 19.* This House of Burgesses, as it was then called, was the first law-making assembly that had ever come together in America. It meant that at last the colonists had practically obtained the right of managing their own affairs. Spain would not grant that power to her colonists in St. Augus- tine, or elsewhere. France would have refused it to Quebec and to her other settlements. England was then the only country in Europe where the people had a share in the government, and England now gave that privilege * — the greatest she could give — to her colonists in the New World. Later, the right was inter- fered with and restricted, but it was never wholly taken away. But though the men could now discuss politics and make laws, many of them had no proper homes, for but few unmarried women had emigrated to Virginia. To remedy this serious deficiency, the London Company now sent out ninety young women. The cost of the passage for each ^ was fixed at 1 20 pounds of the best tobacco. When the long-looked-for ship arrived, the young unmarried men were waiting at the wharf, and those who had their tobacco ready soon managed to get wives in exchange. The ninety brides liked the country so well that they wrote back to England, and 1 No counties had then been laid out in Virginia. Later, when counties were organized, nearly all the representatives were sent from them. This made the Virginia system of government far less democratic than that of Massachusetts (settled later), for there at first all pubhc affairs were decided by the whole body of voters, and not by a selected number of persons representing them. When the population of Massachusetts became too large for this, the towns, instead of the counties, sent representatives to the legislature. 2 Borough : an old English name for a town. 8 Burgess : an inhabitant of a borough or a citizen elected to represent a borough. The House of Burgesses, or the lower house of the Virginia Legislature, is now called the House of Delegates. * Confirmed by a written Constitution in 1621 ; see Bancroft's United States. 4 The date is sometimes, though incorrectly, given as June 30. 5 The best tobacco was then worth about 75 cents a pound in Virginia. NEGRO SLAVERY. 59 persuaded more maids to come over and take pity on the forlorn bachelors in the American wilderness. 54. Introduction of Negro Slavery; White << Appren- tices.'' — In the records of this same remarkable year of 1619 we read these significant words : " About the last of August came in a Dutch man-of-war that sold us 20 Negars." This was the beginning of African slavery in the English colonies of America. At that time every leading nation of Western Europe traded in negroes. No one then condemned the traffic, for no man's con- science was troubled by it, and at a much later period the king of England derived a large income from selling slaves in America. The system gradually spread over the country, and a little more than a hundred and fifty years later (1776) every one of the thirteen American colonies held slaves. There was, however, this marked difference : at the North the negroes were nearly all kept as house-servants, and were not very numerous ; but at the South they were employed chiefly as field-hands : so that there the whole system of agriculture depended on them, and -many of the wisest and best men did not then see how tobacco and rice could be raised without slave labor. Still, for a long time the increase of negro slaves in Virginia was very slow, for many white people were sent over from England to be bound out as apprentices ^ to planters for a certain number of years. Part of them were enterprising young men who wanted to get a start in America, but, having no money to pay their passage, bound themselves to work for the London Company, provided they would bring them over. In some cases poor children, picked up in the streets of Lon- don, were sent here to get homes. Others, again, were kidnapped by scoundrels who made it their business to decoy young men, and ship them off as " servants " to America. At a later date, when wars and insurrections broke out in England, many pris- 1 They were commonly called " indentured servants " or " indentured appren- tices," from the indentures or legal papers which bound them. 60 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. oners taken in battle were sent over here, and sold to planters. Finally, in one case at least. King James I. insisted, in spite of the protest of the colonists, on despatching a hundred criminals to this country, thinking, perhaps, and possibly with truth, that ten years' experience here might make honest men of them. Thus, many elements contributed to build up the new common- wealth. In this respect Virginia resembled the " made-land " of some of our cities. There is good material in it, and there is some not so good ; but in time it all helps to make the solid foundation of stately streets and broad avenues. While the South was thus growing, Dutch and English emigrants had settled at the North. The former had established themselves in what is now New York, the latter, a little later, founded Ply- mouth, Massachusetts. 55. Virginia becomes a Royal Province ; Governor Berke- ley ; the Puritans and the Cavaliers. — In 1624 King James took away the Company's charter. In future the colony was to be governed by the king as a royal province ; but the assembly was not prohibited, and the people continued to make their own laws to a considerable extent. The next king, Charles I., sent over Sir William Berkeley as governor. Governor Berkeley was a stanch Royalist. He had small faith in government by the people, in education of the peo- ple,^ or in any religion but that of the Episcopal Church of England. The majority of the well-to-do colonists and of the rich tobacco planters agreed with the governor. They thought that it was better for a community to confine the privileges of education and of political power to persons of property and standing than it was to give them to everybody who asked for them. 1 Speaking of the colony in 1671, Governor Berkeley said : " I thank God there are no free schools nor printing, and I hope we shall not have them these hundred years." His reason was that he thought education made the mass of the people discontented and rebellious against authority ; but he subscribed toward a college. THE CAVALIERS. 6l But at that time there was a strong party in England who called themselves Puritans, because they insisted on purifymg, as they said, the national Church from some of its ceremonies and methods to which they were conscientiously opposed. That party was also opposed to the king, who endeavored in many respects to rule the country contrary to law, and in direct violation of the expressed will of the majority of the people. Many of the Puritans left their native land and sought refuge in New England, where they founded the city of Boston (1630). Next, a body of Enghsh Catholics settled Maryland (1634), and the Virgin- ians, who were jealous of the new-comers, made them no little trouble. Later, the English drove the Dutch out of New York and New Jersey and took possession of the country. But before this last event civil war had broken out in England between the king, supported by the Royalists, or Cavaliers, as they were called, and the Puritans, many of whom had left the national Church, and, under the name of Separatists or Independents, had set up a form of worship their own. The war went against the king. He was taken captive and be- headed. England was then declared a republic under Oliver Cromwell, and Governor Berkeley retired from office. Most of the leading CavaHers were men of rank, and before the war had been men of property. As they found the new order of things very uncomfortable, hundreds ^f them emigrated to Virginia, where they knew the Puritans and republicans were few, and the Royal- ists numerous, rich, and influential. Some of the most illustrious names in Virginia history are those of Cavalier emigrants. Lee was one, and Washington was prob- ably another.-^ The first was a friend of the late king; and members of the family of the second may have fought for him. The descendants 1 It seems to be now admitted that the genealogy of the Washington family cannot be fully traced in England. There is, however, a strong probability that George Washington's ancestors belonged to the Cavalier or Aristocratic party. 62 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. of these men — Richard Henry Lee and George Washington — gave their strength, heart and soul, to the establishment of the United States of America. 56. Governor Berkeley again in Power ; the Navigation Laws ; the King gives away Virginia. — When monarchy was restored in England (1660), Sir William Berkeley put on the gov- ernor's silk robe of office again. For sixteen years he, with an Assembly that was in sympathy with him, ruled the country according to his own imperious will. During that long period no new elections were held, and consequently the mass of the people had no voice in the government. This grievance was not all. During Cromwell's time certain laws called Navigation Laws^ had been enacted which forbade the Virginians to send any tobacco out of the country except in Eng- lish vessels going to England, or to purchase any foreign goods except those brought over in English vessels. The new king, Charles II., now determined to revise and enforce these laws. Governor Berkeley protested, and all the planters with him ; but it was useless. The result was that Virginia's chief trade was almost ruined ; for the planters had to sell their tobacco for what- ever English merchants saw fit to offer them, and then buy their sugar and their cloth at whatever price those merchants pleased to demand. This was bad enough, but there was worse to come. In 1673 the wasteful and profligate king, with one stroke of his pen, gave away the whole of Virginia — a territory then having a population of 40,000^ — for thirty-one years, to the Earl of Arlington and Lord Culpepper, two of his favorites. At last the matter was settled in favor of the colonists, but for a long time it caused great anxiety and distress. 1 The original purpose of the Navigation Laws was not to restrict or injure the foreign trade of the American colonists, but to prevent the Dutch from competing with England in commerce. 2 The population consisted of 32,000 freemen, 2000 negro slaves, and 6000 " apprentices " or white servants. THE BACON REBELLION. 63 Meanwhile, as we have seen, EngHsh emigrants, mainly Puritans, had established flourishing colonies in New England ; the Dutch had been forced to give up New York, and English Quakers had bought New Jersey. In the South, English Catholics had settled in Maryland, and colonies of Englishmen had also been founded in the Carolines. Thus by 1675 an English-speaking population practically held control of the whole Atlantic coast of America from Maine nearly to the borders of Florida. 57. Deplorable State of the Colonists ; the Bacon Rebel- lion. — The people of Virginia were now in a deplorable state. They had no homes that they could certainly call their own, they had no Assembly that represented them, the taxes were enormous, and they could get scarcely anything for the tobacco they ex- ported. Still their lives were safe, and while life was left hope was left. But in 1676 the Indians suddenly rose, as they had just done in New England, and began massacring the inhabitants. It was not the first attack, but it was the most terrible. The people begged Governor Berkeley's help, but he did nothing. Then a wealthy planter named Nathaniel Bacon raised a force, and took decided action against the Indians. His influence finally became so great with the colonists that Governor Berkeley was obliged to allow the people to elect a new Assembly. They did so, chose Bacon for one of their representatives, and enacted a series of reform measures known as the "Bacon Laws." But as Bacon distrusted the governor, civil war soon broke out, and the "Virginia rebel," as he was called by those in authority, marched on Jamestown. Seizing a number of the wives of the governor's friends, he placed them in front of his troops. This "White Apron Brigade " saved him from the fire of the governor's guns. That night Jamestown was abandoned. In the morning Bacon entered it, and applying the torch, burned the place to the ground. It was never rebuilt. As. you go up the James River to-day you see the ruined tower of the old brick church stand- ing a melancholy memorial of the first English town settled in America. 64 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. ''That old fool has more men in that Bacon soon after died ; but one of his chief supporters, named Drummond, fell into the governor's hands. " Mr. Drummond," said the governor, "you are very welcome. I am more glad to see you than any man in Virginia. Mr. Drummond, you shall be hanged in half an hour." He was executed forthwith. In all. Governor Berkeley put to death over twenty persons. When Charles II. heard of it, he -;;i;:n:a:-: Said, hung naked country than I did for the murder of my father." ^ But the colony never wholly forgot the meaning of the Bacon rebellion, and ^ its protest against tyranni- ^ cal government. The peo- ple's Assembly that enacted ? the "Bacon Laws" met in ''i June, 1676. Just a century later their descendants met at Williamsburg, nearly in sight of the ruins of James- town, and there declared themselves independent of Great Britain. Ruins of Jamestown. 58. Summary. — James- town, the first Englisl^ town permanently settled in the New World, was founded in 1607. There the first American legislative assembly met in 16 19. Negro slaves were introduced the same year. The cultivation of tobacco built up commerce and largely increased the population but did not favor the growth of towns. The colony was strongly Royalist, 1 King Charles II. had tried and executed only six out of the fifty-nine judges who had sentenced his father (Charles I.) to death. NEW NETHERLAND. 65 and received many Cavaliers from England. Later, the Naviga- tion Laws injured its prosperity. There was a period of bad government, and Bacon attempted reform. His undertaking failed. But the people remembered the man and his work, and Virginia, a hundred years later, was the first colony to propose the establishment of American independence.^ IL New Netherland, or New York (1614). 59. Henry Hudson^s Expedition. — In 1609 Captain Henry Hudson, an Englishman, then in the employ of Holland, crossed the Atlantic in the hope of finding a passage by water through or round America to China and India. With his Dutch crew he entered what is now New York Bay, and was the first Englishman who sailed up that noble river which to-day bears his name. He reached a point about 150 miles from the mouth of the river, at or near where Albany now stands. It was the month of September, and Hudson had good reason for saying, " It is as beautiful a land as one can tread upon." About a month before, Champlain^ had come almost as far south as that, on an exploring expedition from Quebec. He gave his own name to the lake, since known as Lake Champlain, and claimed the country for France. 60. The Indians give Hudson a Reception on Manhattan Island ; the Strange Drink. — The Indians thought that the English captain, in his bright red coat trimmed with gold lace, must be the Great Spirit or his direct representative. They gave him a formal reception on Manhattan Island. In the course of the interview Hudson drank the chief's health in a glass of brandy, and then offered him a glass. The chief took it, smelt of it, and passed it to his warriors. Thus it went from hand to hand. At last it came to one more daring than the rest. He thought the 1 See Paragraph 167. 2 gee Paragraph 50. 66 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Great Spirit would be offended if no one tasted the beverage. Lifting the brandy to his lips, he bade his comrades a solemn farewell, and swallowed it. In a short time he began to stagger, and then fell unconscious to the ground. His friends imagined that he was dead ; but before the conference was over the supposed dead man came to life. He declared that it was the " strongest water " he had ever tasted, and that it had made him happier than he had ever been before in his life. Soon, every red man present had tried the new and strange drink. Hudson meant the gift in no unkindly spirit, but to the natives it was simply poison. For them alcohol had a fatal fascination. Since then liquor has probably destroyed more Indians than war and disease combined. The Indians were afraid of the white man's gun ; it would have been far better for them if they had been still more afraid of the white man's drink. 6i. The Dutch take possession of New Netherland ; Jeal- ousy of England and France. — The Dutch, finding from Hudson's report that valuable furs could be bought of the Indians at enormous profit, soon sent over ships, and opened trade with the natives. In 1614 the Republic of the United Netherlands or Holland, took possession of the country on the Hudson River, and gave it the name of New Netherland. That very year Captain John Smith, formerly of Jamestown, Virginia, explored the Atlantic coast east and northeast of the Hudson.. He made a map of it, calHng the country New England. Both the English and the French now had good reason for turn- ing jealous eyes on New Netherland, for that province was like a wedge. It separated the colony of Virginia from the unsettled region of New England, and the point of it at the north entered that territory which Champlain claimed as part of New France. A number of years later (1623) the Dutch made that wedge more dangerous still by building a fort on the Upper Hudson. This stronghold they called Fort Orange, in honor of the Prince of Orange, president of the Republic of Holland ; but, better than MANHATTAN ISLAND. 67 any fort, they made a treaty with the Iroquois Indians which was sacredly kept by those savages. Many years afterward the English got possession of Fort Orange, and gave it the name of Albany, frorn the Duke of York and Albany. >i 62. Purchase of Manhat- tan Island. — In 1626 the Dutch West India Company sent out a colony under Gov- ernor Peter Minuit.^ He land- Map showing the Island of Manhattan (or New Amsterdam) with the chief Dutch settlements on the Hudson. ed with his emigrants on the Island of Manhattan. * The governor bought from the Indians the entire island of 14,000 acres for twenty-four dollars' worth of scarlet cloth, brass buttons, and other trinkets, or at the rate of about one-sixth of a cent an acre.^ The city of New York now occupies that land, which is valued and taxed at a good deal more than a thousand millions of dollars. ewAfTisterdam. 1 Minuit (Min'u-it). * A Dutch trading-post already existed there. 2 " Amsterdam, Nov. 5, 1626. " High and Mighty Lords : Yesterday, arrived here the ship ' The Arms of Amsterdam,' which sailed from New Netherland ... on the 23d of Sept. They report that our people are in good heart and live in peace there. . . . They have 68 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. The new settlement consisted of a fort, a stone warehouse, and a cluster of log huts. Such was the real beginning of the metropo- lis of America. The Dutch called' the place by its Indian name of Manhattan, but later gave it the name of New Amsterdam. 63. The Patroons. — As Holland was anxious to estabhsh a sufficient population in the province to hold it against all intruders, it granted a charter intended to favor emigration. That charter gave to any member of the Dutch West India Company who should take or send out fifty settlers within four years, the right to a large amount of land on any navigable river or bay in New Netherland. Such a proprietor was to receive the honorary title of " Patroon." ^ If he located his estate on one bank only of a river, he was to have sixteen miles of water-front ; if on both banks, he was to have eight miles on each. Inland, he might extend his settle- ment as far as he could occupy the soil to advantage. In all cases he was to purchase the land of the Indians. The patroon who began a settlement agreed to do three things : 1. To pay the expenses of the emigrant's passage from Holland. 2. To stock a farm for him on his estate with horses, cattle, and all necessary agricultural implements, at a small rent, and free from taxes. 3. To provide a schoolmaster and a minister of the Gospel. In return, the emigrant bound himself in many ways, of which the three following were the principal ones : He agreed, i . To cultivate the patroon's land for ten years, and not to leave it without permission. 2. To give the patroon the first opportunity to buy any grain or other produce he might have to sell. 3. To purchased the Island of Manhattan from the Indians for the value of 60 guilders [^24.00]. . . " Herewith, High and Mighty Lords, be commended to the mercy of the Al- mighty. "Your High Mightinesses' obedient, "P. SCHAGEN." ^ Patroon : patron, or protector. PETER STUYVESANT. 69 bring all disputes about property and rights to the patroon's court, of which the patroon himself was judge.^ A patroon named Van Rensselaer ^ took an estate in the vicinity of Albany, of 700,000 acres. It occupied both banks of the Hudson, extending twenty-four miles along the river, and reaching twice that distance back. Additions were made to the territory, so that eventually it embraced the three present counties of Albany, Rensselaer, and Columbia. The total area of that vast domain was considerably greater than that of the State of Rhode Island. Such a proprietor was richer than many a German prince. He was at once owner, ruler, and judge. He not only had a popula- tion of white settlers who were his servants and laborers, but he had moreover the promise from the Dutch West India Company of as many negro slaves as they could " conveniently provide " him. There was no one to contradict the patroon's will. He was clothed with authority which even Governor Minuit might envy : for he was actually monarch of all he surveyed. 64. Peter Stuyvesant, the Last Dutch Governor of New Netherland. — In 1647 Petef Stuyvesant^ came out to New Am- sterdam as fourth and last governor of the province. He was a veteran who had given a leg to the cause of his country, and, having replaced it with a substantial wooden one, bound with silver, was familiarly known as " Old Silverleg." Governor Stuy- vesant was hot-tempered and headstrong; but he was honest, fearless, and determined to have order in the colony at any cost. In a picture of New Amsterdam at that period two of the 1 In cases involving more than ^20.00 value the settler might appeal from the patroon's court to the Company. Other points were these : i. The settler agreed to bring his grain to the patroon's mill, and pay for the grinding, 2. He could not fish or hunt on the patroon's estate. 3. He was not to weave any cloth, but buy that imported from Holland. 4. If he died without leaving a will, all of his prop- erty fell to the patroon. 2 Van Rensselaer (Van Ren'sel-ler) . Other noted families dating from that period are the Schuylers and Van Cortlandts. 3 Stuyvesant (Sti've"gaiit)o 70 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. most prominent objects are the gallows and the whipping- post — both occupied. The inhabitants complained of taxes, and wished to have a word to say how the money should be raised and spent. The governor resisted such presumption, but finally had to peld, and permit a council of " Nine Men " to be elected to assist him. Qov- Stuavasartt's ^ , or ^ Farm. . Map of the City of New Amsterdam (New York) in i660. Later, when the people asked for still more Uberty in this direc- tion, he emphatically refused j for, said he, if citizens elect their own officers, •'* the thief will vote for a thief, and the smuggler for a smuggler." In regard to fi'eedom of worship he was equally decided. A minister who ventured to preach doctrines different fi-om those of the Dutch Protestant Church was fined I500, and those who went NEW AMSTERDAM. JI to hear him had to pay $ioo each. This made free thought ex- pensive. Toward a few Quakers, who ventured into the colony, Stuyvesant was horribly cruel. The authorities in Holland rebuked him, and ordered that every man should be permitted to worship God in his own house in his own way ; but the governor managed to do as he Hked. Aside from these tyrannical measures, Peter Stuyvesant was a good ruler. He made numerous improvements in the " city " of New Amsterdam — a "city" that in 1656 had a population of only a thousand, many of whom were negro slaves. In order to better defend the place he had a high and strong palisade built on the north of the town. It extended entirely across the island from river to river. Such was the origin of Wall Street, which to-day is the great money centre of America. From an early period the population of the town was a mixed one, made up of Dutch, French, and English. The laws had on this account to be published in three languages. Even then New Amsterdam was beginning to represent all nationalities. The Dutch saw that the place had a future, and predicted that the time would come when its " ships would ride on every sea." To- day the miles of wharves on the East and North Rivers, lined with vessels under every flag, and hailing from all the ports of the globe, show how far their judgment was correct. But England, too, understood the value of the Hudson and the harbor. She was determined to get possession of it, first, because of its com- mercial advantages ; next, because, so long as the Dutch held it, Virginia and New England were both in danger. In fact, Stuyvesant had made attempts to seize the country on the Connecticut River, where Enghsh settlers had come in, and he had furthermore succeeded in getting possession of what is now Delaware and New Jersey. The English king, Charles II., claimed the whole country on the ground that the Cabots had discovered the coast and planted the Enghsh flag on it in 1497. For this reason Charles now gave it to his brother James, Duke of York, England and Holland 72 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. were then at peace; but, suddenly, one day in 1664, a British fleet appeared off New Amsterdam, and demanded its surrender. Governor Stuwesant was furious. He swore that he would never surrender " as long as he had a leg to stand on or an arm to fight with"; but finding that the citizens positively refused to uphold him he had to submit. The English promised full protec- tion of hfe and liberty to the inhabitants. Furthermore, they agreed to grant religious liberty, freedom of trade, and a repre- sentative government. The result was that the Dutch flag on the fort was hauled down, the Enghsh colors were run up, and thereafter the province of New Netherland became, in honor of James, Duke of York, the British province of New York. In like manner the quiet Dutch " city " of New Amsterdam became " his majesty's town of New York." ^ Ex-Governor Stu^'\'esant went back to Holland, but soon re- turned to spend the rest of his days on his " great bower}'," or farm which was on the east side of the island, just outside the city limits. The street now called the Bowery recalls the " bowery lane " which once led to the stem old soldier's home. 65. Summary. — Henry Hudson, in 1609, sailed up the river named for him. The Dutch took possession of the country, and called it New Netherland ; on Manhattan Island they founded the city of New Amsterdam. England and France were both jealous of the colony. In 1664 England took possession of the country, and named it New York, in honor of James, Duke of York. III. New Jersey (161 7). 66. The Dutch claim the Country between the Hudson and the Delaware; New Jersey. — In 161 7 the Dutch, cross- ing over from Manhattan Island,- built a small fort at Bergen,^ on 1 In 1673 New York was captured by the Dutch during war between Holland and England, but was given up to the Ejiglish again when peace was made, less than a year later. From that time until the Revolution it remained subject to England. 2 See Paragraph 62. 3 Bergen ; pronounced Ber'gen, ^ hard. See Map. page t 10. NEW JERSEY. 73 the west bank of the Hudson. Later they built a second fort nearly opposite where Philadelphia now stands. The whole coun- try between these forts they claimed as part of New Netherlands though the English maintained that as the Cabots had discovered the coast, it belonged by right to them.^ In 1664, after the English had conquered the Dutch colony of New Netherland, the Duke of York gave the whole territory between the Delaware River and the Hudson to his friends Lord Berkeley ^ and Sir George Carteret. Sir George had been governor of the island of Jersey in the English Channel. During the Civil War he had gallantly defended that island in behalf of Charles L, the Duke of York's father. For this reason the Duke named the country which he granted to him and to Lord Berkeley, New Jersey. An English settlement was made that year at a place which the emigrants called Elizabethtown,* in honor of Lady Elizabeth Carteret, wife of Sir George. Very liberal terms were granted to settlers by the proprietors of this province, and the people had a direct part in the government. 67. The Friends, or Quakers, buy- New Jersey; Treaty with the In- dians; Prosperity of the Country; New Jersey becomes a Royal Col- ony. — In 1674 some English Friends, or Quakers, bought Lord Berkeley's share, or West Jersey, and later William Penn and other members of the Society of Friends bought the other half, or East Jersey, from the heirs of Sir George Car- teret. The Friends made a treaty with the Indians at Burlington which was so satisfactory to the savages that they declared that if they 1 See Paragraph 61. 2 See Paragraph 14. 8 John, Lord Berkeley, and not Governor Berkeley of Virginia. •* Now, Elizabeth. SCALE OF MILES »5 50 100 74 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. found ail Englishman sleeping in the path, they would not molest him, but would say, '' He is an Englishman ; he is asleep ; let him alone." In the same spirit of good will the Friends granted self- government to the colonists. The people levied their own taxes, made their own laws, and all settlers enjoyed religious liberty. The commerce of the Jerseys increased, and iron manufacture was begun. But eventually trouble arose about titles to land, and the proprietors thought it best (1702) to put the two colonies directly into the hands of the English government. They were united under the jurisdiction of the governor of New York ; till in 1 738 New Jersey became a separate province. From this time until the Revolution it was ruled by a governor of its own appointed by the king of England. The last of the royal governors was William Franklin, son of Benjamin Franklin. 68. Summary. — The Dutch first claimed possession of what is now New Jersey. The English Duke of York seized the country and gave it to two of his friends, naming the province from the British island o T^rsev. A company of English Quakers then bought the land, granting to the settlers most of the privileges of self-government. In 1 702, the Quaker proprietors surrendered their rights to the English sovereign, and New Jersey became a royal colony until the Revolution. rV. Massachltsetts (Plymoltth Colox\', 1620). 69. Former Lack of Religious Liberty in England ; Catho- lics ; Puritans; Separatists. — When the English began to settle in America (1607), no countr}' in Europe had that entire freedom of worship which every civilized nation enjoys to-day. In England the law required every one to attend the Protestant Episcopal Church established by the government. Furthermore, all persons l^rd "o pay taxes for the support of that church. Three ck^acs of good and loyal citizens objected to that law. THE PILGRIMS. 75 They were, first, the CathoHcs, who protested against the injustice of being obliged to aid in maintaining a creed they did not accept ; secondly, the Puritans,^ who thoroughly believed in the principle and also in the doctrines of the national Protestant Church, but decidedly objected to some of its ceremonies ; lastly, the Sepa- ratists, who, like the Puritans, accepted the religious teachings of the Church of England, but, not approving its forms, had sepa- rated from it and set up independent congregations of their own. 70. Emigration of those who sought Religious Liberty ; the Separatists go to Holland. — Not being able to obtain the freedom they desired in England, many emigrants, representing the Catholics, the Puritans, and the Separatists, came to America. Here, they hoped that they might be able to worship God without molestation, according to the dictates of their consciences. The first who thus emigrated were the Separatists. In 1607 a congregation of these people held religious services in the little English village of Scrooby.^ Finding that they could have no peace, but were, as they said, "hunted," "persecuted," and " clapped up in prison," they fled to Holland, where, they had heard, there "was freedom of religion for all men." 71 . The Separatists, or Pilgrims, resolve to go to America ; their Reasons. — In 1620 a part of the Separatists, or Pilgrims,^ as they now with good reason called themselves, — for they had no fixed home, — resolved to emigrate to America. Aside from the prospect of a terrible religious war between Spain and Holland, three chief reasons induced the Pilgrims to 1 See Paragraph 55. 2 In the East of England, in the extreme north of Nottinghamshire, at a point where that county joins Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. See Map, page 76. 8 " So they left that goodly and pleasant city [Leyden, Holland ; see Map, p. 76] which had been their resting-place near twelve years ; but they knew they were PILGRIMS [see Hebrews xi. 13] and looked not much on those things; but lifted up their eyes to the heavens, their dearest country, and quieted their spirits."^ Bradford's History of Plymouth, 1607-1646. 76 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY, leave the countn' : i. In Holland, though they were with a fiiendly people, yet they were among those whose language and customs were not English. 2. As their children grew up, they would naturally marry into the Dutch famihes, and in a few gener- ations their descendants would become Dutch. 3. Finally, they desired to build up a community on soil belonging to England, where they and those who came after them might enjoy both political and reHgious Ubert\', according to the Pilgrim standard of what was just and right. 72. Where they proposed going ; how they got Assistance to go. — Tne onh* EngUsh settlement then in America was that at Jamestown, Virginia. The Pilgrims could not go to that part of the country, for no worship but that of the Church of England was permitted there. They eventually determined to estabUsh them- selves at some place near the Hudson River.^ They had first to get the consent of King James of England. He would not openly favor their going, but finally **' consented to wink at their depart- ure " for America. As most of the Pilgrims were poor men, they were obUged to get assistance for their passage. A company of EngHsh merchants and speculators agreed to help them on these bard conditions : i . The Pilgrims were to work for seven years without a single day to themselves except Sunday. 2. At the end of that time all that they had accumulated was to be divided equally between them and the company. On these terms a settler would not even own the whole of his house and garden after se\en years' incessant toil. But the emigrants could not do better, and the agreement was signed, though it made a number of men past the prime of life simply " apprentices and ser\'ants " to the company. 1 " To find some place about Hudson's river for their habitation." — BRAD- FORD'S History of Plymouth, 1607-1646. The Pilgrims thought at one time of going to New Amsterdam (New York) and settling among the Dutch, but that was given up. 'Grwis/ji/ DERBY J ^Zoncoln)s! ) ^^A ^ '"jp/^/ ^pfGLlSff cttann THE PILGRIMS SAIL. T] 73. The Pilgrims sail; Myles Standish. — On September 16, 1620, the Mayflower ?,2c^&^ from Plymouth, England, carrying the second English colony that was to make a permanent home in the new world.^ There were only 102 of the emigrants, all told, and of these, less than ninety could be called Pilgrims. The others were persons who had joined them, or were servants or sailors hired by them. Among those who were not members of the Pilgrim congrega- tion, but who chose to cast their lot in with them, was Captain Myles Standish.^ He was a man with the heart of a lion in battle, and the hand of a woman for the sick and wounded. Without his counsel and his sword it is doubtful if the colony could have succeeded. 74. The Pilgrims reach Cape Cod ; the Compact. — On a morning late in November the storm-tossed Pilgrims sighted Cape Cod. They tried to go south of it, but the weather was against them, and two days later (Nov. 21st) the Mayflower ^W2}\y came to anchor in what is now Provincetown Harbor, at the extreme end of the Cape. They had no authority to settle in New England, but they de- cided to do so. Some of the servants had threatened that if they stopped there, they would be their own masters and obey no one. To preserve order, the Pilgrims gathered in the cabin of the May- flower and there drew up and signed a compact or agreement. By that agreement they declared themselves " loyal subjects " of the king, and at the same time they affirmed their purpose of making whatever laws were needful for the '' general good of the 1 The Pilgrims sailed from Delftshaven, the port of Leyden, Holland (see Map, page 76), the last of July, 1620, in the Speedwell^ for Southampton, England, where the Mayflower was waiting. August 5 both ships sailed for America with about 120 passengers. Twice the 6i?>(fwer revmimed at anchor, Captain Standish with a boatload of men went out to explore. On December 21 they reached the harbor which Captain John Smith had called Ply- mouth on the map made by him, in 16 14. On the shore of that harbor lies a granite bowlder. It is said to be the only one di- rectly on the water's edge for several miles. According to tradition they landed on that bowlder. It is not a large one, only a few feet square, but it fills a greater place in American history than any other rock on the continent ; for Plymouth Rock is the stepping-stone of New Endand. A few days later, the Afay- flower sailed into that harbor, the men all went ashore, and the work of building a log hut for the general use began. Later, another cabin was erect- ed, but it had to be used for a hospital instead of a settler's home. Such were the hard- ships of that winter that by spring just half of the colony were in their graves. But when the Mayflower went back, in April ( 1 6 2 1 ) , not one of the Pilgrims returned in her. They had come to stay. Plymouth Rock. GOVERNOR BRADFORD. 79 76. Governor Bradford; Town-meeting; the Indians. — Soon after the Mayfiower sailed Governor Carver died. William Bradford (1621) was chosen to fill his place, and from that time for thirty-six years, until his death in 1657 he was chosen gov- ernor every year except five — and those five he begged off. Those thirty years and more of office show what the Pilgrims thought of the man. All public matters were discussed and decided in town-meeting. There every man met his neighbor on equal terms. There the laws were made. It was pure government by the people — such government as was known nowhere else in either this country or Europe except perhaps in a few districts of Switzerland. The near- est approach to it in America was the Virginia House of Burgesses, but that was made up of repre- sentatives of plantations, — later of counties, — and was not a meeting of the whole people. The laws the Pilgrims made they enforced. The man who resisted was speedily tied neck and heels together on the ground, and left there for a reasona- ble time to meditate on the error of his ways. Not long before his death Gover- nor Carver had made a treaty with Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoag tribe to the southwest. The treaty was faithfully kept — it was not really broken for more than fifty years. Later, Canonicus, chief of a tribe of hostile Indians, threatened to attack Plymouth. He sent Governor Bradford a declaration of war in the shape of a bundle of arrows tied round with a rattlesnake-skin. The governor did not hesitate. He took the snake-skin, stuffed it full of powder Monument to Captain Myles Standish on "Captain's Hill,' Duxbury, Ply- mouth Bay. 80 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. and bullets, and sent it back. Canonicus, like a prudent savage, decided to let the governor alone. When trouble with Indians did arise later, Myles Standish soon made them confess that though " he was a little man, he was a great captain." 77. The Pilgrims buy out the English Company ; what made the Pilgrims Great. — In 1626 the Pilgrims bought out the English merchants' shares in Plymouth colony. It cost them a large sum of money, and they had to borrow it in London at from thirty to fifty per cent interest. But they were determined to be free of the company at any cost. Henceforth every man had a right to whatever he could gain for himself by fishing, fur- trading, or farming. The colony increased but slowly. Even at the end of ten years there were only 300 people in Plymouth. Massachusetts colony, founded in 1630, overshadowed and finally absorbed it. It was not what the Pilgrim fathers actually accomplished that made them great ; it was the spirit in which they worked. There is one thing in this world that is better than success — that is to deserve success. That they had gained ; as their brethren wrote them from England, " Let it not be grievous to you that you have been instrumental to break the ice for others. The honor shall be yours to the world'' s endy TV. Massachusetts (Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1630). 78. Settlement of Salem ; Governor Endicott ; Toleration. — In 1628 John Endicott of Dorchester, England,^ assisted in planting a colony on the coast of Massachusetts.^ Endicott was a Puritan of the most decided stamp. He wished to establish a place of refuge in New England for thj oppressed people of his own faith, and of his own faith only. \ 1 Dorchester, in Dorsetshire, in the South of England. 2 Massachusetts : an Indian word supposed to mean " the Great Hills." It was probably given to the Blue Hills of Milton, near Boston. The English confined the name at first to the vicinity of Boston Harbor. GOVERNOR ENDICOTT. 8 1 The new settlement received the significant Bible name of Salem, or Peace,^ because there the Puritans hoped to find rest from persecution. The year after his arrival Endicott was ap- pointed deputy-governor of the colony by the London Company/ that owned the land, the governor-in-chief, Matthew Cradock, remaining in England. Governor Endicott was conscientious and fearless. He lived in an age when toleration, or liberty of wor- ship, was not only unknown in England, but when the word itself could not be found in the dictionary. Had it been there, the governor would probably have cut it out, just as, when at Boston, a few years later, he drew his sword and cut the red cross out of the English flag. That cross represented to his mind the ancient Catholic religion of England ; for that reason he would not have it on the royal banner. The word " toleration " would have seemed to him equally dangerous, and he would have got rid of that in the same way. Yet Governor Endicott, and those who came with him and after him, sincerely loved their native country and left it with regret. One of them,^ as he stood on the deck of the vessel that was bearing him to America, looked back with eyes dim with tears. " Farewell, said he, " dear England ! Farewell the Church of God in England, and all Christian friends there." Yet these were the same men who a little later were so in love with the New World that they wrote back that " a sip of New England's air is better than a whole draught of Old England's ale." These were indeed the right sort of emigrants to establish perma- nent colonies, and to lay the foundations of flourishing states. 79. Ijovernor Winthrop's Colony ; Settlement of Boston. — But the great emigration to New England began in 1630. The London Company had determined to transfer their charter 1 Salem is about sixteen miles north of Boston. 2 This company was incorporated in London, in 1629. 8 Rev. Francis Higginson of the First Church of Salem, 1629. 82 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. and government from London to Massachusetts. John Winthrop, a wealthy Puritan gentleman of Groton,* decided to emigrate, and the Massachusetts Bay Company, as it was now called, appointed him to take the place of both Matthew Cradock and Governor Endicott. John Winthrop thus became the first sole and resident governor of Massachusetts. He came with a fleet of eleven vessels, bringing a colony of over seven hundred persons, with horses, cattle, and all things needed for establishing a thriving settlement. Not finding Salem to his liking, Governor Winthrop and his company went to Charlestown ; but at that place the water was not good, and there was much sickness. Opposite Charlestown is a peninsula which then had three hills, of which the middle one was divided into three peaks. The Sfiawmut, or Tri-mountain, 1630. Boston To-Day. Indians called the peninsula Shawmut,^ but the English named it Tri-mountain.^ On that peninsula, where there was an abundance 1 Groton, Suffolk County, in the East of England. Governor Winthrop came for the same reason that Endicott did, because the Puritans, as he said, had " no place to fly unto, but the wilderness." He also felt that Great Britain needed an outlet for her unemployed thousands. "This land" [England], said he, " grows weary of her Inhabitants, so as man, who is the most precious of all creatures, is here more vile and base than the earth we tread upon, and of less price among us than a horse or sheep." — Winthrop'S Life and Letters. 2 Shawmut, meaning, it would seem, either a place reached by water, or sweet water. 3 Tri-mountain, or Tremont; this name is preserved in Tremont Street. It appears to have been given originally to the middle hill — Beacon Hill — because of its three peaks, two of which have since been rounded off. The other two hills were Fort Hil) (since levelled) and Copp's Hill. GOVERNMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS. 8^ of excellent water, lived William Blackstone/ an English hermit. He was the only white inhabitant of Shawmut. Blackstone in- vited Governor Winthrop and his company to move over. They did so ; and a Httle later we find the record of an order of the court commanding that Tri-mountain should thereafter be called Boston.^ The name was given in grateful remembrance oj^^jhe old city of Boston, England,^ from which place, and its vicinity, many of the colonists had emigrated. In the course of the next ten years more than 20,000 of Gov- ernor Winthrop's countrymen came to New England. Among them were high-born men and women, with graduates of Oxford and Cambridge, besides people of property and influence — " the very flower of the English Puritans." 80 How Massachusetts was governed; Who could vote ; Occupations of the People. — During the first two years the settlers permitted a governing council * to manage all public affairs. Later (1634) the towns sent representatives to the legislature, or General Court, as it was and still is called. These representatives made the laws. Not all the inhabitants could vote. We have seen that in Virginia ^ that right was at last restricted to men of property, or ''gentlemen"; in Massachusetts it was confined to church-members. The object was practically the same in both cases ; the Virginians wished to keep the government of the colony in the hands of royalist landholders or responsible citizens ; the Puritan commonwealth of Massachusetts wished to keep it in the control of Puritans. This corner of the continent, said they, is ours. If others come to it who want a different religion and diff"er- ent kind of government, we give them full liberty — to move on. 1 Blackstone, or Blaxton: it is supposed that he had been a clergyman of the Church of England. His house was on the west slope of Beacon Hill, probably not far from the corner of Beacon and Spruce streets. He moved to the neighbor- hood of Providence, where he died. 2 " It is ordered that Trimontaine [Tri-mountain] shall be called Boston." Sept. 17th, 1630. 3 Boston, Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. 4 " Court of Assistants " : nominally i8 ; really only 12. ^ See Paragraph 55. SCALE OF MILES 25 50 100 / C OJN N. ! -J 84 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Governor Winthrop, like Governor Berkeley of Virginia,^ did not believe in giving the privilege of voting to all who asked it. He and his friends wanted a state governed not by the majority, but by a select few. "The best part of a community," said he, "is always the least, and of that part the wiser are still less." The population of the 1 ] \^/ SCALE OF MILES . | colony was to a large ex- tent gathered in towns along the coast. Much of the soil was too poor to produce good crops, and there were no great plan- tations or estates like those of Virginia. But what the colonists could not get from the land, they got either directly or indirectly from the sea. Thousands of men were engaged in the cod fisher- ies on the banks of Newfoundland, and many were employed in the construction of vessels. Boston, it is said, had then the best ship- builders in the world. Massachusetts had also a thriving com- merce with the West Indies. The colonists sent out cargoes of staves and lumber, and imported quantities of sugar and molasses from which they distilled the famous "New England rum," an article which most people then considered one of the necessaries of life. 81. Banishment of Roger Williams and Mrs. Hutchinson. — It was partly in accordance with this exclusive view that the Puritans of Massachusetts banished Roger Williams. He had come from England as a minister, and was settled over the church in Salem. He was one of the very few men of that day who thoroughly believed in religious freedom, or, as he called it, " soul liberty." " No one," said he, " should be bound to maintain a worship against his own consent." To say that was to strike directly at the law of Massachusetts, which required every man to attend public worship and to pay for its support. But not only did 1 See Paragraph 55. ROGER WILLIAMS. 8$ Roger Williams get into trouble on account of his denial of the right of one man to interfere in any way whatever with the liberty of another's conscience, but he greatly alarmed the Massachusetts authorities by his political utterances. The Company held their territory by a charter given by the king. Mr. Williams denied that the king had any power to give them the land, because it belonged first of all to the Indians. This was a new and startling way of looking at things, and the colonists feared that free utterance of this kind might provoke the English sovereign to take away their charter. Roger Williams was ordered (1635) ^^ leave the colony. Later, an attempt was made to arrest him and send him to Eng- land. Williams escaped. It was winter and the weather was bitterly cold. The fugitive took refuge among the Indians, who fed and sheltered him. The next spring he reached Narragansett Bay, and founded what is now the beautiful city of Providence. Whatever faults the exiled minister may have had, and what- ever mistakes of judgment he may have made, we should never forget that he first demanded the right of entire religious liberty or all men. The same year Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, a woman of remarkable ability and unblemished character, attacked many of the Massa- chusetts clergy about their religious belief, which seemed to her more a matter of form than of faith. She lectured or preached every week, and her influence was so great that a company of soldiers that had been raised to fight the Indians refused to march because their chaplain did not agree with Mrs. Hutchinson. The General Court thought it was bad enough to have an Indian war on hand without having also a war of words about creeds. They decided that Mrs. Hutchinson was, as they said, "like Roger Williams, or worse," and compelled her to leave the colony. Later, the Baptists were forbidden to preach in Massachusetts and were punished when they refused to obey the command. These were harsh measures, but the colonists believed that it was their duty to maintain their Puritan faith at any cost, and they did it. Roger Williams soon had a chance to show that he could S6 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. forgive those who had despitefully used him. The Pequots/ an Indian tribe of Connecticut, were plotting a massacre of the white settlers of that part of the country, and were trying to stir up the Narragansetts to attack Massachusetts. Williams used his in- fluence with the latter tribe to such good effect that they refused to fight. Thus the exiled minister was probably the means of saving the people of Boston and surrounding towns from the horrors of an Indian war. 82. Public Schools; Harvard University; Eliot's Work among the Indians. — In 1635 provision was made for the establishment of a public school in Boston. Twelve years later (1647) a law was enacted practically providing instruction for every white child in Massachusetts. This laid the foundation of the com- mon school system of the United States.* Not satisfied with thus doing what no country in Europe had ever done, the General Court voted in 1636 to give four hundred pounds^ — or what was equal to an entire year's tax of the colony — to found a college at Newtown, afterward called Cambridge. It is said that " this was the first legislative assembly in which the people, through their representa- tives, ever gave their own money to found a place of education." Two years later the Rev. John Harvard of Charlestown left his library of three hundred and twenty volumes, and half of his estate, — or about seven hundred and fifty pounds,^ — to the college. The General Court out of gratitude ordered the new institution — the first English college in America — to be called by his name : such was the origin of Harvard University.^ The interest felt in the college was so great and so universal 1 The Pequots inhabited the valley of the Pequot, or Thames, River, in Eastern Connecticut. * See " The Origin and Growth of Our Public Schools " (D. H. M.), Ginn & Co. 2 Four hundred pounds : a sum probably equal in cash to ^10,000 now ; but as the vote was a whole year's tax, it was the same as if the State should give that amount to-day, which would be over five millions! 3 It would represent about ^20,000 now. 4 The next colleges in order of time were William and Mary College, Virginia, 1693, and Yale University, Connecticut, 1701. ELIOT AND THE INDIANS. 8/ that at one time (1645) eveiry family throughout New England gave either a peck of corn or twelve pence in money towards its support. The people were poor, but they were determined, as they said, " that learning should not be buried in the graves of their fathers." Another object of founding the college was to educate and christianize the Indians. Pastor John Robinson, of the Pilgrim church of Leyden, Holland,^ once wrote of Myles Standish, after that valiant captain had fought a battle with the natives : " O how happy a thing ft would have been if you had converted some before you killed any ! " The captain never turned missionary, but Rev. John EKot of Massachusetts resolved that he would con- vert some. He labored for many years among the Indians in the vicinity of Boston with great success. After preaching he used to give the men tobacco, and the women apples, to help them digest the sermons, some of which were full three hours long. Eliot also translated the Scriptures into the Indian language. That Bible is probably the only one in existence of which it is doubtful whether there is more than a single person now living who can read a chapter of it. When we come to King Philip's War, many years after Eliot began his noble work, we shall see how the colonies reaped the fruit of the labors of the '* Apostle to the Indians." 83. The New England Confederacy. — In 1643 Massachu- setts Bay united with Plymouth and with the two western colonies of Connecticut and New Haven in a league for mutual defence. The league was maintained for over forty years. Rhode Island and Maine wished to join it, but were refused, because the first had established freedom of worship, and the second maintained the worship of the Church of England. In that day the Puritans could not conscientiously associate themselves with either. See Paragraph 71^ Note 3. 88 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 100 The object of the confederacy was twofold : ^ First, the colonies sought to protect themselves against hostile Indians and against the Dutch, who were anxious to get possession of the territory between the Hudson and the Connecticut Rivers. Secondly, they wished to ex- press their sympa- thy with the Puritan 'party in England, which was then en- gaged in a struggle with the tyrannical king Charles I.,^ and which soon after changed England for a time into a republic. After the confederacy had ceased to exist the remembrance of it helped the colonists to unite against the French, who threatened, in 1750, to drive them out of the land. Still later, when trouble with England came, the fact that there had once been such an organization as the so-called "United Colonies of New England" prepared the way for that great and permanent confederacy of all the colonies, north and south, known first as the " United Colonies of America," and finally as the "United States of America." 84. Xiie Coming of the Friends, or Quakers. — In 1656 the citizens of Massachusetts kept a solemn day of fasting and prayer on account of the news of the doings in England of a strange peo- ple called Quakers. It was said that they were turning the world upside down with their preaching, and that if they were not stopped they would destroy all churches and all modes of government. A fortnight after that fast-day the inhabitants of Boston heard to 1 One object of the confederacy was to secure the return of runaway slaves to their masters. 2 The words " you shall bear true faith and allegiance to our sovereign Lord King Charles " were now dropped from the oath required by Massachusetts of its governors and chief office-holders. COMING OF THE QUAKERS. 89 their horror that two women missionaries of the Quakers had actually landed in their town. To them it seemed that the two women had come only to do mischief. The authorities at once thrust them into jail, boarded up the window of their cell that they might not speak to any one outside, and burned the books the women had brought with them. As soon as possible they put both missionaries on board ship and sent them to England. But others came, and all Massachusetts was soon in a fever of excitement. 85. Why the Coming of the Quakers excited Alarm. — To-day there are no quieter, more orderly, or more self-respecting people than the Friends, or Quakers. Boston would welcome a colony of them now, and feel that the city was the gainer by their coming. Why did the arrival of a few of them then excite such alarm? The reason was that the Quakers of that time stood in decided opposition to the ideas of the great majority of sober and discreet citizens. When men asked, " Where shall we find what is right?" the Church of England answered, "You will find it in the teachings of the Church." The Puritans replied, " You will find it in the Bible." The Quakers said, " You will find it in your own heart." To most persons of that age such an an- swer seemed like rejecting both Church and Bible. But the difficulty did not end there. The Friends, or Quakers, had peculiar ideas about society and government. First, they would not use titles of honor or respect to any one, and they would not take off their hats to a magistrate or a governor — no, not even to the king himself. This appeared to the people then a reckless contempt of authority. Next, the Quakers observed no ceremonies in their worship. But, acting in accordance with what they believed to be the teachings of the Gospel, they refused to do three things much more important : i . They would not give testimony under oath in a court of justice, or swear to support the government. 2. They would not pay taxes to support any form of public worship. 90 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 3. They would not do military service or bear arms even in self- defence.^ 86. Excesses committed by the Quakers. — These things in themselves would have been quite certain to set the Puritans against the Quakers, no matter how conscientious the latter might have been. But there were other reasons why the citizens of Massachusetts regarded them with intense indignation. The shameful persecution the Quakers had suffered appears to have driven some of them half crazy. These unfortunate people com- mitted the wildest excesses. Some of them stripped off their clothing and went through public places to show the Puritans, as they said, how naked the land was of real truth and right- eousness. Others smeared their faces with black paint and ran howling through the streets, or burst into Puritan meetings on Sunday, and calling the ministers hypocrites and deceivers, ordered them to come down out of the pulpit. 87. The Puritans punish and execute the Quakers ; End of the Persecution. — If such things were done now, we should send the offenders to an insane asylum ; but the Massachusetts colonists were moved not with compassion, but with anger. They were stern men and they took stern measures. They arrested the Quakers, whipped some of them through the towns, cut off the ears of others, branded others with red-hot irons, and drove them out into the wilderness. But the severity was useless ; the Quakers felt that they had a mission to the Puritans, and they persisted in returning and preaching it in the loudest manner. They were non-resistants, they would not strike back when persecuted ; but they would use their tongues, and their tongues were like two-edged swords. Finally, after repeated warnings, the Massachusetts authorities 1 The religious belief of the Friends, or Quakers, may be summed up as follows : To obey conscience, and, dispensing with forms, to follow literally what they under- stand to be the commands of Christ. KING PHILIP'S WAR. 9 1 actually hanged four of these missionaries, one a woman, on Boston Common, and buried their bodies at the foot of the gallows. The king, however, who was friendly to William Penn, a promi- nent English Quaker, thought it policy to order that the colony should cease punishing them or other persons on account of their religion, and the excitement gradually died out. From that day to this the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has had no better citizens than the Friends, or Quakers. 88. King Philip's War. — In 1675, Philip, son of Massasoit, and chief of the Wampanoags of Rhode Island, began a terrible war against the colonists. While Massasoit lived, the treaty he had made with the Enghsh had been faithfully kept ; but " King PhiHp " believed that the great struggle of races was at hand, and that if he and his people did not exterminate the white men, then the white men would certainly exterminate them. Philip succeeded in forming an Indian league, and the savages began a sudden attack on the towns of Southern and Western Massachusetts. At last, after about two years of desperate fighting, in which the loss was very heavy on both sides, and many towns were destroyed, Philip's wife and only son, a lad of nine, were both captured. " Now," said the terrible warrior, *' my heart breaks. I am ready to die." Shortly after, Philip was killed at his home at Mount Hope, not far from Bristol, Rhode Island. His hands were cut off and carried to Boston, and his head to Plymouth, where it stood exposed on a pole for twenty years. Many of the Indian prisoners were sold as slaves to South America and the West Indies. Among them were King Philip's wife and boy. An aged minister of West Bridgewater remonstrated against this act of cruelty, but without avail. During the war Eliot's "praying Indians," as they were called, remained faithful to the whites, and were the means of saving many lives among the English settlers. With the death of Philip the Indians became discouraged, their power was broken, and Southern New England never again stood in fear of these once powerful tribes. 92 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 89. The Salem Witchcraft. — In 1692 that extraordinary delusion the Salem witchcraft caused a reign of terror in that town. In Great Britain several thousand unfortunate persons had suffered death for this alleged crime, and the English statute punishing it was not repealed until 1736, or ''more than forty years after the excitement in New England had subsided." The whole matter seems to have originated with a few mischief-loving children who accused certain persons of tormenting them. Those so charged were tried for witchcraft, that is, for being in league with evil spirits, and in all nineteen persons were hanged before the terrible error had spent its force. Then the good sense of the Massachu- setts people asserted itself; and though in Europe unfortunate old women were still occasionally put to death on charges of witchcraft, no human life was again sacrificed here on such an accusation. 90. Massachusetts loses her Charter; Governor Andros. — But before this strange outbreak at Salem had occurred, Massa- chusetts had lost her charter, and was no longer self-governing. For many years the king, Charles II., had watched the Puritan colony with no friendly eye. It was far too independent to suit his arbitrary ideas. The people of Boston were accused of breaking the Navigation Laws ^ by both importing and exporting goods in other than English ships ; they had also coined money without royal authority, and had given a warm welcome to two of the judges who had sentenced Charles I.^ to the scaffold, and then fled to. Massachusetts. Furthermore, they were notoriously opposed to the Church of England, and were believed to be strongly republican in their tendencies. Charles II. threatened, in view of these facts, to take away the charter of the colony. The people protested that they had done nothing but what they had a legal right to do. The protest had no effect. The charter was withdrawn (1684), Massachusetts i See Paragraph 56. 2 See Paragraph 55. SUMMARY. 93 became a royal province, and from that time until the Revolution it was governed by the king and those whom the king sent to represent him.^ The first royal governor imposed on the colony (1686) was Sir Edmund Andros/ who had been governor of New York. Three years of his tyranny produced a revolt. The people took advan- tage of a revolution in England which forced James II. to flee the country : they seized Andros and imprisoned him. They then recovered their former power of managing their own affairs in their own way, but only for a short time. In 1692, Wilham III. of England sent over a new charter, which converted Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Maine into one prov- ince.^ Henceforth all forms of religion but the Catholic were permitted, and the right to vote was no longer confined to church- members. But the people had no power to make any laws except such as the king approved, and the king furthermore continued to appoint the governor. 91 . Summary. — The Separatists, or Pilgrims, settled Plymouth in 1620, and the Puritans settled Boston in 1630. The object sought by both was freedom of worship for themselves. To all of their own faith they gave a hearty welcome, but they regarded others as intruders, and the Puritans did not hesitate to drive them out. The colonists of Massachusetts were the first settlers in America who assembled in town-meeting and established gov- ernment by the people, and pubHc schools for all children. The Pilgrims, for more than half a century, did not restrict the right to take part in the government to church-members,* but the Puritans did. The object of both was to build up a strong, free, religious, and intelligent commonwealth ; in this they were in great measure successful; but in 1684 they lost the power of making their own laws, and had to accept governors appointed by the king. 1 Charles II. died 1685; James II. succeeded him. 2 Andros (An'dros). 3 With Nova Scotia added. * Not till 1671, but they excluded Quakers in 1658. 94 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. -^ V. New Hampshire (1623). 92. Grant of Territory to Gorges and Mason ; Settlement of Dover and Portsmouth. — Sir Ferdinando Gorges,^ a friend of Sir Walter Raleigh's/ obtained, with Captain John Mason, a grant ^ of the territory between the Merrimac River and the Kennebec. This region was called Maine, or the Mainland ; * but later the name Laconia was given to it because it extended back to Lake Champlain and Lake George.^ The first settlement, known to be permanent, was made at Dover,® .on the Piscataqua River, by English colonists, probably about 1627. Four years later (163 1 ) Portsmouth was settled. The chief objects of these colonies were to carry on the fur-trade with the Indians and to establish fisheries. Most of the inhabitants of the two settlements belonged, in name at least, to the Church of England. 93. Division of the Territory ; New Hampshire ; Exeter. — After a few years the proprietors. Mason and Gorges, decided to divide the territory. Gorges took the part east of the Piscata- qua — a region now included in the State of Maine ; ^ Mason took 1 Gorges (Gor'jez). 2 gee Paragraph 28. 8 This grant was obtained from the " Council for New England," an English company organized in 1620. ■* Some have supposed that the name " Maine" was derived from a province of France of that name in which Henrietta Maria, queen of Charles I. of England, held property; but the designation Maine, or Mainland, seems to have been given to the country to distinguish it from the numerous islands along the shore. 5 Others consider Laconia to refer to the numerous lakes of that territory, or possibly to Lake Ontario, to which some authorities believe the grant originally extended. 6 A settlement was made at Little Harbor, at the mouth of the Piscataqua, in 1623, but it is not certain that it was permanent. " Maine : under the Plymouth Company (see Paragraph 46) an attempt was made by Sir George Popham in 1607 to found the colony of Popham at the mouth of the Kennebec, but the undertaking failed. The first permanent settlement on the mainland appears to have been made at Pemaquid Point — about midway be- tween the Kennebec and the Penobscot — in 1625. Saco and Biddeford were founded in 1630, and Portland in 1632. Massachusetts held control of Maine from 1652 to 1820, when it was admitted to the Union as a State. SETTLEMENT OF LONDONDERRY. 95 that west of the same river. He gave it the name of New Hamp- shire ^ in remembrance of the Enghsh county of Hampshire which had once been his home. In 1638 the Rev. John Wheelwright was banished from Massachusetts for his openly expressed sympathy with the re- ligious teachings of Mrs. Anne Hutchin- son.^ With several of his congregation who had followed him into exile he set- tled the town of Exeter, New Hampshire. SCALE OF MILES tt 25 50 100 ISO 94. Settlement of Londonderry ; Union with Massachusetts. — Many years later (1719) several hundred thrifty Scotch-Irish emigrants settled London- derry, New Hampshire.^ They introduced the manufacture of linen ; and soon in every log-cabin the hum of the housewife's little flax-wheel made cheerful and profitable music for the family. One of the descendants of an industrious Scotch settler of this class, but who came at an earlier period, was the eminent orator, patriot, and statesman, Daniel Webster.* In 1 64 1 New Hampshire, dreading Indian hostilities, and hav- ing but a small and scattered population, petitioned for union with 1 New Hampshire and New York both claimed the territory of Vermont. New York did not give up her claim until after the Revolution. 2 See Paragraph 8i. 3 Londonderry : the name was given to the settlement by the Scotch Presbyterian emigrants who came from Londonderry and vicinity, in the north of Ireland. A desire to build up an independent community induced the emigrants to come to this country. 4 Mr. Webster was born in 1782, in Salisbury, N.H., about fifty miles northwest of Portsmouth. He once said, in a public speech: " It did not happen to me to be born in a log-cabin ; but my elder brothers and sisters were born in a log- cabin, reared amid the snow-drifts of New Hampshire at a period so early that when the smoke first rose from its rude chimney and curled over the frozen hills, there was no similar evidence of a white man's habitation between it and the settlements on the rivers of Canada." 96 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Massachusetts. The petition was granted. Furthermore, the citi- zens of New Hampshire, in accordance with their request, were permitted to vote and hold office without first having to prove that they were church-members, as in Massachusetts.^ In 1679 New Hampshire became a royal province,^ and remained so until the Revolution. 95. Summary. — New Hampshire originally formed part of the region called Maine or the Mainland. English colonists set- tled Dover and Portsmouth. Emigrants from Massachusetts, and Scotch-Irish, later founded the towns of Exeter and Londonderry. The Scotch-Irish set up the manufacture of linen. Eventually New Hampshire was united with Massachusetts and then became a province of the king. — VI. Connecticut (1634). 96. Emigration to the Valley of the Connecticut ; Hooker's Colony. — The rich lands of the beautiful valley of the Connecti- cut River ^ early attracted the Dutch of New Amsterdam ■* and the settlers of Plymouth. Both made an attempt to get a foothold on the coveted territory. But emigration did not begin in earnest until 1635. Then a number of settlements were made, which later united under one government. We shall now take up the history of these separate colonies. I. In 1635 emigrants from the vicinity of Boston founded the towns of Wethersfield and Windsor. 2. In the autumn of that year an English company which held a grant of the territory sent out John Winthrop, son of Governor Winthrop of Boston, with the title of " Governor of the River of Connecticut." He built a fort at Saybrook,^ at the mouth of the river, and thus effectually shut out the Dutch from that quarter. 1 See Paragraph 80. 2 gee Paragraph 90, 3 Connecticut, an Indian word, meaning, as is supposed, The Long River. * See Paragraph 64, page 71. 5 Saybrook: named in honor of Lords Say and Brook, the two chief proprietors of the company. THE CONNECTICUT CONSTITUTION. 9/ 3. The next June (1636) the third movement of emigration set in. The Rev. Thomas Hooker of Newtown, now Cambridge, Mas- sachusetts, started with a company of one hundred men, women, and children for what was then called " the West." They trav- elled on foot, driving a hundred and sixty head of cattle, besides hogs, through the wilderness. There were neither roads nor bridges, and the emigrants had to find their way by the compass, crossing rivers on rafts, sleeping under the stars, and living mainly on the milk of their cows. After a journey of two weeks through a country which express- trains now cross in three hours, they reached Hartford, where a small settlement of English had already been made. 97. The Pequot War. — The next spring (1637) a legislative assembly met at Hartford, and resolved to make war on the Pe- quot ^ Indians, who threatened to destroy the white settlers. The three towns of Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor contributed ninety men led by Captain John Mason. The night before the expedition started was spent in prayer. The Pequots had a fortified village near the present town of Mystic. The little army, accompanied by Indians of tribes hostile to the Pequots, and with some help from Massachusetts, attacked the enemy in their stronghold, and, setting fire to their wigwams, literally burned them out. The blow was a terrible one to the Pequots. From that time they were hunted down like wild beasts, until in a few months the tribe was practically destroyed. 98. The Connecticut Constitution. — In 1639 the inhabitants of the three towns of Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor met at Hartford, and drew up the first written American * constitution ^ 1 See Paragraph 8i, page 86. * See Virginia Constitution of 1621, page 58. 2 Constitution : For the same reason that a game of ball cannot be played suc- cessfully without some rules to govern it, so, whenever a number of people join to form a community or a state, they must have some form of agreement or principle oT union. Such an agreement is a constitution of government. Its object is to secure individual liberty on the one hand, and order on the other. The advantage of having such an agreement in writing is that it can be readily consulted ; and 98 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. or form of government made " by the people for the people." ^ In the words of that document, its object was " to maintain the peace and union " of the settlers of the colony. One remarkable fact about that compact is that it made no mention either of the king of England or of the English company which held a royal grant of the Connecticut lands. It was in reality the constitution of a republic ; and the men who framed it refused to bow to any authority outside or above themselves, except that of their Maker. One reason why many of the Connecticut emigrants had left Massachusetts was that they did not believe in the principle of limiting the right of voting to church-members." The Hartford constitution imposed no such restriction, every citizen was po- litically equal with every other, and there was nothing to hinder his taking part in making the laws. To-day not only the United States but every State in the Union has a written constitution — a safeguard of liberty — similar in that respect to the one drafted at Hartford in 1639. That, then, may be called the parent of all that have followed. rlesiown 99. The New Haven Colony; Scripture Laws. — There were now two colonies in the territory : First, that at Saybrook,^ and next that of the towns settled by the different bands of emigrants who had come into the Con- necticut Valley. In 1638 a third colony, that of New Haven, was founded. It was made up chiefly of 100 misunderstandings and disputes about its meaning and application are less likely to occur than if it was not so preserved. 1 Bancroft's United States (rev. ed.) I. 270. 2 gee Paragraph 80. 8 Saybrook : this settlement remained an independent Colony until 1644, when it was united with the colony of Connecticut, THE FUGITIVE REGICIDES. 99 people who had arrived at Boston from London the year before. One of its leading men was the Rev. John Davenport, a Puritan minister. The spring after they formed the settlement (1639) ^11 the colonists met in a large barn to listen to a sermon from Mr= Davenport, and draw up rules for the government of the new com- munity. What those rules were we can guess from the old verse which tells us how " They in Newman's barn laid down Scripture foundations for the town." Those "Scripture foundations," a few years later, made the severe Jewish laws of the Old Testament^ those of New Haven. None could vote or hold any public office but members of the church. It was practically the same kind of government as that of Massachusetts. 100. The Fugitive Regicides ; Andres and the Connecti- cut Charter. — These stern New Haven colonists believed heart- ily in justice, and hated royal oppression. In 1661 Whalley and Goffe, two of the judges then known as " regicides," because, during the English Civil War (1649), ^^ey had voted to put the tyrannical Charles I. to death, fled to New Haven. King Charles II. sent orders to arrest them. Davenport con- cealed the judges, and preached to his congregation from a passage of the Bible ^ containing the words, " Hide the outcasts ; betray not him that wandereth." The sermon had the effect intended, and the disappointed officers went back without capturing the regicides.^ 1 In 1644 " the judicial laws of God, as they were delivered by Moses," were de- clared to be binding. Like the laws of Massachusetts, they inflicted the penalty of death for no less than fourteen offences. They were, however, far more merci- ful than the laws of England, which at a very much later period made upwards of two hundred crimes punishable with death — sheep-stealing being one. 2 Isaiah xvi. 3-4. 3 According to tradition, Goffe saved the town of Hadley, Mass, (where he was living concealed in 1675), in an Indian attack during King Philip's War. The savages were on the point of gaining the day, when a venerable man with a long white beard suddenly appeared, rallied the inhabitants, and drove off the assailants. He then disappeared. Some thought they owed their victory to an angel. lOO LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Charles II., who was not unfriendly to the colony, had granted to the Connecticut people a charter confirming their right of self- government. By that charter the territory was extended westward to the Pacific, or one-eighth the circumference of the globe, though no one then had any idea of the actual width of the continent. Saybrook had already been united with Connecticut, and New Haven was now joined to it. When James II. came to the throne he determined to take away the charters of Connecticut and Rhode Island as his brother, Charles II., had done in the case of Massachusetts. His object was to bring them directly under his despotic control. Sir Edmund Andros^ was made governor of New England, and demanded the surrender of the Connecticut charter. In 1687 he went with a body of troops to Hartford to get it. The Connecticut people looked upon that document as the title- deed of iheir liberties, and were resolved never to give it up. Andros met the legislature, and discussed the matter until evening. At his order, the precious charter was at last brought in, in a box, and placed on the table. Then, according to tradition, the candles were suddenly blown out, and when they were relighted the charter had disappeared. It is said to have been hidden in a hollow oak not far off, which was ever after known as the Charter Oak.2 Andros, however, declared that the colony should no longer be governed under the charter, and, to show that the end had come, he ordered the clerk to write " Finis "^ at the close of the record of the meeting. When the people of Boston ^ compelled Andros to give up the power he had abused, the charter was produced, and Connecticut maintained her government under it not only until the Revolution, but for many years afterward (1818). 1 See Paragraph 90. 2 The famous Charter Oak stood in what is now Charter Oak Place, Hartford. It was blown down in 1856. The spot is marked by a marble tablet. 3 Finis : a Latin word (the end), formerly put at the end of books. 4 See Paragraph 90. THE CATHOLIC PILGRIMS. lOI / 101. Summary. — Connecticut was settled chiefly by emi- grants from Eastern Massachusetts and from England. It was the first colony in America to frame a written constitution of govern- ment — one which gave the right of voting to every citizen. The king granted the colony a charter confirming their power of gov- erning themselves. Governor Andros, by the order of James II., tried to get possession of the charter but failed. Except for a very short period, Connecticut practically continued to maintain her own laws. VI I. Maryland (1634). 102. The Catholic Pilgrims; Lord Baltimore; Maryland. — We have seen how a band of Protestant Pilgrims ^ settled Plymouth in 1620; fourteen years later (1634) a company of Catholic Pilgrims came to America for a like reason — that they might build up a state where they could worship God without molestation.^ George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, a Catholic nobleman of ex- cellent ability and high standing, resolved to provide a refuge in the New World for the persecuted people of his faith. From his friend King Charles I. he obtained the promise of a grant of land in Northern Virginia. Lord Baltimore died before the charter was completed, but his son, Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Balti- more, received the grant. It made him practically all but king over a territory north of the Potomac, to which Charles I. gave the name of Maryland, in honor of his queen, who was herself a Catholic.^ 1 See Paragraph 71. 2 The English law imposed the ruinous fine of twenty pounds a month — a sum equal to not less than ^700 to ^800 now — on every Catholic who refused to attend the services of the Church of England. This law was not always strictly enforced, but large sums were frequently extorted by the government from the Catholics by way of compromise. 8 Henriette-Marie of France, commonly called Henrietta Maria. The charter gave the territory the Latin name of Terra Maries^ or Mary's Land (Marie, the queen's name meaning the same as Mary in English). Maryland included not only the present State, but also Delaware and part of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. I02 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 103. The Settlement of St. Mary's; the Wigwam Church. — In the spring of 1634 a colony of about three hundred per- sons led by Governor I^eonard Calvert, — a younger brother of the second Lord Baltimore, — landed on the northern bank of the Potomac, near its mouth, and founded the town of St. Mary's.^ About twenty of the colonists were gentlemen of wealth and standing, — most of them probably Cath- olics — the rest of the emigrants were laborers, and seem to have been chiefly Protestants. Father White,^ a priest who accompanied the expedition, had no sooner landed than he got permission from an Indian chief to convert his wigwam into a chapel. This hut was the first English Catholic church in America. Virginia would not have permitted that church to stand ; New England would not. It was only in the wilderness of Maryland, in that mixed population of Catholics and Protestants, that it was safe. r I, Baltimore S n'29 ^ f iC y ? 1 v^ / ii ^ L._4 ^ 1634 ^ %fl ''~\_^^ if ^ Jamestov^VS 1607 Y; ^ '-XT' \ ^ .. .> ' i ^ /l^ROANOKE ^ 104. Political and Religious Freedom of the Colony. — From the beginning all the colonists took part in making the laws by which they were governed, and in a few years Lord Baltimore granted them the power of originating those laws. In religion absolute freedom of worship was given to all Christians,^ but to 1 St. Mary's : this name was probably given because the colonists had cele- brated a festival (the Annunciation) of the Virgin Mary two days before. 2 Father White was the historian of the expedition, and has given us the first account of the settlement. 8 It is true that Lord Baltimore, holding his charter, as he did, from the Protes- tant sovereign of a Protestant nation, could not have safely denied liberty of worship to Protestants ; but it is also true that he evidently had no desire in his heart to deny such liberty. The fact that he invited Puritans into the colony and protected them from persecution, shows the man's true spirit THE CLAYBORNE AND INGLE REBELLION. I03 Christians only. No other colony in this country then enjoyed such liberty, and it was wholly unknown in Europe.^ The result was that Maryland became a refuge not only for the oppressed Catholics of England, but also for many of the oppressed Protestants of the other colonies of America. Puritans driven out of Virginia, Quakers exiled from Massachusetts, both came to Maryland and found homes there, and in 1649 ^ Puritan settlement was formed at Providence, since named Annapolis.^ 105. The Clayborne and Ingle Rebellion ; Lord Balti- more's Government overthrown ; Persecution of the Catho- lics. — The colony, however, was not to enjoy the peace for which it hoped. Before Lord Baltimore received his charter, William Clayborne, an influential Virginian, had established a thriving settlement and trading-post ^ on Kent Island, in Chesapeake Bay. He refused to recognize the authority of Governor Calvert and endeavored to hold the island by force, but was driven out. When the Civil War^ broke out in England, the colonists of Mary- land, like the people of Great Britain, took sides for or against the king. Taking advantage of this division, Clayborne stirred up a re- belHon (1645), ^^^ kept the whole country in a turmoil for two or three years. Captain Ingle, who asserted that he acted under the authority of the Puritan Parliament of England, but who was practically a pirate, got possession of St. Mary's. He plundered it, and seizing "the venerable Father White," sent him to England in irons on a groundless charge of treason against the Parliament of that country. But worse was to come. After the king was dethroned and 1 This liberty was confirmed by a law enacted in 1649. which declared that no person professing belief in Jesus Christ shall be " in any ways troubled, molested, or discountenanced, for or in respect of his or her religion, nor in the free exercise thereof." This law did not protect those who denied the doctrine of the Trinity. 2 From Queen Anne of England. 8 For carrying on the fur trade with the Indians. ■* See Paragraph 55, page 61. 104 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. executed, and a republic set up in England, the authorities there sent commissioners to compel the people of Maryland to swear fidehty to the new government. At the same time Lord Baltimore insisted that as Maryland was his property the settlers should swear fidelity to him. The Puritans in the colony objected to taking this last oath, on the ground that Lord Baltimore was a Catholic. The commissioners went to Maryland, forced the governor ^ to resign, and put one of their own choice in his place. They then caused a General Assembly to be summoned at St. Mary's, but ordered that no Catholic should be elected to it, or should cast a vote for any representative. The new legislature repealed the statute of 1649, which had granted religious freedom to all Christians. In its place they enacted a law prohibiting Catholic worship throughout Maryland. Furthermore the Assembly declared that Lord Baltimore no longer had any rights whatever in the colony he himself had founded, and to which he had invited many of the very people who now turned against him. Such action must have reminded him of the story of the camel that begged shelter m his master's tent, and, when he had got it, kicked the owner out. 106. Lord Baltimore restored to his Rights ; Loss of the Charter. — But about ten years later (1658), Parliament restored Lord Baltimore to his rights. Freedom of worship was again established and for the next thirty years the colony prospered. Meanwhile England had again become a monarchy, and in 1689 WiUiam and Mary, who were pledged to support the Prot- estant cause, came to the throne. In Maryland there was an unavoidable delay on the part of the governor in proclaiming the new sovereigns. The enemies of Lord Baltimore circulated the report that this delay was part of a plot, and that the Catholics of Maryland — who were now not 1 Governor Stone, Governor Calvert's successor. MARYLAND RESTORED TO LORD BALTIMORE. I05 nearly so numerous as the Protestants — had conspired with the Indians to massacre all the people of the colony not of their faith. The story was wickedly false, but many of the Protestants were so foolish as to believe it. They rose in revolt, and in conse- quence the new king thought it wise to take the government of the province into his own hands. " The best men and the best Protestants " of the colony stood up for Lord Baltimore, but with- out avail. 107. Establishment of the Church of England ; Restora- tion of Maryland to Lord Baltimore ; Mason and Dixon's Line. — The Church of England was now established as the government church in Maryland, and every taxpayer, no matter what his religion, had to pay forty pounds of tobacco yearly towards its support. The Catholic worship was not again allowed to be openly observed until Maryland became independent. In 1 715, on the death of the third Lord Baltimore, his son, who had become a Protestant, was made proprietor and governor of Maryland. He and his descendants held it until the Revolution (1776). Meanwhile (1729), the city of Baltimore was founded, and named in honor of the originator of the colony. In 1682 William Penn founded the colony of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, and from that time for many years there were bitter disputes about the boundary between that Province and Maryland. At length Mason and Dixon, two eminent English surveyors, were employed (i 763-1 767) to establish a boundary that would be satisfactory to both colonies. They ran a line from the northeast corner of Maryland due west nearly three hundred miles. At every fifth mile a stone was set up having the coat-of-arms of William Penn cut on the north side and that of Lord Baltimore on the south. That line became one of the most famous boundaries in the country, for it eventually marked the division between the free and the slave states, formed from the original thirteen which entered the Union. I06 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 1 08. Summary. — The colony of Maryland was planted by Lord Baltimore, an English Catholic. He, first in America, estab- lished freedom of worship for all Christians. The peace of the colony was interrupted by civil war, and enemies of Lord Balti- more, joining with Puritan settlers, who had come in, overthrew the government and forbade the exercise of the Catholic religion. Lord Baltimore succeeded after a time in regaining his power and again granted freedom of worship ; but finally the king took possession of the province and compelled the people to maintain the Church of England until the Revolution — though the govern- ment of the colony was eventually restored to the Baltimore family, who had become Protestants. "x VIIL Rhode Island (1636). 109. Roger Williams seeks Refuge among the Indians ; settles Providence. — When in 1636 Roger Williams fled from Massachusetts ^ into the wilderness, his situation was one of extreme peril. It was midwinter and the snow was deep. Williams was in feeble health and a wanderer in a trackless forest. Fortunately he had made the Indians his friends and could speak their language. The exile made his way to the hos- pitable wigwam of the chief Massasoit,^ at the head of Narragansett Bay. There he found a home till spring. Then with five friends, who had joined him from Massachusetts, he went to the Seekonk River ^ and built a cabin on its eastern bank. Word was sent to him that the place he had chosen was under the control of Plymouth colony. Such a message meant that he and his companions must move on. Crossing the river a little lower down, in a canoe, they were hailed by some Indians who were standing on a flat ledge of rock on the western bank."* 1 See Paragraph 81. 2 gee Paragraph 76. 3 Seekonk River : it flows into the Providence River on the east side of the city of Providence. 4 " Slate Rock " or " What Cheer Rock," on the eastern side of the city of Providence, foot of Povi^er Street. LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE. 107 BrookfiJld S*'" f'"V' .Vlopev ( "What cheer? "^ cried the friendly red men to the wan- derers. This welcome from the natives led Williams and his friends to land for a short time. Then, guided perhaps by what the Indians told them, they paddled down the river a little distance, rounded the point, and again landed at the foot of some rising ground, where they found a spring of excellent water. Here (1636) they determined to stay and build homes for themselves. Out of gratitude to " God's merciful Providence to him in his dis- tress " Roger AVil- liams gave to the place the appropri- ate name of Provi- dence. There, he, with others, founded (1639) the first Baptist church in America. To-day Providence ranks as the second city of New England in population and wealth. In Roger Williams's case banishment did not mean destruction, but growth and increased influence. 1 10. Williams establishes a Colony; Liberty of Con- science; Growth of the Principle. — WilHams had at first no intention of founding an independent colony ; his main thought was to build up a mission for the conversion of the Indians. But others came and the town of Providence took firm root. From the beginning entire freedom of conscience was given to every settler. Maryland^ had granted such liberty to all Christians, but the colony of Providence did not limit it, — not Protestants and Catholics only, but Jews — yes, unbelievers even were protected. 1 " What cheer ? " : an English salutation the Indians had learned from the whites. It meant How do you do ? or, How are you ? 2 See Paragraph 104. I08 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. and thus men of all religions and of no religion were safe from molestation so long as they behaved chemselves. In all other colonies of America, as in every country of Europe, the government favored some particular worship, and in some degree compelled people to maintain it and conform to it. But here there was nothing of the kind. Roger Williams first laid down and put in actual practice what we may call the American principle — ^ that is, that government has nothing whatever to do with the control of religious belief. That idea was so new and strange that the other colonies thought it false and dangerous, and predicted that it would soon die out. Instead of that it steadily grew and spread, until in time it became a part of the Constitution of the United States, and there we read this sentence, which Roger Williams himself might have written, ^^ Congress shall make no law respecting an esiablisJwient of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof y ^ III. Settlement of Rhode Island; the Charter. — In 1638 William Coddington of Massachusetts, with Mrs. Anne Hutchin- son ^ and a few others, in sympathy with the founder of Providence, bought the island of Rhode Island ^ and there planted the colony of Portsmouth and then that of Newport. A few years after, another colony was planted at Warwick, south of Providence. In 1644 Williams went to England and got a charter which united these colonies into a province and gave them full power to rule themselves by such form of government as they thought best. That charter was confirmed by a second, issued not quite twenty years later, and though Andros,"* when made governor of New 1 Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, Article I. ; compare also Article VI. of the Constitution : " No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." 2 See Paragraph 8i. 3 Rhode Island : a name given to it apparently from its supposed resemblance to the Isle of Rhodes in the Mediterranean, though some accounts state that it was because the Dutch called it Rood or Red Island. 4 See Paragraph loo. NEW SWEDEN. lOQ England, tried hard to get possession of it, yet Rhode Island kept it as her form of government until long after the Revolu- tion (1842). Rhode Island always remained true to the princi- ple of " soul liberty," first successfully put in practice by Roger Williams, and not a single blot of religious persecution rests on the fair pages of her history. During the Revolution every male citizen between the ages of sixteen and sixty stood ready to fight for independence. 112. Summary. — Roger Williams, an exiled minister from Massachusetts, with others, colonized Rhode Island and first established entire freedom of worship in this country. That prin- ciple now forms part of the Constitution of the United States. IX. New Sweden, or Delaware (1638). 113. The Swedes plant a Colony on the Delaware; it is captured by the Dutch. — The names of the first European colonies in America were generally expressive of ambition, youth, and hope. The kingdoms of the Old World seemed resolved to establish still grander kingdoms in the New. The Spaniards had founded a New Spain ; ^ the French a New France ; ^ the Dutch, or Netherlanders, a New Netherland ; ^ the English a New England. In 1638 the Swedes, animated by a like feeling, endeavored to begin here a New Sweden. That year their government sent over a colony of "plain, strong, industrious people," who landed on the western bank of what is now known as the Delaware River.'* 1 New Spain. This name was given by the Spaniards to Mexico, but Florida was also sometimes called so, 2 Canada was also known by the name of New France. 3 New Netherland (New York). See Paragraph 61. 4 Henry Hudson called this river the South River, to distinguish it from the North or Hudson River. In 161 1 Lord Delaware, then governor of Virginia, was driven, when on shipboard, to take refuge in this river in a violent storm. After his death the English named the river, from him, the Delaware. no LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY, At a point near where Wilmii^ton now stands the emigrants built a fort which they named Christina in honor of young Queen Christina of Sweden. But the dream of a New Sweden was not to be reaHzed. The Dutch claimed the territory ; and in 1654 Governor Stuy- vesant ^ came with a fleet from New Am- sterdam,^ captured the country, and sent home those of the colonists who would not swear fidelity to the Dutch govern- ment. 114. The English take the Coun- try ; the State of Delaware. — The Dutch had been in possession of the land a little over ten years when the English Duke of York seized it (1665), as he had already seized that on the Hudson.^ After holding it for a considerable length of time he sold it (1681) to William Penn. Penn called the country "The Territories," or "The Three Lower Counties on the Delaware." Up to the Revolution it was considered a part of Pennsylvania, and was under the control of the governor of that province, although after a time (1703) the people — among whom were many English Quakers and Welsh — obtained the privilege of having a legisla- ture of their own. In 1776, when the war against Great Britain broke out, the inhabitants of "The Territories" declared themselves a free and independent state, and took the name of Delaware from the river which forms their northeastern boundary. Though the smallest of all the states, save Rhode Island, Dela- ware was foremost in accepting the National Constitution (1787), and was therefore the first to enter the American Union. On that roll of honor her name leads all the rest. 1 See Paragraph 64. 2 New Amsterdam, or New York City. 3 See Paragraph 64. CAROLINA. Ill 115. Summary. — This colpny, settled by the Swedes as New Sweden, was taken by the Dutch, and then by the Enghsh, who sold it to William Penn. He governed it as part of Pennsylvania. When it became independent it took the name Delaware. After the Revolution it was the first state to adopt the Constitution of the United States. X.-XI. North and South Carolina (1663). 116. Grant of Carolina; First Settlements. — In 1663 Charles 11. of England granted an immense tract of land south of Virginia to a com- pany composed of Lord Clarendon and seven associates.^ Out of compliment to the king the terri- tory was called Caro- lina.^ On the coast it embraced the en- tire region now in- cluaed in the states of North and South Carolina, Georgia, and a part of Florida; westward it extended to the Pacific.^ SCALE OF MILES iO 100 1 The Company consisted of i. The Earl of Clarendon, Lord High Chancellor of England; 2. General Monk, Duke of Albemarle; 3. Ashley Cooper, Lord Shaftesbury ; 4. Lord Craven ; 5. Sir John Colleton ; 6. Sir George Carteret ; 7. Lord Berkeley ; 8. Sir William Berkeley, governor of Virginia. Albemarle Sound, North Carolina, and the Ashley and Cooper Rivers in South Carolina, derive their names from those of two of the persons above mentioned. 2 Carolina : the name was originally given to the country by Charles IX. oi France at the time of the attempted French settlements, and was retained out ot honor to the English king Charles IL The name was derived from Carolus, Latin for Charles. It was customary for kings to employ the Latin form for their names. ^ By his first grant (1663) Charles gave all the territory lying between the St. 112 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. At the time of the making of the grant there were a few planters and farmers in the northern part of CaroHna. They had moved in from Virginia, and taken land on the Chowan River and the coast of Albemarle Sound near it. By direction of the Company these settlers were formed into a colony (1663) called Albemarle. Shortly after (1664) a second colony, named Claren- don, in honor of Lord Clarendon, was organized on Cape Fear River, some twenty or thirty miles from its mouth. The colonists were English planters from the West Indies. 117. Settlement of Charleston; the Huguenots. — The first settlement direct from England was made in 1670 when two ship-loads of emigrants sent by the Company landed in the southern part of Carolina, on the western bank of the Ashley River,^ a short distance from the sea. Ten years later (1680) the colonists moved across to the peninsula between the Ashley and Cooper ^ Rivers, and there laid the foundations of the city of Charleston.^ From the outset the Company granted religious liberty to all colonists. One of the results of that wise policy was that many Huguenots * or French Protestants fled to Carolina to escape the terrible persecution to which they were subject in their native land.' No better class of emigrants could have been desired. They represented not only the best bone and sinew, but the best John's River, Florida, and a point on the coast just south of the present boundary of Virginia. In 1665 the king extended the grant one degree farther south, and half a degree farther north, or from 30° to 36° 30' north latitude. This would make the original territory of Carolina reach from Virginia almost to St. Augustine, Florida. 1 Ashley: see note i to Paragraph 116, 2 Cooper: see note i to Paragraph 116, 8 The first settlement was called Charles Town, in honor of King Charles II. After the colonists had moved across to the peninsula they still retained the name, but in time it became shortened to Charleston. ^ Huguenots : see Paragraph 23. 5 On the persecution of the Huguenots by Louis XIV., see " The Leading Facts of French History," in this series. THE "GRAND MODEL. II3 intellect and conscience of France. They brought with them thai power and influence which spring not from rank or money, but from character. A hundred years later two of the descendants of those South Carolina Huguenots — Henry Laurens, the statesman,^ and General Marion,^ the noble Revolutionary leader — won imperishable re nown by their services in the cause of American liberty. 118. The ** Grand Model"; Division of the Territory into North and South Carolina. — Meantime (1670) the eminent Enghsh philosopher, John Locke, and Lord Shaftesbury, one of the prominent members of the Company, had drafted a constitution for Carolina. Its authors and their friends believed it to be the most perfect work of the kind ever produced by the human mind. It was called the " Grand Model," and the members of the Company declared when they signed it, that it would remain " the sacred and unalterable form and rule of government forever." The " Grand Model " established a nobility who practically held all power. It also set up courts of justice intended to regu- late everything from the gravest questions of law down to the cut of a man's coat, or the trimming of a woman's bonnet. But there was one omission in this model constitution : it gave the common people — the very class that had begun to settle Carolina — no rights. They were not permitted to vote j they were not to hold landed property; nay, more, they were not even at liberty to leave the soil they tilled, without permission from the nobleman who owned it. When a wealthy planter bought a tract of land in Carolina it was expected that he would purchase the white settlers on it — they, like the trees and the stones, were considered to be part of the estate. 1 Henry Laurens : he was the fourth president of the Continental Congress (1777), and was one of the commissioners sent to Paris to sign the Treaty of Peace with Great Britain at the close of the Revolution. 2 General Marion : he was one of the heroes of the War of Independence. His epitaph declares with entire truth that he " lived without fear, and died without reproach." 114 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. But the inhabitants of the terntory decidedly objected to the " Grand Model." They were resolved to own themselves, to own the labor of their hands, to own all the land they could honestly buy, and lastly, to make their own laws. After twenty years of contest they succeeded ; and the boasted constitution, that was to last " forever,'* was given up : it had never really been in opera- tion at all. In 1712 the province was divided into North and South Carolina,^ and from that tmie until the Declaration of Independence (1776) each was subject to a governor appointed by the king. -f- 119. Growth of the Two Colonies; Introduction of Rice and Indigo Culture ; Charleston. — The growth of North Caro- lina was very slow. Quite a number of industrious and liberty- loving Scotch, Irish, and Swiss emigrated to the province ; but the population was scattered, and the manufacture of pitch, tar, and turpentine, which was the principal occupation, did not tend to build up large towns. In South Carolina, Charleston made little progress for the first fifteen or twenty years. Up to that tmie there was no great lead- ing industry, and but Httle commerce. In 1693 ^^ event occurred which produced a decided change. That year the captain of a vessel from Madagascar gave the governor of the colony a small bag of rice to plant, as an experiment. The grain grew luxuriantly, and the governor distributed the crop among the farmers in the vicinity of Charleston. They began its culture, and soon the few pounds of seed had multiplied to thousands ; the thousands gradually increased to millions, and in time South Carolina be- came, what it still continues to be, the largest rice-producing and rice-exporting state in the Union. The next great source of wealth was the introduction and cul- tivation of the indigo plant. About half a century (1741) after the first rice had been sown, the daughter of Governor Lucas ^ 1 Some authorities make the date of division 1729. ^ Governor Lucas : governor in the West Indies; his home was in Carolina. SUMMARY. 115 planted a little indigo on her father's plantation near Charles- ton. The frost killed it, so that it never came up. She planted again. The seed came up, but worms destroyed the plants. Not to be discouraged, she tried the experiment a third time, and was successful.^ To the colonists the news of her crop — small as it was — was like the report of the discovery of a gold mine. Indigo then brought in Europe sometimes a dollar and a half a pound ; and shortly before the Revolution Charleston exported over a million pounds in a single year.^ Later, cotton ^ was found to be more profitable than indigo even, and so the culture of that plant was given up. The result of this lucrative commerce in rice and indigo was that the city grew rapidly in population and wealth until it became the metropolis of the South. In 1773 Josiah Quincy of Boston visited Charleston, and was so impressed with its general appear- ance and its commercial activity that he wrote : " In almost every- thing it far surpasses all I ever saw, or ever expected to see in America."^ 120. Summary. — CaroHna, which was eventually divided into North and South Carolina, was settled by emigrants from Virginia, by English and also by Huguenots or French Protestants. General Marion of the Revolution was a descendant from a Huguenot family. The English Company owning the province undertook to govern it by a constitution called the ''Grand Model," but the people refused to accept it and insisted on governing themselves. North Carolina engaged in the manufacture of tar, pitch, and turpentine ; South Carolina began the culture of rice and indigo, both of which proved enormously profitable. At the time of the Revolution Charleston was one of the chief cities of America. 1 Indigo is largely used for dyeing cloths blue. 2 Cotton did not become profitable until Whitney invented the cotton-gin in 1793. Its culture will be considered whin that period is reached. 3 Josiah Quincy, Jr's Journal, 1773. Il6 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. XII. Pennsylvania (i68i). 121. Grant of Pennsylvania to William Penn ; the ** Holy Experiment.** — Charles II. owed William Penn, the most influ- ential of the English Friends, or Quakers,^ a large sum of money. As that good-natured but extravagant monarch always contracted as many debts as possible and paid as few, Penn suggested to his majesty that he might easily settle his claim by granting him a tract of land in America. The proposition pleased the king, and he gave Penn a territory of forty-eight thousand square miles fronting on the Delaware River. Charles named this vast region, which was nearly as large as the whole of England,^ Pennsylvania,^ or Penn's Woods. In those woods the proprietor resolved to begin what he called his " Holy Experiment." That experiment consisted in estabhsh- ing a " free colony," or Christian community, on the basis of that Golden Rule which commands us to do unto others as we wish them to do unto us. The Quaker founder thought that even the North American savages could understand that principle, and would let the people who practised it grow up in peace. The king suggested that the savages would be more likely to respect a well-armed regiment of soldiers ; but Penn had no faith in the virtues of gunpowder, and would not send so much as a single musket to protect his colony. *«* 122. Emigration to Pennsylvania ; Philadelphia ; Land- ing at Newcastle. — The first emigrants were sent out under the charge of Penn's commissioners in 1681. They appear to have spent the winter on the western bank of the Delaware at a Swedish settlement which was subsequently named Chester. The following year (1682) Penn himself sailed with a company of a hundred English Quakers, to found the city of Philadelphia, or Brotherly 1 Friends, or Quakers : see Paragraph 85. 2 The area of England, not includin^*Wales, is about 50,000 square miles. s Pennsylvania : from Penn, and the Latin word sylva, a wood. THE ''GREAT LAW." 117 Love. The location had already been selected by Penn's com- missioners, in accordance with instructions which he had given them. The city was planned by its founder before he left England. It is said chat not even a thousand dollars have since had to be spent in straight- ening or widening streets, — that work having been done once for all in Penn's orderly brain before the first house was built in 1683. Penn landed at Newcastle, in what is now Delaware. That territory he had purchased of the Duke of York,^ so that it then formed part of Pennsylvania. The whole population of the region gathered to welcome him and to witness the interesting ceremony of his taking possession of his vast estate. First, a piece of turf was handed to Penn — that meant that he owned the land and all that grew on it ; next, a dish filled from the Delaware River was given to him — that signified that he owned the water ; finally, the key of the fort was solemnly presented to him — that act completed the transfer, for it acknowledged his right to hold both land and water by military force. 123. The ** Great Law.** — Less than two months after that, Penn called an assembly at Chester, and he with the people enacted the " Great Law." That constitution had a twofold foundation — liberty of the people to make their own laws, and obedience to the laws they had made ; for, said Penn, " Liberty without obedience is con- fusion, and obedience without liberty is slavery." By the "Great Law" it was provided: i. That all colonists should be protected in their worship of God, but that no one - See Paragraph 114. Il8 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. should be compelled to support or attend any form of worship against his will.^ 2. That all resident tax-payers should have the right to vote, and that every member of any Christian church might hold office and become a member of the legislative as- sembly.^ 3. That every child, after reaching the age of twelve, should be brought up to some trade or useful occupation. 4. That the death penalty should be inflicted for two crimes^ only, — murder and treason, * — and, for the first time in the his- tory of the world, it was further ordered that every prison should be made a workshop and a place of reformation.^ 124. The Great Treaty ; Growth and Importance of Phila- delphia. — Penn's next act (1682) ^ was a treaty with the Indians. According to tradition he met the Red Men under the branches of a wide-spreading elm in what was then the vicinity of Phila- delphia.^ There solemn promises of mutual friendship were made. In accordance, however, with the principles of the Quaker faith, no oaths were taken. Each trusted to the other's simple word. 1 No person believing in God and living peaceably and justly " shall in any wise be molested." The Great Law, Section i, Hazard's "Annals of Pennsylvania." 2 This is according to Section 65 of The Great Law ; but Section 2 of the same would appear to limit the right to elect members to the assembly to "such as profess and declare they believe in Jesus Christ." 3 On the number of crimes then punishable with death in England, see note i on page 99. 4 Treason : that is, an open and deliberate attempt to overturn the government by force of arms. 5 The prisons of Europe at that time were dens of idleness and disorder. In- stead of reforming the criminal they often taught him new crimes, so that he usually came out of his place of confinement actually worse than he entered it. 6 Some authorities fix the date at 1683, and consider the treaty to have covered the purchase of lands, " The treaty was made at Kensington, in the northeastern part of the city. The Treaty Elm was blown down in 18 10. So great was the regard for the old tree that during the Revolution, when the British forces occupied Philadelphia, General Simcoe, their commander, stationed a sentinel under it to prevent his soldiers from cutting it down for firewood. The monument marking the spot where it stood is on the west side of Beach Street, north of Columbia Street, Kensington. THE GREAT TREATY. 119 That treaty was "never broken,"^ and for sixty years, or as long as the Quakers held control, the people of Pennsylvania lived at peace with the natives. The tree under which that memorable transaction took place no longer stands, but its site is marked by a mon- ument. The Indian record of the treaty — a belt of wam- pum representing Penn ^ and the chief clasping hands — is still preserved.^ Philadelphia grew rap- idly, and at the beginning of the Revolution it was the largest and in every respect the most important city in the American colonies. Its history is closely connected with many decisive events m the early history of the country. There the first Continental Congress met (1774), there indepen- dence was declared (1776), there too the present Constitution of the United States was framed (1787), and there the seat of govern- ^ Voltaire, the French historian, said that it was " the only treaty which was never sworn to, and never broken ; " but this was true, too, of Carver's treaty, see p. 79. 2 William Penn set sail for England, Aug. 12, 1684, having spent not quite two years in Pennsylvania. He visited the colony again in 1699, and returned to Eng- land in 1701, where he spent the remaining seventeen years of his life. His outlay in Pennsylvania had involved him heavily in debt, and in 1709 he was obliged to mortgage his province for ^6600. Other misfortunes fell upon him, and at one time he was a prisoner for debt in London. He was negotiating a sale of his right in Pennsylvania to the English government at the time of his death. His • successors were unlike him, and their greedy and unjust policy created constant irritation. At the conclusion of the Revolution Congress purchased their rights in Pennsylvania for j^65o,ooo. 3 See Paragraph 37, and picture of the belt. Penn is the right-hand figure. The belt is in the possession of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, Philadelphia. See their Memoirs, Vol. VI. I20 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. ment remained (1790-1800)^ until it was removed to Washing- ton, ttien "a backwoods settlement in the wilderness." 125. Summary. — William Penn fomided the colony of Penn- sylvania, which was named from him. He gave the people the right to take part in making the laws, and all persons believing in God were protected in their religion. He made a treaty of peace with the Indians which was sacredly kept. At the opening of the Revolution Philadelphia was the chief city of the country, and long the seat of government. Xni. Georgia (1733). 126. Oglethorpe^s Project for the Settlement of Georgia ; his Two Motives. — In 1732 General James Oglethorpe, a mem- ber of the English Parliament, obtained a charter for settling a tract of country in America between the Savannah and Altamaha rivers. Oglethorpe was a man of high character and of distinguished ability. His objects in establishing a new colony were both patriotic and benevolent. South Carolina was exposed to attacks from the Spaniards in Florida, and it was desirable to have a body of men so placed that they might repel such attacks. The pro- posed colony would serve therefore as a barrier against the enemies of Charleston on the south. That was the first object. The second was one of pure benevolence. Thousands of poor debtors were then confined in the prisons of England. Many of them were honest, hard-working men, who through sickness or misfor- tune had contracted some trifling debt, — ^t might be no more than a single shilling even, — and not being able to pay had been cast into prison. There their condition was most pitiful. They could earn nothing, and unless their friends supported them they were actually in danger of starvation, some of them having to 1 Philadelphia was virtually the capital of the country after independence was declared, although Congress did not always meet there. Pennsylvania attracted a large emigration ; and in 1776 about half the population were English, one-third Germans, and the rest Irish and Swedes. SETTLEMENT OF SAVANNAH. 121 subsist by begging in an iron cage from the passers-by. The jailors often treated these poor creatures with revolting cruelty, and never failed to extort fees and fines from them on every possible occasion. Cases occurred in which men were kept in confinement for years after their creditors had withdrawn all claims against them, simply because they could not raise money to pay* the jail fees, which sometimes amounted to much more than the original debt. Oglethorpe had spent a good deal of time in visiting and in- vestigating these prisons in London ; his heart was touched by the misery he saw, — the misery of those who had committed no crime, — and he resolved to help them. His scheme was to select the most deserving of the prisoners, to discharge their debts, to fur- nish them transportation, with their wives and families, to America, and thus give them, what England could not — a chance to begin life anew. • Such a charity was as honorable as it promised to be useful. The English government subscribed a large sum toward it, and private individuals increased the fund until it reached what would be equal to half a million of dollars to-day.^ 127. The Settlement at Savannah; Silk Culture. — An association of twenty-two persons was formed with Oglethorpe as leader Out of compliment to King George 11. , who favored the undertaking, the new colony was called Georgia. The first emi- grants sent out settled under Oglethorpe on the Savannah River from which they named the town Savannah (1733). Later, German Protestants ^ who were persecuted in their own country on account of their religion, and sturdy Scottish peasants from the Highlands,^ made settlements in Georgia. 1 The House of Commons gave ^10,000, and private subscription ^26,000; or in all ;^36,ooo, equal, probably, to not less than ^500,000 now, 2 Moravians and Lutherans : The Moravians were from Austria ; in several respects they resembled the Quakers. S They settled at Darien, on the coast, south of Savannah. 122 LEADING FACTS OP AMERICAN HISTORY. It was hoped that wine could be produced on a great scale, so as to rival Madeira itself. Mulberry-trees grew wild in the terri- tory, and it was ex- pected that silk could be raised in large quantities. The first seal of the- colony represented the silk- worms at their work, with the words, "Not for themselves, but for others." ^ Such a seal not only ex- pressed the industry of the inhabitants, but its motto told the story of the un- selfish purposes of the founders. The silk culture, however, never went very far, cotton being found in the end far more profitable. 128. Restrictions on the Colony. — From the outset, how- ever, the enterprise was hampered by certain regulations that caused discontent and tended to prevent the rapid growth of the province. The first of these was the provision that for twenty-one years all laws should be made by the Association. This kept the people like children, and made that best of all educations — ■ the education of self-government — impossible. The next forbade that land should descend to women — the object being to keep it in the hands of those v/ho could do military service. The third regulation prohibited the importation of rum or spirituous liquors, thus cutting off the Georgians from commerce with the West Indies, which was the most lucrative trade they could then hope 1 The motto was in Latin, — " Non sibtsed aliis." ■ THE WESLEYS. 123 to obtain. Fourthly, the importation of slaves was denied to the settlers, and they therefore could not compete agriculturally with the other colonies, all of which had them. Lastly, entire religious Hberty was not allowed, no Roman Catholic being permitted to settle or hold land in tjie colony. 129. The Wesleys; Whitefield; The Restrictions re- moved; The Spaniards; Resources of Georgia. — John and Charles Wesley, the two distinguished brothers who founded Methodism, were both interested in Oglethorpe's project, and went out with him on his second voyage,^ the first for the purpose of doing missionary work among the Indians. Later, another noted preacher of that denomination, the Rev. George Whitefield,^ established an orphan asylum near Savannah. In strong contrast to John Wesley, he conscientiously believed in slave-labor, and partly supported his asylum from the produce of his plantation in the adjoining colony of South Carolina. Through his persistent efforts, joined to those of others, the purchase of negroes was at last (1750) allowed; the prohibition on the importation of rum from the West Indies was also removed, the land laws changed for the better, and Georgia soon had a flourishing commerce, and could hold her own with the Carolinas. With respect to checking the attacks of the Spaniards the colony was highly successful. Oglethorpe defeated an expedition sent to conquer and drive out the settlers, and did the work so thoroughly that the enemy had no desire to make his further acquaintance.^ In 1752 Georgia became a royal province, and was governed by the crown until the Revolution. No colony planted by the Enghsh possesses greater natural resources or natural wealth — in cotton, coal, and iron — than the territory that was first settled by that philanthropist who sought the prosperity of all. If he could 1 Oglethorpe went back to England in 1743. He was a member of Parliament for many years, and died in 1785. 2 Whitefield (Whit'field). 3 The defeat of the Spaniards had the effect of extending the southern boundary of Georgia to the St. John's River, Florida. In 1763 it was fixed at the present line. 124 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. see what Georgia has become, and better still, see its probable future, he would feel that he could not have chosen more wisely. 130. Summary. — Georgia, the last of the thirteen colonies, and one of the richest in its natural advantages, was settled by English emigrants brought over by General Oglethorpe, as a work of charity. One chief object of the colony was the raising of silk. That, however, was unsuccessful. In the outset the settlers had no power of self-government, and the land laws caused much dis- content. Slavery and the importation of spirituous liquors were forbidden, but later, both were allowed, the people got the man- agement of the colony, in considerable measure, and Georgia opened a large trade with the West Indies. The French Explor'^tion of the West. 131. French Exploration of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi Valley ; the Jesuit Missionaries. — But while the English colonists had been getting firm possession of the coast from Maine to Geoigia, the French in Canada^ had not been sitting still. In fact, it was they, and not Jthe English, who were the explorers of the West. Among the first Europeans who dared to push their way into the wilderness were Jesuit missionaries,^ who had come here to convert the Indians. In their zeal for this work they braved all dangers — enduring hunger, cold, and torture without a murmur. Long before William Penn's emigrants had felled the first tree for the first log cabin in Philadelphia, the Jesuits had reached the western shore of Lake Michigan (1669),^ 1 See Paragraph 50. 2 Jesuit missionaries : missionaries belonging to the Roman CathoUc order of the Jesuits, or " Company of Jesus." The order was founded in 1540, for the double purpose of checking the spread of Protestantism, and of carrying the Catho- lic faith to the heathen. The French Jesuits accomplished a great work among the Indians of Canada and the West, but made but little impression on the fero- cious Iroquois, who captured several of the missionaries and put them to death with horrible tortures. Before the Jesuits came, a Catholic friar had founded a mission on Lake Huron in 1615. 3 Dates so enclosed neal fiof he conuiiHicd to memory. JOLIET AND MARQUETTE. 1 25 and had planted missions among the Indians at Mackinaw, Sault Ste. Marie, and Green Bay.^ 132. Joliet and Marquette on the Mississippi. — A few years later (1673) Johet/ a famous French explorer and fur- trader, and Father Marquette, a Jesuit priest, set out from Macki- naw to find a great river which the Indians told them lay west of Lake Michigan. Making their way in birch-bark canoes ^ to the head of Green Bay, they paddled up the Fox River to a place which they called Portage,^ — now Portage City, — then carrying their canoes across, a distance of less than two miles, they em- barked on the Wisconsin River. Borne by the. current, they dropped down the Wisconsin until, on a beautiful day in June, they floated out on the broad, shining bosom of the upper Missis- sippi. The sight of it was enough : they knew that they had found that mighty stream which the Indians called the " Father of Waters" — at the point where the voyagers reached it, it is- full two miles from bank to bank. Turning their canoes southward, they let the river bear them where it would. Day after day they kept on their silent journey ; now gliding by castle-shaped cliffs, now coming into the sunlight of open prairies, now entering the long shadow cast by miles of unbroken forest. Thus they drifted on, past the muddy torrent of the Missouri, past the mouth of the beautiful Ohio. In about three weeks the explorers came to the spot where De Soto ^ had crossed the river more than a hundred years before ; then pushing on, they reached the mouth of the 1 Mackinaw, Michigan, at the northwestern extremity of Lake Huron. Here is Fort Mackinaw. Sault Ste. Marie (usually pronounced Soo Sent Ma'ry), on the river of that name, about fourteen miles from the outlet of Lake Superior. Green Bay, Wisconsin, on western shore of Lake Michigan. See Map, page 126. 2 Joliet (pronounced in the United States, Jo'le-et) : Marquette (Mar-ket') : both names frequently occur in the West, especially in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois, where counties, cities, and towns have been named for the French ex- plorers. 3 See Paragraph 36. 4 Portage : a French word, meaning a carrying-place, because at such points canoes or goods were carried across from one stream to another. See Map, page 126. 5 See Paragraph 22, page 29. 126 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Arkansas. There the Frenchmen stopped and feasted with friendly Indians. The Indians warned them not to go further south, teUing them that the tribes below were hostile to strangers. Joliet and Marquette took their advice, and after resting for some time with the hospitable red men, they got into their canoes and patiently paddled their way back.^ It was a tremendous piece of up-hill work, that battling for hundreds of miles against the powerful current, but they felt fully repaid for the labor. They had not followed the Mississippi to the Gulf, as they intended ; but who will say that they had not made a good beginning? 133. La Salle reaches the Mouth of the Mississippi. — Six years later (1679) La Salle,- the greatest of the French ex- plorers, a man of active brain and iron will, set out from Montreal to complete the work of Joliet and Marquette. He had already explored a good part of the Ohio, and he now started with high hopes on this still more important expedition. On the shore of Lake Erie, not far above Niagara, he built the first sailing-vessel ever launched on the upper Great Lakes. In her he sailed to Green Bay, then, sending the vessel back for supplies. La Salle and his com- panions went in canoes to the St. Joseph River,^ near the south- eastern corner of Lake Michigan. There they built a fort ; then, crossing over to the head waters of the Kankakee, a tributary of the Illinois, they descended that river to the point where Peoria now stands. There they built a second fort.* Leaving a small garrison to hold this position. La Salle, though it was in the depth of winter, went back on foot to Canada ^ — a journey of a thousand miles — to get the supplies which had failed to reach 1 They worked their way up the river to the IHinois, then up that river and across to Lake Michigan. 2 La Salle (Lah Sal'). 3 La Salle paddled from Green Bay, along the shore, round to the St. Joseph River, Michigan. 4 La Salle called the second fort Crevecoeur, the Broken Heart, a name gener- ally supposed to refer to his misfortunes there. 5 He went back to Fort Frontenac (now Kingston), on the Canada shore oi Lake Ontario. MAP SHOWING THE THIRTEEN ENGLISH COLONIES AND THE FRENCH EXPLORATIONS AND SETTLEMENTS IN THE WEST, > THE FOUNDING OF NEW ORLEANS. 127 him, and which he needed for the exploration of the Mississippi. While he was gone, Father Hennepin, a Jesuit priest in La Salle's expedition, set out from the fort to explore the country. He had many startling adventures, but finally reached a cataract on the upper Mississippi, which he named the Falls of St. /Vnthony. The next year (1681) La Salle returned to Illinois, only to find his fort deserted and in ruins. But the brave Frenchman knew no such word as fail. In the autumn he set out on his great expedition for the third time. Landing at the head of Lake Michigan, where Chicago^ now stands, he crossed over to the Illinois and, going down that river, entered the Mississippi in February (1682). The weather was "bitter cold," and the river full of floating ice ; La Salle did not hesitate, but started with his company on his perilous voyage. Nine weeks later — having stopped on his way to build a fort — he reached the sunny waters of the Gulf of Mexico. There he set up a rude wooden cross on which he fastened a metal plate bearing the arms of France." Then with volleys of mus- ketry and loud shouts of " God save the King !" La Salle took possession of the entire vast territory watered by the Mississippi and its tributaries. To that region of unknown extent — twice as large as France, Spain, and Germany united — he gave the name of Louisiana, in honor of Louis XIV., then the reigning sovereign of France. at the Mouth of the Mississippi. 134. The Founding of Mobile and New Orleans. — Many 1 Chicago : herelhe French built a fort, or fortified trading-post, a few years later. 2 Arms of France : a shield decorated with representations of the heads of lilies, (here resembling small crosses). The latest French life of La Salle says he fas- tened the arms of France to a post, and erected a cross beside it. 128 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. years later John Law, an enterprising Scotchman, got permission from France to establish a colony in Louisiana. The country was believed to possess mines of precious metals rich as those of Mexico or Peru. Law promised to open these mines,^ and every needy and greedy Frenchman who could muster a few dollars bought the right to take part in the speculation. It failed, and made thousands beggars. Still the undertaking had some per- manent results for good. A Frenchman named Iberville^ had established a colony at Mobile,^ on the Gulf of Mexico (1701). His brother, Bienville,* was appointed governor of Louisiana. It was hoped that he would send shiploads of gold to France. He sent nothing of the sort, but did far better ; for he founded the city of New Orleans (1718).^ The settlement was merely a clus- ter of huts round a fort ; but in time it was destined to become the commercial metropolis of the richest agricultural valley in the world, — a valley capable of producing food enough to feed all the civilized races of the globe. Meanwhile what had the English colonists in the East done toward exploring and occupying the country? Practically noth- ing. They simply continued to hold their first settlement on the Atlantic coast : in other words, the mere rim or edge of what is now the United States. The long range of the Alleghany Moun- tains, rising like an immense wall, had prevented their spreading further. France, on the other hand, had, as we have seen, got possession of the interior ; by her claim to the Mississippi and its tributaries she held the great West, extending from the Alleghanies to the Rocky Mountains. What France held she intended to keep ; that was what the forts meant that La Salle had built at so many points of his explorations from the Lakes to the Gulf. 1 On John Law and the Mississippi Company, see " The Leading Facts of French Histon-," in this series. 2 Iberville (E-l er-veel'). 3 Mobile : the name is Indian. ■* Bienville (Be-an-veel'). 5 New Orleans : Bienville named the city from the Duke of Orleans, who was then, during the minority of Louis XV., at the head of the government of France. The word New seems to have been given to distinguish Orleans in America from Orleans in France. war with the french. 1 29 The French and Indian Wars. 135. War with the French; Attacks on Schenectady, Haverhill, and Deerfield; the French lose Acadia. — In Europe, the French and the EngUsh had long been enemies. The desire of each to get possession of America did not make them any better friends. In 1689 war broke out between the rival colo- nists. With intervals of peace that contest * extended over seventy years (1689-1763). In Europe the same war was fought between England and France, and it lasted even longer. The struggle in this country is usually represented as four distinct wars, but in reality it was but one ; though, here, the combatants made one long stop of thirty years to get breath. In the first war ^ which lasted eight years (1689-169 7), Fron- tenac, the French governor of Canada, sent an expedition of French and Indians to attack the colonies on and near the Hudson. They secretly marched from Montreal in mid-winter, and falling on the little village of Schenectady, New York,^ at midnight, they burned it and massacred most of the inhabitants. In a similar attack on Haverhill,* Massachusetts, the savages met their match. A small party of Indians carried off Mrs. Hannah Dustin captive. She got possession of some tomahawks, and with the help of another woman and a boy, also prisoners, she split the heads of the sleeping Indians, and carried home their scalps, ten in all, in triumph. A regiment of such women would have soon made both French and Indians beg for peace. During this war, an expedition from Boston, led by Sir William Phips of Maine, captured the French fort at Port Royal, Acadia,^ but it was re- turned to the French the next year (1691). 1 This war and those that follow were simply the American side of a hundred years' struggle waged in Europe and Asia, between the English and the French for the possession of India and of the continent of America. See Seeley's " Expan- sion of England," Lecture II. 2 " King William's War," so called because King William reigned in England. 3 Schenectady (Ske-nek'ta-dy) : 17 miles west of Albany. See Map, page i6g. 4 Haverhill : thirty-three miles north of Boston. Both Schenectady and Haver- hill were then, in a sense, frontier towns. See Map, page 154. 5 Acadia : now Nova Scotia. See Map, page 130. I30 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. In the second war,* which lasted eleven years (i 702-1 713), a party of French and Indians attacked Deerfield, Massachusetts,^ and reduced the place to ashes. On the other hand, the New England colonists recaptured Port Royal, which they named An- napolis, in honor of Queen Anne, then reigning in England. They also undertook an expedition against Quebec, which ended in shipwreck and terrible loss of life. When peace was made (i 713), Great Britain not only kept Annapolis, but got possession of Acadia, which the English now named Nova Scotia. SCALE 136. The Third War; Taking of Louisburg. — There was a long interval of peace, and then the third war^ broke out. It lasted four years ( 1 744- 1748). During this contest, the New Eng- land colonists gained a remarkable victory. France had spent mil- lions in fortifying Louis- burg, on Cape Breton Island, — a position of great importance to the French, because it stood guard at the entrance to the Gulf and the River St. Lawrence.* The fort was of im- mense extent, and had walls of solid masonry thirty feet high. This stronghold, which the French believed could not be taken. Colonel PepperrelH of Maine, with a force of a few thousand Yankee farmers and fishermen, set out to capture. The expedi- ^ Known as " Queen Anne's War," from Queen Anne of England. 2 Deerfield : in Northwestern Massachusetts, near the Connecticut River. 3 Called " King George's War," from George II., then on the throne of Eng- land. 4 France needed the fortified harbor of Louisburg as a shelter for her vessels, as a protection to her commerce and fisheries, and for maintaining free communica* tion with Canada. 5 Usually, but incorrectly, spelled Pepperell. TAKING OF LOUISBURG. I3I tion seemed so foolhardy that even Benjamin Frankhn ^ ridiculed it. Though himself a native of New England, and full of faith in New- England grit, he wrote to his brother that Louisburg was far too hard a nut for their teeth to crack. But, with the help of a British fleet, Pepperrell and his men, after six weeks' fighting, did crack it, and Boston fairly went wild over the great news.^ The victory had two important results : i . It broke up the nest of French pirated at Louisburg, and so put an end to their capturing and plundering Massachusetts fishing-vessels. 2. It inspired the New England people with the faith that they could not only beat the French, but beat them when entrenched behind granite walls. At the end of the war England gave Louisburg back ; but one thing Great Britain could not do, — she could not give back the confidence the French once had in the famous fortress. The " Yankees " had taken it ; and what men have done, they can do again. 137. The Fourth, or French and Indian, War; the Great Line of French Forts. — In 1 754-1 763 came the fourth and final struggle, known as the " French and Indian War." It was to decide a greater question than any that had yet been fought for ; that is, whether the French or the English should control the continent of America. The English outnumbered the French fif- teen to one ; but the French had got possession of the two chief 1 Benjamin Franklin : born in Boston, 1706 ; died in Philadelphia, full of years and honors, in 1790. He was the son of a soap-boiler and candle-maker. He learned the printer's trade and went to Philadelphia, where, in 1729, he became editor and proprietor of the Pennsylvania Gazette. Later he entered public life, went abroad as agent of the colonies, and rendered the whole country his debtor by his eminent services in the cause of American independence. The succeeding pages of this history will show that his name deservedly ranks with that of Wash- ington as one of the founders of the United States. For a full account of his life, see Ginn & Co.'s " Benjamin Franklin," 2 Notwithstanding the bravery of Pepperrell and his gallant little force, it is not likely that they, even with the help of the British fleet, could have taken Louisburg had that fort possessed an efBcient garrison and a competent commander. It had neither, and hence it fell. England was astonished, and the kiftg was so delighted that he made the American commander a baronet, — Sir William Pepperrell. He was the first native of New England who received that honor ; though William Phips (see p. 129) had been knighted more than fifty years before. 132 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. rivers of the country, — the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi. To clinch their hold they built fort after fort, until by this date they had a line of sixty, extending from Quebec to the Great Lakes, and thence down the Illinois and the Mississippi to the Gulf.* Where many of those and succeeding forts stood, flourish- ing cities have since risen which still keep the old French 01 Indian names of Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis,^ Natchez, New Orleans. That shows the forethought of the French explorers. When they selected a spot to fortify, they seem to have thought not only of its military strength, but also of the possibilities of its growth as a centre of business and commerce. 138. The Ohio Company ; Governor Dinwiddle's Messen- ger. — But at last, after all the important points had passed into the hands of the French, the English began to open their eyes to the danger which threatened them. They saw that unless they bestirred themselves, and moved into the rich territory west of the Alleghanies, they would lose the heart of the continent. To pre- vent such a disaster a wealthy London merchant, with certain influential Virginians, organized the Ohio Company for planting a colony of emigrants on the east bank of the upper Ohio.^ The French at once resolved to stop the movement, and began a new line of forts, extending southward from Erie on Lake Erie to the point where the Alleghany and the Monongahela rivers unite to form the Ohio. That point at the head of inland navigation was with good reason called the " Gateway of the West." Both parties knew its importance ; both meant to seize and fortify it. Meanwhile Governor Dinwiddle of Virginia determined to send 1 See Map, page 126. 2 There were two forts named St. Louis ; that marking the site of the modern city of St. Louis was buiit by French emigrants after the war (1764), on territory then belonging to Spain. 8 The Ohio Company, whose chief manager, Lawrence Washington, died in the summer of 1752, received a grant of 500,000 acres on the east bank of the Ohio, between the Great Kanawha and the Monongahela rivers. The region is now em- braced bv West Virginia and Southwest Pennsylvania. GEORGE WASHINGTON. 1 33 a messenger to Venango, — one of the new line of French forts, — and warn off those whom he considered intruders.* Whoever undertook such a journey must travel at least three hundred miles on foot, climb a succession of mountain ranges, cross rivers, as best he could, and risk his life among hostile Indians. The governor, after due deliberation, finally decided to entrust this difficult and dangerous work to the brother of the late chief manager of the Ohio Company, a young man of twenty-one, who was a skilful surveyor, knew all about life in the wilderness, and did not know what fear meant. The name of that young man may still be read on a lofty limestone cliff in Virginia,^ where, when a lad, he climbed up higher than any of his companions dared, and cut it with his hunting-knife, — GEORGE WASHINGTON.^ 139. Results of Washington's Journey. — Washington per- formed the journey (1753), but the French commander sent back 1 The English maintained that they had purchased the Ohio Valley region of the Iroquois Indians, who declared that they had conquered it many years before. There is no evidence that the Iroquois had any right to sell the land. 2 At Natural Bridge, in the mountains of Western Virginia. The walls rise over two hundred feet, and it is exceedingly difficult and dangerous to climb them. 3 George Washington was born at Bridges Creek, Virginia, on the Potomac, about fifty miles south of where Washington now stands. His father, soon after the birth of George, removed to an estate on the Rappahannock opposite Fredericks- burg. Nothing remains of the old homestead at Bridges Creek; but a stone slab marks the site of the house, and bears this inscription : " Here, the nth of Febru- ary, 1732, George Washington was born." Difference of reckoning now makes the nth the 22d. Washington's great-grandfather, John Washington, emigrated from England to Virginia about 1657. It is generally thought that he belonged to one of the old Cavalier families that fought in behalf of Charles I. during the English Civil War. George Washington received a fair English education, but nothing more. He excelled in athletic sports and horsemanship, and was fond of life in the woods. He became a skilful surveyor, and found the work highly profitable. By the death of Lawrence Washington, an elder brother, George came eventually into possession of the estate at Mount Vernon, on the Potomac, a short distance below the pres- ent city of Washington. Washington's mission to the French commander at Venango first brought him into public notice. In 1759 he married Mrs. Martha Custis, a wealthy widow. From this time until his death, in 1799, he will stand prominent in this history. For a full account of Washington, see " Washington and His Country," Ginn & Co.. 134 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. an unsatisfactory reply to the governor. The expedition had^ however, two important results. In the first place, it may be said to have made Washington " a Western man," for the journey seems to have impressed him with the immense value and future growth of that region. In time he came to hold more lands there than any one else in the country ; and throughout his life he used his influence in every way to build roads and canals to open up and settle the West, or what was then known by that name. In the second place, the answer which Washington brought made it evident that if the Ohio Company was to hold its own, it must do so by force. The Company accordingly began a fort at the " Gateway of the West " ; but before they could complete it, the French drove them out, finished building it, and named it Fort Duquesne ^ in honor of the French governor of Canada. Wash- ington then began a small fort, which he called Fort Necessity, about forty miles south of Fort Duquesne ; but the French came in overwhelming force, and compelled him to surrender it. 1 Duquesne (Du-kane'). WASHINGTON BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. THE ALBANY CONVENTION. I3S 140. The Albany Convention ; Benjamin Franklin's Snake; General Braddock. — Matters now looked so serious that a convention of the Northern colonies met at Albany (1754) to consider what should be done. The Iroquois Indians, who were stanch friends of the English, sent some of their people to the convention, and warned the colo- nists that if they did not take up arms, the French would drive every Englishman out of the country. Benjamin Franklin, delegate^ from Pennsylvania, headed an appeal in his paper, the Pennsylvania Ga- zette^ with a rude woodcut, which told its own story. It represented the colonies in the form of a snake cut in pieces, with the motto, " Unite or die." Franklin furthermore proposed an excellent plan for banding the colonies together for self-protection, but it was not adopted.^ The next year (1755) England sent over General Braddock with a body of troops to drive the French out of the Ohio Valley. He was a good soldier, but did everything by rule. He and his men could fight any enemy that would meet them openly face to face ; but he did not know how to fight the French and Indians, whose plan was to hide in the forest, and fire from behind trees. Braddock might have got useful hints from either Franklin or Washington, but he scorned consulting men who had never been regularly trained in the European arts of war. 141 , Braddock's Defeat ; Washington. — He advanced from Alexandria, Virginia, across the mountains to attack Fort Du- quesne. Washington accompanied him. All went well until the British army had nearly reached the fort. Suddenly a savage yell 1 Delegate : a representative, a person sent to act for others. 2 Franklin's plan was rejected by the English government as too democratic (though the colonists thought it not democratic enough). Even then, the authori- ties in England " dreaded American union as the keystone of independence." Part of Franklin's plan was for the colonies to send representatives to the English Pariia- ment. 136 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. rose from the woods through which the men were marching, fol- lowed by a murderous volley of musket-shots which killed many. The English general did everything a brave man could to repel the attack, but it was useless. Both he and his army were simply " a living target to an unseen foe." A panic set in ; the men ran like sheep, and were shot down as they ran. Finally Braddock, who was himself mortally wounded, had to order a retreat. A few days later he died, and was secretly buried at night. Colonel Washington read the funeral service over his grave by torchlight. It was said in Virginia that Braddock lost the victory, but that Washington's coolness and courage saved the army. It was true ; for without Washington's aid the defeat would have become a massacre. An eminent Virginia clergyman, who preached on the disaster shortly afterward, said of Washington, that he believed that " Providence had saved him for some more important service to his country." 142. The Acadians ; Pitt and Victory ; Fort Duquesne ; the French driven to Canada. — In the course of the next two years the English took the French province of New Brunswick, and drove many thousands of Acadians, or French inhabitants of Nova Scotia, into exile.^ But up to 1758 the war languished. Then a great change took place. William Pitt, later known as Lord Chatham, had now become the chief councillor in the Eng- lish government. He was a man of immense energy, of spotless integrity, and one of the truest friends that America ever had. He sent fresh troops to fight for the colonists ; and, what was better, he seemed to inspire them with his own spirit. Louisburg was now retaken, never to be given back. Then a second ex- pedition was sent against Fort Duquesne. Colonel Washington took part in it as before. The fort was captured, and named Fort 1 Longfellow has made this exile of the 7,000 Acadians the subject of his famous poem of " Evangeline." Burke called the expulsion " an inhuman act," but recent investigation seems to show that the English were justified in driving out the French farmers, since they steadfastly refused to take the oath of allegiance to England, and meanwhile their sons were secretly fighting against her. FALL OF QUEBEC. 137 Pitt in honor of the distinguished statesman who had made the victory possible. To-day we know the place as Pittsburgh, the centre of the most extensive iron works in the United States. This victory gave the English the control of the Ohio country. Then, by the help of his _^, -r- -^==._^ Iroquois "braves," Sir "w^ - ^ ^ William Johnson of John- son Hall, New York,^ took Fort Niagara. Next, the French were compelled to give up Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point on Lake Champlain, and were driv- en back to Canada. Old Quebec. 143* Fall of Quebec; Pontiac^s Conspiracy. — The French had lost Fort Frontenac (Kingston), but they still held Quebec; and so long as they had possession of that formidable strong- hold, they could continue to threaten the American colonies. The fortress was built on a lofty rock, overlooking the St. Lawrence. It was rightly believed to be one of the strongest in the world ; in fact, the " Gibraltar of America." Montcalm, one of the ablest and noblest generals of France, held the fortress. General Wolfe, an English soldier of equal character and courage, undertook to wrest it from him. The death-struggle came in the autumn of 1759. In the terrible battle both commanders found the truth of the words, "The paths of glory lead but to the grave," ^ which Wolfe quoted to his brother officers on the eve of the contest ; for both were killed. They met death as only heroes can. The English general exclaimed when he heard that his men had gained 1 Johnson Hall, near Schenectady. Sir William and his son had unbounded influence over the Iroquois tribes, and at this period they used that influence for the advantage of the colonies. 2 Gray's " Elegy written in a Country Churchyard " 1749. " Gentlemen," said Wolfe to his ofiicers, " I would rather have written those lines than take Quebec." 138 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. the hard-fought field, " Now, God be praised, I will die in peace." The French leader, when told that he must soon breathe his last, said, " So much the better, I am happy that I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec." The fall of Quebec practically ended the war ; but four years later, Pontiac, chief of a Michigan tribe and friendly to the French, rose in revolt. He formed a secret league with other tribes, — the Iroquois refusing to join, — to drive the English from the whole Western country. A young Indian girl betrayed the plot to the commander of the fort at Detroit. Pontiac's attack failed, though many frontier settlers were massacred, and he himself was forced to beg for peace. It was the last general attempt on the part of the Indians to leconquer the land that the white man had taken from them. ^' 144. What the French and Indian War settled. — The fall of Quebec was a turning-point in American history. When Wolfe with his brave men chmbed the rocky heights back of that great fortress on a starlight autumn night of 1759, the whole West, from Quebec to the Mississippi and New Orleans, belonged to France. When the sun went down the following day, France had lost her hold on America forever. By the treaty of peace of 1 763 the French king gave up the whole of his possessions in this country to England. Of all the magnificent territory that he had held on this continent, nothing was left that he could call his own but two little barren islands off the coast of Southern Newfoundland ^ which the English permitted him to keep, to dry fish on. The war settled the fact that America was not to be an appen- dage of France, but was to become the home of the chief part of the English-speaking race. Spain had owned Florida since its discovery by Ponce de Leon ^ — more than two centuries and a half. She had fought on the side of France against England : now that France was defeated Spain was forced to give up Florida to Great Britain ; so that by the end of 1763 the flag of England and 1 Islands of Miquelon and St. Pierre. 2 gee Paragraph i8. THE THIRTEEN COLONIES IN 1763. 139 of the English colonies floated over the whole eastern section ot this continent, from the Atlantic to the great river of the West, with the single exception of New Orleans, which, with the Louisiana territory west of the Mississippi, was transferred by France to Spain. 145. Results of the Wars. — The long series of wars between the English and the French in this country accomplished four great results : i . They united the inhabitants of the colonies — especially of those north of the Carolinas — and inspired them with new strength. 2. They trained thousands of resolute men in the use of arms, and to face an enemy ; and thus, in a measure, pre- pared them for the war of Independence not many years distant. 3. By removing all danger of attack by the French they made the colonists feel less need of British protection. 4. They cleared the ground east of the Mississippi of rival and hostile forces, and so left it open for our ancestors to lay — when the right time should come — the corner-stone of the United States. General State of the Country in i 763. 146. The Thirteen Colonies in 1763; Growth of the Country; Number and Character of the Population. — I he growth of the colonies from the first settlements in 1607^ and 1620^ to the end of the French and Indian War had been slow but steady. When a gardener finds that a healthy young plant shows but little progress, he is not discouraged. He says cheerfully, " It is all right ; it is making roots, and will last the longer." For a century and a half the colonies had been " making roots," — getting that firm hold so necessary for the future growth of a free and powerful nation. In 1 763 ^ the entire population probably did not greatly exceed that of New York City now.'' Of this about one-sixth were negro 1 See Paragraph 47. 2 See Paragraph 73. 3 The date of England's treaty of peace with France. 4 No exact estimate of the population can be given, as the first census was not taken until 1790. It was probably about 1,800,000. 140 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. slaves; every colony had some, but by far the larger part were owned south of the Potomac. This population was nearly all east of the Alleghanies. West of those mountains the country was really a howling wilderness. The majority of the colonists — espe- cially in Virginia and New England — were English or of English descent. Next in number came the Germans in Pennsylvania/ the Dutch in New York,^ the Irish and Scotch-Irish ^ who had settled to some extent in all of the colonies, and finally, the de- scendants of the Huguenots, or French Protestants, most numerous in South Carolina.* ^ 147. Language ; Religion ; Social Rank ; Cities ; Trade. ? — Nearly all of the colonists spoke English, and nearly all were .^ Protestants.* Most of them had sprung from the same social class in the mother-country. A witty Frenchman of that day said that the people of England reminded him of a barrel of their own beer — froth on the top, dregs at the bottom, but clear and sound in the middle. It was from that energetic, industrious, self-respecting middle class that the greater part of the emigrants to this country came. In none of the colonies was there a titled aristocracy ». holding land, and established by law as in Europe. In Virginia, however, the great plantations were usually handed down to the eldest son after the English fashion. America had men of intel- ligence and wealth, but no lords ; she had learned and influential clergymen, but no bishops. Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and Charleston were the chief cities, yet even Philadelphia, then the largest, had only about twenty thousand inhabitants, and not one of these cities published a daily paper and did not until more than twenty years later.^ 1 See Note i, page 120. 2 gee Paragraph 61. 3 See Paragraph 94. 4 gee Paragraph 117. 5 The greatest number of Catholics were in Maryland ; there they may have constituted a fifteenth of the population. 6 The Boston A^ews Letter, 1704 (weekly), was the first regular newspaper pub- lished in America. The American Daily Advertiser, Philadelphia, 1784, is said to have been the first daily. GOVERNMENT OF THE COLONIES. I4I The foreign trade of the country was prosperous. The South exported tobacco, rice, indigo, tar, and turpentine ; the North, fish, lumber, furs, and iron. New England built and sold so many sailing-vessels that the ship-carpenters of Great Britain complained that the Americans were ruining their business. Manufactories were comparatively few. England treated her colonies in a broader and more generous spirit than any other nation in Europe, but she wished, so far as practicable, to compel the Americans to buy all their goods from her. On this account she refused to let them make so much as a yard of fine woollen cloth, an iron pot, or print a New Testament. The people of this country did not openly dispute this right, or supposed right, of the mother-country to restrict their trade ; but they smuggled goods, especially tea and other luxuries,- from Europe ; and the British custom-house officers pretty generally winked at the landing of such articles. 148. Government of the Colonies ; Law ; Unity of the People. — The colonies did not all have the same form of govern- ment. Connecticut and Rhode Island held charters,^ by which they practically managed their own affairs in their own way with- out interference of any sort. Eight of the remaining colonies^ were under a governor appointed by the king ; the three others, -Pennsylvania with Delaware,^ and Maryland were governed by their proprietors,^ the descendants of William Penn and of Lord Baltimore. All the colonies had legislative assemblies elected by the peo- ple ; by means of these assemblies they levied their own taxes and had the chief voice in making their own laws."^ In New England all matters of public interest were openly and fearlessly 1 See Note 3, page 24. 2 Massachusetts had a charter, but could make only such laws as her governor, appointed by the king, saw fit to approve. 3 gee Paragraph 122. 4 Proprietors : those to whom the land was originally granted. 5 The laws enacted by the colonial assemblies required the governor's approval, except in Rhode Island and Connecticut, where the people elected the governor and could legislate, if they chose, without his consent. 142 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. discussed in town-meeting; in Virginia, county meetings were held occasionally for the same purpose. Every white man had the right to trial by jury and to the protection given by the common law of England. The colonists, though loyal to the king, were full of sturdy inde- pendence of character. In 1775 some of them adopted a flag on which was a rattlesnake coiled ready to strike, and the words, " Don't tread on me " ; but they might have hoisted such colors just as well a dozen years before, for that flag expressed what their real spirit had always been. Though there was but little com- munication between the colonies, yet they were essentially one people, — they spoke the same language, they appealed for justice to the same general law, they held, with some few exceptions, the same religion. 149. Life among the Farmers. — Few of the colonists were very rich ; fewer still were miserably poor. The mass of the people lived simply but comforta- bly. The farm-houses were generally built of huge tim- bers covered with rough, unpainted clapboards, often with the upper story pro- jecting so that in case of an attack by Indians, the owner could fire down on the savages and give them a reception they would re- member. Usually the cen- tre of such houses was tak- en up by an immense open fireplace, so big that it was a fair question whether the chimney was built for the house or the house for the chimney. On a snapping cold night there was no more cheerful sight than such a fireplace piled up with blazing By the Fireside. LIFE IN THE CITIES. 143 logs, round which our forefathers and their sturdy families sat contentedly, watching the flames as they leaped up the chimney. But these roaring fires meant work. During the day the wood- chopper seemed to hear them forever crying " more, more," and if by ill-chance they went out at night, there were no matches to rekindle them. That had to be done by striking a spark with flint and steel, catching it on a bit of old half- burnt rag, and then blowing that spark to a flame. If we are tempted to envy our ancestors their cosy winter evenings, probably few envy them their winter mornings in case the fire failed to keep over. The cooking was done either over or before these open fires, or in huge brick ovens. The food was very simple, — often nothing more than mush and molasses for breakfast, — but there was plenty of it, and no lack of healthy appetite. The farmer bought little at the store. He raised his own food ; his sheep furnished wool, and his wife and daughters spun and wove it into stout " homespun " cloth. In such households there were few idle days, but many happy ones ; and for recreation the young people had sleighing parties, husking-bees,^ general-trainings,^ and other merry-makings. c!<;rMvy^' 150. Life in the Cities, and on the Great Virginia Plantations. — In the cities and large towns, and on the great plantations at the South, there was a good deal of luxury. The rich lived in stately mansions, furnished with solid oak and mahogany imported from England. Their tables shone with silver plate, and sparkled with costly wines. They owned their servants instead of hiring them. Gentlemen, The Good Old Times. 1 Husking-bees : at these gatherings the young people met to husk corn ; there was usually quite as much fun as work on such occasions. 2 General-trainings : meetings for military drill. They occurred once or twice a year, and were regarded as holidays. 144 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. when in full-dress, wore three-cornered cocked hats, long velvet coats, lace ruffles at their wrists, knee breeches,^ white silk stock- ings, and shoes with silver buckles. They kept their hair long, powdered it white, and tied it back in a twist or queue with a black silk ribbon. Ladies wore gowns of brocade^ and rich silk almost stiff enough to stand alone. They also powdered their hair, so that all people of fashion, whether young or old, looked stately and ven- erable. In general, life moved in somewhat the same stately way : there was no hurrying to catch trains, no flashing of telegrams from one end of the country to the other, no newsboy shouting daily papers, no instantaneous photographs, no pushing and hustling in overcrowded streets. On Sunday every one, or practically every one, went to church ; and, in New England, if a man was absent more than once without some very good reason, he was in great danger of making the acquaintance of the whipping-post. 151. Travel; Letters; Hospitality; Severe Laws. — Peo- ple seldom travelled. When they did, they generally preferred going by water if possible, in order to avoid the bad roads. But as such travelling was wholly in sailing-vessels, the time when a man reached his destination depended altogether on the wind, and the wind made no promises. Knowing this fact, some chose to go by land. To accommodate these venturesome people a lumbering covered-wagon ran once a week between New York _^^ and Philadelphia, travelling at the rate of about three miles an hour. Later (1766), an enterprising indi- vidual put on a wagon which actu- ally made the trip of ninety miles The "Flying Machine," , ■' . ^ r - m two days. On account of its speed it was advertised as the " Flying Machine " ; the cheaper * Knee breeches : breeches coming down to the knees ; before the introduction of trousers they were worn by men of all classes. 2 Brocade : cloth or stuff richly embroidered with raised flpwers or other figures in silk or gold and silver thread. HOSPITALITY. 145 conveyances, which did not "fly," took a day longer to make the journey. In the wet season of the year the passengers often worked their passage as well as paid for it, for they were fre- quently called on to get out and pry the wagon out of the mud with fence-rails. The expense of carrying the mails made postage so high that but few letters were written. These were rarely prepaid ; and as a charge of twenty-five cents on a single letter was not very uncom- mon, most persons preferred that their friends should think of them often but write to them seldom. Yet if people rarely wrote to each other and travelled but liule, they were quite sure of being hospitably entertained along the way when they did venture from home. This was especially the case in Virginia. The rich planters in that section considered a guest a prize. He brought the latest news and the newest gossip. It was no strange thing for a planter to send out one of his negroes to station himself by the roadside to watch for the coming of some respectable -looking stranger on horseback. Then the servant, smiling and bowing, begged him to turn aside and stop over night at his master's mansion. There he was sure to be treated to the best there was in the house ; and as no temperance society had then come into ex- istence, the best, both North and South, always meant plenty to drink as well as plenty to eat, followed perhaps by a fox-hunt, or some other sport, the next day. But if the times were hospitable, they were also somewhat rough and even brutal. A trifling offence would often send a man to the stocks for meditation, and something more serious to the pillory, where the passer-by might stop to pelt him with a handful of mud. In the Stocks. In the Pillory. 14^ LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. rotten apple, or something worse. Imprisonment for debt was an every-day occurrence, and criminals who committed highway rob- bery or murder were first paraded through the principal streets and then hanged in public. 152. Education ; Books ; Jonathan Edwards and Benjamin Franklin. — Most of the colonists, especially in New England, where free schools had long been established by law, could read and write fairly well ; and a small number, partieularly clergymen, were highly educated. Very few books were published, but the rich imported a stock of the best English authors, and, what is more, they read them. The two ablest American writers of that day were the Rev. Jonathan Edwards of Massachusetts^ and Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia. Edwards wrote his great work "On the Freedom of the Will" for that small number of readers who like a book that forces them to think as well as read. Not many can grasp Edwards' thought about the ''Will," but we can all understand how nobly he used his own will when he made these two resolutions : i. " 71? do whatever I think to be 7ny duty.^'' 2. ^* To live with all 7iiy inight while I do live^ Franklin's best-known work was his Almanac, commonly called " Poor Richard's Almanac," ^ which he published for many years. It was full of shrewd, practical wit and wisdom, and it suited a hard-working people. Men who had begun life with no help but such as they got from their own hands and their own brains liked to read such sayings as these : " Diligence is the mother of good lucky ^^ He that ca?i have patience can have what he will.'''' ^^ Heaven helps those who help themselves. '''' Thousands of young men read these maxims, put them into practice, and found their reward in the prosperity and independence to which they led. But Franklin did not confine himself to writing ; he was also greatly interested in scientific experiments. Everybody has no- 1 Edwards was born in Connecticut, but spent most of his life in Massachusetts. 2 Because Franklin represents a curious old fellow, whom he calls " Poor Rich- ard," as uttering the sayings which made the almanac famous. Franklin wrote his lamous "Autobiography" many years later (1790). 1/ BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. GENERAL SUMMARY. 147 ticed that the fur of a cat's back, when stroked vigorously the wrong way on a winter's night, will send out a multitude of 'electric sparks. Franklin asked himself, Are these sparks the same as the flashes of lightning seen in a tl^under-shower ? He resolved to find out. To do this he sent up a kite during a shower, and fastened a door-key near the end of the string. Touching his knuckle to the key he got an electric spark from it. This, and other experiments, convinced him that his conjecture was right ; electricity and lightning, said he, are one and the same thing. That discovery, simple as it now seems, made Franklin famous. When he went to England on business for the colonies he needed no introduction, — everybody had heard of the American who had found the key to the clouds and to electrical science as well. Even George III., though he heartily hated Franklin for his independent spirit, actually put up a bungling kind of Franklin Hghtning-rod — one with a ball instead of a point — on his palace in London. To-day we light our cities, propel our street-cars, ring our fire- alarms, and send our messages across continents and under oceans by this mysterious power. We owe the practical beginning of much of this to Franklin. He said, "There are no bounds . . . to the force man may raise and use in the electrical way." In view of what is now being done in this " electrical way," the words of the Philadelphia printer, philosopher, and statesman — written more than a hundred years ago — read like a prophecy. 153. General Summary. — The thirteen colonies were settled, mainly by the English, between 1607 and 1733, — Virginia was the first colony founded (1607), Massachusetts the second (1620), Georgia (1733) the last. During the closing seventy years of this period (1689-1763) the colonists were engaged nearly half of the time in a series- of wars with the French settlers in Canada, who had explored the West and claimed it for themselves. In these wars many Indian tribes (but not the Iroquois^) fought on the side of the French. The colonists, with the aid of England, 1 Iroquois : the Indians of New York. See Paragraph 42. 148 LEADING FACTS OF AM|:RICAN HISTORY. gained the victory, and thus obtained possession of the country from the Atlantic to the Mississippi. Up to that time (1763) the people had been growing in prosperity, in intelligence, and in the determination to maintain all those rights to which as English colonists they were justly entitled. AMERICAN COMMERCE. I49 IV. "' Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES." — Motion ??iade in the Continental Congress at Philadelpkia, jfune 7, 7776, by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, seconded by John Adams of Massachusetts. -•o*- THE REVOLUTION; THE CONSTITUTION. 1. THE COLONISTS RESIST TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION. 1764-1775. 2. THE COLONISTS MAKE WAR AGAINST ENGLAND IN DEFENCE OF THEIR RIGHTS AS ENGLISH SUBJECTS, 1775-JULY 4, 1776. 3. THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE, JULY 4, 1776-1783. 4. THE FORMATION AND- ADOPTION OF THE CONSTITUTION, 1787- 1788. 154. American Commerce ; the New King ; George III. ; how he interfered with Trade. — Up to the close of the war by which England had compelled the French to give up their hold on America the people of this country had prospered. During the war, and for a long time before it, the laws which forbade the colonists to trade with any country except Great Britain had not been enforced. The result was that the New Englanders had made a great deal of money by trading with the French and the Spanish West Indies — sending them lumber and fish, and bringing back molasses and sugar from the French islanders, and bags of silver dollars from the Spaniards. Now, all this profitable commerce was to stop. A new king — George HI. — had come to the throne in England. He was 150 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. conscientious but narrow-minded, obstinate, and at times crazy .^ The new government was determined that the old laws should be carried out. Ships of war were stationed along the American coast to stop free trade with the French and the Spaniards. In Boston and other large towns the king's officers began to break into men's houses and shops and search them for smuggled goods.^ They did not ask for proof of guilt ; they entered and searched when and where they pleased. New England saw her trade broken up. It began to look as though the king and his " friends " ^ meant to ruin every merchant and ship-builder in the country. James Otis and other leading citizens of Boston pro- tested, but it was useless. 155. The King proposes to tax the Colonies; Object of the Tax; Protest of the Americans. — This, however, was only the beginning of evil. The cost of the late war had been enormous and English tax-payers groaned at the thought of paying out any more money. But the king was determined to send at least ten thousand troops to America, to protect, as he said, the colonies against the Indians and the French. In order to raise money to pay these soldiers — whom the Americans did not want — George III. and his " friends " proposed an entirely new ^ ^^measure — that was to tax the people of this country. But the colonists believed that according to the principles of English law 1 The king had his first attack of insanity — a mild one — in 1765, while the Stamp Act was under discussion. In 1788 he felt that his mind was seriously affected ; bursting into tears, he exclaimed that " He wished to God he might die, for he was going mad." He soon became so. 2 The officers did this by general warrants called " Writs of Assistance." These were search-warrants in blank. In an ordinary search-warrant the person applying to the magistrate for it must swear that he has good reason for suspecting the person he accuses, and must have his name, and no other, inserted by the magistrate in the warrant. In the case of the " Writs of Assistance " it was entirely different. The officers wrote any name they pleased in the warrants, and then entered and rummaged the man's house from attic to cellar. Sometimes this was done purely out of spite. 8 Those who supported the kine in England were called the " King's Friends." I' •■: THE STAMP ACT. 151 the king had no just power to demand his people's money except by consent of the men whom they should elect to represent them in Parliament.^ The Americans had no such representa- tives, and, what is more, they were not permitted to send any. For this reason they protested against the tax as a direct and open violation of their rights. The best men in Parliament — such men as William Pitt^ and Edmund Burke — took the side of the colonists.^ Burke said that if the king undertook to tax the Americans against their will he would find it as hard a job as the farmer did who tried to shear a wolf instead of a sheep. 156. The Stamp Act. — But the king and his ''friends," with many others, thought that the Americans were Hke lambs and that they would stand any amount of shearing without once showing their teeth. Accord- ingly, Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765. That act required that the colonists should use stamps — resembling our post- age-stamps — on all important law and busi- ness papers, and also on pamphlets and newspapers. The stamps cost all the way from a half penny (one cent) up to ten pounds (fifty dollars). Such a law, if en- forced, would tax everybody in spite of him- self ; for every one would have to pay it when he bought a news- paper or an almanac, took out a policy of insurance on his house or made his will. 157. Resistance of the Colonists. — Benjamin Franklin,* who was in London as agent for the colonies when the law was pro- British Stamp. 1 The British ParHament, which sits in London, is to England what Congress is to the United States. It is a law that no tax shall be levied on the British people except by members of Parliament elected by the people as their representatives. 2 See Paragraph 142. 3 Pitt thought it was not right to tax America ; Burke thought it was not wise to do ~i,4^r^ / V y ^ — ^Z^rt^ ^Z.^'Tn^ FRANKLIN'S LETTER TO STRAHAN. ; s o y r 4 ^^ > ^4'^i^/lV s^ v^ S -. / ^ / v >^ ^ ^a^-x V- ~^,-i - -?~> "V. ^ v^ ^ c^ "N ' O^ fe'tS ^ ■.v^ WASiflNGTON KKTKKATS. 169 v,*Le Of MiL£* Cbtiry Vaffer destroyed the provisions Comwallis hoped to get for his army, and so delayed the enemy that it took them nearly three weeks (November 19 to December 8) to march less than seventy miles across a level country. Washington hoped to save Philadelphia from falling into the hands of the British. If he could not, and everything went against him, he intended to escape with his little army to the mountains of Western Virginia, which he knew per- fectly. There he could fight for years in the cause of liberty. Comwallis and his "red- coats" followed the retreat- ing Americans sometimes at a distance, then again close on their heels. There were times when the British would be entering a town just as our men were hurrying out of it. Many patriots began to despair of success. What, they asked, can we hope from a fugitive army of three thousand men, miserably armed, scantily clothed, half- fed, not paid? How can they escape their pursuers? Under any other general they could not have escaped ; but they had Washington for their leader; and he was the heart, strength, and soul of the Revolution. Finding that he could not hold New Jersey, he was forced at last (December 8, 1776) to cross the Delaware at Trenton. The British would have pushed on after him ; but the American general had thought of that, and had seized every boat for nearly a hundred miles up and down the river. All the British could do was to sit down on the bank and wait for the stream to freeze over. Not long after Washington had reached Pennsylvania in safety I/O LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. the false-hearted Lee crossed the Hudson and marched with four thousand men toward Morristown, New Jersey. While he was asleep in a tavern, several miles from his men, a squad of British soldiers surprised and captured him. His army thus fortunately rid of him, advanced and found an opportunity to join Wash- ington. 174. The Victory of Trenton. — On Christmas night (1776) Washington, with a force of less than twenty-five hundred men, re-crossed the Delaware — then full of floating ice — and marched on Trenton in a furious snow-storm. There he surprised a body of Hessian^ soldiers, and took a thousand prisoners and a large quantity of arms and ammunition. All this he did with scarce the loss of a man. It was not only a bold stroke, but a great victory, because it had great results. Thousands of patriots had begun to despair ; now their hearts leaped with joy. It was a Christmas long to be remembered. 175. What Robert Morris did for Washington. — But it was near the end of the year ; the time for which many of Wash- ington's men had enlisted would be out in a few days, and he needed money to get them to re-enlist. Congress had indeed tried hard to manufacture money. It had printed bills ^ by the wagon-load. But the poor soldiers, barefooted, half- starved, ragged and miserable, did not want what Congress offered them. They had left wives and children at home who were crying for bread, and Continental Money. ^ See note 3, page 163. 2 These bills were called " Continental Currency " ; they finally became utterly worthless, so that it was said of anything absolutely good for nothing that it was " not worth a Continental." CORNWALIIS O the men wanted to send ■' r They knew by sad experievi<_< ernment that had no silver just as much as any other < — and worth no more, Washington symp ithiz occasion he must h... j He wrote to his frier-d Philadelphia, implon-^ Morris set out on N. .' went from house to house, at last got the money. H was as good as another victo. 176. Cornwpllis outwitted ; V Quarters at Morristown ; comi and Steuben. — Ccmwallis, leaving New Jersey, hurried south to catch V/ash. between Trenton ard the Delaware. That i: eral went to sleep, certain that Washington How indeed could he hope co escape, with in:. ., „ front and a broad, deep river fill of floating ice behii^ Comwalhs told his brother officers that they would " hcg Uiv fox" in the morning. While the English general lay 01^:! -711. Washington like an " old fox " crept stealthily round him, and gu. to Princeton. In the battle there (January 3, 1777), the American advance force was driven back. Just then Washington ca 1 up. He saw that if beaten our army would be lost. CalHng o.-" his troops to follow him, Washington rode to within thirty yards of the British force, and stood facing the foe exposed to the fire of both sides. For some moments he was completely hidden from sight by the smoke of the battle. When it hfted both sides expected to find that he had fallen; but he was unhurt; not a bullet had touched him. Our men, inspired by the bravery of their commander, defeated the enemy with heavy loss to the '>F AMERICAN HISTORY. .J a and his little army made about Morristown, in north- A Wi'i'h ^ r:;^;;::;*ibany SCALE OF MILES 25 6U 100 IV e Washington out of his Ic, so he hurried back to at the Americans would k City. '• -"f 1777 at Morristown, .food fighting condi- it" ette, a French noble- ^r i. services to the cause le of Washington's generals, and nut only gave his services to tUe country, but equipped many of the men under his j jommand with arms and cloth- ing furnished at his own ex- pense. Lafayette brought with him Baron de Kalb, a German military veteran, who also be- came a general in the United States army. Later, Baron Steuben, a Prussian military en- gineer, joined the Americans and made himself of the great- est use in drilling and disciplin- ing our troops. 177. Burgoyne's Expedition ; Battle of Bennington. — In the summer of 1777 the British made a new movCo General Bur- goyne,^ who had gone to Canada, marched down with eight thou- sand picked men by way of Lake Champlain, and took Fort 1 See Paragraph 163. Burgoyne returned to England from Boston in the autumn of 1775. In June, 1776, he came over to America to serve under Sir Guy Carleton, the British commander of Canada. BATTLE OF BENNINGTON. 1/3 Ticonderoga. He then pressed forward to reach the Hudson, with the expectation that part of General Howe's army would meet him there. Meanwhile, another British expedition, starting from Oswego, was to raise a force of Iroquois Indians and unite with Burgoyne. Thus the three English armies expected to get the entire control of the state of New York and the Hudson River, and so carry out the favorite plan of cutting oif New Eng- land — " the head of the rebellion " — from the other colonies. The Oswego expedition accomplished nothing, but all went well with Burgoyne until he struck into the wilderness south of Lake Champlain. Then his troubles began. General Schuyler* broke down all the bridges, felled trees across the only road there was through the woods, and did everything to make Burgoyne 's life a burden to him. To add to his misfortunes, the British gen- eral's horses and provisions began to give out. He sent an expe- dition with a thousand men to Bennington, Vermont, to get more. Colonel John Stark,^ one of the heroes of Bunker Hill, with a small force, started to meet the enemy. Pointing to the '• red- coats," he said, " There they are, boys ; we beat them to-day or Molly Stark's® a widow." Mrs. Stark had no occasion to put on mourning ; for her husband, with his men, whipped the British (August 1 6, 1777) so badly that less than a hundred out of the thousand ever got back to Burgoyne. Washington called the victory a " great stroke." It was, indeed, for by weakening Bur- goyne's force, and preventing his getting provisions, it prepared the way for his final downfall. 178. Howe's Expedition to Pennsylvania; Battle of Brandywine ; Philadelphia taken j Battle of Germantown. — While these events were happening Howe started to march on Philadelphia. Washington had not men enough to meet 1 General Philip Schuyler of Albany, New York. 2 See Paragraph 40. 3 As Mrs. Stark's name was Elizabeth, this story has been called in question; but the fact remains that Stark thrashed the enemy. 174 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. SCALE OF MiLES L.- him in open fight, but he so worried him, and wasted his time, that the British general finally went back with his army to New York in disgust. He then started bv sea. Findinar that he could not go up the Delaware, which was fortified against him, he sailed south, entered Chesapeake Bay, and land- ing at the head of it, marched against Philadelphia. Wash- ington met him at Brandy- wine Creek, and tried to check his advance ; but Howe had a much stronger force, and the battle (Sep- tember II, 1777) delayed but did not stop the British. Two weeks later the enemy entered the citv which was then the capital of the Unit- ed States. Leaving a small force at Germanto\\'n, now a part of Philadelphia, Howe went do^\^l the Delaware to capture the forts and get possession of that river. While he was gone Washington attacked the British at Germantown, but was repulsed. He then fell back to the hills on the Schuylkill at Valley Forge, about twenty miles northwest of Philadelphia. 179. Saratoga; the ''Stars and Stripes"; Help from France. — Meanwhile, great events had happened in the North. Burgo\-ne had fought two battles in the neighborhood of Saratoga (1777),^ had been utterly defeated, and his entire army, number- ing about six thousand men, captured. If to this num.ber we add 1 The first battle was at Bemis Heights, between Saratoga Lake and the Hudson, September 19 ; the second, at Stillwater, south of the Heights, October 7. Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga, October 17 (1777). See Map on page 172. CAPTURE OF BURGOYNE. I75 that of the prisoners taken by us before the surrender, and the loss of the enemy at Bennington,* it will give a total of nearly 10,000 — or about one-third the entire British force then in America.^ The captured army was marched off by the American officers triumphantly bearing the "stars and stripes,"^ which had just been adopted as our national flag. General Gates * got the credit of the victory; but Benedict Arnold, and Daniel ISIorgan^ with his sharpshooters, were the men who really won it, partly by gallant fighting, and partly by cutting off all supplies from the enemy, and at last literally star\'ing them into a surrender. In the wars of over twenty centuries an eminent English writer finds only fifteen battles that have had a lasting influence on the world's history. The American victory at Saratoga, he says, was one of them.^ It had indeed these two immense re- sults : I. It completely broke up the English plans for the war. 2. It secured for us the aid of England's old and powerful enemy, France. Some time after the victory, Lafayette received letters from Paris. When he had read them he ran to Washington, and embrac- ing him with tears of joy, cried out, "The King, my master, has 1 See Paragraph 177. 2 The estimates of Burgoyne's loss vary from about 6000 at Saratoga to a total (for his entire campaign in New York) of 14,000. 3 The first United States flag (adopted by Congress, June 14, 1777) having the stars and stripes, was made, it is said, out of a soldier's white shirt, an old blue army overcoat, and a red flannel petticoat. It was hoisted by our army at Fort Stanwix (near Rome), New York, during Burgoyne's campaign in 1777. Paul Jones appears to have first raised this flag at sea. The flag raised by Washington at Cambridge when he took command of the army was the English flag with thirteen red and white stripes added. In the flag adopted by Congress the stars represent all the states ; the stripes, the first thirteen states. 4 General Gates, like General Charles Lee (see Paragraph 172), was born in Great Britain, and had served in the English army. He appears to have taken no direct part in these battles ; in fact, he was not actually on the field in either. 5 Daniel Morgan of Virginia. He commanded a force of five hundred picked riflemen — "sharpshooters" — with aim so accurate that it was humorously said that any one of them could toss up an apple and shoot all the seeds out of it as it fell. The enemy who had to face these riflemen never disputed the story. 6 " The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World," by Sir Edward S. Creasy. 1/6 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. acknowledged the independence of America, and will sign a treaty to help you establish it." It was true. Men are always willing to help those who show that they are able to help them- selves. We had shown it, and now France held out her hand to us. The next year (February 6, 1778) Benjamin Franklin, our minister ^ at Paris, obtained the treaty or agreement by which the French king pledged himself to send us men, ships, and money to complete the war. Franklin and Washington were, in fact, the two great men who carried the war through to final success : Washington by destroying enemies, Franklin by gaining friends ; Washington by the sword, Franklin, like Morris, with the purse .-^ 180. Summary. — The war of Independence began with the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. In the first battle, that of Long Island, the Americans were defeated. Washing- ton retreated across the Delaware, but returned and gained the brilliant victory of Trenton. Howe took Philadelphia ; but shortly after, the Americans captured Burgoyne and his whole army at Saratoga ; in consequence of that success France recognized the independence of America, and pledged herself to help us fight our battles by land and sea. 3. The War of Independence : from the Treaty with France TO the End of the War, i 778-1 783. 181. Washington at Valley Forge, Winter of 1 777-1 778 ; Peace offered ; Howe leaves Philadelphia. — But though the great victory of Saratoga filled the land with joy, yet the winter which followed was a terrible one. While Howe and his officers were living luxuriously in Philadelphia, Washington's men, " naked and starving," were dying of putrid fever on the frozen hillsides 1 Minister : see note 3, page 185. Franklin lent all his ready money — about fifteen thousand dollars — to the country, to fight the battles of the Revolution, and lent it when everything looked against us. His influence got us a gift from France — nearly two million dollars — and a loan of over three million dollars more. Thus he used his own purse and the purse of the French king to help us. BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 1/7 of Valley Forge. They were dying, too, before the good news could reach them — for news from Europe travelled very slowly in those days — that the French king would certainly aid America. But the next spring (1778) England, alarmed at the action of France in taking our part, offered us peace, representation in Par- liament — anything, everything in fact, but independence. But it was independence that we were fighting for, and the offer was rejected. Fear of the approaching French fleet now compelled the British ^ to abandon Philadelphia and start for New York. 182. Battle of Monmouth ; Lee's Disgrace ; Indian Mas- sacres ; Clark's Victories in the West. — Fifteen thousand of the Enghsh forces were to go by land across New Jersey. Now was Washington's opportunity. With about the same number he followed them up sharply. A battle was fought at Monmouth (June 28, 1778). It would have ended in a brilliant victory for our side, if General Charles Lee,^ who unfortunately had come back to us,^ had done his duty. He acted like a lunatic or a traitor. Washington sternly rebuked him, and shortly after ordered him to withdraw from the battle and go to the rear. Later, Lee was tried by court-martial "* for disobedience and misbehavior, and suspended from the army ; eventually Congress dismissed him in disgrace, and in disgrace he died. Monmouth^ was the last battle of note fought on northern soil. The British forces had now returned to New York and vicinity. Washington, with his army stretched out from Morristown, New Jersey, to West Point on the Hudson, watched them day and night. 1 During the winter General Howe resigned. His brother, Lord Howe, resigned the next summer (1778). Sir Henry Clinton succeeded General Howe in com- mand of the army (May, 1779,) and Admiral Byron succeeded Lord Howe in com- mand of the British fleet. 2 See Paragraph 173. 3 While Lee was a prisoner, the Enghsh government thought of hanging him as a deserter from their army. Washington saved him from the gallows — it was one of the few mistakes that great man ever made. 4 A court composed of military officers. 5 Monmouth : see Map, page 174. 178 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. During the summer and autumn horrible Indian massacres were committed by bands of ferocious Iroquois led by Tory^ cap- tains at Wyoming, Pennsylvania, and Cherry Valley, New York \ there were also towns attacked and burned to ashes along the coast; but no great battle was fought. In the West, Captain George Rogers Clark of Virginia by his resolute bravery drove the British out of Illinois and later from Indiana, thus securing that immense region to the United States. It began to look as though the British were losing their grip on America. 183. The British attack the South; Savannah taken; Wayne's Victory; Paul Jones. —The enemy now transferred the war to the South. Their plan was to begin at Georgia, and conquer northward. Then, in case the English government was forced to make peace, they hoped to be able to keep the southern territory — King George was prudent : " Half a loaf," said he to himself, "is better than none." The last of the year (December 29, 1 778) an expedition attacked Savannah. The British had three men to our one ; they took the city. The next year (i 779) there was a lull. The British had got possession of the fort at Stony Point,^ in the Highlands of the Hudson. So long as they held it, our men could not cross the river at King's Ferry — then the prin- cipal crossing-place between New England and the southern states. "Mad Anthony Wayne," ^ under Washington's direction, stormed and took the fort (July 15, 1779), at midnight, at the point of the bayonet — never firing a shot during the battle. The capture of the fort stopped the British plans for ravaging Connecticut. They found that they must use all their forces to hold the Hudson. The next autumn brought glorious news. Captain Paul Jones,* the first man to hoist an American flag over an American war- 1 See Paragraph 165. 2 Stony Point : see Map, page 174. 3 General Anthony Wayne of Pennsylvania. He was called " Mad Anthony Wayne " on account of his daring. ■* Paul Jones was by birth a Scotchman. He entered the American service in 1775. His name was originally John Paul. CHARLESTON TAKEN. 179 ship, had, with the help of Benjamin Frankhn, fitted out three or four vessels in our defence. With three, one of them a half- rotten old hulk, he boldly attacked and captured two British men-of- war. The fight took place on the North Sea, off' Flamborough Head on the English coast. After that most humiUating defeat England still boasted that she was "mistress of the seas";^ but the boast was in a lower tone : if Paul Jones had only had a few more ships, he would have made the tone a whisper. 184. The British take Charleston ; Marion and Sumter^s Mode of Fighting. — In the spring (1780) the war in the South was renewed with vigor. The British took Charleston (May 12, 1780), and Lord Cornwallis held the city. But Marion^ and Sumter, with their bands of resolute men armed with a few guns, and weapons made of old scythes and saw-blades, did good service in the American cause. When the British forces went out to conquer the country, the Carolina patriots attacked them as the mosquitoes of Alaska attack a bear. They buzz, sting, retreat ; advance, buzz, sting; till at last the unwieldy brute, with eyes swollen so that he can no longer see, wanders around helpless, and dies of starvation. 185. Loss of Camden; Victory at King^s Mountain. — The next point at which the British aimed was Camden,^ South Caro- lina — a great centre for roads, and hence of much importance from a military point of view. General Gates with General De Kalb endeavored to prevent the enemy from getting possession of the place. A battle was fought (August 16, 1780) in which Gates 1 See Paragraph 117. 2 Camden : see Map, page 181. l80 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. was compelled to retreat, losing artillery and baggage, and nar- rowly escaping capture himself. But while Cornwallis was chuckling over his victory, the back- woodsmen of this part of the country, sharpshooters, every man, attacked a British force at King's Mountain (October 7,1780), on the borders of North and South Carolina, and gave a decided check to the enemy's further advance. 186. Arnold's Treason ; the Terrible Winter at Morris- town. — Meanwhile (September 22, 17S0), the most starthng and the saddest event of the Revolution occurred. Benedict Arnold, Washington's trusted friend, commander at West Point, had turned traitor. The discovery was made through the arrest of Andre,^ a British spy by whom Arnold attempted to send a plan of the fort to the British commander at New York. Andre was tried and hanged, but Arnold escaped to the British army. Later, the traitor led an attack on Richmond, Virginia, and burnt it, and, last of all, one on New London in his native state of Connecticut. Arnold died in London twenty years later. It is said that the last request he made was that the epaulettes and sword-knot which Washington had given him might be brought. " Let me die," said he, **'in my old American uniform, in which I fought my battles. God forgive me for ever having put on any other ! " The gloom of Arnold's awful act of treason seemed to be reflected in the American camp at Morristown in the terrible winter (i 780-1 781) which followed. In some respects it was worse even than that at Valley Forge : and the men, unpaid, half-fed, freezing, were driven to desperation and partial revolt. 187. Greene's Campaign in the South ; Cornwallis leaves the Carolinas. — But it was the gloom that precedes the dawn. General Nathanael Greene of Rhode Island had been placed in command at the South. Next to Washington he was by far the 1 Andre (^An'dray). GREENE S VICTORIES. i8i ablest soldier in the Revolution. With a little force that seemed, as he said, but " the shadow of an army," he accomplished wonders. Early in the year (January 17, 1781) a part of Greene's men, led by Morgan,' gained the battle of Co^vpens, South Carolina. SCALE OF MILES 1—1 I I — 11 v'j 4Li i;o Then Greene, who was master of the game he was now playing, retreated toward Virginia, thus drawing Cornwallis, who followed him, further and further away from his supplies at Charleston. But the American general had many anxious days during this retreat, and often the chances of success seemed wholly against him. On one such occasion he reached Steele's tavern at Salisbury after midnight and wet to the skin with the heavy rain that had fallen all day. Steele looked at him in astonishment and asked if he was alone. "Yes," answered the general, "tired, hungry, alone, and pen- niless." Mrs. Steele heard his reply; she made haste and set i See Paragraph 179. l82 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. a smoking hot breakfast before the weary, despondent soldier. Then she carefully shut the door, and drawing two bags of sil- ver from under her apron she held them out to her guest. " Take these," said she, " you need them and I can do with- out them." It was such noble-hearted women as Mrs. Elizabeth Steele who helped our men to keep up heart to the end. The honor shall be theirs so long as history lasts. At Guilford Court House, North Carolina, Cornwallis defeated the Americans (March 15, 1781), but he himself lost so heavily that he could not hold his ground, and had to retreat to Wilming- ton, North Carolina. He arrived there (April 7, 1781) in miserable plight, having lost about half of his small army by battle, sickness, or desertion. At Wilmington Cornwallis found, as he expected, some provisions and military supplies which a British expedition from Charleston had landed there ; but he also found what he did not expect,jhat was, news that Greene had suddenly gone back to attack the Eng- lish force under Lord Rawdon left at Camden, South Carolina. He was in no condition to wheel about and follow Greene. What, then, should he do ? He turned that question over and over in his mind ; finally he decided that his best plan was to march northward to Petersburg, Virginia. There he hoped to unite with the British force, conquer the state, and then go back and reconquer the ground he had lost. 188. Greeners Campaign in South Carolina. — He started on his long march of 200 miles. Meanwhile Greene, with the aid of Marion, Sumter, and Pickens, had driven the British from Camden (May 10, 1 781). Then through the summer he struck the enemy blow after blow, and ended with a battle, which was practically a victory, at Eutaw Springs, South Carolina (September 8, 1781). After that the British — what there was left of them — fled to Charles- ton, shut themselves up there, and did not venture out. Greene had in fact won back the Carolinas ; and he had won them, thanks "^ CORNWALLIS SURRENDERS. I«3 to the help given by Marion, Sumter, and Pickens, with an army which did not number more than about two thousand men. To ac- compHsh much with small means is a sure sign of greatness. Greene had done this, and Washington was the man who taught him. 189. The Crowning Victory of the War. — Cornwallis reached Virginia, and after vainly pursuing Lafayette and destroy- ing millions of dollars' worth of property he entered Yorktown, on a narrow peninsula at the mouth of the York River. He went there not because be wanted to, but because he must. Cornwallis had been chasing Lafayette ; he boastingly said, " The boy can- not escape me." But " the boy," Lafayette, with a larger army had turned round and began chasing him. CornwaUis retreated to Yorktown (July 30,. 1781) to get help by sea from New York. There the British general fortified himself. He did not know it, but he was building his own prison — one that he would never get out of except by surrender. While he was waiting for soldiers to arrive from New York a French fleet of war-ships under Count de Grasse ^ was coming to block him in. Now was Washing- ton's chance to strike a tremen- dous blow. His plan was to march rapidly south from the Hudson to Yorktown, and with the help of the French fleet on one side and of Lafayette and his army on the other capture Cornwallis with his whole force. Such a move required a large amount of money for provisions, pay, and powder. Robert Morris^ came to the rescue and is said to have furnished nearly a million and a half of dollars for the good work. 1 De Grasse (Deh Grahss). ^ See Paragraph 175. Prof. Sumner thinks that Morris furnished means of transportation and subsistence but not money. SCALE OP MILES 50 ]UU 150 184 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY, Clinton, at the head of the British force in New York, thought Washington was getting ready to attack him. Washington en- couraged him to think so. He went on making every possible preparation for moving against New York. Even Washington's own army supposed that was his intention. When at length every- thing was ready Washington suddenly broke camp and marched his entire force with all possible speed across the country to the head of Chesapeake Bay and thence by vessels to Yorktown. Cornwallis looked over the walls of his fortified town. He saw the French fleet on one side, and the American army, sixteen thousand strong, on the other. He held out manfully for more than a week against solid shot, shell, red-hot balls. Then seeing that it was useless to struggle against fate he surrendered. His army marched out October 19, 1781, to the tune of "The World's Up- side Down " — it was true ; the British world in America was "up-"* side down," and the fall of Yorkto\\Ti practically ended the war of the Revolution. Washington had conquered. It was "the victory of a great and good man in a great and good cause." When the news reached London and was announced to Lord North, then the prime minister^ of the British government, he threw up his arms as though a cannon-ball had struck him, cried out wildly, " It is all over ! " and then resigned his office. 190. Summary of the Revolution. — The king of England insisted on taxing the American colonies without their consent. The Americans refused to pay, and took up arms in defence of their rights as loyal English subjects. The king and his party endeavored to put down the rebelhon ; and on July 4, 1776, the colonists declared themselves independent of Great Britain. The war for independence then began. At Saratoga, in 1777, the Americans gained a great victory over Burgoyne. In conse- quence of that victory the king of France acknowledged the independence of the United States, and sent money, ships, and men to fight in our behalf. 1 Prime minister : the king's chief adviser. GEORGE III.'S SPEECH. 1 85 In 1 78 1, Washington, with the help of the French ships of war, defeated Cornwalhs at Yorktown, and took him prisoner with all his army. That decisive victory practically ended the Revolution, and not long after, the British gave up the contest. 191. George III.*s Speech on the United States; Eng- land makes a Treaty of Peace with us ; the King's Meeting with John Adams. — At the opening of Parhament^ (17S2), the king, in a voice choked with emotion, announced that he was ready to acknowledge the independence of the United States. He closed his speech by saying that it was his earnest prayer that ' rehgion, language, interest, and affection might prove a bond of permanent union between the two countries.' A final treaty of peace between Great Britain and this country was signed at Paris in 17S3.- It secured to us the thirteen states, with JNIaine, and the territory west of them to the Mississippi.^" Our first minister^ to England was John Adams of Massachusetts. The king said to him, *' Sir, I will be very free with you. I was the last to consent to the separation, but the separation having been made ... I have always said, as I say now, that I would be the first to meet the friendship^ of the United States as an independent power." '^ 192. The American States Independent but not really United ; Congress destitute of Power. — But though America had won her independence, she had not secured harmony and union. While the war lasted the states fought like brothers, side by side ; now that tlie danger was over, they threatened to fall apart. We were hke a barrel made of thirteen stout staves, but 1 See note i. page 151. 2 The Revolution, from its first outbre;vk at Lexington (April 19, 1775) to the fin;U disbanding of the army (April 19. 17S3), lasted just eight yeai-s to a day. s In all, the treaty secured to us something over Soo.ooo square miles of territory. •♦ Minister: here the word means a person sent on public business by one government to another. 6 Later, however, the king treated Mr. Adams very coldly. 6 " Power " is here used for nation 01 people. , 1 86 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. yet without a single hoop to hold us together. Under the Articles of Confederation of 1781 the nation had no President — no head. It had only a Congress, and that Congress was destitute of power. It might pass good and useful laws, but it could not compel the people to obey them. It might beg the people to give money, but it could not make them furnish it. It might ask for soldiers to defend the country, but it could not draft ^ them. 193. Distressed Condition of the Country; Jealousy of the States; Lack of Freedom of Trade. — The truth is, that the people had come out of the war in a distressed condition. They were heavily in debt. Business was at a standstill. Gold and silver coin was scarce. The states had an abundance of paper stuff which pretended to be money, but nobody knew what it was worth, and what passed for a dollar in one state might not pass at all in another. Distress and discontent grew worse and worse. The states quarrelled with each other about boundary lines, about commerce, about trade. Instead of being a united and friendly people, they were fast getting to be thirteen hostile nations ready to draw the sword against each other. This feeling was shown in the fact that a man could not buy and sell freely outside of his own state. If, for instance, a farmer in New Jersey took a load of potatoes to New York, he might have to pay a tax of five or ten cents a bushel to that state before he could offer them for sale. On the other hand, if a New York merchant sent a case of boots to New Jersey to sell to the farmers, that state might, if it chose, tax him ten cents a pair before he could get a permit to dispose of his goods. 194. ** Shays' Rebellion.*' — The people of Massachusetts were perhaps more heavily loaded with debt than those of any other state. It is said that they owed on the average two hundred dollars apiece. They were willing to pay, but could get nothing to pay with. When great numbers of poor people were sued and 1 Draft : to compel men, chosen by lot, to do military service. THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. I87 « thrown into prison, multitudes became desperate. In the western part of the state Daniel Shays raised an army of nearly two thousand excited farmers. They surrounded the court-houses at Worcester and Springfield, and put a stop to all lawsuits for debt. It was not until a strong military force was sent out against them that the " rebellion " was finally quelled, and Shays compelled to fly to New Hampshire. 195. The Northwest Territory. — The most powerful influ- ence which kept the nation from dropping to pieces wa? ih' >■. fact that the states had an interest in the Northwest Terriiorv;'* Up to the middle of the Revolution, seven of the thirteen states claimed the country west of them as far as the Mississippi River.^ '■ Four of these states, — New York, Virginia,* Massachusetts, and Connecticut, — claiming land northwest of the Ohio River to the Mississippi, agreed (i 780-1 786) to give it to the United States to be disposed of for the common good. In 1787 Congress made an ordinance or body of laws for the government of this Northwest Territory. That ordinance forbade the holding of slaves in the territory (^though it made provision for returning fugitive slaves wno should escape to that region), and granted entire religious freedom to every settler. The states believed that Congress could sell lands in that vast region, — now forming the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Eastern Minnesota, — and thus get money to pay off the war debt of the Revolution.^ That belief helped to hold the country together. 1 The seven states were Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia (but the claim of New York to a part of this territory rested on alleged treaties with the Iroquois Indians, and the other states did not regard it as well established). The remaining six states, of the thir- teen, had western boundaries that were practically fixed, and hence they could not directly claim any part of the territory, but they, of course, would have an interest in it — that is, in the result of the land sales — if the nation held together as one whole. For the Northwest Territory, see Map, page 187. 2 It was provided that new states, of equal standing with the original thirteen, should be formed in this northwestern territory as soon as there was sufficient population in that region. * Virginia giving by far the greatest part. l88 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 196. The New Constitution. — Still, even with this hope to brighten the sky, the outlook was dark enough. Washington, Franklin, Madison, Hamilton — in a word, the ablest men of that day — thought the prospect anything but encouraging. It seemed to them that unless something was done promptly the new-born republic was likely to die in its cradle. At last (1787), a convention of fifty-five members was held in Philadelphia to make a new Constitution ^ — one that should " form a more perfect union." ^ Washington presided at this con- ention,"and a majority of the state legislatures sent their chief '"K-.n to take part in it. The convention held a secret session of !;^arly four months, and had many stormy debates before the arti- ci'js of the new Constitution could be agreed upon. At one time i*'ranklin and other eminent men nearly despaired of any success- ful result. At last the great work was accomplished,^ and the 1 That is, a new set of laws for the government of the whole nation adopted in place of the Articles of Confederation. See p. 186 and appendix, p. vi ; and see p. 97. 2 See the opening words of the Constitution, page vi (following this history). 3 The first important question of debate was between the delegates from the small states and those from the large ones in regard to representatior'"r Congress. If the representation rested wholly on population then the large states wou..., ^[ course, have entire control. It was finally agreed that Congress should consist of two houses: i The House of Representatives chosen by the people of the different states and representing them. 2. The Senate, or Upper House, consisting of two members from each state. (See the Constitution, page vii, Section 3, Paragraph i.) In the Senate, therefore, the small states stand equal to the large ones. This arrangement satis- fied all. The second great question was whether slaves should be counted in reckoning the number of the population with reference to representation in Congress. The North insisted that they should not ; the South (where slaves were very numerous) that they should. The contest on this point was long and bitter. Finally it was agreed that three-fifths of the slaves should be counted with reference to both rep- resentation and taxation (though the slaves themselves were of course neither represented nor taxed). (See the Constitution, page vii. Section 2, Paragraph 3.) " Three-fifths of all other persons:' These *' other persons " were slaves. The last question was in regard to commerce and to protection of slaveholders. It was agreed that Congress should have the entire control of commerce (the states had had it before). (See the Constitution, page ix, Section 8, Paragraph 3.) In regard to slaves none were to be imported into the United States after 1808. THE CONSTITUTION. 189 )nstitution was adopted. After the convention had accepted the w Constitution, it was sent to the different states to be voted on by the people.^ Many of the people were strongly op- isedtoit. They thought gave the national gov- nment too much power, it in time all of the ites decided to adopt The man who did e most to convince them the wisdom of such a )urse was Alexander amilton of New York, hen the city of New Drk celebrated the adop- )n of the Constitution [788) a ship on wheels presenting the " Ship of ;ate," or the Union,^ was rawn through the streets ■/ ten milk-white horses, uamilton's name was ainted in large letters on le platform upholding le vessel. The "Ship of State." ;ee the Constitution, page x, Section 9, Paragraph i; these slaves are called ;uch persons," The word slave does not occur in the Constitution.) It was also ;reed that runaway slaves should be returned to their owners. (See the Consti- tion, page xiv, Article IV., Section 2, Paragraph 3, " No person [i.e. slave] held service," etc.) If the compromise between the small states and the large, and the North and DUth, had not been made, the Constitution would have been rejected, and we lould in all probability have split up into two or three hostile republics. 1 Delegates voted in state conventions called by the legislatures. 2 See Longfellow's " Buildii;ig of the Ship," last part, lines beginning — " Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State! Sail on, O Union, strong and great! " 190 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 197. What the Constitution did for the Country. — The Constitution accomplished these four chief objects : i. It gave the nation a head — the President of the United States — whose duty it is to see that the laws are executed.^ 2. It gave Congress power to raise money by taxation to carry on and defend the gov- ernment.^ 3. It gave every citizen of the United States equal rights in all the states, with liberty to buy and sell in all parts of the country. Thus entire freedom of trade was secured through- out the Union.^ 4. It established the Supreme Court of the United States, to decide all questions and disputes about the powers of the national government.* A few years later ten very important amendments were added to the Constitution.^ They were called a " Bill of Rights." They secured still further protection to the rights and Hberties of the people. For this reason many who had strongly opposed the origi- nal Constitution now gave it their hearty support. 198. Summary. — The Revolution made us an independent people ; the Constitution completed the work by making us a united people — a true American nation. Now, to use the words of John Adams, ' the thirteen clocks all struck together.' 1 Constitution, p. xi (II., i). 3 Constitution, p. x (9, Pars. 5, 6). '^ Constitution, p. ix (8, Pars, i, 12). ^ Constitution, p. xiii (III., 1, 2). s Amendments to the Constitution, p. xvi. Map showing the Westward Movement of Population in the United States from !790 to 1890, inclusive. (See Note 2 on page 194.) NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. IQl V. , "This government, the offspring of your own choice, . . . adopted upon full investigation and mature deliberation, completely free in its principles, . , . and containing, within itself, a provision for its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence and respect." — President Washington's Fare- well Address to the People of the United States, Septet7iber ly, ijgt. THE UNION. — NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. — 1 789-1 §60. * ' George Washington. 199. Political Parties; Washington elected President (Two Terms, 1 789-1 797) ; his Inauguration; and Admin- istration.^ — There were now two poHtical parties in the United States : the Federalists ^ who had voted for the adoption of the Constitution ; and the Anti- Federalists^ who had voted against it. The first party beUeved that the country needed a strong govern- ment, — one able to make its power respected both at home and abroad ; the second party thought such a strong government danger- ous to the liberties of the people, and wished the chief power to be exercised by the different states. In the course of time this last class came to be known as the Democratic party ; ^ while the Fed- eralists were succeeded by the Whigs,^ and later by the Republicans. 1 Administration: presidency. 2 Federalists {from /(vdus, a Latin word, meaning a league or union), those who supported the union of states formed by the Constitution. 3 Anti-Federalists (from the Latin words anti, against, and fcedus, league or union), those opposed to the Constitution until it was amended ; see page 190. 4 The Democratic party was at first called Republican, or Democratic-Republi- can. Eventually the name got shortened to its present form. Care should be taken not to confound the early Republican (or Democratic) party with the modern Re- publican party which did not come into existence until 1856. 5 After the Federal party expired (between 1815 and 1825), it was succeeded by one called the National Republican; this was followed in 1835 by the Whig party, and this in 1856 by the present Republican party. 192 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Both parties united in electing Washington to be the first Presi- dent of the United States (1789-1793) j and when, at the end of four years, his term of office expired, they again united to re-elect him (i 793-1 797). In both cases John Adams was chosen Vice- President. New York City was then the capital of the country,^ and Washington was to be inaugurated^ there on March 4 (1789) the day the new Constitution went into operation ; but the ceremony was delayed until April 30. The President took the oath of office,^ standing on the balcony of a building in front of Federal Hall,^ the hall where Congress met, in the presence of an immense multitude. There, amidst ringing of bells and firing of cannon, a great shout went up : " Long live George Washington, President of the United States ! " 200. Washington's Cabinet ; how the Government raised Money. — Washington chose five eminent men to aid him in the discharge of his presidential duties. They were Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence ;* Alexander Ham- ilton ; ^ General Henry Knox ; ''' Edmund Randolph ; ® and John 1 By Act of Congress the national capital was established at Philadelphia from 1790 to 1800. In 1800 it was permanently located at the city of Washington, on land given for that purpose by the states of Virginia and Maryland. 2 Inaugurated : introduced into office (made President) with solemn and appro- priate ceremonies. 3 The following is the oath taken by the President: "/ do solemnly swear [or affirni) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States; and, to the best of my abMity, preserve^ protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." 4 Federal Hall (the old City Hall) : it stood on the northeast corner of Wall and Nassau streets, on ground now occupied by the United States Sub-Treasury Building. 6 Thomas Jefferson was appointed Secreta/y of State ; his duties were to attend to the foreign business and relations of the government. 6 Alexander Hamilton of New York (see Paragraph 196) was appointed Secre- tary of the Treasury. ■* General Knox of Massachusetts (see Paragraph 165) was appointed Secretary of War. * Edmund Randolph ol Virginia was appointed Attorney- General; his duty was to give the government advice in law matters. PAYING OUR JUST DEBTS. I93 Jay.^ The first four were members of the President's Cabinet, or private council. These men did not all agree with Washington in political matters j but they all reverenced him, and they were ready, Hke him, to do their utmost to promote the welfare and prosperity of the country. The new government had no money ; but a government can no more hope to live and pay its bills without money than you or I can. In order to obtain funds. Congress (1789) imposed a duty or tax on all foreign ships and on many foreign goods entering our ports. Thus, if a French vessel of six hundred tons loaded with wine came into New York, the owners would have to pay a duty of fifty cents a ton — or three hundred dollars on the vessel, and eighteen cents a gallon on the wine. Other articles, such as tea, silk, and sugar, were charged different rates. 201. Paying our Just Debts. — By this duty, or revenue-tariff, as it was called, a very large amount of money was obtained. Ham- ilton, who was Secretary of the Treasury, got permission from Con- gress (i 790) to use all of this money, not needed for the expenses of the government, to do three things : i. To pay back to France and to other countries what we had borrowed of them during the Revolution. 2. To pay the debts we owed at home to our soldiers, and to those who had lent money to the government during the war. 3. To pay the debts which the different states were owing to their own citizens.^ Hamilton's wise and honest dealing put the credit of the United States on a sure foundation ; it enabled us to pay debts amounting to nearly six millions of dollars, and to provide for the payment of many milhons more. From that day to this, we have always been able to borrow all the money we wanted. 202. The First Census ; Establishment of a United States Bank and a Mint. — Meanwhile (1790), the first census was 1 John Jay of New York, one of the commissioners who, with Franklin, had secured and signed the treaty of peace with Great Britain (1783) . He was appointed Chief Justice, or head of the Supreme Court of the United States. 2 That is, debts incurred in carrying on the war. 194 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN TTTSTORY. taken. It showoii that we had a population of nearly four millions.* It also showed that nearly the whole body of people lived along the Atlantic sea-coast, on a strip of country about two hundred and fifty miles wide. Since then, the population has doubled, on the average, every twenty-five years, and has moved steadily westward. ■ Within two years after taking the census Congress established a United States bank (1791) and a mint at Philadelphia (1792). Both supplied the country with a kind of money, which, unlike that in circulation before, could be used throughout tlie states. This was an immense help to all business men. With the opening of the mint we began our decimal system of coinage, — ten cents make a dime, ten dimes a dollar, — a system so clear, simple, and convenient, that the time is probably not very far distant when England, and every leading country of Europe which has not already adopted it, will do so. 203. Arrival of ''Citizen" Genet; Washington's Procla- mation of Neutrality. — During Washington's presidency France was engaged in a terrible revolution. The people had declared themselves a republic, and beheaded their king. This led to a war between France and England. The French sent a minister^ to this country to get help toward fighting the English. ''Citizen" Genet,^ as he was styled, — for, having abolished all titles of honor and respect, the French could not endure even so simple a title as Mr., — came here expecting to obtain ships, money, and aid from the government. Thousands of our people welcomed him with wild enthusiasm. Washington, however, knew that if " Citizen " Genet was allowed to have his way, we should soon be dragged into a war 1 In 1776 we had, it was supposed, about 2,750,000. 2 In 1790, the centre of population (that is, the geographical point where the population is equal in number in all directions) was about twenty-five miles east of Baltimore. It has since moved westward, on nearly the same parallel, at the rate of about fifh' miles every ten years. See Map, page 190. 3 Minister: see note 3, on page 1S5. * Gen^t (Zhen-ay'). EMIGRATION TO THE WEST. I95 with England, at a time when such a war would have been terribly disastrous to us. The President therefore issued a proclamation of neutrality, stating that we should take no part in European quarrels. This proclamation so maddened the excitable Genet that he endeavored to stir up a mob in Philadelphia, to pull Wash- ington from his seat of office, overturn the government of the [Jnited States, and set up one more in accordance with his French tastes. The result was that, at Washington's protest, France recalled her minister, and nothing m6re was heard of him. 204. Emigration to the West; Cincinnati. — Meanwhile, a great movement of population had begun toward the country west of the Alleghanies — that section in which Washington had so deep an interest.^ Daniel Boone, the famous hunter of North Carolina, with his bold companions, had already chopped a nar- row path across the wilderness to Kentucky ; and by the begin- ning of the Revolution the Americans had got a firm foothold in that fertile region. Emigrants crossed the mountains, and in spite of the Indians, who were finally driven back,* formed settlements on tlie rich lands of the Ohio valley. Marietta, on that river, was already established ( 1 788) . A cluster of log huts, which had been built further down the river in the same year, now ( 1 790) received the name of Cincinnati.'^ There, not long after (1793), the first Western newspaper was published,^ and the corner-stone laid of the state of Ohio, the first of all that magnificent group of states formed from the Northwest Territory^ which were one by one to knock at the doors of Congress and ask admission to the Union. 205. Whitney invents the Cotton-Gin; Results. — The year (1793) that the printing-press in that enterprising log city of the West began sending out its weekly budget of news, a great event 1 See Paragraph 139. * General Wayne (see Paragraph 183), "the chief who never sleeps," defeated the Indians near Toledo in 1794, and they gave up a large territory to the United States. 2 Cincinnati : named in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati, an order estab- lished by the officers of the Revolutionary array, headed by Washington. 3 The Centinel of the Northwest — Cincinnati, 1793. ■* See Paragraph 195, 196 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. occurred at the South. Eli Whitney, of Massachusetts, but then living in Georgia, invented the cotton-gin.^ Whitney's invention has had more influence on the industry, wealth, and political history of this country than any other labor-saving machine ever constructed in America. Up to that time, small quantities of cotton had been raised at the South ; but it was of little use, for no practical method had then been contrived of freeing the cotton fibre, or wool, from the multitude of seeds it contains. By working a whole day, a negro could clean only about a pound. This made cotton so expensive that none but the rich could buy it. Now, everything was changed. By the use of Whitney's machine one man could clean in a single day a thousand pounds. The result was soon seen. In 1 784 we had exported eight bags, or about three thousand pounds, of cotton to Liver- pool. The cotton was seized by the English custom- house officers, on the ground that the United States could not have produced such a "pro- digious quantity," and that the captain of the vessel must have smuggled it from some other country. Ten years after Whitney had put his machine into operation (1803) we were exporting over one hundred thousand bags of cotton, or more than forty millions of pounds, and every year saw an enormous increase. The effect at home was equally marked. Hundreds of cotton-mills for the man- ufacture of cotton cloth were built in New England. At the South the raising of cotton became immensely profitable, and planters gave more and more land to it. Up to this period, many men in both sections of the country had deplored the holding of slaves. The Cotton-Gin. 1 Gin : a contraction of the word engine, meaning a machine. THE WHISKEY REBELLION. 1 97 They had earnestly discussed how to rid the country ot what was felt to be both an evil in itself and a danger to the nation. The invention of the cotton-gin put a stop to this discussion in great measure ; for now the Southern planters and the Northern manufac- turers of cotton both found it for their interest to keep the negro m bondage, since by his labor they were rapidly growing rich. Few, even of the ablest minds of that time, realized what we all see to- day : that in the end free labor is cheaper, safer, and better than any other.-^ To sum up : Whitney's great invention of 1 793 did four things : I . It stimulated the production of cotton and made it one of the leading industries of the country. 2. It increased our exports enormously. 3. It caused the building of great numbers of cotton-mills at the North. 4. It made a large class, both North and South J interested in maintaining slave-labor. 206. The Whiskey Rebellion^ — During Washington's second term of office, the government, finding that it needed more money, imposed (i 794) a heavy duty or tax on the manufacture of whiskey. The rough Pennsylvania backwoodsmen were in the habit of dis- tilling large quantities of that liquor, which was then freely used by all classes and conditions of men. The whiskey producers refused to pay the duty, tarred and feathered one officer sent to collect it, and gave a second a tremendous flogging with beech rods. Then they proceeded to arm themselves in order to resist the law. Washington sent an army of fifteen thousand men, mostly Pennsyl- 1 Whitney received fifty thousand dollars for his invention from South Carohna, besides something from several other Southern States. Other notable American in- ventors of this period were : i. Oliver Evans of Newport, Delaware, who, about 1780, invented the gram-elevator, and made such improvements in milling that he " effected a revolution in the manufacture of flour." In 1803 he constructed the first steam dredge for deepening the channels ot rivers. 2. Jacob Perkins of New- buryport, Massachusetts, invented (1790) the first practical nail-machine — it was capable of cutting out two hundred thousand nails a day. Formerly all nails were made by hand. Later, he invented a greatly improved machine for calico-printing. 3. Asa Whittemore of Cambridge, Massachusetts, invented (1797) a machine for making wire cards for carding wool, ' which operated, and still continues to operate, as it It had a soul.' 198 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. vanians, to teach them how to behave. When the whiskey distillers and their friends caught sight of the muskets, they prudently dis- persed. They saw that if any shooting was to be done the Presi- dent could do a good deal more than they could. There was no more trouble. 207. Jay's Treaty with England. — The treaty of peace with Great Britain, made in 1 783, had not been satisfactorily carried out by either party. We had promised to pay certain debts due to British subjects, and they complained that we did not keep our word. On the other hand, England persisted in holding forts at Detroit and elsewhere along our northern frontier, though she had agreed to give them up to us. The Enghsh also interfered with our trade with France.^ Chief- Justice Jay- went to England and obtained a new treaty (1795). ^^ ^^^ ^^- satisfy the people, who thought that the English were getting the best of the bargain. Washington, however, signed the treaty for the reason that he, like Jay, considered that we were not then able to demand anything bet- ter. Certain newspapers attacked him and Jay in the most violent manner, and Washington, worn out with their abuse, declared that " he would rather be in his grave than in the presidency." But the majority of the people stood firmly by the man who had brought them through so many dangers, and the treaty ^ was duly confirmed by Congress. When Washington retired from office — refusing to be a candidate for a third term — he left the nation in every way stronger and more prosperous than he had found it ; and with the three new states of Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennes- see added to the Union. 1 This was while France and England were at war. The English seized Ameri- can vessels loaded with grain for French ports and took them mto English ports. They paid for the cargo, or else permitted the Americans to sell them to countries at peace with Great Britain, Our complaint was that England had no right to interfere in any way with our commerce. 3 See Paragraph 20a * See Fisher Ames's speech in favor of the Jay or " British ' Treaty. SUMMARY. 199 208. Summary. — Washington, the first President of the United States, held office for two terms (i 789-1 797). During that time he, with his Cabinet,^ got the new government into practical opera- tion, and through the wise counsel of Hamilton, our national credit was solidly established. Washington's efforts prevented the nation from getting entangled in European wars at a time when our great- est need was peace. Three new states had been added ; Marietta and Cincinnati had taken firm root, and the vigorous life of the West had begun. Whitney's invention of the cotton-gin had an immense effect on manufacturing and commerce, greatly increasing the wealth of both North and South, but unfortunately it also fas- tened slave labor on the country. John Adams. 209. Adams's Administration^ (Second President, One Term, 1797-1801); the **X. Y. Z. Papers.** — Mr. Adams's 'presidency began with strong prospects of war with France. The French were enraged because we did not take sides with them in their con- test with Great Britain.^ They captured our merchant vessels, sold them openly in French ports, and insulted the statesmen sent by us to France to represent the United States. Finally, certain private agents of the French authorities made demands threat- ening war unless we bribed them with m.oney — "much money" — to keep peace. Pinckney, one of our representatives in France, 1 Cabinet : see Paragraph 200. 2 Administration : presidency. 3 John Adams was born in Braintree, near Boston, in 1735 ; died 1826. Thomas Jefferson said of him that "he was the ablest advocate and champion of independ- ence " in the Congress of 1776. He was one of the commissioners who negotiated the treaty of peace with Great Britain at the close of the Revolution ; and he was shortly after sent as minister from the United States to England. He was elected by the Federalists (see Paragraph 199) by only three electoral votes over Thomas Jefferson, the Republican (or Democratic) candidate (Adams had 71 votes, Jeffer- son 68). Mr. Adams used to call himself "the President of three votes." Ac- cording to the law (since changed), the candidate for President getting the largest vote next to the one elected was made Vice-President. This law gave that office to Jefferson. 4 See Paragraph 203. 200 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. indignant at such treatment, replied, " Millions for defence ; not one cent for tribute."^ President Adams, substituting the letters X. Y. Z. for the names of the French agents, sent a full report of the demands to Congress. The X. Y. Z. papers roused the whole country, and Pinckney's defiant words were echoed through- out America — for sooner than spend a single copper in buying peace we were ready to fight at any cost. War soon broke out, and our sailors, with shouts of " Hail Columbia," — the new song which every American was then singing, — fought and captured several French vessels. When Napoleon Bonaparte came into power in France (1799), he speedily made peace. 210. The Alien and the Sedition Laws ; Death of Wash- ington. — Several of the American newspapers were edited by foreigners, or by men who sympathized with France and were anxious to force us into a war with England. To put a stop to their constant abuse of the government. Congress, through the influence of Mr. Adams, unwisely passed (1798) the Alien and the Sedition Laws. The Alien Law gave the President the power to banish any alien or foreigner from the country whose influence he thought dangerous to our welfare.^ The Sedition Law under- took to punish persons who should speak, write or publish any- thing false or malicious against the President or the government of the United States. Lender this last-named law several persons were heavily fined, and at least one was imprisoned. The legis- latures of Kentucky and Virginia denounced both the Alien and the Sedition Laws as dangerous and contrary to the Constitution. They furthermore declared that should the President persist in enforcing them, the states would have the right to refuse to obey his commands. Both laws soon passed out of existence ; but the idea that states might resist the national government, if they saw 1 Tribute : money paid by one nation to another as a token of submission, or for the purpose of procuring protection or favor. * The President never enforced the Alien Law, and no one was banished from the country. SUMMARY. 20I fit, was destined to make trouble many years later, and in the end was to result in civil war. During this excitement in regard to these unpopular laws, Washington (1799) died at his home at Mount Vernon. The whole country united to do honor to the memory of him who was " first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his fellow-citizens"; Bonaparte ordered public mourning for him in France, and Lord Bridport, commander of a British fleet of nearly sixty men-of-war, lying off the coast of Eng- land, testified his respect by ordering his flags to be lowered to half-mast. 211. Summary. — The four chief events of Adams's presidency were the excitement caused by the "X. Y. Z." papers, followed by war on sea with France ; the passage of the Alien and the Sedi- tion Laws denounced by Kentucky and Virginia, and the death of Washington. Thomas Jefferson. 212. Jefferson^s Administration' (Third President, Two Terms, 1801-1809) ; *< Republican Simplicity"; the New National CapitaL — The new President was a Democrat^ — a 1 Administration : see note i, page 191. 2 Thomas Jefferson was born 1743, at Shadwell, Virginia; died 1826. He was a member of the Continental Congress and drafted the Declaration of Indepen- dence, and drew up the Act of Religious Freedom adopted by Virginia through Madison's influence (see page 210, note i) in 1785. He proposed our present decimal system of coinage and secured its acceptance. In 1785 he was sent to France to succeed Franklin as minister of the United States. On his tombstone is the following epitaph written by himself: " Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia." The presidential election of November, 1800, was a time of great excitement, and of bitter strife between the Federalists and the Republicans (or Democrats. See Paragraph 199). Thomas Jefferson of Virginia and Aaron Burr of New Jersey were the Republican candi- dates. Each received 73 electoral votes; while John Adams, the Federalist can- didate, got but 65. In such a case the House of Representatives — a majority of whom were Federalists — had to decide the election; they finally voted in favor of Jefferson; and he was declared President, with Burr for Vice-President (for accord- ing to the law then the candidate for President who received the greatest number 202 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. man who took his stand with the people. In dress/ manners, and ideas he was quite different from the FederaUst Presidents, Wash* ington and Adams. They both thought it proper for the head of the nation to stand a little apart from the people ; and though both were opposed to monarchy, yet they kept up something of the dignity and ceremony of a king. Jefferson preferred, on the contrary, " republican simplicity " in all things, and was ready to receive and shake hands with any one and every one that wanted to shake hands with him. Jefferson took the oath of office ^ in the new capitol, which was ridiculed as a " palace in the woods." It stood on a hill in the " city of Washington," then nothing but a straggling village of a few hundred inhabitants. Washington, for whom it was named, had himself chosen the ground for the city ten years before. Many people preferred Philadelphia, thinking that the new national capital was too far west. 213. What was thought of the Probable Extent of the Republic. — Eminent men of that day thought it very doubtful whether the American republic could extend into the wilderness beyond the Alleghany Mountains. Many agreed with them, and believed that in time the country would be divided into several nations — for it seemed impossible to them that a territory reaching from the Atlantic to the Mississippi could be efficiently and safely governed by a single President. When we consider that there were then no steamboats, canals, or railroads, to bind the states together, and in fact very few good ordinary roads, it does not seem so strange that men of sound judgment should have thought so. of votes next to those of the successful candidate, became Vice-President. This period marks the downfall of the Federalists ; for the next forty years the Dem- ocrats held control. 1 It was about this time that a marked change took place in men's dress, and breeches and long stockings began to give way to trousers — a product of the French Revolution. The British minister, Mr. Merry, says Jefferson wore " panta^ loons and slippers " when he received him„ '^ See page 192, note 3. THE PIRATES OF TRIPOLI, 203 214. The Pirates of Tripoli ; they declare War against the United States ; the Result. — For many years Tripoli and other towns on the north coast of Africa had been nests of pirates. The people were Mohammedans, and they were in the habit of sending out fast-saihng armed vessels to capture the ships of Chris- tians coming to the Mediterranean to trade. European nations had made repeated efforts to break up this system of robbery, but had not succeeded. Even Great Britain was obliged to pay the governors of Algiers and Tripoli large sums of money every year in order to protect her commerce in that quar- ter of the globe. During Washington and Adams's presidencies the United States, having no ships of war worth mentioning, had to buy the good will of these pirates. At one time we paid the ruler of Tripoli twenty thousand dollars a year to let our merchant vessels sail the Mediterranean in peace. But even this did not satisfy him, and we had to give him costly presents, and purchase the liberation of many of our sailors whom the people of Tripoli had seized, held as slaves, and worked like beasts of burden under the lash. It had cost us a million, part given by government and part contributed in collections taken up in the churches on Sun- day, merely to get these unfortunate men restored to their homes and friends. Just before Jefferson became President, the gov- ernor of Tripoli, disappointed because we did not yield to his de- mands and give him a still larger tribute, declared war against the United States. Jefferson was a man of peace, but he beHeved with Benjamin FrankHn that, " if you make yourself a sheep, the wolves will eat you." He thought we had been sheep long enough. We now had a small fleet of war-ships commanded by such men as Bainbridge, Decatur, and Preble. The President sent them out to Tripoli, and they soon made the ruler of that place- confess his sins and beg for mercy. The Pope declared that the Americans had done more toward punishing the insolent power of the Mohammedan pirates than all the nations of Europe put together. The result of the war was that the people of TripoHwere glad to make a new treaty (1805) 204 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. with the United States. By it they agreed to let our merchant ships and sailors alone in future, without asking pay for their good behavior to us. 215. Purchase of the Territory of Louisiana. — While this war with Tripoli was going on, the greatest event of Jefferson's presidency occurred. France owned the territory of Louisiana,' including New Orleans. Napoleon Bonaparte, who was then about to engage in a tremendous contest with England, was afraid that when war broke out the English would send over a fleet and take Louisiana out of his hands. For that reason he was willing to sell it to the United States — especially as the money would help him to fit out his armies against Great Britain. President Jefferson bought (1803) the whole territory for fifteen millions of dollars. By so doing he got the very heart of the American con- tinent, reaching from the J\Iississippi back to the Rocky Moun- tains. He thus, at one stroke, more than doubled the area of the United States, getting upwards of a million of square miles, or over six hundred millions of acres, for two cents and a half an acre. There were people who grumbled at the purchase, — some denying that he had the right to make it, — but the majority heartily supported the President. He himself con- fessed that he had stretched his power " till it cracked," in order to complete the bargain. In reality Jefferson showed his statesmanship in the act. The possession of Louisiana secured to us four most important points: i. It prevented any disputes with France about the territory. 2. It prevented England from getting control of it. 3. It gave us the Great West — that is, the West beyond the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains. 4. It made us masters of the entire ]Mississippi River, with the city of New Orleans to boot. 1 Just before the close of the great war between England and France in 1763, France ceded Louisiana with New Orleans to her ally, Spain. In 1801 Spain ceded them back to France. "t 92" 87" 82" 77" 72° 'V ..n O V%J -«, vW! Q ! 1^ -B. .r 6^ V" ^ \o «> »I -r; '^. < J GROWTH OF THE COUNTRY. 243 269. Jackson's Fidelity to the Union ; his Orders to Gen- eral Scott ; Henry Clay obtains a New Tariff. — President Jackson had the same feeling that Webster had of the necessity of preserving the Union. He did not hke the tariff, but he was re- solved to enforce it so long as it remained law. He saw that what was called the doctrine of " State-Rights/* that is, the so-called right of a state to decide for itself when it would obey Congress and when it would not, was destructive of all government. The Union, said he, is at present like a bag of meal with both ends open. Whichever way you try to handle it, you will spill the meal. " I must tie the bag and save the country." So saying, the President ordered General Scott to go forthwith to Charleston and enforce the law. It was done, and the duties on imported goods in that city were collected as usual. A few months later (1833) Henry Clay, the "great peacemaker," succeeded in getting Congress to adopt a new tariff more accept- able to the South. The country could well afford to reduce its taxes on foreign goods, for we did not owe one dollar of public debt. Every claim against the government had been paid. 270. Growth of the Country ; Extension of Railroads and Canals ; Use of Coal ; the Express System. — With the ex- ception of a very destructive fire in New York City (1835), Jack- son's presidency was a period of great prosperity, and of rapid growth for the entire country, but especially for the West. Canals had been opened, steamboats were running on the Great Lakes and the Western rivers, and the whistle of the locomotive was beginning to be heard beyond the Alleghanies. Both hard and soft coal ^ had J^een found in immense quantities in Pennsylvania, and they were now coming into use for manu- facturing as well as for other purposes. 1 Hard or anthracite coal was not discovered until 1790. The first load taken to Philadelphia, in 1803, was thought to be too hard to burn, and was used, it is said, to mend roads with. This bed of Pennsylvania hard coal is the richest in the world, and has been worth more to the country than all the gold mines of California 244 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. The increased activity of the country, in connection with steam- boats and railroads, gave rise to a new enterprise. A young man named Harnden^ conceived the plan of making a business of carrying parcels between Boston and New York, and shordy after (1839) began it. At first a small hand-bag was sufficient to hold all the articles sent. In that humble way he laid the foundation of the American express system, which now extends to every town of the United States, and employs millions of money and an army of men to do its work. 271. Indian Wars; Growth of the West; Chicago. — The increased growth of the country alarmed Black Hawk, a famous Chicago in 1833. Chicago To- Day. Indian chief at the West, and he, at the head of a large body of Indians, attempted to prevent emigrants from taking possession of public lands in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Ilhnois.^ He was defeated 1 William Frederick Harnden was bom in Reading, Massachusetts, in 1813 ; died 1845. On his monument, erected at Mount Auburn cemetery, near Boston, by the " Express Companies of the United States," he is called the " Founder of the Express Business in America." 2 In 1835 a second Seminole war (see Paragraph 238) broke out. The Seminole Indians of Florida were led by Osceola, a celebrated chief, who had been badly treated by the whites. The war lasted nearly seven years. The Indians were defeated by Colonel Zachary- Taylor, and were finally conquered and, all but a few, sent west of the Mississippi by General Worth. The war cost nearly ^40,000,000. AMERICAN ART, BOOKS, AND NEWSPAPERS. 245 and driven beyond the Mississippi. The removal of the Indians beyond that river greatly encouraged emigration to the Western states. On the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan stood Fort Dear- born. It was garrisoned by a small number of soldiers, and around the fort a dozen white settlers, with their families, had built as many rude wooden houses. Two years later (1833), the little settlement took the name of Chicago.^ It had then grown to be a town of be- tween five and six hundred inhabitants, and some of its people were bold enough to think that it might grow to be still larger. To-day the city has more than a million of inhabitants, and stands the great metropolis of the Northwest. 272. American Art, Books, and Newspapers. — America had already produced five eminent painters — West, Copley, Stuart,^ Trumbull,^ and Allston.* We also had three noted writers. They were Cooper, the novelist, who wrote exciting tales of life on the sea and in the wildernesss ; Bryant, our first great poet ; and Washington Irving, the author of " Rip Van Winkle" and of scores more of delightful stories. But when Jackson was first elected, a book had just been pub- lished (1828) in this country which was in one respect more remarkable than any that had yet appeared, for it contained the whole EngHsh language."* This was Webster's Dictionary, by 1 Chicago : an Indian name originally given to the Chicago River. It is sup- posed to be the name of the god of thunder ; but on this point authorities differ. 2 See Stuart's portrait of Washington (frontispiece) . 3 Thomas Cole was another noted artist of a somewhat later period, but he was not an American by birth. * Born in South Carolina, 1779, died in Cambridge, Mass., 1843. 4 The best English dictionary before Webster's was Johnson's, first published in London in 1755. It had not really been revised for seventy years, and was very unsatisfactory to Americans, since it did not contain many familiar American words, such as "congress" (in the sense of a national legislature), "savings- bank," " prairie," and hundreds of others. Webster thought that America had as good a right to coin new words as England had. He accordingly included these words in his dictionary; in his definitions he was generally far superior to Johnson, 246 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Noah Webster of Connecticut. It had cost the author and com- piler nearly twenty years of almost continuous labor, and it was destined to make his name and work known in every school-house of the United States. Following Webster came the poets, Whittier, Longfellow, Holmes, Lowell, and Poe ; Emerson, with his wonderful essays on nature ; Hawthorne, with his stories of New England ; Audu- bon, with his magnificent work on the "Birds of America";* Bancroft, with his history of the United States, followed by the historians Prescott, Motley, and Parkman. It was the beginning of American literature.-^ About the same time (1833) the first cheap newspaper ever published, which sold for one cent,^ appeared in New York. From that time forward the poorest man could afford to carry home in his pocket at night a daily history of the world's doings. 273. Summary. — Four important events marked the admin- istration of Andrew Jackson. They were : i. The beginning of the system of removals from government office for political reasons ; 2. The publication of the Liberator and the commencement of the anti-slavery movement by William Lloyd Garrison ; 3. Resist- ance to the national government, or nullification by South Caro- lina j 4. The rise of American literature and of cheap newspapers. Martin Van Buren.^ 274. Van Buren's Administration (Eighth President, One Term, 1837-1841) ; Business Failures ; Financial Panic. — 1 For interesting examples of poems connected with American history, see Whittier's " Laus Deo " and " Our State," Longfellow's " Paul Revere's Ride," Holmes's " Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill," Lowell's " Present Crisis," Emer- son's " Concord Hymn," and " Bryant's " Song of Marion's Men." 2 The New York Daily Stin, 1833. * Audubon (Aw'du-bon), born in Louisiana, 1 780. 8 Martin Van Buren was born in New York in 1782 ; died in 1862. He was United States Senator from 1821-1828 ; governor of New York later, and Secretary of State under Jackson, 1829-1831. In 1836 he was elected President (R. M. John- son of Kentucky, Vice-President) by the Democratic party, over General W. H. Harrison, the Whig candidate. STOPPAGE OF TRADE. 24/ In his farewell address, President Jackson had said, " I leave this great people prosperous and happy." But Mr. Van Buren had scarcely entered upon the duties of his office, in 1837, when a large business house in New Orleans failed. It was the beginning of a panic ^ in trade and money matters which swept over the country like the waters of a destroying flood. In ten days, one hundred merchants in New York City had lost everything ; and within two months, the total business failures in that city reached the enormous sum of one hundred millions of dollars. Next, the banks began to fail ; and the difficulty of getting gold or silver became so great that even the United States gov- ernment had to pay the army and navy in paper money, which, if it chanced to be good to-day, might be worthless to-morrow. John Quincy Adams declared that, " without a dollar of national debt, we are in the midst of national bankruptcy." 275. Stoppage of Trade ; Distress among Workmen ; Failures of States; Causes of the Panic. — Soon, factories and mills stopped running, and nearly all trade came to a stand- still. Thousands of workmen were suddenly thrown out of em- ployment, and saw no way of earning bread for themselves and their famihes. Many states had borrowed large sums of money in Europe for the purpose of building roads, canals, and railways. In 1830, the total debt of this kind was only thirteen millions ; in seven years it had risen to nearly two hundred millions. It was exceedingly difficult, if not impossible for a number of these states " to raise 1 Panic: sudden fright or alarm — particularly alarm without any real cause. Such periods occur in business from time to time, especially after several years of great activity and speculation ending in reckless investments and loss. The chief cause of a panic appears to be want of confidence. When men cease to put trust in each other, then the trouble begins. There may be as much money in the country as before ; but it has shifted into the hands of a few, and they are afraid to use it themselves, or to let others use it. The consequence is that prices fall, business stops in great measure, and much distress is produced. 2 Seven states — Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, 248 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. money to meet the interest; and one positively refused to pay anything whatever, whether interest or principal. There were three chief causes for this desperate state of things. I. After the United States Bank had ceased to exist/ a great number of worthless banks sprang into existence ; 2. the ease with which people could borrow money led to wild speculation in land;^ 3. the government suddenly called in the gold and silver which it had deposited in certain state banks, — nicknamed " pet banks," — and at the same time it refused to sell any more public land except for hard cash. This suddenly checked the fever of speculation, and made every one anxious to get coin at a time when coin was not to be had. The result was, property of all kinds fell in price, men could neither collect debts nor pay them, the banks could not redeem^ their bills, and the crash came.'* After a time confidence began to be restored, business sprang up, and a new period of prosperity commenced. 276. The Government establishes an Independent Treas- ury. — This panic in business had at least one good result. Up to this time, the national government had never taken entire charge of its own money, but had let one or more banks have the care of it. The disastrous failure of these "pet banks" taught Pennsylvania, and Florida, then a territory, — suspended payment of interest. Mississippi repudiated her entire debt on the ground that it had been incurred in violation of the state constitution. Sydney Smith's " Letters on American Debts," Dickens's " American Notes " and " Martin Chuzzlewit " show how sore the English creditors felt about these failures, 1 See Paragraph 265. 2 Men eagerly bought land which they never saw, and never expected to see ; they purchased town lots at enormous prices, in the backwoods of Maine; and speculated in property in so-called Western " cities " that had no existence except on paper, or that were six feet under water. 3 A bank is said to redeem its bills when, on demand, it pays gold or silver for them. If it cannot do this, its bills are worthless. 4 During this period a rebellion broke out in Canada, and many Americans living on the border were eager to take part in it, with the hope of annexing Canada to the United States. The President's proclamation of neutrality compelled them to keep quiet. RISE OF THE MORMONS. 249 Congress a lesson ; and the United States now established -^ an independent treasury at Washington, with branches, known as sub-treasuries,^ in the chief cities. In this way the government was protected against loss. We owe this excellent system mainly to President Van Buren. 277. Rise of the Mormons; Nauvoo. — Toward the close of Van Buren's presidency, a new religious community, called Mormons, settled in Illinois. Its founder was Joseph Smith, a native of Vermont.^ While living ih New York he declared that an angel from heaven gave him a number of golden plates — like sheets of tin — on which a new scripture was written called the " Book of Mormon." * Smith went to Ohio, to Missouri, and, finally, to Illinois, where he and his followers — the " Latter Day Saints " or Mormons — built the "Holy City" of Nauvoo^ on the banks of the Missis- sippi. There he stated that he received a revelation from God declaring that every true Mormon marriage would last forever, and encouraging all good Mormons to marry as many wives as 1 The independent treasury system was, however, not fully and finally established until 1846. During the civil war (1863) a great many new banks were created. These give security (by the deposit of government bonds at Washington) to the United States for the bills they issue ; for this reason they are called National Banks. The government has the right to deposit public money (except that received for duties) in these banks, as well as in the treasury. 2 Sub-treasuries ; from the Latin word siib^ meaning under ; hence, subordinate, or smaller treasuries. The chief treasury is in the Treasury Building at Washington ; the sub-treasuries are in (i) New York, (2) Philadelphia, (3) Chicago, (4) Boston, (5) St. Louis, (6) Cincinnati, (7) San Francisco, (8) New Orleans, (9) Baltimore. 3 Joseph Smith was born in 1805 ii^ Sharon, Vt,, and was murdered at Carthage, 111., in 1S44. While living near Manchester, N. Y., in 1827, he states that the angel gave him the golden plates of the Book of Mormon. The plates, he says, were written in an unknown tongue, but he alleges that the angel provided him with a peculiar kind of glasses by which to read and translate them. The Mormons declare, " We believe the Bible to be the Word of God, so far as it is translated correctly ; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the Word of God." * Mormon : a name derived from that of the alleged writer of the Book of Mormon a Jew,. who, as the Mormons believe, lived in this country about a thousand years before Columbus discovered it. 6 Nauvoo : meaning the Beautiful City ; it had, it is said, no idlers and no drunkards. 250 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. they found convenient. Those, said he,^ who keep this law will, in the next world, " pass by the angels " in glory .^ Shortly after this, several persons who had belonged to the Mormons began publishing a paper in Nauvoo, in which they accused Smith of leading an evil life. Smith broke up the paper. For this he was arrested, and while in jail at Carthage (1844) was shot by a mob who had no faith in him or his religion. 278. Emigration of the Mormons to Utah ; what they have accomplished there. — Brigham Young of Vermont — a man as keen-sighted in the things of this world as it was said Smith had been in those of the other — now became leader of the Mormons ; but the people round Nauvoo forced the " Saints " to leave, and they crossed the Mississippi. In 1847 Young started for the far west, and, with about a hundred and fifty followers, reached Salt Lake, in what is now Utah. Later, he led a much larger number of Mormon emigrants to the same place. It was a journey of fifteen hundred miles through the wilderness. The country bordering on the lake was a desert. The hunters of that desolate region predicted that the Mormons would starve. But Young saw what could be done to prevent that. He set his com- pany to work digging ditches to bring water from the mountains ; every street in the village had two of these ditches running through the length of it, one on each side. The abundant supply of water soon made the dead, dry soil green with waving crops of wheat and corn. Industry transformed the desert into a garden. Since then the Mormons have prospered and grown strong. The village has become a city, and Utah now has a Mormon popula- tion of over a hundred thousand, largely made up of emigrants from Great Britain, Norway, and Sweden.* * But a very small number of Mormons have ever married more than one wife. 2 This doctrine (see the Mormon " Book of Covenants and Doctrine ") was not fully published to the world until 1852. One branch of the Mormons — the " Josephites" — deny that Smith ever taught the doctrine, but say it was invented by Brigham Young and others. * In 1890 the United States Supreme Court declared the property of the Mormon Church forfeited to the United States for violation of the laws of Congress against polygamy. Later, the same year the Mormon Church declared that it would obey the United States law and renounce polygamy. EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. 25 1 279. Emigration to the United States. — While the Mor- mons were getting a foothold in the far West, an immense emi- gration from Europe to the United States had begun. A regular line of steamships was established between Liverpool and Boston in 1840/ and, soon after, similar communication was established with New York. By means of these steamers, and of lines of passenger vessels, emigrants now began to pour in at the rate of over three thousand a week; and in the course of the next ten years (i 840-1 850) nearly two millions had come to settle here — or nearly twice as many as had landed in this country during the preceding forty years. Since then the stream of emi- grants has never ceased, and the whole number who have thus become American citizens is estimated at sixteen millions.^ 280. Summary. — This period began with a disastrous panic in trade by which great numbers were ruined ; it was followed by the establishment by the government of the independent treasury system ; then came the movement of the Mormons to Utah, and vastly increased emigration from Europe to the United States. William Henry Harrison and John Tyler. 281. Harrison and Tyler*s Administrations (Ninth and Tenth Presidents, One Term, 1841-1845) ; how Harrison was elected; his Death. — General Harrison,^ "the hero of «i 1 The first English steamships which came here were the Sirius and the Great Western, both of which arrived in New York on the same day, in the spring of 1838. Sir Samuel Cunard established the first regular line (between Liverpool and Boston) in 1840. 2 The Irish famine in 1845-6, owing to the sudden failure of the potato crop^ was one chief cause of this unusual increase of emigration. Of the different nation- alities, Ireland sent the greatest number; then Germany (nearly as many as Ireland) ; then England; and last of all, France and other countries. 3 William Henry Harrison was born in Virginia in 1773. His father, Benjamin Harrison, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. From iSoi to 1813 Harrison was governor of what was then theterritoiy of Indiana. In 1811 he defeated the Indians in a great battle at Tippecanoe, Indiana (see Paragraph 252 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Tippecanoe," was elected President amidst the wildest excitement. The Democrats had carried the day for forty years ; * now their opponents, the Whigs,^ were to be victors. Harrison was then living on his farm, in a clearing on the banks of the Ohio. He was popularly known as " the Log-Cabin candidate.'* The farmers of the West gathered to his support with a will. They had monster out-door meetings, and processions miles long,^ in which a log-cabin on wheels was always a conspicuous object, with its live coon fastened on the roof, and its barrel of hard cider standing handy by the open door. The enthusiasm increased more and more as election day drew near ; the rousing song of "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" stirred the blood of every true Whig; and with shouts of exultation, the West triumphed, and the occupant of the Ohio log-cabin entered the White House at Washington. A month later. President Harrison died, and the joy of his friends was suddenly changed into mourning. Vice-President Tyler, who was practically a Democrat,* now became President ; * and he and the Whig Congress were soon quarrelling over political 225). During the war of 1812 he was appointed a major-general in the regular army, Later, he returned to his farm at North Bend, on the Ohio, near Cincinnati. In 1840 he was elected President (John Tyler of Virginia, Vice-President) by the Whig party, by an immense majority over Van Buren, the Democratic candidate. 1 Since the election of Jefferson in 1800. 3 The Whigs wished (1) to have the government carry on the building of canals, roads, and other internal improvements; (2) to protect manufactures by a high tariff; (3) to re-establish the United States Bank, and part of the Whigs wished to restrict the extension of slavery. The Democrats held that lach state should make . its own improvements ; that free trade was better than protection ; an independent j treasury, than a United States bank ; and that slavery should be left to the people of the different states. 8 This was the beginning of our modern presidential " campaigns," with their bands of music and torchlight proll^sions. ■ 4 Tyler was in most respects a Democrat, though he had acted, to some extent, 1 with the Whigs. The Whigs nominated him to the Vice-Presidency in order to I secure Southern votes, and thus make sure of electing Harrison. 6 In case of the death of the President, the Constitution provides that the Vice- j President shall succeed him. See the Constitution, page xii, Paragraph 2. THE DORR REBELLION. 253 questions about which there was no chance of their coming to any agreement. 282. The Dorr Rebellion ; the Ashburton Treaty ; the Anti-Renters. — In Rhode Island, the right to vote was confined to persons holding real estate, and to their eldest sons. Newport, where there were many land-holders, had six representatives in the state legislature, while Providence, with a population nearly three times as great, had only four. The party in favor of reform finally framed a new constitution, and elected (1842) Thomas W. Dorr for governor. The opposite, or state government party, headed by Governor King, denied Dorr's right to hold office. Both sides took up arms, but no blood was spilt, and nobody was hurt even. Dorr was arrested and thrown into prison, but was released a few years later, and lived to see his party successful in the reform they had attempted. In the summer of 1842, Daniel Webster, representing the United States, and Lord Ashburton, representing Great Britain, settled the question of the boundary between Maine and Canada, by an agreement known as the Ashburton Treaty. The dispute in regard to the true line between the two countries had been very bitter, and threatened to bring on war ; for this reason the friendly settlement of the controversy was of the greatest advantage to both England and America.^ In New York, the tenants of the Van Rensselaer family, on the Hudson,^ refused to pay rent for their farms, on the ground that the Revolution had swept away the old Dutch methods of letting land. It became necessary to call out a military force to protect the sheriff in his attempts to collect the rents ; finally, a political 1 During the progress of the negotiation of the treaty, Mr. Webster practically settled another question of equal importance, by his formal declaration to Lord Ashburton, that in future the United States would insist that our flag should protect our vessels against the so-called " right of search," on the part of Great Britain; and that any attempt to make such search would be considered by us a reason lor war. See further on this treaty, page 258, note 2. 2 See Paragfraph 63. 254 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. party was formed (1843), favoring the anti-renters/ and a change was made (1846) in the state constitution for their benefit. 283. The Electric Telegraph ; Dr. Morton's Discovery. — In the spring of 1844, travellers from Baltimore to Washington saw a force of men engaged in putting up several lines of copper wire on a row of lofty poles extending between the two cities. It was the first telegraph line erected in the United States. After four years of weary waiting, Professor Morse ^ had at length got a grant of thirty thousand dollars from Congress, for the purpose of proving that a message could be sent by electricity a distance of forty miles ! On the morning of May 24, 1844, Professor Morse took his seat at the telegraphic •instrument placed in the Supreme Court Room in the Capitol. Many of the chief officers of the govern- ment were present. The professor pressed the key of the instru- ment with his finger. In an instant, the waiting operator at Baltimore received the message, and it was sent back to the Capitol. Here it is : What hath GOD .. 3 w r u g h t. In a minute of time these words had traversed a circuit of eighty miles. When they were read in the Court Room a thrill of awe ran through those who reverently listened ; it seemed as though the finger of God, not man, had written the message.^ 1 Anti-renters : from the Latin word anti, against ; hence, those opposed to paying the rent demanded by the proprietors of the land. 2 Samuel F. B. Morse was born in Charlestown, Mass., 1791 ; died in New York, 1872. He became an artist, and in 1830 was elected Professor of the Literature of the Arts of Design in the University of the City of New York. He conceived the idea of the electric telegraph in 1832, and from that time worked on it until it was successfully completed. He received very important help from Mr. Alfred Vail of N. J. 3 The characters over the printed letters represent the letters of the telegraphic alphabet. The words are quoted from the Bible ; Numbers xxiii. 23. * Before the completion of the first line of telegraph, Professor Morse wrote to a ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 255 In 18 7 1, at a celebration held in New York in honor of Professor Morse, the original instrument invented by him was exhibited, connected, at that moment, by wire, with every one of the ten thousand instruments then in use in this country. At a signal, a message from the inventor was sent vibrating throughout the United States, and was simultaneously read in every city and in most towns of the republic, from New York to New Orleans, from New Orleans to San Francisco. Thought had conquered space ; it was to make its next con- quest in a wholly different direction. While Professor Morse was building his experimental line between Washington and Baltimore, Dr. William T. G. Morton of Boston was endeavoring to produce artificial sleep by the breathing of the vapor of ether. He be- lieved that, if successful, all suffering under the surgeon's knife would be at an end. He did succeed; and shortly after (1846), the great fact was made known to the world by tests made at the Massachusetts Hospital in Boston. As the inscription on Dr. Morton's monument truthfully declares : " Before that discovery, surgery was agony ; since, science has controlled pain." ^ 284. Annexation of Texas. — The great political question of the times was the admission of Texas. Many years before this period, Stephen F. Austin, General Sam Houston, with other friend (1843) : " Telegraphic communication may with certainty be established across the Atlantic Ocean. Startling as this may now seem, I am confident the time will come when this project will be realized." He lived to see it accomplished in 1858, and permanently in 1866. 1 Between 1820 and 1846 the following remarkable inventions were made in this country: i. Blanchard's Eccentric Lathe for turning gun-stocks and other irregu- lar forms; 2. McCormick's Reaper and Mow^er ; 3. Colt's Revolver; 4. Ericsson's Screw Propeller for Steam Vessels ; 5. Goodyear's Hard Rubber goods; 6. Hoe's Steam Printing-Press ; 7. Howe's Sewing-Machine. There were also introduced during that period the following inventions from abroad : i. Knitting Machines. 2. Planing Machines (greatly improved in 1828 by Woodworth). 3. Friction Matches, 1836 (gas had been introduced in 1822). 4. The Steam Fire Engine, 1841, but not brought into practical use until much later. 5. The Daguerreotype and Photograph, about 1843. 6. The Diving-Dress, or Armor, about 1843. 256 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Americans, had settled in that country, — then a part of Mexico, — and had finally, by force of arms, made it an independent republic. That republic now asked to be annexed to the United States. A powerful party at the South was anxious to obtain it for the purpose of making a number of new slave states, and thus maintaining their influence in Congress.^ The Anti-Slavery party at the North strongly opposed the annexation ; ^ but Congress, after much debate, decided to make it. Thus, in the spring of 1845, we obtained a territory so vast that, as Daniel Webster said, a bird could not fly over it in a week — a territory large enough to make nearly five countries the size of England, or more than that number of states, each larger than New York. 285. Summary. — The principal events of the Harrison and Tyler administrations were : (i) The death of the President; fol- lowed (2) by the Ashburton Treaty; (3) the Dorr Rebellion; (4) the opening of the first line of electric telegraph in the United States; (5) the use of ether in surgery; and (6) the annexation of Texas. James K. Polk. 286. Polk's Administration (Eleventh President, One Term, 1845-1849) ; the Question of the Possession of Ore- gon. — Congress had decided to annex Texas ; ^ and now, when Mr. Polk ^ entered office, the first question was, what should be done about Oregon. We claimed the whole country west of the 1 By the Missouri Compromise (see Paragraph 243) slavery could not be ex- tended west of the Mississippi, outside of Missouri, north of 36° 30' (the southern boundary of Missouri). Unless, therefore, the South got more territory annexed southwest of the Mississippi, the North would soon have the chief power in Congress. 2 James Russell Lowell's fine poem, " The Present Crisis," expresses the feeling of the Anti-Slavery party at this time. 3 See Paragraph 284. 4 James K. Polk (pronounced Poke) was born in North Carolina, 1795 ; died, 1849. He emigrated with his father to Tennessee in 1806; and was elected governor of that state in 1839. In 1844 he was elected President by the Democrats (George M. Dallas of Pennsylvania, Vice-President), over Henry Clay, the Whig candidate. DR. whitman's journey TO WASHINGTON. 257 Rocky Mountains, north of California (then a part of Mexico), to Alaska; that is, from parallel 42° to 54° 40'.^ But Great Britain also claimed more than half the northern part of this region, and especially the Columbia River,^ which was of immense importance. The English Hudson Bay Company wanted the country mainly for the fur trade ; and on that account they wished to keep it a wilderness where they could hunt wild animals. 287. Dr. Whitman's Journey to Oregon. — It is quite prob- able that the English might have got it, had it not been for the energy of Dr. Marcus Whitman of New York, who had gone as a missionary to Walla Walla ^ nine years before. He went out with fi wagon in which he took his bride. The English, who were alarmed at this resolute attempt of Dr. Whitman's to open up a passage on wheels to the country they coveted, told him that his wagon would be broken to splinters in crossing the mountains. Whitman and his young wife persisted in going on, and after many formidable upsets and breakages they finally reached their destina- tion, though the wagon had to be left at Fort Boise,* and brought on later. The Indians, who had never seen a wagon before, looked on in admiration ; they called it " chick-chick-shain-le-kai-kash," because, said they, it used to go "chick-chick" over the soft grass, but ^^kai-kash ! " when it struck the rocks. 288. Dr. Whitman's Journey to Washington ; how we got Oregon ; the Treaty. — After a number of years' residence in Oregon, Dr. Whitman found that the English were about to make a determined effort to take possession of the country ; he saw that the only way to prevent it was to form a settlement of American emigrants. There was no time to be lost. In the autumn of 1842, the doctor started on a journey of four thousand miles — most of the way on horseback — to W^ashington. His sufferings on the 1 For the grounds of this claim, see Paragraph 216. 2 See note 3, on page 205. * Now Boise City, Idaho. 3 Walla Walla : now in the state of Washington, near the Oregon boundary. 258 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. way were terrible ; he had to face winter storms in the mountains, the terrors of starvation and of attacks from Indians. Several times he nearly perished from cold and hunger ; but he kept on, and in five months reached the National Capitol. He succeeded in proving to Congress that Oregon was not the rough, inhospitable, inaccessible country it was supposed to be. When he returned (1843), he went as guide and leader of a train of two hundred emigrant families bound with their wagons for the valley of the _ Columbia River. Others ^tio'] followed, from that day on ; and by the time that Polk became President we had such a strong hold on the territory that the cry in 1846 was, "The British must go " — " The whole of Oregon, or none " — " Fifty- four-forty, or fight ! " ^ But later in the same year (1846) the United States and Great Britain made a treaty by which they agreed to divide the country be- tween them. We took the portion between the boundary of upper Mexico (now California), or 42°, and the parallel of 49° north, including the Columbia River; the English took the re- mainder, from 49°,^ to Alaska. Our part included what is now the state of Oregon, with Washington and Idaho — a territory so immense that if a map of it be placed on that of the eastern 1 In other words, we insisted that the British must give up the entire country below 54° 40', or fight. On the whole, our claim to the territory, through Captain Gray's discovery of the Columbia River, and Lewis and Clarke's expedition (see Paragraph 216), was better than that of the English. 2 According to the terms of the Ashburton Treaty (see Paragraph 282) the boundary line west, between the Lake of the Woods, Minnesota, and the Rocky Mountains, was fixed at the forty-ninth parallel. This new treaty now extended that line through to the Pacific. The boundary is marked by mounds, heaps of stones, posts, and cast-iron pillars ; the pillars are placed just a mile apart. THE MEXICAN WAR. 259 coast, it would reach from New York to Florida, and extend westward nearly to the Tennessee River, covering in all about two hundred and fifty-five thousand square miles. 289. The Mexican War ; Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. — But though the Oregon Treaty settled the fact that we should not fight with Great Britain, yet we were soon at war with our next-door neighbor, the feeble republic of Mexico. Texas had been admitted as a state (1845), but the western boundary was a matter of dispute. Texas insisted that the line was at the Rio Grande ^ River ; Mexico denied this, and declared that it was on the Nueces^ River, about a hundred miles east of the Rio Grande. The President commanded General Taylor to seize the strip of land between the rivers. To quote General Grant's words, our troops were sent there *'to provoke a fight." ^ Mexico was weak, but not cowardly. The Mexican government ordered Taylor to leave the eastern bank of the Rio Grande, where he held Fort Brown. He refused, and the Mexicans crossed the river (April 23, 1846), and shed the first blood.* Soon after. General Taylor — or "Old Rough and Ready," as his men called him — gained the victory in the battle of Palo Alto (May 8, 1846) ;* and the next day (May 9), that of Resaca de SCALE OF MILES fiO 100 200 300 1 Rio Grande (Spanish pronunciation, Ree'o Gran'day ; but it is better to pronounce it as English). Texas also claimed an immense territory on the North- west, extending to the forty-second parallel. 2 Nueces (Nwa'ses ; but pronounce as in English). 3 See " Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant," I. 68. 4 The blood was shed on territory claimed by Mexico ; but the President's message stated that it had been spilt on " our own territory." Abraham Lincoln, then in Congress, demanded, in a series of resolutions, known as the " Spot " reso- lutions, to be informed where the exact " spot " of this bloodshed was, and whether it had not been provoked by a body of armed Americans sent there by order ol our government. 6 Palo Alto (Fah'lo Alto, or High Trees). 26o LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. la Palma.^ The Mexicans now retreated across the Rio Grande, and Taylor followed them, and took possession of the town of Matamoras.^ / 290. Congress declares War ; Battles of Monterey and Buena Vista; Conquest of California and New Mexico. — Congress now (May 13, 1846) declared war against Mexico, and thousands of volunteers, mainly from the Southern and South- western States, enlisted to fight against her. In the autumn (September 24, 1846) General Taylor attacked the Mexicans at Monterey, and took the town after a desperate battle of four days.^ Early the next year, Santa Anna, the Mexi- can president and commander-in-chief, led a force of twenty thousand men against Taylor, who had only about a fourth of that number. The battle was fought at Buena Vista,^ in the mountains (February 23, 1847). We had the advantage of position; and, after an all day's fight, the Mexicans retreated. Among the Southern ofificers, Colonel Jefferson Davis of Mississippi particu- larly distinguished himself, and was highly commended by General Taylor. This victory gave us possession of Northeastern Mexico, and won for General Taylor, who here fought his last battle,^ the presi- dency of the United States two years later. Meanwhile (1846) an American fleet with the help of Colonel Fremont had conquered California ; and General Kearney had seized Santa F6, and with it the territory now called New Mexico. 291. General Scott sent to Mexico ; he takes Vera Cruz ; Victory of Cerro Gordo. — General Scott had now been ordered to Mexico with a second army. His plan was to land at Vera 1 Resaca de la Palma (Ra-sah'ka da-lah Pal'mah, the Ravine of the Palm tree). 2 Matamoras (Mat'a-mo'ras). 3 See Hoffman's poem of " Monterey," in " Heroic Ballads," published by Ginn &Co. 4 Buena Vista (Bwa'nah Vees'tah, Good View). 6 General Taylor returned to the United States in November, 1847. THE MEXICAN WAR. 261 Cruz,^ and march directly on the city of Mexico, two hundred miles distant. After nine days' fighting he took (March 27, 1847) Vera Cruz and the strong fortress of San Juan de Ulua,^ which defended it by sea, and which was considered to be the " Gibraltar of Mexico." General Scott said that this important victory was due in great measure to the remarkable engineering skill of Cap- tain Robert E. Lee of Virginia, who fourteen years later was to command the Confederate Army in the Civil War. Then pushing forward, Scott fought a bat- tle at the mountain pass of Cerro Gordo ^ (April 18, 1847), driving the Mexi- cans before him. Late in the summer (1847) ^^ crossed the last ridge of mountains, and saw the spires and towers of the capital of Mexico glittering in the sun. The city is situated in a valley. It was surrounded with fortifications, and could only be reached by a few narrow causeways — or raised roads of stone — built across the marshes. Scott had about eleven thousand men to attack an army which numbered more than three to his one, while the city itself had a population of nearly two hundred thousand. 292. Victories in the Vicinity of the City of Mexico; the City taken; Results of the War. — With heavy loss to ourselves as well as to the enemy, we fought and won in a single day (August 20, 1847) a succession of battles^ near the city, — every one ending in victory to our arms. A few weeks later (September 8, 1847) we attacked and carried the fortified mill 1 Vera Cruz (Va'rah Kroos, the True Cross). 2 San Juan de Ulua, or UUoa, (San Wahn da Oo~loo'ah). 9 Cerro Gordo : Great Hill. 4 These were the battles of Contreras, San Antonio and Churubusco. 262 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. of Molino del Rey,^ and five days afterwards (September 13, 1847) we took the castle of Chapultepec.^ The next morning (September 14, 1847) Scott's little army, now numbering only six thousand men, entered the city of Mexico, and hoisted the " stars and stripes " over the ancient palace, or so-called Halls of the Montezumas.^ In the conquering army there was a young lieutenant from Ohio, destined to be better known at a later period of our history — his name was Ulysses S. Grant.* The fall of the city of Mexico practically ended the war, which had lasted less than two years. . It is, perhaps, the only war recorded in history in which all the victories were on one side ; for our troops gained every battle, and gained it in every instance against a larger force. By a treaty of peace signed early in 1848 we obtained the territory of California and New Mexico, with undisputed possession of Texas — or in all, nearly a million of square miles.'^ Another 1 Molino del Rey (Mo-lee'no del Ray) : the King's Mill. ' 2 Chapultepec (Chah-pool-tay-pek). 3 The Mon-te-zu'mas were the rulers of Mexico at the time of the Spanish con- quest by Cortez (see Paragraph 19). The palace, which we called the "'Halls of the Montezumas," was built by the Spanish successors of Cortez. ■* General Grant says, in his " Personal Memoirs," I. 53, that he considered the Mexican war " one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation." The feeling against the war in New England found witty and able expression in Lowell's " Biglow Papers " (First Series). 5 See map on page 331. We, however, paid Mexico ^15,000,000 for the territory, besides assuming certain debts of hers, amounting to about ^3,000,000 more. We had previously assumed the debt of Texas, of ^7,500,000 ; so that the whole cost of the entire territory, exclusive of the expense of the war, was ^25,500,000. This was thought to be an enormous outlay, and, as it had been incurred through the annexation of Texas, many people grumbled, and said that " Texas " was simply " Taxes," with the letters differently arranged. During the war, Congressman Wilmot, a Pennsylvania Democrat, endeavored to get a bill passed, called the " Wilmot Proviso," prohibiting slavery in any part of the territory acquired from Mexico ; but the bill failed to become law. Many of those Democrats who had voted for it now united with a part of the Whigs and with anti-slavery men, to form a new party called the " Free Soilers" — later (1856) they became the present Republican party. DISCOVERY OF GOLD. 263 result of the war was that it eckicated many of the officers who fought in it, or were connected with it (such men as Grant, Lee, Sherman, and "Stonewall" Jackson) for the battle-fields of the Civil War.i 293. Discovery of Gold in California. — At the close of the Mexican War Colonel Mason was left in charge of California as military governor, and William T. Sherman — since. General Sherman — acted as one of his chief officers. In the spring of 1848 two men came to the governor's headquarters at Monterey,'^ and asked to see him. They were shown into his office. Pres- ently Colonel Mason called to Sherman to come in. On the table were several little papers containing small bits of yellowish metal. "What is that?" said the governor to Sherman. "I touched it," adds the general, " examined one or two of the large pieces, and asked, ' Is it gold .? ' " ^ It was gold. Some men had found it in digging a mill-race for a saw-mill for Captain Sutter, on a fork of the American River,* near Coloma, about a hundred miles north- east of San Francisco. San Francisco was then a little village of about four hundred inhabitants. When the news ot the " great find " was spread abroad, nearly every person started for the mines. Houses were left half-built ; fields half-plowed. Every man that could possibly get away bought a shovel and hurried off to dig his fortune out of the golden sands. 294. Emigration to California ; Results of the Discovery of Gold. — The next spring (1849) the "gold fever" reached the Eastern States ; and a great rush of emigration, by both land and sea, began for California. Many died of sickness contracted in 1 Nearly every prominent officer in both armies in our Civil War served in the war with Mexico. 2 Monterey : about ninety miles south of San Francisco, on the coast. « " Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman," I. 68. * The American River is a tributary of the Sacramento. Coloma is in El Dorado County. See map on page 331. 264 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY, crossing the Isthmus of Panama ; multitudes more perished on the overland route across the continent. From the Rocky Mountains to the Sierras the track of the emigrants was marked by the skele- tons of horses and oxen, and by barrels, boxes, and household goods thrown away along the road. But notwithstanding the loss of life, and the fact that many turned back, discouraged at the hardships of the undertaking, still, over eighty thousand men suc- ceeded in reaching California before the end of that year. From an insignificant settlement San Francisco suddenly sprang into a city of twenty thousand inhabitants, which has since rapidly in- creased, and, at its present rate of growth, will soon reach half a million. But the great majority of the emigrants hurried off to the gold diggings, where, with pan and shovel,^ they were speedily engaged in collecting the shining particles of that precious metal which most men find it so hard to get, and also so hard to hold. In the course of the next seven years (1849-185 6) between four and five hundred millions were obtained, but costing in labor, says the leading historian of California,^ three times what the gold was actually worth. A few gained the riches they so eagerly sought, but the greater part barely made a living by the most exhausting toil. Eagerness for wealth naturally brought bad men as well as good to this land of promise. At times these reckless adventurers made serious trouble. But the stern hand of a Vigilance Com- mittee, organized by a majority of the best citizens of San Fran- cisco,* speedily taught desperadoes and thieves that life and property must be respected. In the end the discovery of gold had great results for good. First of all, it gave us firm possession of the Pacific coast, since it rapidly settled the wilderness of California with a population of energetic and determined men. Next, by increasing the amount 1 At first, much of the gold was taken from the beds of small streams and their vicinity. It was done by sifting out the sand, or washing the earth, in pans or other- wise. When the surface mining gave out, men began to cut down the liills by direct- ing powerful streams of water against them, and then washing the gravel and dirt for gold. Most of the gold now obtained in California is from quartz rock, which is broken to pieces by stamping-mills. * " To punish incendiaries and other criminals." 2 Bancroft's " Pacific States," Vol. XVIII. TAYLOR AND FILLMORE's ADMINISTRATIONS. 265 of gold in circulation, it stimulated trade, industry, and commerce, not only throughout the United States, but throughout the civilized world. New lines of steamships were started, new lines of rail- roads built, new markets opened for goods and produce, new mills and factories established. Finally, when the gold in the sands began to give out, men then found the real, inexhaustible wealth of the country in its fields of grain,* its vineyards, its orange plantations, its sheep and cattle farms. These make it a true land of gold, and of gold which is forever growing, forever increasing. 295. Summary. — James K. Polk's presidency opened with our getting possession of Oregon. The Mexican War followed, resulting in our obtaining California and New Mexico. The period closed with the discovery of gold, and with an immense emigra- tion to California. Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore. 296. Taylor and Fillmore's Administrations (Twelfth and Thirteenth Presidents, One Term, 1849-1853) ; the Question of the Extension of Slavery. — When General Taylor ^ became President, the North and the South were already engaged in fierce dispute in regard to the territory gained through the Mexican War. Texas had been admitted as a slave state — it was the last slave state that entered the Union ; next, Congress was called on to determine whether California and New Mexico should be permitted to hold slaves. 1 Farming in California is often carried on on an immense scale. There are single fields of wheat and barley of thousands of acres in extent. 2 General Taylor was born in Virginia, 1784. A few years later his father removed with his family to Louisville, Kentucky. Taylor entered the regular army in 1808. In 1840 he bought a plantation, and settled at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His career in Mexico has already been traced. He was elected President by the Whigs, over Lewis Cass, the Democratic candidate, and Martin Van Buren, the Free-Soil candidate. President Taylor died July 9, 1850, and was succeeded by Vice-President Millard Fillmore. General Taylor owned a large number of slaves ; but in political action he belonged to no party, and did not favor the extension of slavery to new territory. He was a brave, true, and conscientious man. 266 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. This question of the spread of slavery had now come to be of greater importance and of greater danger to the country than any other. It acted Hke a wedge, gradually forcing the North and the South further and further apart. The reason was that the two sections had come to be wholly unlike. At the North, the laborer was free ; whatever he earned was his own. At the South, he was not free ; and what he earned was his master's. The North with free labor had steadily increased in population and in wealth ; the South with slave labor had made but little real progress. Most people at the North now considered slavery a positive evil ; but a strong party at the South, under Calhoun, held, in spite of all the facts pointing to the contrary, that it was a positive good. This difference in belief led to the struggle about the new territory. The South was the more determined because it was only by getting new slave states — thus bringing in senators and representatives — that it could maintain its power in Congress. If that power were once really lost, the foremost Southern leaders feared that their whole system of labor would be destroyed, that the negroes would be set free, and that they would by and by get the control of that part of the country. 297. Dispute about Slavery; the Danger of Disunion; the Compromise of 1850; the Fugitive-Slave Law. — The longer the dispute about slavery in the new territory went on, the hotter it grew. Three methods of settlement were proposed. The extreme Southern men said. Every citizen of the United States has the right to go to any part of the country he pleases, and take his property — including his negroes — with him. Give us, said they, that right, and we ask no more. But the Free-Soil men answered. We will have no more slave states. All territory shall come in free. Finally, a third class said : Congress has no right to meddle in this matter, one way or the other. The people of the territories are the sovereigns ; ^ let them decide 1 This was called " Popular Sovereignty," or " Squatter Sovereignty," because it left the question to the settlers (sometimes called " squatters ") of the new territories. THE DANGER OF DISUNION. 267 for themselves between freedom and slavery. Their \vill shall be law. Meantime, California asked admission as a free state. President Taylor, though himself a large slaveholder, strongly favored its admission ; but Calhoun and his party just as strongly opposed it. The feeling became so violent and bitter that it seemed to many that the Union must be broken up, and that, instead of one nation, we should split into a Northern and a Southern Republic. At this time of peril, Henry Clay, " the Peacemaker," came forward in Congress with a compromise,^ or plan of settlement.^ He said: i. Let California come in as a free state. 2. In the remainder of the territory, obtained from Mexico, let the people determine for themselves how they will come in. 3. All runaway slaves found at the North shall be arrested, and, without trial by jury, they shall be returned to their masters. Daniel Webster employed his eloquence to get Congress to vote for this compromise, including the new Fugitive-Slave Law ; ^ for he believed that if it was rejected, the country would be lost. Many people at the North denounced him, as John Quincy Adams once did, as "a heartless traitor to the cause of human freedom " ; 1 Compromise : see note 3, page 225. 2 Clay's Compromise Bill contained so many points that it was called the " Om- nibus Bill." In it he proposed to conciliate the North by: i. Admitting California as a free state. 2. By abolishing the slave trade (but not slavery) in the District of Columbia. On the other hand, he endeavored to conciliate the moderate party in the South by : I. Leaving the question of slavery in New Mexico and Utah (acquired from Mexico), to the people of those territories. 2. To conciliate all parties in the South, he proposed a more effective Fugitive-Slave Law than that of 1793, which rested on a provision of the Constitution (see the Constitution, page xiv). The Omnibus Bill was passed at last, not as one, but as several bills (September, 1850). Henry Clay, though a slaveholder, was opposed to the extension of slavery into new territory, and used all his influence to get his own state (Kentucky) to abolish slavery, but without success. 3 Mr. Webster, however, wished to have this law modified so as to secure trial by jury to negroes arrested as fugitives, in case they denied that they were runaway slaves. His efforts to secure this change were unsuccessfiil. See Curtis's " Life gf Webster," II. 422, 423. 268 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. but Horace Greeley, a strong Abolitionist, declared that the great majority, both North and South, agreed with Mr. Webster.^ 298. Passage of the Fugitive-Slave Law ; its Results ; the *< Underground Railroad**; the *< Higher Law.** — During the debate on the Fugitive- Slave Law, President Taylor died, and was succeeded by Vice-President Fillmore. The law, with the other compromise measures, passed in the autumn of 1850, and it was hoped that peace was secured. But it was only a hollow peace, Hke the quiet of a smouldering fire, ready to break out at any moment in a conflagration. As soon as the slave-owners of the South attempted to secure their runaway negroes at the North there were riots and rescues. In Boston, a fugitive named Shadrach was taken from the officers and carried off to a place of safety ; and in Syracuse, New York, one named Jerry received his liberty in the same way. Several Northern states now passed laws to protect negroes and prevent their being sent back to slavery. Many persons, out of pity for the escaped slaves, banded themselves together to help them privately to get to Canada. This method got the name of the " Underground Railroad " ; and hundreds, if not thousands, of trembling fugitives owed their liberty to the quickness and secrecy of this peculiar system of travel. In no country in the world is law more respected than in America — because here the mass of the people themselves make the laws. But now for the first time many men began to say, as William H. Seward of New York did in the United States Senate : Above the Constitution and all acts of Congress there is a " Higher Law " — a divine law of justice and of freedom which compels us through conscience not to obey the order of the government, and not to return the fugitive to his master. 299. << Uncle Tom's Cabin** ; Charles Sumner and Jeffer- son Davis. — This feeling of opposition was suddenly intensified 1 See Horace Greeley's "American Conflict." PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION. 269 throughout the North by the pubUcation in 1852 of Mrs. Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin.'" It was in every respect a remarkable book — one written from the heart to the heart. It meant to be truthful, to be fair, to be kind. In a single year two hundred thou- sand copies were sold in this country, and in a short time the total sales here had reached half a million copies. Mrs. Stowe's object was to show what the life of the slave really was — to show its bright and happy side, as well as its dark and cruel side. People who took up the book could not lay it down until they had finished it. They laughed and cried, and laughed again, over " Topsy," " Eva," and " Uncle Tom " ; but they ended with tears in their eyes. No arguments, no denials, could shake the influence of the story. From this time onward a silent revolution was going on. The forces for slavery and those against it were girding themselves up for the terrible struggle. The great leaders of the nation on both sides — Clay, Webster, Calhoun — had died before the close of 1 85 2. New men were taking their places in Congress — Charles Sumner representing the North ; Jefferson Davis, the South. In the battles which these two men fought in words we have the beginning of that contest which was soon to end in civil war. Both felt that the time was very soon coming when the republic must stand wholly free or wholly on the side of slavery. 300. Summary. — The four chief events of the Taylor and Fillmore administrations were : ( i ) the debate on the extension of slavery in the new territory gained by the Mexican War; (2) the Compromise Measures of 1850, with the Fugitive-Slave Law; (3) the publication of " Uncle Tom's Cabin " ; and (4) the beginning of the final struggle in Congress between the North and the South. Franklin Pierce. 301. Pierce's Administration (Fourteenth President, One Term, 1853-1857) ; the " World»s Fair " at New York City ; American Labor-Saving Machines. — The summer fol- (( Reaping-Machine, or Harvester. 270 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. lowing the inauguration of President Pierce ^ a great exhibition of the products and industries of all nations was held at New York (1853) in a building of glass and iron erected for it, called the Crystal Palace." Its chief result was that it helped us as a people to compare our own work with that of Europe. It proved beyond all doubt that Ameri- cans have no equals in practical inventions and in the excellence and variety of their labor-saving machinery — their steam-print- ing-presses, power-looms, sewing- machines, steam-shovels, planing- machines, and the like. This was especially the case in the ex- hibition of farming-implements. The reapers and mowers for cutting grain and grass showed the immense advance we had made over the slow work formerly done by hand with sickle and scythe. The French Academy of Sciences declared that Cyrus McCormick,^ the inventor of the reaper, had " done more for the cause of agriculture than any man living." 1 Franklin Pierce was born in New Hampshire in 1804; died 1869, He was in Congress from 1837-1842, and was a brigadier-general in the Mexican War, He was elected President (William R. King of Alabama, Vice-President) by the Democrats, over General Scott, the Whig candidate. The Whig party had practi- cally ceased to exist before the next presidential election, in 1856. The Free-Soilers humorously declared that it died " of an attempt to swallow the Fugitive-Slave Law" (which the Whig National Convention had accepted in 1852). In 1852 a new political party called the American Party, or " Know Nothings," came into existence. They had a secret organization, and their object was to exclude all but native American citizens from office, to check the power of Catholicism, and to oppose the admission of foreigners to citizenship except after very long residence here. Their motto was, " Americans must rule America." The " Know Nothings " became a national party, exerted considerable influence for a few years, and then died out. In 1853 the present boundary between the United States and Mexico was finally established by our purchase (through General James Gadsden, the United States minister to Mexico) of the region including the Mesilla Valley (now Southern Arizona and Southern New Mexico ; see Map on page 331) for ^10,000,000. 2 Cyrus Hall McCormick was born in Virginia, 1809. In 1834 he patented his THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT. 2/ 1 302. Commodore Perry opens the Ports of Japan. — Not long after the close of the Crystal Palace Exhibition, Commodore Perry sailed into one of the ports of Japan with the first fleet of steamers that had ever entered a harbor of that island. For over two centuries that country had been almost wholly closed to the entire world.^ The Japanese dreaded Europeans, and they had been taught that all Americans were barbarians of the most dan- gerous sort. Commodore Perry succeeded in convincing them that if the Americans were barbarians, they were of an uncommonly ingenious and agreeable kind. Through his influence the govern- ment of Japan made a treaty with the United States admitting our ships to trade ; and we, on the other hand, made the emperor presents of a locomotive with a train of cars, and a line of tele- graph — the first ever seen in that country, which has since adopted, through our influence, both steam and electricity. 303. The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealing the Missouri Compromise. — It will be remembered that the Missouri Com- promise of 1820 shut out slavery from the territory west and north of Missouri.'^ At the time the Compromise was made it was solemnly declared that it should stand " forever." But the end of that " forever " was now reached. The South demanded the right to carry slavery into the region of Nebraska beyond Missouri. In 1854, Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois — the *' Little Giant," as his friends called him ^ — proposed a law entitled the Kansas 1 _^^_^_^_ machine for reaping grain (operated by horse-power), and later improved it so that it not only cut the grain, but bound it in sheaves. William H, Seward, then in the United States Senate, said in 1859, " Owing to Mr. McCormick's invention, the line of civilization [in the United States] moves westward thirty miles each year." And Professor Alexander Johnston says that the results of McCormick's invention " have been hardly less than that of the locomotive in their importance to the United States. ... It was agricultural machinery that made Western farms profitable, and enabled the railroads to fill the West so rapidly." 1 The Dutch had the privilege of trading with Japan, but under restrictions which forbade their landing on the island. 2 gee Paragraph 243. 3 Senator Douglas was short in stature and stoutly built. His great intellectual ability and marked decision of character got for him the name of the " Little Giant." 2/2 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. and Nebraska Bi]l. That bill cut what was then the territory of Nebraska into two parts, of which the southern portion was called Kansas ; and it left it to the settlers of these two territories to decide whether they would have slave labor or not.^ Congress passed the bill, and thus repealed or set aside the Missouri agree- ment made in 1820. The North was indignant at the new law. Senator Douglas was hooted in the streets. Mass meetings were held to denounce him ; and so many images of him were made and burned, that Mr. Douglas himself said that he travelled from Washington to Chicago by the light of his own blazing effigies. 304. The Struggle for the Possession of Kansas ; Emi- grants from Missouri and from New England. — Now (1854) a desperate struggle began between the North and the South for the possession of Kansas.^ No sooner had President Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, thus making it law,^ than bands of men armed with rifles commenced to pour into the territory, resolved to win it either by fraud or force. The first movement came from the slaveholders of Missouri, who crossed the Missouri River and took up lands in the new territory. Soon after, this party began a settlement which they named Atchison, in honor of Senator Atchison of Missouri. Next, the New England Aid Society of Boston sent out a body of armed emigrants, who settled about forty miles to the south- west of Atchison. They called their little cluster of tents He died in 1861, shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War. His dying message to his sons was an entreaty that they should stand by the Union and the Constitution. 1 The " Kansas-Nebraska Act" extended the principles of Clay's Compromise of 1850 (see Paragraph 297) (which applied only to territory acquired from Mexico) by leaving it to the people of all the territories to make their own choice about slavery. 2 In speaking of this coming struggle, Hon. William H. Seward of New York said, in the United States Senate, 1854: "Come on, then, gentlemen of the slave states ; since there is no escaping your challenge, I accept it on behalf of Freedom. We will engage in competition for the virgin soil of Kansas, and God give the victory to the side that is stronger in numbers as it is in right." 3 See pjkge 239, note 4. ATTACK ON LAWRENCE. 2/3 and log-cabins Lawrence, because Amos A. Lawrence was treasurer of the society, which was estabUshed to aid Northern men in the double purpose of building homes in Kansas and of making the territory a free state. Thus, that part of the territory lying on the Missouri River came to be held by men favoring the introduc- tion of slavery ; while the territory somewhat further west and south was generally in the hands of those opposed to slavery. 305. The Rival Governments of Kansas ; Civil War in the Territory. — These rival sections soon set up governments to suit themselves. The Free-state settlers had their headquarters at Topeka and Lawrence ; the Slave-state, at Leavenworth and Lecompton. From 1854 to 1859 that part of the country suffered so much from the efforts of both parties to get control that it fairly earned the name of "Bleeding Kansas." During the greater part of five years the territory was torn by civil war.^ The Free-state men denounced the opposite party as "Border Ruffians"; the "Border Ruffians " called the Free-state men " Abolitionists " and ".Black Republicans." ^ 306. Attack on Lawrence ; John Brown ; Assault on Charles Sumner. — In the course of this period of violence and bloodshed the Slave-state men attacked Lawrence, plundered the town, and burned some of its chief buildings. This roused the spirit of vengeance in the heart of " Old John Brown " of Osa- watomie.^ He was a descendant of one of the Pilgrims who came 1 Civil war (from the Latin word civis, a citizen) : a war between citizens of the same state or country. 2 Early in 1856 those who had opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, and who were pledged to resist the extension of slavery into new territory, formed a new political party, and adopted the name of " Republicans." This was the origin of the present party of that name. Their opponents at the South nicknamed them " Black Republicans," because the party was opposed to holding the black man in bondage. 3 John Brown, born in Torrington, Connecticut, 1800, was executed at Charles- town, West Virginia, December 2, 1859, for having attempted by armed force to liberate slaves in that state. He was a descendant of Peter Brown, who came 274 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. over in the Mayflower} and he had made a solemn vow to " kill American slavery." In return for the attack on Lawrence, Brown got together a small band, surprised a little settlement of Slave- state men on Pottawatomie Creek, south of Lawrence, dragged five of them from their beds, and deliberately murdered them. Later, Brown crossed into Missouri, destroyed considerable prop- erty, freed eleven slaves, and shot one of the slave-owners. The truth appears to be that each party in Kansas was resolved to driv^e out the other.- In the end, the Free-state men won the victory, and Kansas finally entered the Union without slavery (1861). During the heated debate in Congress over the Kansas troubles, Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts made a speech denounc- ing slavery, and alluding to Senator Butler of South Carolina in a way that stung the latter's friends to madness. Representative Brooks, a kinsman of Butler's, considered the speech an insult ; he brutally assaulted Sumner, and beat him so severely over the head with a heavy cane that he was obliged to give up his seat in Congress for nearly four years. In less than a year from his return (1859) South Carolina had seceded from the Union. 307. Summary. — The chief events of Pierce's administration were: (i) The "World's Fair" exhibition; (2) Commodore Perry's treaty with Japan, opening that country to trade with the United States; (3) the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill repealing the Missouri Compromise ; and (4) the struggle of the North and the South for the possession of Kansas. over in the Mayfiower in 1620. When a boy, he chanced to see a slave boy cruelly beaten by his master, and he then and there vowed (so he says) " eternal war with slavery." In 1848 he purchased a farm in North Elba, New York, but spent agreat deal of his time in aiding runaway slaves to get to Canada. He went out to Osa- watomie, Kansas, in 1855, to take part in making that territory a free state, and also, as he says, to strike a blow at slavery. Brown's party declared that they perpetrated the " Pottawatomie Massacre " in return for the assassination of five Free-state men by the opposite party. 1 See Paragraph 73. 2 During this administration and the preceding some attempts were made by armed expeditions of Americans to get possession of Cuba, and also of part of Central America, but they ended in complete failure. results at the north. 275 James Buchanan. 308. Buchanan's Administration (Fifteenth President, One Term 1857-1861) ; the Case of Dred Scott. —Two days after President Buchanan's ^ inauguration, Chief-Justice Taney of the United States Supreme Court gave his decision in a case of great importance, known as the " Dred Scott Case." Scott was a negro slave and the son of slave parents. His master had taken him (1834) from the slave state of Missouri to the free state of Illinois, where he staid two years. He then took him to what is now Minnesota, a part of the country * in which Congress had prohibited slavery,'^ and finally carried him back to Missouri. There Scott was sold to a new master ; but the negro demanded his liberty, on the ground that since he had lived for a consider- able time on free soil he had therefore become a free man. 309. Chief-Justice Taney's Decision in the Dred Scott Case; Results at the North. — The case was carried to the United States Supreme Court. Chief- Justice Taney ^ decided : (i) that a negro (whether bond or free), who was a descendant of slave ancestors, was not an American citizen ; (2) therefore he could not sue (even for his liberty) in the United States Courts. He furthermore decided that Scott had not gained his freedom by going into a free state, or into a Territory where Congress had prohibited slavery, since Congress had no power to do this. The Court declared that when the Constitution was adopted negroes '^ had no rights which the white man was bound to re- spect;"* and lastly, that Scott's master could lawfully take his slaves into any Territory, just as he could his horses and his cattle. 1 James Buchanan was born in Pennsylvania, 1791 ; died, 1868. He was elected to Congress in 1820; later, to the United States Senate; was minister to Russia; Secretary of State under Polk ; and 1853 minister to England. He was elected President (John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, Vice-President) by the Democrats, over John C. Fremont, the Republican candidate, and Millard Fillmore, the " American," or " Know-Nothing,'' candidate. * Then called the Territory of Upper Louisiana. 2 The Missouri Compromise (1820), virtually repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), prohibited slaveiy in this territory. See pages 225, 271. 3 Judge McLean and Judge Curtis did not agree with this decision. 4 This was no personal feeUng of Judge Taney's, for he had freed his own slaves. 2/6 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. This decision by the highest court in the United States stirred the North like an electric shock. The people of that section believed that Chief- Justice Taney's decision practically threw open to slavery not only the Territories but even the free states.-^ The result was that many people determined that the law should not be carried out.^ This, of course, angered the South, and greatly increased the bad feeling between the two sections.^ 310. The Business Panic of 1857. — While men were ex- citedly discussing the Dred Scott decision, and while the danger of disunion was growing more and more threatening, a heavy business failure occurred in Cincinnati.* This brought dowTi other business houses, just as when a large building falls the smaller ones whose walls rest against it often fall with it. The panic of 1837* was now repeated. Nearly all the banks in the country failed,® many railroads could not pay their debts, thousands of merchants and manufacturers were ruined, and it seemed at one time as though all rich men must become poor, and all poor men become beggars. The chief causes of this trouble were to be found in the results of the discovery of gold in California.' The increased wealth 1 That is, that the free states could not prevent a slaveholder from bringing his slaves with him (as Scott's master had done), and staying at least two years with them on free soiL 2 The Northern people believed that under the Constitution slaves could only be held in those states which protected slavery by their laws, and that if a master took his negroes into a state whose laws forbade slavery, he could not hold them in bondage there. 3 Meanwhile (1845-1846), two of the great religious denominations of the coun- try — the Baptists and the Methodists — had split; and each was now organized as a Northern and a Southern Church ; the first opposing slavery, and the second upholding it. Later (1861), the Presb}'terian denomination became similarly divided; but not the Episcopal or the Roman Catholic. 4 The Ohio Life and Trust Company failed, through the fault of its New York agent, in August, 1857. « See Paragraph 274. « The Chemical Bank of New York City, which had gone safely through the great panic of 1837, continued to pay all demands in gold. The State Bank of Indiana and the Kentucky banks also met all demands against them in a satisfac- tory manner. See Ex-Secretarj- of the Treasury McCulloch's " Men and Measures of Half a Century," page 133. ^ See Paragraph 294. DISCOVERY OF SILVER IN NEVADA. 2// had stimulated men to overdo all kinds of business ; more lines of railroad had been built in the West than the population de- manded ; many manufacturers had made greater quantities of goods than they could sell ; and many merchants had bought more than they could pay for. The country was like a man who had worked beyond his strength — it had to stop and take a rest. 311. Discovery of Silver in Nevada and Colorado, and of Petroleum and Natural Gas in Pennsylvania. — But in 1858, the very next year after the panic, some of the richest silver mines ever discovered on the globe were found in the moun- tain region of Western Nevada.^ The two chief of these, known as the *' Bonanza " ^ mines, sent out many millions of dollars' worth of ore cast in the form of bricks. When, in the course of time, these famous " silyer bricks " decreased in number for want of ore to make them, new mines that had been found (1877) in Leadville and other parts of Colorado and also in Utah, sent out a new supply of the precious metal. In 1859 Colonel Drake sunk the first successful oil-well on Oil Creek, near Titusville, in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Since then, petroleum ^ has flowed in streams from the wells that have been opened in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Southern New York. The average yield of these wells is now about fifty thousand barrels of oil a day. Lines of iron pipes, laid underground, carry the oil over hills, across rivers, through forests and farms, to Chicago, Buffalo, Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, and other points on the Great Lakes and the seacoast. Petroleum is used not only for giving light, but it is more and more employed to oil machinery and for heating purposes. 1 The mines were discovered in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in what is called the Comstock lode (a lode is a vein or deposit of mineral). 2 " Bonanza" : a Spanish word meaning prosperity. In the West it is applied (in mining) to a very rich mass of gold or silver ore. The total yield of the mines of the Comstock lode has been over two hundred and fifty million dollars. The amount at present obtained from them is very small. 8 Petroleum : commonly known, in one of its refined forms, as kerosene oil. 2/8 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. About fifteen years after the discovery of petroleum in Penn- sylvania, natural gas was found issuing from the rocks in the same region. This gas has now taken the place of oil and coal in Pittsburgh and vicinity for lighting streets and houses, for cooking, and for fuel in manufacturing. As Nature makes it in her labora- tories underground, the gas costs practically nothing more than the expense of the tubes which conduct it from the earth. On this account it is sometimes seen burning in the streets all day as well as all night, for there are cases where it may be cheaper to let it burn than to hire men to go round and shut it off. It is proposed to lay pipes conveying the gas to Philadelphia, New York, and other cities, in order to supply them with light at a lower rate than that at which they can now get it. 312. John Brown's Raid. — In the autumn of 1859 the whole country was startled on hearing that "John Brown of Osawatomie " ^ had made a raid^ into Virginia, seized the government build- ings at Harper's Ferry, and attempt- ed to liberate the slaves in that vicin- ity. John Brown's whole band con- sisted of only about twenty men, partly whites and partly negroes. After hard fighting, he was cap- tured, with six of his companions, and hanged at Charlestown, Virginia (December 2, 1859). On the day of his execution, he handed this paper to one of his guards : ''I, John Brown, am Harper's Ferry. 1 See Paragraph 306. 2 Raid : a sudden invasion by a body of armed men. THE ELECTION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 2/9 now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood. I had, as I now think, vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed it might be done." 1 Within a year and a half from the day of his death, the North and the South were at war with each other, and a Northern regi- ment on its way to the contest was singing, — " John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave. But his soul is marching on." 313. The Election of Abraham Lincoln; Secession of South Carolina. — In November, 1 860, Abraham Lincoln ^ of 1 Governor Wise of Virginia said of John Brown : " He inspired me with great trust in his integrity as a man of truth," The governor also said : " They are mis- taken who take Brown for a madman. He is a bundle of the best nerves I ever saw . . . cool, collected, indomitable." In his last speech at his trial, John Brown declared that his only object had been to liberate the slaves, and that he did not intend to commit murder or treason or to destroy property. " I feel," said he, " no consciousness of guilt." It is worthy of note that when the Republican party, which was opposed to the extension of slavery, nominated Abraham Lincoln for the presidency in i860, it expressly denounced John Brown's attempt as " lawless and unjustifiable." 2 Abraham Lincoln was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, in 1809. His early life was spent in toil, hardship, and poverty ; but it was the independent poverty of the Western wilderness, and it made men of those who fought their way out of it. When the boy was only eight years old he had learned to swing an axe. From that time until he came of age he literally chopped and hewed his way forward and upward. He learned to read from two books — the spelling-book and the Bible; then he borrowed " Pilgrim's Progress " and ^sop's Fables, and would sit up half the night reading them " by the blaze of the logs his own axe had split." In 1816 the Lincoln family moved to Spencer County, Indiana; and in 1830, to Decatur, Illinois. On this last occasion, young Lincoln walked the entire dis- tance, nearly two hundred miles, through mud and water, driving a four-ox team. The journey took fifteen days ; for even two yoke of oxen do not move quite as fast as steam. When they reached their destination, in what was then an almost unsettled country, the father and son set to work to build the log-cabin which was to be their home ; and when that was finished, the young man split the rails to fence in their farm of ten acres. Such work was play to him. He was now twenty-one ; he stood six feet three and a half inches, barefooted ; he was in perfect health ; could out-run, out-jump, out-wrestle, and, if necessary, out-fight, any one of his age in the county, and " his 28o LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Illinois was elected President of the United States, then a nation of over thirty millions, by the Republican party. That party, though it denounced John Brown,^ had pledged itself to shut out slavery from the territories. The people of South Carolina believed that the election of Mr. Lincoln meant that the great majority of the North was determined to bring about the liberation of the negroes. That was a great mistake ; but the Caro- linians could not then be convinced to the contrary. They furthermore saw that they could no longer hope to maintain the power they once possessed in Congress, for the free states now had six more senators and fifty-seven more representatives than the slave states had.^ grip was like the grip of Hercules." Without this rugged strength he could never have endured the strain that the nation later put upon him. In 1834 he resolved to begin the study of law. A friend in Springfield offered to lend him some books ; Lincoln walked there, twenty-two miles from New Salem (where he then lived), and, it is said, brought back with him four heavy volumes of Blackstone, at the end of the same day. A few years later he opened a law-office in Springfield. In 1846 " Honest Abe," as his neighbors and friends called him, was elected to Congress ; and in i860, to the presidency of the United States, by the Republican party (Hannibal Hamlin of Maine, Vice-President). The Democratic party had split into a Northern and a Southern party. The former had nominated Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois ; and the latter, John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky. The former American (or " Know- Nothing ") party, which now called itself the " Constitutional Union Party," had nominated John Bell of Tennessee. Lincoln received nearly half a million more votes than Douglas, and more than a million in excess of those cast for either of the other candidates. 1 See page 279, note i. 2 In 1790, just after the foundation of the government, the free states had 14 Boyhood of Lincoln. (Bj permiBsion of Prang k Co., Art Publishers.) Vs FORMATION OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES. 28 1 On December 20, i860, a convention met in " Secession Hall," in Charleston, and unanimously voted " that the union now sub- sisting between South Carolina and other states, under the name of the United States of America, is hereby dissolved." Those who thus voted said that it was no hasty resolution on their part, but that it had been under consideration for many years. The declaration of secession was welcomed in the streets with the firing of cannon and the ringing of bells. The citizens believed that the Union was broken up, and that South Carolina had now, as its governor said, become a " free and independent State." 314. Secession of Six Other Southern States ; Formation of the ** Confederate States of America.** — By the first- of February (1861) the states of Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, Ala- bama, Louisiana, and Texas — making seven in all — had likewise withdrawn from the Union. As one seceding senator expressed it, they had left the national government " a corpse lying in state in Washington." On February 4 (1861), delegates from these states (except those from Texas, who arrived later) met at Montgomery, Alabama, and, having framed a government and taken the name of the *' Confederate States of America," with Montgomery as the capital, they elected Jefferson Davis ^ of Mississippi, President, and senators and 35 representatives in Congress ; the slave states, 12 senators and 30 representatives. From 1796 to 1812, inclusive, the free states and the slave states had an equal number in the Senate, but the free states had a majority in the House. After 1848 the free states had a majority in both Senate and House, and in the latter it was constantly and largely increasing. That fact meant that the South had lost its political power simply because the North had outgrown it in population. 1 Jefferson Davis was born in Kentucky in 1808 ; died, 1889. He graduated at West Point Military Academy in 1828. In 1845 he was elected to Congress by the Democrats in Mississippi, of which state he had become a resident. He served with distinction in the Mexican War (see Paragraph 290). In 1847 he entered the United States Senate, where, like Calholin, he advocated state rights and the extension of slavery. President Pierce made him Secretary of War. He was United States Senator under Buchanan. His state (Mississippi) seceded on January 9, 1861. Mr. Davis kept his seat in the Senate until January 21, and then, with a speech asserting the right of secession, he withdrew to join the Southern Con- federacy. 282 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Alexander H. Stephens^ of Georgia, Vice-President of the Confed- eracy. The Stars and Stripes were now cast aside, and the " Stars and Bars " ^ took their place. 315. Why the South seceded ; Seizure of National Prop- erty; the Star of the West fired on. — What took these seven states — soon to be followed by four more — out of the Union? The answer is, it was first their conviction that slavery would thrive better by being separated from the influence of the North ; and, secondly, it was their belief in " State Rights," ^ upheld by South Carolina as far back as Jackson's presidency. According to that idea, any state was justified in separating itself from the United States whenever it became convinced that it was for its interest to withdraw. In this act of secession many of the people of the South took no direct part, — a large number being, in fact, utterly opposed to it, — but the political leaders were fully determined on separa- tion. Their aim was to estabhsh a great slave-holding republic, or nationaUty, of which they should be head.'* 1 Alexander H. Stephens was bom in Georgia in 1812; died, 1883. He was in Congress as a representative of the Whigs from 1843 ^o i8S9' ^^ afterwards joined the Democrats. He at first opposed secession, and said that it was " the height of madness, folly, and wickedness " ; but when Georgia seceded, he decided that it was his duty to stand by his state. After the Civil War he again entered Congress, and in 1882 he was elected governor of Georgia. He was a man who had the entire respect of those who knew him. 2 The " Stars and Bars," as the Confederate flag was popularly called, to dis- tinguish it from the " Stars and Stripes," consisted of a blue union (the upper, inner corner of a flag is called the union), containing at first seven, and later eleven, white stars, — representing the number of the Confederate states, — arranged in a circle. The body of the flag was made up of three very broad horizontal stripes, or " bars," the middle one white, the two others red. See page 286. 3 See Paragraph 269. 4 Alexander Stephens, Vice-President of the Confederacy, said, in a speech at Savannah, March 21, 1861, " The prevailing idea entertained by him [Jefferson] and most of the leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old Consti- tution [the Constitution of the United States] was that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature ; that it was wrong in principle — socially, morally, and politically. . . . Our new government [the Southern Con- federacy] is founded upon exactly the opposite idea ; its foundations are laid, its SUMMARY FROM WASHINGTON TO BUCHANAN. 283 President Buchanan made no attempt to prevent the states from seceding ; part of his cabinet were Southern men, who were in full sympathy with the Southern leaders, and the President did not see how to act. The seceded states seized the forts, arsenals, and other national property 'within their Hmits, so far as they could do so. Fort Sumter, commanded by Major Anderson of the United States army, in Charleston Harbor, was one of the few where the " Stars and Stripes " remained flying. President Buchanan had made an effort to send men and supplies to Major Anderson by the mer- chant steamer Star of the West (January 9, 1861) ; but the peo- ple of Charleston fired upon the steamer, and compelled her to go back. All eyes were now turned toward Abraham Lincoln. The great question was. What will he do when he becomes President? 316. General Summary from Washington to Buchanan (1789-1861). — 'Looking back to the presidency of Washington, we see that over seventy years had elapsed since the formation of the Union. We then had a population of less than four millions; in 1861 — at the outbreak of secession — we had eight times that number, and much more than eight times the wealth possessed by us in 1789. Thus, from a small and poor nation, we had grown to be great and prosperous. In 1 789 our western boundary was the Mississippi, and there seemed no prospect that we should extend beyond it. In 1861 it was the Pacific. Our original eight hundred thousand square miles had increased to over three millions ; and the original thir» teen states had added to themselves twenty-one more, besides immense territories. In 1 789 New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston, and New Orleans — six in all — were our only cities, and they comer-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery — subordination to the superior race — is his natural and normal condition." — McPherson's Political History of the Rebellion, page 103. 284 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. were so small that they were hardly worthy of the name. By 1861 most of these places (especially those at the North) had grown enormously in population and wealth, and we had added to them many flourishing cities like Brooklyn, Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis,^ St. Louis, Cincinnati, and San Francisco, — all, but the last, bound to each other by railroads, and all con- nected by lines of telegraph. But between 1789 and 1861 there was this sad difference: Washington had found and left us a united people ; Buchanan, a divided people. Seven of our states had left us ; four more would go. For many years we had been brothers ; now we were fast becoming enemies. Only let the word be spoken, and our swords would leap from their scabbards, and we would fly at each other's throats. What had brought about this deplorable change ? Time. Time had strengthened Slavery at the South and Freedom at the North. It was no longer possible for both to dwell together in peace under the same flag. Either the Union must be dissolved, or those who loved the Union must fight to save it ; and, before the war should end, must fight to make it wholly free. If that could be done, then lasting peace would be restored ; for then the North and the South — no longer separated by slavery — would again become one great, prosperous, and united people. 1 The eastern part of what is now Minneapolis was incorporated as a city, under the name of St, Anthony, in i860. The west side, named Minneapolis, was incor- porated as a city in 1867 ; in 1872 the two were united under that name. Lincoln's administkaxion. 285 VI. " Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brouglit forth upon this conti- nent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. . . . "We here highly resolve . . . that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth." — President Lincoln's Address at Gettysburg, November ig, iS6j. -»<>•- THE CIVIL WAR (April, i86i, to April, 1865). Abrahaim Lincoln. 317. Lincoln^s Administration (Sixteenth President, Two Terms, ^ 1861-April 14, 1865) » the President's Arrival at Washington; his Speech; his Intentions toward the Seceded States. — President Lincoln's friends believed that it would not be safe for him to make the last part of his journey to Washington publicly ; and he therefore reached the national capi- tal secretly by a special night train. At his inauguration (March 4, 186 1) he said : " I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in 1 Abraham Lincoln (see Paragraph 313, note 2) was elected President by the Republican party (Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, Vice-President), in 1S60, over Douglas and Breckenridge, the two candidates of the Northern and the Southern Demo- crats, and Bell, the candidate of the " Constitutional Union " party. He was again elected by the Republicans, in 1864 (Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, Vice-President), over General George B. McCIellan, the Democratic candidate. President Lincoln was assassinated April 14, 1865, one month and ten days after entering upon his second administration. Vice-President Johnson then became President for the remainder of the term. President Lincoln, on first entering office, chose William H. Seward, Secretary of State; Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury; Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy; and Simon Cameron, Secretary of War; succeeded January 15, 1862, by Edwin M. Stanton. During the Civil War they rendered services of inestimable value to the President and to the nation. 286 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. the States where it exists. I believe I hare no lawful right to do so ; and I have no inclination to do so." But the President also declared in the same speech that he held the Union to be per- petual, and that he should do his utmost to keep the oath he had just taken "to preserve, protect, and defend it."^ He further- more declared that the government had no intention of beginning war against the seceded states, but would only use its power to re-take the forts and other national property which had been seized by the Confederacy. At this time the general feeling throughout the Northern States was a strong desire for peace, and a willingness to assure the Southern States that their Constitutional right - to hold slaves should not be interfered with. First Year of the War, April, i86i, to April, 1S62. 318. Major Anderson»s Condition at Fort Sumter; the First Gun of the War; Surrender of the Fort. — Major Ander- son now sent a message to the President, stating that he could not long continue to hold Fort Sumter unless provisions were sent to him. His entire garri- son, aside from some laborers, con- sisted of eighty- five, officers and men ; the Con- federate force in STAR OP THE WtST BATTEKV Map of Charleston Harbor. 1 See the President's oath of office on page 192, note 3. 2 See the Constitution, page xiv., section 2, " No person held to service," etc. SURRENDER OF FORT SUMTER. 287 Charleston was about seven thousand. The government immedi- ately made arrangements to send the needed supplies. As soon as Jefferson Davis heard of it. General Beauregard/ in command of Fort Sumter. the Confederate army at Charleston, was ordered to demand the surrender of the fort. Major Anderson declined to surrender, and at daybreak, April 12, 1861, the Con- federates fired the first gun at the fort. It was answered by one from Sumter. War had begun. For thirty-four hours nineteen bat- teries ^ rained shot and shell against the fort, which continued to fire back. Notwithstand- ing this tremendous cannonade, no one was killed on either side. But Major Anderson, finding that his ammunition was nearly ex- ConfederatB Flag. (The Stars and Bars.) 1 Beauregard (Boh'reh-gard). 2 Batteries : a battery is a wall of earth or other fortification having a number of cannon mounted on it. A battery may also consist of cannon mounted on wheels and drawn by horses. 288 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. The Flag Major Anderson carrfed with him from Fort Sumter. hausted, and having nothing but pork left to eat, decided to give up the fort. On Sunday (April 14), he, with his garrison, left the fort, and embarked for New a^sj York ; he carried with him the shot-torn flag under which he and his men had fought.^ 319. President Lincoln*s Call for Volunteers ; the Ris- ing of the North. — The next day (April 15, 1 861) President Lin- coln called for seventy- five thousand volunteers for three months' service — for few then supposed that the war, if there was really to be a war, would last longer than that. In response to the President's call the whole North seemed to rise. Men of all parties forgot their political quarrels, and hastened to the defence of the capital. Within thirty-six hours several companies from Pennsylvania had reached Washington. They were speedily followed by the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment — the first full regiment to march. They had to fight their way through a mob at Baltimore. There, on April 19, 1861, the day on which the Revolutionary battles of Lexington and Concord were fought, the first Union sol- diers gave their lives for the preservation of the nation.^ Many of the volunteers were lads under twenty, and some of them had never left home before. There were affecting and also amusing scenes when the "boys in blue"^ started for Washington. 1 Just four years, to a day, from that date, Major Anderson (then General Ander- son) hoisted the same flag over the ruins of Fort Sumter. 2 On April 18, i86i,the Confederates seized the United States arsenal at Harper's Ferry, and on the 20th the Navy Yard at Norfolk. In both cases, however, the officer in command succeeded in burning a large part of the property before it fell into the hands of the Confederates. 8 The Union soldiers wore blue uniform ; the Confederates, gray. SECESSION OF FOUR MORE STATES. 289 Anxious mothers took tearful leave of sons, whom they feared they should never see again. One good New England woman, as she bade her boy good-by at the railroad station, thrust the well- worn family umbrella into his hand as her parting gift. Her ideas of war were not quite as clear as General Scott's ; but she was sure of one thing : if her " John " must go to battle, she wanted to feel that he could fight comfortably under shelter in wet weather. On the Southern side there were the same anxious leave-takings ; for. it should be borne in mind that while the people of the North were eager to offer their lives for the defence of the Union, the people of the South were just as eager to give theirs to repel what they considered invasion. 320. Secession of Four more States; General Butler*s ** Contrabands.'* — President Lincoln's call for troops made it necessary for the remaining slave states to decide at once whether they would remain in the Union or go out. Virginia^ joined the Confederacy ; but the western part of the state had voted against secession, and later it became a separate state under the name of West Virginia. The Confederate capital was soon removed to Richmond. Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina followed the example of Virginia ; but Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri did not secede. By the middle of June the Confederacy consisted of eleven states ; no more were added. General Butler of Massachusetts held command of Fortress Monroe in Eastern Virginia. It was the only Union stronghold in the state, and was of the very highest importance. A number of slaves came to the General and begged him to set them free. He had no authority to give them their liberty. On the other hand, he was certain that if he returned them to their masters they would use them in carrying on the war against the Union. Finally, 1 The secession of Eastern Virginia immensely increased the miHtary difficuhies with which the North had to contend. Had Virginia remained in the Union (as she seemed at one time likely to do), the war would probably have been of short duration. 290 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. General Butler got out of the difficulty by saying, These negroes are contraband of war ;^ then putting spades in the hands of the " contrabands," as they were henceforth called, he set them to work to strengthen the fort. General Butler's action was the first decided blow struck at the existence of slavery after the com- mencement of the war. 321. Condition of the North and of the South with Respect to the War. — In regard to the terrible struggle now about to begin between the North and the South, each of the com- batants had certain advantages over the other. First, the North had more than twice as many men to draw on as the South.^ Next, although unprepared for war, the North had iron-mills, ship-yards, foundries, machine-shops, and factories of all kinds. For this rea- son it could make everything its soldiers would need, from a blanket to a battery. Finally it had the command of the sea and so with its war-vessels* it could shut up the Southern ports and cut them off from help from abroad. The South had the advantage (i) of being prepared for the war by having got possession of large quantities of arms and ammunition (though it had small means of making any more) ; (2) with the exception of General Scott and a few others who stood by the Union, it had a majority of the best- known officers in the regular army, — such men as Robert E. Lee of Virginia^ and General Beauregard; (3) it could send all of its 1 Contraband of war : here meaning, forfeited by the customs or laws of war. General Butler's idea was that the laws of war forbade his returning anything or any property to the Confederates, or to those who sympathized with them, which they could use in carrying on the contest. * But nearly all these had to be built. 2 The total population of the United States in i860 was in round numbers, 32,000,000. The Union states had about 23,000,000 ; the eleven seceded states about 9,000,000, of which nearly 3,500,000 were slaves. 3 General Lee was born in Virginia, 1807 ; died 1870. He was a graduate of West Point, and served with distinction in the Mexican War (see Paragraph 291). When Virginia seceded, Lee, who was then a lieutenant-colonel in the United States army, said, " I recognize no necessity for this state of things," yet he felt it his duty to go with his state. He said, " With all my devotion to the Union ... I have not been able to make up my mind to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home." He was made commander-in-chief of the Virginia state forces. In 1862, NUMBER AND POSITION OF THE TWO ARMIES. 29! fighting men to the front while it kept several milHons of slaves at work raising food to support them ; (4) the South had the great advantage of being able to fight on the defensive, on its own soil, and so needed fewer soldiers. 322. The Number and Position of the Two Armies. — President Lincoln's first call for troops was quickly followed by others, and the South likewise strengthened its side. By the sum- mer of 1 86 1 the Union forces probably numbered about 180,000, and those of the Confederates, 150,000. The former were under the direction of the veteran General Scott,^ and the latter under General Beauregard.^ The Union army was mainly in Eastern Virginia and Maryland. It extended along the banks of the Potomac from Harper's Ferry to the mouth of the river, and thence southward to Fortress Monroe. The Confederate army held the country south of it, with Richmond as its fortified centre. In Missouri and West Virginia there was a contest which ended in the national troops, under Generals Lyon, Fr^mont,^ and he received — subject to the orders of Jefferson Davis — the entire command of " the armies of the Confederacy." His management of the war showed that he was a man of great military abiHty, and of entire devotion to what he understood to be his duty. 1 See Paragraph 291. 2 General Joseph E. Johnston ranked above General Beauregard, and after the battle of Bull Run (July 21, 1861), in which he took a leading part, he held com- mand of the Confederate army of Virginia until he was wounded at the battle of Seven Pines, May 31, 1862, when General Lee took the command. 3 General Fremont was born at Savannah in 18 13. Under the authority of the government he began the exploration of the Rocky Mountains and of an overland route to the Pacific in 1842-1844. In 1845 he set out on another exploring expedi- tion to the Pacific coast. After the outbreak of the Mexican War he, with the assist- ance of Ariierican settlers in California, freed that territory from the authority of Mexico, and in the summer of 1846 he was appointed governor of the territory. By treaty with Mexico in 1847 Fremont secured California to the United States. In 1856 he was nominated to the Presidency (as the anti-slavery candidate) by the Republican party. From 1878 to 1881 he was governor of Arizona. In the summer of i86i Fremont issued a proclamation emancipating the slaves of all persons in Missouri who were in arms against the Union j but President Lincoln refused to approve it. 292 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. iC Halleck, getting control of the firsts, while General McClellan drove out the Confederates from the second. In the southwest the Confederates had got possession of the Mississippi from New Orleans to Columbus, Kentucky, by building forts on the river banks. They were making preparations to do the same on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, and their intention was, if pos- sible, to get the entire control of Kentucky besides. 323. The Battle of Bull Run. — The cry at the South was, On to Washington I ** It was answered by the cry of the North, «0n to Rich- mond ! " Beaure- gard had taken up his position at Manassas Junction on Bull Run.i There he could both protect the Confederate capi- tal and threaten Washington. He had an army of about 30,000. GeneralMcDowell in command, in the field, of the Union forces, had about the same number. One army, as President Lincoln said, was as "green" as the other. McDowell advanced, not because he was ready, or because General Scott SCALE OF MILES 35 50 75 100 1 Run : a small stream or creek. BATTLE OF BULL RUN. 293 advised it, but for the simple reason that the North was tired of waiting and was impatient to strike a decisive blow. The battle began on a sweltering hot Sunday in July (July 21, 1 861). At first the Union troops drove the Confederates from their position. General Bee, one of the Southern leaders, rushing up to General Jackson cried out, " General, they are beating us back." " We will give them the bayonet," said Jackson quietly. That reply encouraged General Bee. Rallying his men, he shouted, " Look ! there is Jackson standing like a stone wall ! " It was true ; and " Stonewall " Jackson,^ as the Confederate general was ever after called, used "the bayonet" so effectually that the Union advance was checked, and the Southerners held their ground until heavy reinforcements came from the Shenandoah Valley and drove the national troops from the hard-fought field. They fled back to Washington in confusion and terror. It was the first panic of the war. 324. Results of the Defeat at Bull Run. — Some failures are simply stepping stones to final success. The defeat at Bull Run was such a case. Instead of discouraging the people of the North, it roused them to new and greater effort. At the very time the defeated and disheartened Union soldiers v/ere pouring over the Long Bridge across the Potomac into Washington, Con- gress voted to raise 500,000 men and $500,000,000 to carry on the war. The cry now was, " Drill and organize ! " General McClellan came fresh from his victories in West Virginia to take command of the army. He taught them the great lesson, that enthusiasm without military organization is of no more use than steam without an engine. For the next six months and more 1 General Thomas J. Jackson, of Virginia, was born in 1824; died 1863. He was one of the most remarkable men who fought on the side of the South. His character may be fitly summed up in his motto, — " Do your duty, and leave the rest to Providence." His death was the heaviest personal loss the South sustained during the war. Lee called "Stonewall" Jackson his "right arm"; in his depart- ment he ranked as one of the ablest generals in the Confederacy, and was respected alike by those who fought under him and those who fought against him. 294 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. there was no general movement, but, as the newspapers said, " all was quiet on the Potomac" ;^ that quiet, however, meant that both sides were now getting ready to fight in terrible earnest. 325. Union Plan of the War. — Gradually a plan for the war in defence of the Union took shape ; it was this : i. To maintain a strict blockade - of all Southern ports, and thus cut off the South from getting supplies from abroad for carrying on the war. 2. To attack and take Richmond. 3. To open the lower Mississippi, with the Tennessee and the Cumberland, which the Confederate forts had closed to navigation. 4. To break through the Confed- erate line in the West, march an army through to the Atlantic, and thence northward to Virginia. 326. The Confederate War-Vessels ; Seizure of Mason and Slidell. — While the Union forces were completing the blockade, and getting possession of important points like Fort Hatteras and Port Royal on the Southern coast, Jefferson Davis was not idle. He succeeded in buying or building a num- ber of war-vessels in Great Britain which in time destroyed so many merchant ships owned in the North that unarmed vessels no longer dared to carry the stars and stripes. Later, the Alabama^ built in England, was added to the Confederate fleet and inflicted immense damage on Union commerce, for which at the end of the war England had to pay roundly. Early in November (1861) the Confederacy undertook to send two commissioners or agents — Mason and SHdell — to Europe to get aid for the Southern cause and also to endeavor to per- suade England and France to acknowledge the independence of the Confederate states. 1 On October 21, 1861, a body of Union troops two thousand strong was beaten by a large force of Confederates at Ball's Bluff on the Potomac, and on August 10 of the same year General Lyon was defeated and killed at the battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri. 2 This blockade was maintained by stationing vessels of war in front of every Southern port, thus effectually closing them (in most cases) to all commerce with Europe. THE CONFEDERATE WAR-VESSELS. 295 Captain Wilkes of the United States navy stopped the British mail steamer Trent, on which Mason and Shdell had embarked for England, and took them both prisoners. England at once de- manded that the national government should give them up. The North protested, but President Lincoln said, "We fought Great Britain in 181 2 for doing just what Captain Wilkes has done. We must give up the prisoners to England." It was accordingly done, but Mason and Slidell, though they went to Europe, failed to accom- pHsh anything of importance for the Confederacy. 327. The Merrimac destroys the Cumberland and the Congress; the Monitor, — When the Confederates seized the Norfolk navy yard,^ they got possession of the United States ship of war Merrimac. Having covered the vessel with a very heavy double plating of iron, they sent her out under command of Cap- tain Buchanan to destroy the Union war-vessels at the mouth of the James River off Fortress Monroe. The Union ships were of wood ; they could not resist an antagonist that was a float- ing fort rather than an ordinary war-vessel. The balls from their guns made no more impression on the iron shell of the monster which now attacked them, than a sparro\y's bill would make on the back of an alligator. The Merrimac sunk the Cwnberlaiid, which carried down with her many sick and wounded men ;^ she then de- stroyed the Congress. The next day (Sunday, March 9, 1862) the Merrimac returned to complete the destruction of the fleet ; sud- denly a strange little craft appeared, looking like a " cheese-box on a The Monitor and the Merrimac. 1 See note 2, page 288. The Confederates named the Merrimac the Virginia. 2 See Longfellow's poem on the loss of the Cumderland. 296 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. raft." This was the Monitor^ a new Union vessel made of iron. She was commanded by Lieutenant Worden. The Merrimac now found that she had got her match. After a terrific battle the Con- federate vessel in a leaking condition * steamed back to the navy yard at Norfolk. The ''little giant" had practically won the day. It was perhaps " the most important single event of the war." If the Merri?nac had gained the victory, she might next have gone up the Potomac and destroyed the national capital. In that case European nations might have acknowledged the independence of the South, and demanded that the blockade be raised and the ports of the Confederacy thrown open to the commerce of the world. The United States now built more monitors, and by the end of the year had a fleet of several hundred effective war-vessels of differ- ent kinds, both on the ocean and on the western rivers. "^328. The War in the West ; Capture of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. — At the West the line of the Confederate army, under General A. S. Johnston, stretched from Mill Spring, and Bowling Green, in Kentucky, through Fort Donelson on the Cumberland, and Fort Henry on the Tennessee, to Columbus on the Mississippi. General Halleck,^ in command of the greater part of the Union forces of the West, resolved to break that line, to enter the cotton states, and also to open the Mississippi. In January, 1862, General Thomas attacked Mill Spring, and drove 1 The Alonitor was built by Captain Ericsson, the inventor of the screw-propeller for steamships, and of the hot-air engine. She was an iron vessel of small size, sitting so low in the water that scarcely anything of her hull was visible. In the centre of her deck stood a revolving iron turret, which carried two cannon, sending solid shot weighing one hundred and sixty-six pounds. The invention of the Monitor revolutionized the construction of war-vessels throughout the world. Few wooden ships of war have since been built. * Col. Wood, of the Merrimac (or Virginia)^ speaks of slight damages, but no leak ; he thinks " the battle was a drawn one," but says " the advantage was with the Monitor P See Century Company's War Book, I. 703. 2 General Halleck was born near Utica, N. Y., in 1815 ; died 1872. He graduated at West Point and served in the Mexican War. He was appointed a major-general of the United States army in August, 1861. He received command of the depart- ment of Missouri (with other states) in November, and of the department of the Mississippi in March. 1862. From July, ii, 1862, to March, 1864, he was general- in-chief of the armies of the United States, and had his headquarters at Washington, 6« *jQ \ ^^^i<^M'ii^ 1 *K i . ^ iS ^ 111 Hi J q: lij o z UJ tc (/) < z o t o z o o z (/) z < tc C3 ^ THE WAR IN THE WEST. 297 most of the Confederates out of the State of Kentucky. Then General Halleck ordered General U. S. Grant/ to start from Cairo, Illinois, and attack Fort Henry ; but Commodore Foote got there first with his gunboats and took it (February 6, 1862). Grant then moved on Fort Donelson. The battle raged for three days in succession ; then the Confederate General Buckner asked Grant what terms he would grant him if he gave up the fort. \Cincinnati Maysville ^ Bowling Green '^y^ — (LV^^^'""-'i oliiinTiiii \ A^ •^ rMWl Sp nntf , ^'' ' ^^i^tij:, Island y ^^^,^^^ t;^- --,„„f'm--'^''' ,,vM«„„N,-fe=\ ^:"in'' ^' _ - 50 SCALE OF MILES 100 200 300 Grant wrote back, " JVo terms except an unconditional and tmme- diate surrender can be accepted^'^ The Confederates were forced 1 General U. S. Grant was born in Ohio, 1822; died in New York, 1885. He was a graduate of West Point, and served in the Mexican War (see Paragraph 292), where he was promoted for meritorious conduct in battle. In 1859 he entered into the leather and saddlery business with his father at Galena, Illinois. On the breaking out of the Civil War he raised a company of Union volunteers, and in August, 1861, he was made a brigadier-general, and took command of the department of Cairo. His subsequent career will be traced in the pages of this history. 2 Hence the name sometimes given General Grant of" Unconditional Surrender Grant." See copy of General Grant's letter to General Buckner, on page 297. 2gS LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. to agree to Grant's conditions and the first great Union victory of the war was won (February i6, 1862). Fifteen thousand pris- oners — " the greatest number ever taken in any battle (up to that time) on this continent " — were captured, and also large quantities of arms. Columbus was now of no use to the Confederates and they abandoned it. The surrender of Nashville followed, and Kentucky and Tennessee were in the hands of the Union forces. 329. Battles of Pittsburg Landing and Island Number Ten. — Grant, with his victorious army, then moved up the Ten- nessee River to Pittsburg Landing or Shiloh. Here (April 6, 1862) he was attacked by General A. S. Johnston and driven back. Some hours later General Buell came up with a very large force of Union troops. The Union men now outnumbered the Confederates by seventeen thousand, and the next day Grant gained his second great victory. In his official report he said, " I am indebted to General Sherman for the success of that battle." On that hotly contested field twenty-five thousand men had fallen dead or wounded ^ — among them was General John- ston — one of the South's noblest men.^ On Map of Island No. 10, the following day (April 8, 1862) the Confed- showing the Canal cut eratcs on Island Number Ten, in the Missis- by the Union troops in . . i i . /"• -i -i~> ^ r^ order to take the Con- ^^VVh Surrendered to Commodore Foote, after federate fortifications, nearly 3. month's obstinatc fighting. That vic- tory was of immense importance in a military point of view, for it opened the river to the Union vessels down to Vicksburg, a distance of about three hundred miles. 330. General Summary of the First Year of the War, April, 1861, to April, 1862. — The Civil War began April 12, 1 86 1, with the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter. After the surrender of that fort, the first great battle was fought in the sum- mer at Bull Run, and resulted in the defeat of the Union army. 1 Union force, 5 7,000 ; Confederate, 40,000. Union loss, 14,000 ; Confederate, 1 1,000. - After he was wounded. General Johnston sent his surgeon to attend to some wounded Union prisoners, while he was gone Johnston bled to death. EXPEDITION AGAINST NEW ORLEANS. 299 In the spring of 1862 the battle between the Merrimac and Moni- tor occurred, and the Merrimac was forced to retreat. During the year the Union forces in the West gained the important victories of Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, and Island Number Ten. The general result of the year was decidedly favorable to the cause of the Union, especially in the West. Second Year of the War, April, 1862, to April, 1863. 331. Expedition against New Orleans ; how the City was defended. — Very early in the spring of 1862 an expedition under Captain Farragut ^ and General Butler sailed from Fortress Monroe to attack New Orleans, the most important city and port in the possession of the Confederate government. The approach to New Orleans was defended by two strong forts on the Mississippi, about seventy-five miles below the city.^ These forts were nearly opposite each other, so that any vessels trying to pass between them would be exposed to a tremendous cross fire from their guns. Just below the forts the Confederates had stretched two heavy chain cables, on hulks, across the river to check any Union war-ships that might attempt to come up, while above the forts they had stationed fifteen armed vessels — two of them ironclads like the Merrimac.^ With these defences the city defied attack. Captain Farragut had a fleet of nearly fifty wooden vsssels. It was considered to be the most powerful " that had ever sailed under 1 Admiral Farragut was born in Tennessee in 1801 ; died 1870. He entered the navy in 1812. In 1841 he was made commander, and later, captain. In 1862, after his famous victory at New Orleans, he was promoted to the rank of rear-admiral, then (1864) to that of vice-admiral, and in 1866 to that of admiral — the highest posi- tion in the United States navy ; the last two grades were created for him. From 1823 to the outbreak of the Civil War, Farragut's home, when on shore, was at Nor- folk, Virginia. He insisted that Virginia had been forced to secede against the will of the majority of the people of the state. From 1861 to the close of his life his home was at Hastings-on-the-Hudson 2 New Orleans is about one hundred and five miles from the sea. In the war of i8i2 a single fort, at one of the points where those two Confederate forts stood, checked the advance of the British fleet for nine days. ^ See paragraph 327. 300 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. the American flag." General Butler had followed him to take command of a force of fifteen thousand men, then at Ship Island,^ near New Orleans, and with them to hold the city after its sur- render. Farragut's work, with the aid of Commander Porter's mortar-boats,^ was to silence the forts, break through the chains, conquer the Confederarte fleet, and take the city. 332. Bombardment of the Forts ; Farragut passes them and destroys the Opposing Fleet ; Capture of New Orleans. — For six days and nights Commander Porter hammered away at the forts, and the forts did their best to hammer back. The dis- charge of artillery was deafening, and the shock so severe that it killed birds and fish, and broke glass in windows at Balize, thirty miles away. Porter's men were completely exhausted by their labors at the guns, and the moment they were ofl" duty would drop down on the deck and fall fast asleep, amid the continuous roar of the battle. Finally, Captain Farragut determined to make an attempt to cut through the chains, and run past the forts. He succeeded in doing this, and after a terrific combat, destroyed the Confederate fleet and reached New Orleans. The river- front of the city, for a distance of full five miles, was all ablaze with burning ships, steamboats, and thousands of bales of cotton, which had been set on fire to prevent their capture by the Union forces. A party of Farragut's men landed, speedily hauled down the "stars and bars" from the public buildings, and hoisted the "stars and stripes" in their place (April 25, 1862). 1 Ship Island is in the Gulf of Mexico, about one hundred miles east of New Orleans. See Map on page 331. 2 Mortar-boats : vessels for carrying mortars, short and very wide-mouthed can- non for firing shells. The shells used here were hollow cast-iron balls of great size, weighing nearly three hundred pounds. They were filled with powder, and so con- structed that when they fell they would explode with tremendous violence. The shells made a peculiar screaming, hissing noise as they flew through the air, accom- panied by a train of smoke by day and of fire by night. When one buried itself in the earth inside of one of the forts and then exploded, the result was like that of a small earthquake. THE WAR IN VIRGINIA. 301 Port Hudson and Vicksburg were now the only important forti- fied points on the Mississippi still held by the Confederates. If they could be taken, the great river of the West would once more be open from its source to the sea. But both Port Hudson and Vicksburg stood on immensely high bluffs/ out of the reach of the guns of the war-vessels, so that it would he exceedingly difficult, if not indeed absolutely impossible, to capture them by an attack from the river alone. For this reason an expedition against them had to be put off until a land force, as well as one by water, could be sent to make the attack.^ 333. The War in Virginia ; McClellan's Advance on Rich- mond ; the Peninsular Campaign ; the Weather. — Before Farragut had taken New Orleans, General Mc- Clellan with one hundred thousand men, leaving about as many to defend Washington,* had begun an advance on Rich- mond from Fortress Monroe. His plan was to march up the Penin- sula — as the Virginians call the long and rather narrow strip of land be- tween the James and York rivers. The Con- federates did everything in their power to check his advance at York- Seven Pines and Fair SCALE QF MILES 10 town and Williamsburg, and, later, at 1 The banks of the river at Port Hudson and Vicksburg are about two hundred feet high. * 40,000 of these were at Fredericksburg under McDowell. ? Captain Farragut, after taking New Orleans, went up the river, captured Baton Rouge and Natchez, and attempted, but in vain, to take Vicksburg. He was now made rear-admiral. 302 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Oaks. Meanwhile heavy rains compelled McClellan's army to wade, rather than march, forward through mud and water. To increase his difficulties the Chickahominy River had overflowed its banks ; and as part of his army was on one side of it and part on the other, they could not act together to advantage ; in fact, both parts were floundering about for weeks in a swamp, spending much of their time in building roads and bridges, and fighting the weather rather than the enemy. An immense number of men were lost by sickness. 334. << Stonewall'* Jackson^s Raid; Stuart's Raid ; Re- sults of the Peninsular Campaign. — Early in June (1862) General Lee ^ took command of the Confederate forces,^ shortly after " Stonewall " Jackson had gained a brilliant success.^ " Stonewall " had started to drive General Banks' Union army out of the Shenandoah Valley, in Western Virginia, and make the authorities in Washington think that the capital was in danger of immediate attack. With his seventeen thousand men he made Banks's nine thousand run for their lives to the Potomac ; and he effectually prevented McClellan from getting any help from the forty thousand Union troops at Fredericksburg.* Then Lee sent General Stuart with a dashing body of cavalry to see what mis- chief he could do. He rode clear round McClellan's army, tore up the railroads, burned car-loads of provisions, and made mat- ters very awkward and uncomfortable for that general. From June 25 to July i (1862), Lee and McClellan were engaged in a number of desperate fights around Richmond, known as the " Seven Days' Battles " ; ^ Lee captured many guns and prisoners ; the Union forces retreated to James River, and McClellan and his army were recalled to the neighborhood of Washington. In these 1 See Paragraph 321, note 3. * Note *, page 301. 2 General Joseph E. Johnston had been in command since the battle of Bull Run, July, 1861. He was wounded at the battle of Seven Pines, May 31, 1862, and. Lee then took command. 3 gee page 293, note i. 4 In the last of these battles, that at Malvern Hill, Lee's forces were driven back with heavy loss. During the Peninsular campaign the armies of Fremont, Banks, and McDowell were united under the name of the Army of Virginia, and the com- mand of this force was given to General Pope, who had been successful in the West. GENERAL LEE. THE SECOND BATTLE OF BULL RUN. 303 last battles over fifteen thousand men had been lost on each side, but the Union army had accomphshed nothing decisive ; though it had been within sight of the spires of the Confederate capital, and of the wooden or " Quaker guns " which helped to guard it.^ Once the alarm there was so great that a niece of Jefferson Davis wrote to a friend, " Uncle Jeff thinks we had better go to a safer place than Richmond." On the other hand, President Lincoln called for additional volunteers ; and new forces, shouting, "We are coming, Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more," began to go forward to the aid of the government. 335. The Second Battle of Bull Run; Lee*s Advance across the Potomac; Battle of Antietam.'- — Near the last of August (1862), Lee advanced his forces against General Pope,* and met him in the second battle of Bull Run. " Stonewall " Jackson did the heaviest of the fighting. Pope was completely defeated, and sent whirling back to the fortifications at Washington. Not long after, Lee crossed the Potomac above Washington, his men singing exultingly, "Maryland, my Maryland." Lee believed that thousands of the Maryland people would welcome him as their deliverer, and would join him in a march against Philadelphia. In this he was sorely mistaken. In the middle of September, " Stone- wall " Jackson captured Harper's Ferry, and thus obtained a quan- tity of arms and some provisions. McClellan now advanced to meet Lee. At Antietam Creek (or Sharpsburg) one of the blood- iest battles of the war was fought (September 17, 1862) ; and the bodies of the " boys in blue " and of the " boys in gray " lay in ranks like swaths of grass cut by the scythe.' The result of 1 One of the humorous features of the war was the use of wooden cannon by the Confederates in their fortifications at Manassas, Richmond, and elsewhere. It was some time before the Union army found out this clever trick of the " Quaker guns," which, as a " contraband " said, were "just as good to scare with as any others." * See page 302, note 4. 2 Antietam (An-tee'tam). 3 Union forces actually engaged at Antietam are estimated at about 60,000. McClellan's available strength was probably double that of Lee's. Confederate forces, 40,000. See Century Company's War-Book II, 603. Loss nearly 12,000 on each side. Authorities differ about the strength of the two armies. "Loss" in all cases, is understood to include wounded as well as killed. 304 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. the terrible contest was that Lee was compelled to retreat across the Potomac. McClellan followed, but he did not move rapidly enough to suit the government authorities, and the command of the army was taken from him and given to General Burnside. 336. Battles of Fredericksburg and Murfreesboro. — Gen- eral Burnside set out to march on Richmond, but found the Confederates strongly fortified^ on the hills around Fredericksburg, on the Rappahannock. In the battle which ensued (December 13, 1862) he was defeated with heavy loss and forced to fall back toward Washington. General Hooker — "Fighting Joe Hooker," as his men called him — now received the command of Burnside 's army. This was the last battle of the year in the East. In the West (December 31, 1862) the Confederate General Bragg attacked General Rosecrans at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Each had about forty thousand men. The contest raged for three days, and resulted in a slight advantage to the Union forces.^ 337. President Lincoln's Proclamation of Emancipation ; its Results. — President Lincoln had entered office resolved, as he then said, not to interfere with slavery. But the progress of the contest had convinced him that slavery was not only the real cause, but also the main strength of the war against the Union. He believed that the time had now come when it was his duty to strike that cause and that strength a decided blow. On New dear's Day, 1863, the President issued a proclamation, freeing all the slaves in those states of the South which were still at war against the Union.^ Thus by a single stroke of the pen, over three millions of negroes received (so far as the government could then 1 Burnside had about 125,000 men ; Lee had 80,000 strongly entrenched on and near the hills. Burnside lost 12,000 men, and Lee not quite half that number. 2 Union loss, 14,000; Confederate, 11,000. 3 President Lincoln issued a preliminary proclamation of emancipation on Sep- tember 22, 1862, giving one hundred days' warning to the South. In case any state chose to return to the Union within that time its slaves were not to be set at liberty by the final proclamation. When the President had been repeatedly and strongly iirged to liberate the slaves at an earlier period of the war, he declared, " My para- 8^ o^ do iX ^ ^ I ^ b^'sS REDUCED COPY OF A PART OF THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION (Jan. I, 1863). LINCOLN S PROCLAMATION OF EMANCIPATION. 305 give it) that most precious, yet most perilous of all rights — the ownership of themselves. No greater event is recorded in the pages of American history. After the expiration of nearly a hun- dred years the nation at last made good, without exception, the words of the Declaration of Independence, which declare that '^ all men are created equal " ; that is, with equal natural rights to " hfe, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Many thousands of negroes were now enlisted in the Union army.; but the greater part remained quietly at work on the Southern plantations. The freedom of the whole body of slaves in the country was not accomplished until after the close of the war. Then an amendment to the Constitution^ declared that slavery should no longer exist in the United States. That final act of emancipation has proved to be as much an advantage to the white race, both North and South, as to the negroes themselves. Free labor has brought a greater degree of prosperity than any section of the country ever obtained under slave labor. Now that the South is no longer hampered by having to hold the negroes in bondage, it has found its real strength and its true and lasting prosperity. 338. Summary of the Second Year of the War, April, 1862, to April, 1863. — The one great military success of the year on the part of the Union forces was the taking of New Orleans. In the East, if McClellan and his successors failed to reach Richmond, Lee, on the other hand, failed just as com- pletely and far more disastrously in his attempted invasion of the North. The Proclamation of Emancipation gave the war a new character. Before, the North had been fighting simply to restore the Union as it was ; but now, it was to restore the Union without slavery — to make the nation wholly free. mount object is to save the Union, and not either to save or destroy slavery." Again he said : " If the Union can best be saved by emancipating all the slaves, I am willing to emancipate them all ; if it can best be saved by emancipating part, I am ready to emancipate a part ; and if it can best be saved by not emancipating any, I will emancipate none." 1 See Amendments tcf the Constitution, page xvii. Article XI IL 3o6 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Third Yel\r of the War, April, 1S63, to April, 1S64. 339. The War in the East; Battle of Chancellorsville. — In the spring of 1S63, General Hooker crossed the Rapidan, intend- ing to advance on Richmond. But he had no sooner started than General Lee, with " Stonewall " Jackson, met him at Chancellors- ville. Here a two days' battle was fought (May 2-3, 1S63). Hooker had twice as many men^ as the Confederates, but he was badlv beaten. Possiblv, he mi^ht have gained the victory ; but at a critical mo- ment he was stunned by a cannon-ball and lay senseless for many hours. During all that time his army " was without a head." Lee, with ''Stonewall" Jackson's effi- cient help, not only won the battle, but drove the LTnion forces back across the river. It was, however, a dearly bought triumph to the Confederates, for Jackson was accidentally shot by some of his own men. He died soon after. It was the heaviest loss of the kind which the South suffered during the war. Chancellors- ville was the last victory gained by the Confederates in Virginia in the open field.- Soon after this the command of the Union army was given to General Meade. 340. Battle of Gettysburg. — A month after the battle of Chancellorsville Lee made a second ^ attempt to enter the free states and conquer a peace. He moved down the Shenandoah Valley witli about seventv thousand men, crossed the Potomac the first week in " Stonewall " Jackson. 1 Union forces in the battle, 90,000; Confederate, 45,000. Union loss, 17,000; Confederate, about 12,000. General Lee gave Jackson all the credit of tlie victory. 2 See the Comte de Paris, " History of the War," III. 102. 8 See Paragraph 335. THE SURRENDER OF VICKSBURG. 307 June (1863), and moved forward into Pennsylvania, intending to strike Harrisburg, the capital of the state, and then, if suc- cessful there, to march on Philadelphia. General Meade, with a Union force of about eighty thousand,^ met Lee at Gettys- burg. Here one of the most important and decisive battles of the war was fought. Both sides showed the most desperate determina- tion to win ; for both knew that the results of victory would be far reaching. The Confederates were posted on Seminary Ridge; the Union men, on Cemetery Ridge, nearly opposite. The battle lasted three days (July 1-3, 1863). On the third and last day the Confederate General Pickett, with a force of fifteen thousand veterans, charged up the slope of Cemetery Ridge. To reach the slope they had to cross a mile of open ground. They came forward steadily, silently, under a terrible fire from the Union guns. Their ranks were ploughed through and through with shot and shell, but the men did not falter. They charged up the ridge and broke a part of the Union line ; but they could go no further, and Pickett, with the fragments of his division, — for only fragments were left, — fell back defeated.* It was the end of the most stubbornly fought battle of the war ; nearly fifty thousand brave men had fallen ^ in the contest : Lee had failed ; he re- treated across the Potomac, and the North was safe, for the Confederate general never made another attempt to invade it. ^341. The Surrender of Vicksburg and Port Hudson. — While the great battle of Gettysburg was going on, another battle of almost or quite equal importance was being fought at Vicks- burg, on the Mississippi. Vicksburg and vicinity were held by a strong Confederate force under General Pemberton. Early in the spring (1863) General J. E. Johnston (then at Chattanooga, Tennessee) moved with an army to join Pemberton. In a num- ber of masterly battles Grant defeated Pemberton before Johnston 1 Lee had 73,500 men, and 190 cannon ; Meade, 82,000, with 300 cannon. 2 Union loss, 23,000 out of 80,000; Confederate, 25,000 out of 70,000. * " I am proud to be the countryman of the men who assailed those heights," said President Lincoln when he was shown the slope up which Pickett charged. 3o8 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. could unite with him. He then forced him to retreat to Vicks- burg, and at the same time drove Johnston otf the field. For seven weeks following, Grant and Sherman/ with a total force of over seventy thousand, besieged Vicksburg. During that time the Union men were shelling the city night and day. Food had become so scarce that the Confederate troops had but one {( cracker " and a small piece of raw pork a day, and the town was so knocked to ^ ^ pieces with shot and shell that the women and children were forced to live in caves dug in the 'earth. They, too, were reduced to a few mouthfals of food a day ; and when '' mule steaks " gave out, many had to choose between eat- ing cats and rats or dvinsf of stan-ation. Out of less than thirty thousand men the Confederates had six thousand sick or wounded in SCALE OF MILES 100 150 hospital, besides great numbers unfit for active duty. Finally, the case became so desperate that they could hold out no longer, and on July 4 (1863), Vicksburg surrendered. Grant took nearly thirt}--two thousand prisoners ; they were ragged. 1 Generals U. S. Grant and ^^^ T. Sherman. General W. T. Sherman was born at Lancaster, Ohio, in 1820. He graduated at West Point in 1840, entered the regular armv, and was in California during the Mexican ^^'ar. He commanded a L'nion brigade at Bull Run, and won the battle of Pittsburg Landing. In May, 1862, he was made major-general. He died in New York City, Februar)' 14, iBgi. SURRENDER OF PORT HUDSON. 309 hungry, defeated, but defeated only because human nature could endure no more. Before noon of that day the stars and stripes were hoisted over the Court House, and Grant and Sherman's men made the place ring \vith, — " Yes, we'll rally round the flag, boys, We'U rally once again, Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom." Among those that took part in the celebration of that victory was the war-eagle " Old Abe." He was a pet bird, the hero of many battles, and was carried, perched on the ilag, by one of the Vicksburg, showing the Union Gun-Boats and the firing from the Confederate Batteries color-bearers of the Eighth Wisconsin Regiment. He had flapped his wings and screamed defiance in the thickest of the fight, and now he exulted with the " boys in blue " over the result. It was a great " Fourth " for the Union. Port Hudson surrendered five days later (July 9, i863\. and thus the second part of the Union plan of the war was accom- plished. The first had been to shut the ports of the South by the blockade ; the second, to open the Mississippi River. This had 310 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. now been done, and the great river flowed in peace from Minne- sota to Louisiana, and from Louisiana to the sea. 342. Draft Riots ; ^Morgan's Raid ; Chickamauga ; Siege of Chattanooga. — The last call of President Lincoln for volun- teers did not bring anything like the number of men needed, and in July (1863), the government began to draft ^ the troops required. In New York City mobs of rioters resisted the draft, but they were finally put down by armed force, and the necessary men for the army were in the end obtained. In the South drafting had long been going on, and nearly every able-bodied man was forced to serve in the war. During the same month General Morgan with a body of Con- federate cavalry made a raid through Tennessee and Kentucky into Indiana and Ohio, burning mills, factories, and bridges, tear- ing up the railroads, and destroying a large amount of property ; but he was at last captured and his men scattered. In the course of the summer General Rosecrans, with a Union army, had got possession of Chattanooga, in Southern Tennessee. He then set out in pursuit of the Confederate General Bragg, who was stationed with his army at Chickamauga, just over the Georgia line. Here a severe battle was fought (September 19-20, 1863). Bragg had the most men and defeated Rosecrans. The Union forces would have suffered still heavier loss had it not been for the bravery of Gisneral Thomas — " the Rock of Chicka- mauga," as his men called him ; he held his position as stub- bornly as a rock, and saved a large part of the army from destruction. The Union forces now retreated to Chattanooga, and were shut up there by Bragg, who besieged them for two months. , 343. Battles of Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain; Sherman's Raid; Grant made General-in-Chief. — The Con- federates held Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, over- looking the beautiful Chattanooga Valley. General Hooker had 1 See page 186, note i. 6« VIEW FROM LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN. SUMMARY OF THE THIRD YEAR OF THE WAR. 3II come from Virginia to take a hand in the fight, and, under Grant, he, with Sherman and Thomas, drove the enemy from the moun- tains in three battles (November 23-25), — one "the battle above the clouds."^ The Confederates now retreated to Dalton, Georgia. In February, 1864, General Sherman made a raid^ across Missis- sippi, and effectually destroyed the railroads centering at Meridian, by ripping up the rails, burning bridges, machine-shops, and loco= motives. So little was left of the place that one of the inhabitants said, " Sherman didn't simply smash things, but he just carried the town off with him." This rendered the Confederates in that quarter helpless to attack him at Chattanooga. Shortly after this (March 3, 1864), Grant was made general-in-chief of the Union armies. At last the right man has been found, and there will be no more changes. He will advance on Richmond, and Sherman will soon begin his famous march from Chattanooga to Atlanta, and from Atlanta to the sea. 344. Summary of the Third Year of the War, April, 1863, to April, 1864. — At the East the Confederates had gained the battle of Chancellorsville, but lost " Stonewall " Jackson. Lee's second invasion of the North had ended in his defeat at Gettys- burg ; at the same time Grant and Sherman were taking Vicksburg. Port Hudson surrendered a few days later, and the Mississippi was open through its entire length. In the Southwest, the Union forces, after severe battles at Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and Look- out Mountain, were successful. Grant was now made general-in- chief of the Union forces ; he went East to manage the- war there, and left Sherman in charge of the West. Fourth and Last Year of the War, April, 1864, to April, 1865. 345. Grant and Sherman agree on a << Hammering Cam- paign.'' — Early in the spring of 1864, Grant and Sherman met 1 That of Lookout Mountain. Union forces in the campaign 60,000, loss 5800; Con- federate 40,000 (?), loss 6700. 2 From Vicksburg, destroying the roads on the way. 312 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. and decided on a plan of action. The Confederates had been driven from the Mississippi ; they now had two chief centres of power left. Lee, with an army of about sixty thousand, held the southern banks of the Rapidan and the Rappahannock, thus guard- ing Richmond, and all the country south of it. Johnston, with about seventy-five thousand, held Dalton, Georgia (a town a short distance below Chattanooga, Ten- nessee), and all the country south and east of it. Grant and Sherman agreed to divide their work: the first, with one hun- dred and twenty thousand men, was to move on Lee and compel him to surrender Rich- mond ; the sec- ond, then at Chat- tanooga with an army of one hun- dred thousand, was to march the same day on Johnston, beat him, and then push his way through to the sea. This was " the famous hammering cam- paign," Grant and Sherman agreed "to hammer" together, "to hammer " with all their might, and never to leave off " hammer- ing,"^ until they had given the finishing blow, and permanently established peace, union, and freedom for the whole country. 1" Hammering" in the sense of giving the Confederates no rest Grant did this, largely, by direct attack ; Sherman, largely, by indirect or flank attack. 2d SCAUE OF MILES ■I 50 ^ 75 100 /A^UA^dyi^t t-yUuilAX^K^ GENERAL GRANT. SINKING OF THE ALABAMA. 3 13 346. The Battles of the Wilderness. — South and east of the Rapidan is a desolate region known as " the Wilderness." Much of it is covered with a scraggy growtV of oak, pine, and tangled underbrush. Into the Wilderness Grant's army began to advance for the conquest of Richmond (May 4, 1864), and sitting on a log in that wilderncbs Grant telegraphed to Sherman at Chattanooga to begin his march into Georgia. From that time until June, or about a month in all. Grant was " hammering " at Longstreet and other noted fighters of the Confederate army, first in the thick of the Wilderness itself, then at Spottsylvania Court-House (May 8-18, 1864), then at Cold Harbor (June 3, 1864), on the edge of the fortifications of Richmond, where, it is said, ten thousand of the '^men in blue" fell in twenty minutes. It was a terrible series of battles, costing the Union army a loss in killed and wounded of over sixty thousand men, and Lee about half that number. Grant had vowed that he would not turn back, but would fight it out on that line if it took all summer. He did not turn back ; but he had to give up his direct line of advance, and take another. Lee had retreated, and entrenched himself inside the fortifications of Richmond ; in order to draw him out to a battle in the open field, or to find a more favorable point of attack. Grant now moved round to Petersburg on the south of the Confederate capital. 347. Captain Winslow sinks the Alabama ; Early's Raid. — Petersburg was strongly fortified, and Grant had to lay siege to it with shot and shell as he did to Vicksburg, While he was busy in this way. Captain Winslow of the United States war-ship Rears arge attacked the Alabama} commanded by Captain Semmes. The fight took place ofi" the northern coast of France (June 19, 1864). Captain Winslow gamed the victory and sunk the vessel that had destroyed so many Northern merchant ships. Abotlt the beginning of July (1864), Lee despatched Gen- eral Early with a strong force to make a dash on Washing- 1 See Paragraph 326. 314 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. ton. He succeeded in getting within half a dozen miles of that fort-girdled city, and then had to retreat up the Shenandoah Valley. He carried off with him about five thousand horses and two thousand cattle to gladden the hearts of the men in "Dixie's land."^ Later in the same month Early's cavalry made a raid into Pennsylvania, and burned Chambersburg. Grant shelling Petersburg. (Notice the defences formed of stakes and trees in front of the Union Army.) 348. Sheridan^s Raid in the Shenandoah Valley. — Grant now (August 7, 1864) sent General Sheridan- with a strong force of Union cavalry to lay waste the Shenandoah Valley. This valley was one of the chief strongholds of the Confederates, and Grant 1 " For Dixie's land we take our stand, And live or die for Dixie ! " This was one of the most famous of the Southern war-songs. It was a great favorite with President Lincoln. * 2 General Sheridan was of Irish descent, and was born in Albany, New York, in 1831; died 1888. He graduated at West Point in 1853. In 1864 he was appointed commander of all the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac, and after his famous " ride " to Winchester he was made a major-general. SHERIDAN'S RIDE. 315 was determined to destroy everything in it which could support their men. Sheridan went to work with a will, and in the course of a few weeks he had burned so many barns and mills filled with grain, and driven off so many sheep and cattle, that it was said, " If a crow wants to fly down the valley, he must carry his provis- ions with him." Could "Stonewall" Jackson have re-visited that beautiful country, — the pride of his heart, — he would have wept fierce tears over its heaps of desolate ashes, as the women and children of Chambersburg had wept and wrung their hands at the sight of their blazing homes. 349. The Petersburg Mine ; Sheridan's Ride. — Meanwhile (July 30, 1864) General Burnside had undermined the Confeder- ate fortifications at Petersburg, and placed eight thousand pounds of powder in the mine. When it was exploded, it made a deep chasm or "crater" nearly two hundred feet long. The Union sol- diers rushed into the breach, hoping to enter the city ; but the Con- federate fire made it a " slaughter-pen " and a gigantic grave for hundreds of brave fellows, while those who got out found them- selves prisoners in the hands of Lee's army. In September (1864) there was fighting in the Shenandoah Valley between Sheridan and Early, in which Sheridan gained the day. Later, Early took advantage of Sheridan's absence from his army to surprise the Union force at Cedar Creek in the Valley. They retreated, and the retreat soon became a panic. Sheridan was then at Winchester, about twenty miles away. He heard the cannon with their " terrible grumble, and rumble, and roar, Telling the battle was on once more." ^ Mounting his horse, he hurried to the scene of disaster. As he came up, a great cheer greeted him from the Union cavalry. "We must face the other way," shouted Sheridan to the retreat- 1 See Read's poem of " Sheridan's Ride " in Ginn & Co.'s " Heroic Ballads " ; then read Sheridan's own modest account of the " ride " in his " Personal Memoirs," II. 66-92. See map showing the Shenandoah Valley on page 312. 3l6 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. ing men. They did face the other way, and so effectually that they speedily drove the Confederates " flying " out of that part of the Valley. ^^350. The War in the West; Sherman^s Advance to Atlanta. — According to agreement Sherman began his advance from Chattanooga to Atlanta the same day (May 4, 1864) that Grant marched forward into the Wilderness. Atlanta was not only a great railroad centre, but it was " the chief seat of the machine-shops, foundries, and factories of the Confederacy." For this reason its capture would be one of the severest blows to the Southern armies that the Union forces could strike. Sherman advanced slowly. His march was through a rough, mountainous country, and there were sharp battles fought at Resaca (May 14-15, 1864), at Dallas (May 25-28, 1864), and at Kenesaw Mountain (June 27, 1864) ; but the Confederates could not check him in his march. Of the two the soldiers would much rather have fought more battles and had less rain. For three weeks it poured most of the time night and day ; while he was marching, every man had a rivulet streaming down his back, and, as the army carried no tents, he was fortunate when night came if he did not have to sleep in a puddle. As fast as the Confederates fell back they tore up the railroad track and burned the bridges ; but Sherman's men rebuilt them so rapidly that " the whistle of the locomotives was always follow- ing close on the heels of Johnston's soldiers." 351. Sherman takes Atlanta; Farragut enters Mobile Bay. — After a series of battles with Hood, to whom Jefferson Davis had now given the command in place of Johnston, Sherman took Atlanta (September 2, 1864). He had advanced a hundred iniles from Chattanooga, and in that short distance each side had lost about thirty thousand men : that meant that every mile had cost the two armies six hundred killed and wounded. Sherman applied the torch to Atlanta, burning the foundries, mills, and machine-shops, but sparing dwelling-houses and churches. The L f o ADMIRAL FARRAGUT. SHERMANS MARCH FROM ATLANTA. 31/ V destruction crippled the Southern armies. From that time they fought Hke a man with one of his arms broken : they were as brave, as resolute as ever, but they were losing ground every day. Meanwhile Admiral Farragut attacked Mobile (August 5, 1864), stationing himself in the rigging of his vessel, where he could see every move in the battle ; after a hard fight he forced his way with his fleet past the forts, and took possession of the harbor. It was the admiral's last and greatest battle. It completely closed the Farragut's Letter Home, written just before the Battle. I am going into Mobile Bay in the morning if " God is my leader," as I hope he is, D. G. Farragut. port of Mobile^ against supplies sent to the Confederates from abroad. It was thus one more important step taken toward com- pelling the final surrender of the South. 352. Sherman's March from Atlanta to the Sea. — After the fall of Atlanta, Jefferson Davis ordered the Confederate army to abandon the State of Georgia, his intention being to strike General Thomas, who held Nashville. He hoped in this way to 1 All the ports of the South had long been blockaded by Union war-vessels, but in some cases " blockade-runners " succeeded in evading these vessels, and thus a certain amount of secret commerce was carried on. 3i8 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. compel Sherman to turn back to help Thomas. But Sherman believed that " the Rock of Chickamauga " ^ was quite able to take care of himself; he therefore resolved to push forward. About the middle ot November, 1864, Sherman cut the telegraph and railroad lines which connected him with the North. Thus " detached from all friends, dependent on its own resources and supplies," his army set out on their great march to the sea, two hundred miles distant in a direct line. For four weeks Sherman and his men disappeared. The North knew nothing of his move- An Incident of the March through Georgia. ments. But Grant had faith that his friend would not get hope- lessly lost, and that sometime the country would hear from him. Meanwhile Sherman was going forward with sixty thousand veterans, plenty of provisions, and practically no force to resist him. He cut a clean swath sixty miles wide ^ from Atlanta to 1 See Paragraph 342. - " So we made a thoroughfare for Freedom and her train, Sixty miles in latitude, three hundred to the main." — Soldiers' Song, Marching through Georgia. THOMAS DESTROYS HOOD S ARMY, 319 Savannah, destroying railroads and whatever else could be of use to the Confederates, and eating the plantations and towns on the way bare of everything, — hay, cows, pigs, chickens ; whatever, in fact, horse or man could devour disappeared before the advancing army. Along this broad track of desolation — the stern result of war — several thousand negroes followed in the wake of " Massa Sherman," shouting and singing as they trudged on. Map of Sherman's March. 353. Thomas destroys Hood's Army. — While Sherman was pressing forward, the Confederate General Hood — one of the best fighters in the South — moved from the vicinity of Atlanta into Tennessee to attack Thomas. A battle was fought at Franklin (November 30, 1864), without any very decisive results. Then Hood besieged Thomas in Nashville. Thomas was slow, but when he did strike, it was with sledge-hammer force. He attacked Hood (December 15-16, 1864), and cut his army all to pieces. The miserable remnant, ragged, barefooted, wet to the skin by incessant winter rains, shivering and starving, escaped, as best they could, leaving their sick and wounded to die along the roadside. This ended the war in Tennessee ; the Confederacy from eleven 320 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. States had now practically shrunk to three, — Virginia, and North and South Carolina ; the rest were either inactive, as in the case of Florida and Texas, or they were under the control of the military power of the United States. 354. Sherman takes Savannah and moves Northward. — In a little less than a month from the day when he left Atlanta, Sherman reached Savannah. He stormed and took Fort McAllis- ter on the south of the city (December 13, 1864), and nine days later he sent the following message to the President, — "Savannah, Georgia, Dec. 22, 1864. *' To his Excellency, President Lincoln, Washington, D.C. : " I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the City of Savannah, with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammunition; also about twenty-five thousand bales of cotton. "W. T. Sn^mAAN, Major- Generaiy'^ Sherman's men had long before come to the conclusion that the sea-coast was not their final destination, and would call out to the General as he rode past, "Uncle Billy, I guess Grant is waiting for us at Rich- mond ! " ^ They were right, and on the ist of Feb- ruary, 1865, Sherman set out with his army northward. It was a seven weeks' march through mud, rain, and swamps. He had to fight Johnston with a Confederate army of forty thousand men, near Goldsboro, North Carolina (March 19, 1865). Mean- while Charleston and Wilmington had been captured by Union forces : the Confederacy had lost its last sea- ports. About a week later (March 27, 1865), General Sherman, leav- General Sherman. 1 General Sherman sent this message by a vessel to Fortress Monroe, whence it was telegraphed to the President. It reached him on Christmas-eve. 2 See Sherman's " Memoirs," II. 179. V \^ ,<^ ^ ^^^ <^^ ^ ^ ^^ Vs- 3 6^ 60 o<& '^ s 5 ? + -1- + 4-i~ +-f-f--K4. 4- H-.J-4. ?$^^R } -op- /; Ivi^ ZlA.y'V'Ui^ (^^VTA^ Mr6tpL Orf<^ • fli^ I j LEE'S LETTER TO GRANT RESPECTING THE SURRENDER OF THE j CONFEDERATE ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA I THE END OF THE WAR. 321 ing his victorious army at Goldsboro, went to City Point, on James River, Virginia, to consult with Grant. / 355. The End of the War. — Sheridan now made a raid south through the Shenandoah Valley, in which he destroyed the railroad and canal from Lynchburg, on the west of Richmond, nearly up to the Confederate capital. This had the effect of cutting off a large part of the provisions for Lee's army. Sheri- dan next (March 29, 1865) made a similar raid to the south of Richmond. Lee had now only forty thousand men to Grant's one hundred thousand. While the Confederate general was trying to guard against Sheridan, Grant threw his whole force on Peters- burg and captured it (April 2, 1865). Lee retreated from Rich- mond, and the next day (April 3, 1865) Grant's forces entered the capital of the Southern Confederacy, and raised the old flag over the city. Jefferson Davis escaped to North Carolina.^ Lee's forces were now completely broken up ; and many of his men were so weak from want of food that they could not shoulder a musket. On April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appo- mattox Court-House, a little place about seventy-five miles west of Richmond. Nothing could be more nobly generous than the terms given by General Grant to the defeated Confederates. The only conditions he demanded were that the men should lay down their arms and return to their homes. Those who had horses were permitted to take them with them ; for, as Grant remarked, they "would need them for the ploughing." Finally, the victorious general issued an order to serve out twenty-five thousand rations of food to Lee's half-starved men. That meant that the strife was 1 Jefferson Davis was captured in Georgia, May 11, 1865. He was sent to Fortress Monroe as a prisoner. He remained there two years, and was then released. Johnston surrendered near Raleigh, North Carolina, to Sherman, April 26, 1865. By the end of May all the Confederate forces had surrendered and dis- banded. None of the leaders or men engaged in the War of Secession were brought to trial for having taken up arms against the national government ; but Henry Wirz, the Swiss commandant at Andersonville, Georgia, was charged with cruel treatment of Union prisoners, and was tried and convicted by court-martial; he was hanged, November lo, 1865. 322 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. over, and that peace and brotherhood were restored. Five days afterward (April 14, 1865), General Anderson hoisted the identical flag over Fort Sumter, under whose starry folds he had fought against Beauregard. It was exactly four years to a day since the Confederates had won their first victory in the Civil War. Thus ended the great contest, which had cost in all probably over half a million of lives and thousands of millions of dollars.^ The triumphant joy of those who had fought to save the Union was quenched in tears ; for on the evening following the celebra- tion at Fort Sumter (April 14, 1865), the President was shot by an assassin.^ Many of those who had fought against him in the South wept at his death. He was the friend of every American ; none of us or of our children. North or South, will ever know a more unselfish or a truer man than Abraham Lincoln. 356. The North and the South in the War. — So far as sacrifice of life was concerned, the North and the South suffered alike, and in both sections sisters, wives, and mothers were mourn- ing for those who had fallen on the battle-field. But in every other respect the privations and sufferings of the war fell almost wholly on the South. At the North business went on as usual, or with increased activity. All the seaports were open, and trade and commerce flourished. In the quiet homes of many millions of people the progress of the war was only known by newspaper reports. The hardships, the horrors, of the struggle touched none of them directly. Thanks to the financial ability and the unfailing energy of Treasurer Chase, the government never lacked means to carry on the contest. Whatever money could do for the equipment and 1 The total war debt of the North was nearly ^3,000,000,000 ; this, however, rep- resents but a part of the expense. The greatest number of men engaged in the Union armies at any one time was about 1,000,000; in the Confederate, about 700,000, though the Southern armies generally did not reach a total of above 350,000. 2 President Lincoln was shot at the theatre by John Wilkes Booth, who was the leader of a conspiracy for the assassination of the President, Vice-President, the cabinet, and General Grant. Booth was pursued and shot, four of the other con- spirators were hanged, and four imprisoned. \ FOURTH AND LAST YEAR OF THE WAR. 323 comfort of the Union forces was done without stint or murmur, even when the expenses exceeded ^3,500,000 a day. In addition to all this care for the men by the government, the Sanitary and the Christian Commissions were unwearied in their great work of love and mercy among the wounded and the sick. Once in hospital no one was ever asked on which side he had fought ; but tender hands ministered to his needs, and soothed his sufferings, whether he wore the " blue " or the " gray." With the people of the South all was differento Their ports were blockaded, their business ruined. The country had no money, no manufactures ; the negroes had been set free. In their extremity Southern ladies cut up their carpets to make blankets and clothes for the soldiers, and churches gave their bells to be cast into can- non. Long before the final surrender there was sore want every- where throughout the South, and everywhere the people were either suffering from the destruction necessarily caused by invading armies or from the dread of such invasion. The wonder is not that they had to yield at last, but that under such discouragements and such hardships they held out so long and so bravely. 357. Summary of the Fourth and Last Year of the War, April, 1864, to April, 1865. — This year was marked by Grant and Sherman's " hammering campaign," which ended in the destruction of the Confederate power in the West and in the East, and was followed by the surrender of Lee and his army. This, with the surrender of Johnston,^ which occurred soon after, ended the four years' war, and established the Union on a solid foundation of freedom for all men within its borders. 1 In his last orders to his troops, General Johnston said : " 1 earnestly expect you to observe faithfully the terms of pacification agreed upon, and to discharge the obligations of good and peaceful citizens as/well as you have performed the duties of thorough soldiers in the field." Like a*'brave officer, Johnston led the way in the execution of this order by his own example. General Johnston died March 21, 1891, shortly aftei he had acted as pall-bearer at the funeral of his friend, General W. T. Sherman. 324 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. VII. " America is another word for Opportunity." — R. W. Emerson, Essay on American Civilization. -*o*- RECONSTRUCTION. — THE NEW NATION (1865 to the Present Time). Andrew Johnson. 358. Johnson^s Administration (Seventeenth President, April 15, 1865, to 1869). Difficulty of the President's Task; the Grand Review; Disbanding the Armies. — The untimely death of President Lincoln made Andrew Johnson ' the head of the nation. The position to which the new President was thus suddenly called, was peculiarly hard and trying ; for if the great heart of Lincoln had to bear the sad burden of four years of civil war, his successor had to undertake the delicate and difficult work of reconstruction, — that is, of restoring the seceded states to their former places in the Union. Now that the war was over, the first thing to be done was to disband the armies. But multitudes wished to see the brave men who had fought to save the nation ; and late in May a grand review of Grant and Sherman's troops took place in Washington. 1 Andrew Johnson was born at Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1808 ; died 1875. He learned the tailor's trade and moved to Greenville, Tennessee. He never attended school, but was entirely self-educated. He was elected to Congress in 1843, by the Democrats, and to the United States Senate in 1857. When the Civil War broke out he took a decided stand against secession. In 1862 President Lincoln ap- pointed him military governor of Tennessee. On Lincoln's second election to the presidency by the Republicans, Johnson was elected Vice-President. See page 283, note I. DISBANDING THE ARMIES. 325 For the first time since the beginning of the war, the trium- phant armies of the East and of the West were united. During the greater part of two days (May 23, 24, 1865), the broad avenue from the Capitol to the White House resounded with martial music, and with the strong, steady tread of a column over thirty miles long. The march of these seemingly endless regiments of sun- burnt veterans, bearing their glittering muskets and their tattered, smoke-stained battle flags, festooned with flowers, was a magnif- icent sight. No such spectacle had ever been seen before in America ; as one enthusiastic officer declared, " It was worth ten years of a man's life for him to be able to say, ' I was there.' " The Capitol at Washington. But grand as the display was, something grander was to come — that was the fact that in the course of a few weeks, all these men, with many hundreds of thousands more,^ laid down their 1 With the exception of about 50,000 men, kept as a standing army, to preserve order, all the Union troops, numbering over a million, were now disbanded. The number of Confederates disbanded was about 175,000. In 1866 about 1500 "Fenians" — Irish citizens of the United States, who felt that England had wronged their native land — mvaded Canada. Many of them had served in the war for the Union and now hoped to strike Great Britain a blow, but as the movement was discountenanced by the United States it came to nothing. 326 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. arms and went quietly to their homes. Neither on the Northern nor on the Southern side, says a recent writer, was there a single act of lawlessness recorded to stain their proud repute as soldiers and Americans. 359. What the War settled. — And now that all is over, now that the " men in blue " and the " men in gray" have gone back to their farms and their workshops, let us ask, What did the war settle ? First, as a Southern historian admits,^ it " extinguished seces- sion " as completely as water extinguishes a flame of fire. Hence- forth it was understood that no state had the right to leave the Union ; for the Union needs every one ; it must have every one, just as the body needs every member of which it is composed. Take away one of those members, a foot or a hand, and the man is no longer whole, he is a cripple. So with the American Re- public ; take away one of its members, one of its states, and it is no longer a complete nation, it cannot make the progress it did before.^ Secondly, the war destroyed slavery, — that was an advantage to every one, white or black. North or South, simply because if a man owns himself he will, as a rule, put more brain and muscle into his work, and accomplish more than if some one else owns him. Thirdly, the war showed the real strength of the Republic. It proved that there was ' not air enough on our continent to float two different American flags.' The Union was not to be broken. The North was strong in its fidelity to the Union, in its numbers and in its victory. The South was strong because its honor was represented by such meri as General Lee. He had fought with all his might ; he had been fairly beaten. He accepted the result. He applied to the government for pardon, because he felt that it was his duty to set an example to his men. He said, ' Remember that we are one country now. Do not bring up your children in 1 Pollard, " The Lost Cause." 2 In the words of the Chief-Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court (1869) the Republic is "an indestructible Union, composed of indestructible States." THE president's PROCLAMATION OF PARDON. 327 hostility to the government of the United States. Bring them up to be Americans.' ^ 360. The President's Proclamation of Pardon ; the Con- test between Congress and the President. — The President issued a proclamation of pardon (May 59, 1865) to the greater part of the people of the seceded states on condition that they would swear to ' faithfully support, protect, and defend the Con- stitution and the Union.' A majority of the inhabitants of those states took the oath. They furthermore bound themselves to accept the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibited slavery, and they agreed never to demand payment of any part of the Southern war debt. Now came the question whether these states should be at once permitted to send representatives to Congress. The President said. Yes ; but a majority in Congress said. No. The reason for this denial was that the greater part of Congress believed that it would not be safe to restore the Southern States to their full politi- cal rights until more was done to protect the negroes or " freed- men," as they were now called, in the enjoyment of their new liberty. From this time forward the President and Congress were en- gaged in bitter strife with each other. Congress refused to re-ad- mit the Southern States, and passed a number of bills ^ in favor of the " freedmen," one of which made them citizens,^ another gave them military protection, while a third granted them pow&r to vote in the District of Columbia. The President believed that the South would deal fairly by the " freedmen," and he therefore vetoed these bills ; Congress then passed them over his veto.* 1 See Cooke's " Life of Robert E. Lee." 2 Civil Rights Bills, and establishment of the Freedmen's Bureau. 8 By making the " freedmen" citizens, Congress (by the Civil Rights Bill, March, 1866) gave them the right to protection under the laws of the United States, with power to use the courts to sue for the payment of debts and the like. 4 In case the President vetoes a bill (that is, refuses to sign it, and so make it law), Congress may pass the bill without the President's signature, providing two- thirds of the members vote that it be made law. See the Constitution, page ix. sec. 7, 328 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 361. Congress puts the Southern States under Military Government. — In the spring of 1867 Congress passed another bill over the President's veto. This new law divided the South into districts, each of which was to be governed by a military governor. The " freedmen " were given the right to vote, but that right was denied to all those white inhabitants who had taken a prominent part in the war against the Union. Each state was to continue under this form of government until the people of the states, — black as well as white — should form a government accept- ing the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. That amend- ment declared the negro a citizen ; it made it a great disadvantage to a state to deny him the right to vote or to hold office ; finally it shut out the chief white men of the South from holding any high office.^ When these conditions should be accepted, but not before, the Southern States might send representatives to Congress. Tennessee, President Johnson's state, having fulfilled all the conditions required, had been re-admitted in 1866. 362. Six States re-admitted ; Negro Legislators and << Car- pet-Baggers.' ** — Six states accepted these conditions ; ^ four re- fused, butacceptedthemlater( 1870). In some of the restored states, especially in South Carolina, there were more negroes than white men. The negroes now got control of these states. They had been slaves all their lives, and were so ignorant that they did not even know the letters of the alphabet. Yet they now sat in the state legislatures and made the laws. After the war many industrious Northern men settled in the South, but, besides these, certain greedy advent- urers went there eager to get political office and political spoils. 1 See the Constitution, page xviii. The Fourteenth Amendment furthermore required the South to repudiate their war-debt and to agree to the payment of the Union war-debt. 2 The six states which accepted (and were re-admitted June, 1868) were Ala- bama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia remained out until 1870. * " Carpet-Baggers " : a nickname given by Southerners to those Northern poli- ticians who went South after the war (with no baggage or property except a carpet- bag) for the purpose of getting office and plunder. Those Southerners who joined the " Carpet-Baggers " in their schemes were nicknamed " Scalawags." CONGRESS IMPEACHES THE PRESIDENT. 329 These " Carpet-Baggers," as they were called, used the ignorant " freedmen" as tools to carry out their own selfish purposes. The result was that the negro legislators, under the direction of the "Carpet-Baggers," plundered and, for the time, well-nigh ruined the states that had the misfortune to be subject to their rule.-^ After a time the white population throughout the South resolved that they would no longer endure this state of things. Partly by per.ceable and partly by violent means they succeeded in getting the political power into their own hands, and the reign of the " Carpet-Bagger " and the negro came to an end. 363. Congress impeaches the President ; Proclamation of Full and Unconditional Pardon ; the Fifteenth Amendment. — Meanwhile the quarrel between Congress and the President was constantly growing more and more serious. The President was not only determined to have his own way, but also to remove from office those who did not agree with him. Congress now passed a law^ forbidding him to dismiss even the members of his own cabinet or private council without the consent of the Senate. The President denied the power of Congress to make such a law, and he removed Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, who had been appointed by President Lincoln, For this refusal to obey the law Congress now (February 25, 1868) proceeded to impeach^ the President. On his trial thirty-five senators voted " guilty " and nineteen " not guilty " ; as this was less than the two-thirds vote required to convict him. President Johnson was therefore acquitted. One more vote against him would have re- moved him from the presidency. 1 In 1868 the total debt of South Carolina was about ^5,000,000. Under four years of" Carpet-Bag " government, or rather misgovernment, the debt was increased to no less than ^30,000,000. Much of the debt represented simply what was stolen from the people of the state. 2 The Tenure of Office Act (repealed 1887). 3 Impeach the President : to bring him to trial. The House of Representatives makes the charges and the Senate tries the case — -the Chief Justice presiding. S«e the Constitution, pages viii. and xiii. As only part of the Southern states had been re-admitted, the number of senators was then but 54. 330 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. On the Christmas following (1868) the President issued a proc- lamation of full and unconditional pardon to all persons, without exception, who had taken part in the war against the Union. Early in the year following (1869) Congress passed the Fif- teenth Amendment to the Constitution.^ The Thirteenth Amend- ment (passed 1865) made the negro free, the Fourteenth Amend- ment made him a citizen,^ the Fifteenth finished the work and made him a voter. All these great changes had taken place within the short space of four years ! 364. The Atlantic Cable. — But these political events were not the only ones in which the country was interested. It will be remembered that Professor Morse, the inventor of the telegraph, had predicted^ that the time would come when messages would be sent across the sea by elec- tricity. Cyrus W. Field of New York formed a company to accomplish the work by means of a wire cable laid on the bottom of the Atlantic, be- tween Great Britain and the United States. The company lost several millions in attempting to do this, though they succeeded in laying a cable in 1858 by which messages were sent for a few weeks. Not to be discouraged, Mr. Field formed a new com- pany, and raised more money for the work. In the summer of 1866 the steamship Great Easterii laid a new cable between Valentia Bay, Ireland, and the port of Heart's Content, Newfound- land, thence connecting with the United States. On Friday, July 27, 1866, instantaneous communication beneath the ocean was established between the Old World and the New. This communi- The Atlantic Cable. 1 Ratified by the states in 1870. 2 See note 3 on page 327. « See page 254, note 4. THE PURCHASE OF ALASKA. 33 r cation has never since been interrupted.^ Every important event which occurs in Europe is now known here as soon as it is there. News which appears in the London morning papers, and which is read at the Enghsh breakfast-tables, is read also at ours on the same day throughout the length and breadth of the United States. 365. The Purchase of Alaska ; Payment of the National Debt. — The next year (1867) our government purchased from Russia the territory of Alaska, embracing about 550,000 square miles. We paid a little over ^7,000,000,^ or about what we spent m less than four days in carrying on the last year of the war.^ This addition to our territory raised the total area of the United States to about 3,600,000 square miles, or nearly equal to that of all the countries of Europe united. Alaska includes the islands of the Aleutian Archipelago, which extend a very long way westward. This makes San Francisco the city nearest the centre — east and west — of the United States ; the distance from that city to the eastern coast of Maine being about 3600 miles, and to Attoo, the farthest of the Aleutian islands, over 3800 miles. Secretary Seward persuaded Congress to make this purchase, in order to extend our power on the Pacific coast. Many Congress- men thought it was a waste of money, and one called Alaska " the refrigerator of the United States." But it promises to be- come a very profitable " refrigerator." Its furs, forests, and fish are constantly increasing in value, some gold is found there, and the trade in seal-skins alone now amounts to over ^2,000,000 a yea^/ Besides buying this new territory the national government began as soon as the war was over to pay off the great war debt, amount- ing to nearly ^3,000,000,000,^ — a sum so enormous that in the 1 Several additional cables have since been laid. 2 ^7^200,000. 3 The average daily expenses of the war 1864-1865 were over ^2,000,000, and for a time some estimates make them ^3,500,000. 4 See Ballou's " New Eldorado " (Alaska). 5 The actual debt was ^2,750,000,000, This was independent of the state debts, >\hich were very heavy. 332 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. longest life-time a person counting out the dollars one by one, at the rate of sixty a minute, could not get through even a third of it. Before all the soldiers had been sent home we had paid off over ^30,000,000. Since then we have paid about ^1,700,000,000 more. Should we continue to reduce our debt at the same rate we shall finish paying it in about fourteen years. No country in Europe has ever settled such a debt.^ To-day our credit should stand higher than that of any other nation on the globe. 366. Summary. — During President Johnson's administration six of the seceded states were re-admitted to the Union ; but Con- gress and the President did not agree, and Congress attempted by impeachment to remove the President from office. Three amendments to the Constitution were made during Mr. Johnson's presidency.^ The first declared the negro free, the second made him a citizen, the third, a voter. The other important events were: i. The full pardon of all persons who had fought against the Union. 2. The beginning of the payment of the national debt. 3. The laying of the Atlantic cable. 4. The purchase of Alaska. Ulysses S. Grant. 367. Grant's Administration (Eighteenth President, Two Terms, 1 869-1 877) ; Completion of the Pacific Railroad; what Railroads and Telegraphs have done for the Union. — A little over two months after President Grant ^ was inaugurated, 1 Between 1871 and 1873, or in less than three years, France paid Germany a war claim of ^1,000,000,000, but this payment was not voluntary, but made by the French to rid their soil of the presence of German troops. 2 The first of these amendments had been passed by Congress in February, 1865, and was ratified by the necessary number of three-fourths of the states by December of that year. The two other amendments were passed by Congress during Mr. Johnson's term ; the last was ratified during the next administration, 1870. 3 General Ulysses S. Grant of Illinois (Schuyler Colfax of Indiana, Vice-Presi- dent) was elected President by the Republicans in 1868, over Governor Horatio Seymour of New York and Francis P. Blair of Missouri, the Democratic candidates. COMPLETION OF THE PACIFIC RAILROAD. 333 the last spike of a line of railroad ^ connecting the Atlantic coast with the Pacific was driven at Ogden, Utah (May 10, 1869). The blows of the sledge-hammer which drove that spike — completing the greatest work of the kind in the world — were telegraphed, as they fell, throughout the Union. Between Omaha and San Francisco the railroad crosses nine mountain ranges, including the Rockies and the Sierras, climbing, and then descending, over eight thousand feet. In point of time, it is now no farther from New York to San Francisco than it was in the days of the Revolution from New York to Boston. Then it took our forefathers between five and six days to go by wagon somewhat less than two hundred and fifty miles ; now, in that time, we can cross the entire continent. The result of this rapid means of travel is of the greatest im- portance to the republic.^ Once, members of Congress laughed at the idea that California and Oregon would be added to the United States. They said that it would be practically impossible for such states, if added, to send representatives to the national capital, because it would take them the greater part of a year to get to Washington and back. For that reason, they believed that He was re-elected in 1872 (Henry Wilson of Massachusetts, Vice-President), over Horace Greeley of New York and B. Gratz Brown of Missouri, the candidates of the Liberal Republicans and the greater part of the Democrats united. 1 The Union Pacific Railroad, begun during the Civil War, was built westward from Omaha on the Missouri to Ogden, Utah, a distance of 1029 miles; there it met and connected with the Central Pacific Railroad, which was pushed through at the same time, from San Francisco, a distance of 878 miles. The total distance from New York to San Francisco, by this route, is 3322 miles. The Northern and also the Southern Pacific Railroads have since been built. In 1872 the Credit Mobilier, a company that had been engaged in the building of the first Pacific Railroad, became involved in a lawsuit in Pennsylvania. It was shown in the course of the suit that some members of Congress secretly held stock in the company, and it was supposed that the stock had been given them in order to secure their votes in behalf of the railway. After an investigation by a congres- sional committee, the House passed resolutions censuring two of its members ; the matter was then dropped. 2 Before the completion of the Pacific Railroad, a pony express, followed by a line of stage-coaches, carried the mail across the country from St. Joseph, Missouri, to San Francisco. 334 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. the people who settled the Pacific coast would form a separate and independent repubUc. The railroad and the telegraph have changed all that. They have connected the farthest extremities of the country so closely that they have made it possible for us to extend and maintain the Union from ocean to ocean. 368. Effect of the Pacific Railroad on Commerce with Asia, and on the Growth of the Far West. — But this is not all. The building of the Pacific Railroad entirely changed our relations with Asia. Teas, spices, and silks formerly reached us from China and from the East Indies by ships sailing round Cape Horn. Goods might be five or six months coming that immense Where some of our Western Railroads go. Marshall Pass, Colorado. distance. Now, many of these goods are shipped by steamer to San Francisco, and thence by rail across the country to the East. In a little over a month from the time a cargo of tea leaves China, it can be delivered in New York. The old navigators spent their lives in trying to find a short route to Asia ; we have found it, though in a totally different way from what they expected. Last of all, and most important as well as last, the Pacific Rail- road, and the lines since built, have opened the rich country of the Far West — as the region west of the Mississippi is called. COMPLETION OF RECONSTRUCTION. 335 Steam has enabled tens of thousands of emigrants to reach that section easily, quickly, cheaply. The region that a generation ago was a wilderness given up to wild beasts and savages, is now rapidly filling with population. Coun- tries like Kansas, that were once treeless deserts, are to-day covered with orchards and with fields of waving grain. Denver and many other prosperous cities and towns in Colorado and neighboring states and territories have sprung up in places where, when Grant became Presi- dent, there were, at the most, only a few settlers' cabins. Thus, within the course of about twenty years, the railroads of the Far West have transformed that part of the repub- lic. They have converted what was then a vast extent of unoccupied land — often seemingly barren and worthless — into groups of rapidly growing states, rich in silver-mines, in cattle and sheep ranches,^ in farms of corn and wheat, and in industries of every kind. 369. Completion of Reconstruc- tion ; the Chicago, Forest, and Boston Fires ; ** Rings '* and their Work. — The reconstruction 1 Some of the cattle and sheep ranches or farms, in the Far West, embrace from 20,000 to 30,000 acres, and have 50,000 head of cattle and sheep. There are single wheat-fields of 13,000 acres, and single farms which extend for miles — covered, as far as the eye can see, with one mass of grain rolling in golden waves. See Harper's Magazine, March, 1880, "Dakota Wheat-Fields," illustrated; Thayer's " The New West"; and Charles Dudley Warner's series of papers on the "Great West " in Harper's Magazine for 1888. Where some of our Western Railroads go. Animas Canyon, Colorado. 336 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. of the Southern States was completed in 1870;^ and in January of the following year (1871) all the states "were represented in Congress for the first time since December, 1860."^ The dis- astrous effects of negro voting in South Carolina and some other states where the " freedmen " were in the majority, caused violent resistance ^ on the part of the white inhabitants. Congress passed the " Force Bill," to give military protection to the black man. Experience has since proved that he can protect himself best by advancing in education and in habits of industry. Like the white man, he has the liberty to make himself what he chooses. In the autumn of 187 1, a great fire broke out in Chicago, which destroyed about eighteen thousand buildings valued at two hun- dred million dollars. During the same season, terrible forest fires caused great destruction and loss of life in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The year following (1872) a conflagration con- sumed about eighty million dollars' worth of business property in Boston. In New York City it was discovered that " Boss " Tweed, one of the commissioners of public works, had been guilty, in connec- tion with other city officers, of a series of stupendous frauds. In the course of years this " ring," as it was called, had robbed the city of many millions, — so many in fact that it would have been cheaper to have had a great fire than to have kept these men in power. Eventually the " ring " was broken up, and Tweed died in Ludlow Street Jail. A few years later (1875) a "Whiskey Ring" was exposed in the West. Its purpose was to cheat the government out of a large part of the tax levied on whiskey. 2 Another important work accomplished by Congress in 1870 was the establish- ment of the Weather Bureau. This department has its headquarters at Washing- ton, with branches in all the principal cities. Its object is to give information of approaching storms and changes of weather. It has been the means of saving the country from heavy losses both by land and sea. 8 See Johnston's "American Politics." •* A secret society known as the A« J^/ux Klan was organized in various parts of the South, to prevent the negroes from voting. THE BUSINESS PANIC OF 1 873. 337 r 370. The Business Panic of 1873 ; the Centennial Exhibi- tion; the Electric Light; the Telephone. — The success of the first Pacific Railroad encouraged the commencement of a second line across the continent, and also led to the building of more railroads at the West than the country then demanded.^ Mul- titudes of people put their savings into these new enterprises, hoping to get rich at locomotive speed. This, with other causes, brought on the failure of a large banking-house in Philadelphia, in the autumn of 1873.^ The failure was followed by a panic like that of 1837 and of 1857.^ In the course of a few weeks, many thousands of business men were ruined, and it became so difiicult to get money that even the national government had to stop making payments on the war debt for a time, and all work on public buildings came to a stand- still. The country did not fully recov- er from the effects of the panic for five or six years. A leading feature of the celebration of the anniversary of the One Hun- dredth Year of the Independence of the United States was the opening of the Centennial ^ Exhibition in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, in the spring of 1876. The 1 From 1871 to the autumn of 1873 — or about two years and a half — over twenty thousand miles of railroad were built in the United States, at a eost of over a thousand millions of dollars. 2 The banking-house of Jay Cooke & Co. They were largely interested in the building of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Their failure was the immediate cause of the panic. 3 See Paragraphs 274 and 310. 4 Centennial : occurring once in a hundred years ; here used of the anniversary which the Exhibition commemorated. Centennial Exhibition Buildings, Philadelphia, 1876. 338 / LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. principal buildings were immense structures of glass and iron ; with numerous others, they covered a total space of about seventy- five acres. All the nations of the world sent products of their industry or their art to be exhibited ; but, as in the World's Fair of 1853,^ our own country took the lead in the display of useful inventions. The Exhibition showed what a great change had taken place in the mode of doing most kinds of work. In Washington's day, and for many years later, nearly everything was done by hand ; but by the time we had reached our hundredth birthday an industrial revolution had taken place. Arms of iron and fingers of steel now performed the labor, and the duty of the workman since that period has been mainly to guide and superintend a machine which is his willing, tireless servant. Since the Exhibition, machines have multiplied with greater rapidity than ever. Two of the most remarkable novelties then exhibited were the electric hght — which has since come into common use — and an instrument invented by Mr. A. G. Bell of Washington, which we know to-day as the telephone. Professor Morse enabled men to send written messages to each other by electricity ; ^ Mr. Bell, going a step farther, enabled them to talk together in the same way, so that cities as far apart as Boston and Washington are now actually within speaking distance of each other.^ 1 See Paragraph 301. 2 gee Paragraph 283. 8 A still more recent invention is the phonograph (greatly improved in 1888), in- vented by Thomas A, Edison, of Menlo Park, New Jersey. This remarkable instru- ment records sound in such a manner that it can be exactly reproduced any length of time afterward. By its use the tones of the human voice may be stored up for the future. Thus a business man can dictate a letter to his phonograph in the evening and the instrument the next morning will repeat what he has said to a clerk or copyist, who then writes the letter with a typewriter — a machine which enables the user to rapidly print the words instead of writing them out with a pen. In a wholly different direction, that of astronomical instruments, Mr. Alvan Clark and his son, Alvan G. Clark, of Cambridgeport, Mass., have recently made great progress. Their telescopes now rank among the most perfect in the world, and one constructed by them in 1886 for the Lick Observatory, on Mount Hamil- ton, near San Francisco, is the largest instrument of the kind ever made. TREATY WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 339 Since then the appUcation of electricity to the service of man has made very rapid progress. It is now employed to drive various kinds of light machinery for manufacturing, and the street- cars are coming to use it in place of horses. It would seem as though the age of steam was drawing to its close and that the electric age had at length fairly begun. 371. Treaty with Great Britain ; War with the Modoc and the Sioux ^ Indians. — During President Grant's administration a treaty" was made with Great Britain (1871), one result of which was that England agreed to pay the United States ^15,500,000 for damages done by the Alab&ma and other Confederate war- vessels built in Great Britain.^ In 181 2 such a claim on our part would probably have led to war between the two countries. The fact that it could now be peaceably settled showed what a great change for the better had taken place in the relations of England and America. It was unfortunate for us that we either could not or would not settle our disputes with the Western Indians in the same peaceable way. The Modocs of Southern Oregon refused to be removed from their hunting-grounds, and war ensued (1872). Later, the Sioux tribes, who had been driven from the Black Hills by gold seekers, made up their minds that they would not go to Indian Territory. General Custer, one of the bravest officers of the army, attacked them in their stronghold in Montana. The Ind7 ians numbered nearly ten to his one. In a desperate fight Custer and his entire command of several hundred men were killed on the spot. But in time, both the Modocs and the Sioux had to yield to superior force. 1 Sioux : pronounced Soo. 2 The Treaty of Washington : it referred all matters about which the two coun- tries were in dispute to a board of arbitrators. Besides the Alabama question the Canadian Fisheries dispute came up for settlement under this treaty, and a board of arbitration decided that we should pay Great Britain ^5,500,000 for using the Canadian shores in carrying on our fishing. 3 See Paragraph 326. 340 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 372. Summary. — President Grant's administration was marked (i) by the completion of the first raih-oad across the continent ; (2) by the admission to Congress of representatives of all the seceded states; (3) by an important treaty with England; (4) by terrible fires West and East, destroying many millions of property ; (5) by a severe business panic; and (6) by the Centennial Exhibition at PMladelphia. Rutherford B. Haves. 373. Hayes's Administration (Nineteenth President, One Term, 1877-1881) ; Withdrawal of Troops from the South; Railroad and Coal Strikes. — President Hayes ^ believed that there would never be permanent peace at the South until the people of that section were allowed to manage their own affairs without the interference of the national government. He there- fore withdrew the United States troops from that part of the country, trusting that the whites and the blacks would come to an understanding between themselves. From that time forward the "solid South" — that is, the solid white vote of the South — got the control, and the negro ceased to govern. It was a great relief to the whole country to have the strife over, and the Presi- dent's action, though severely condemned by many of his party, was heartily approved by the great mass of the people. In the summer (1S77), extensive railroad strikes occurred throughout the Northern States west of New England. Later, 1 Rutherford B. Hayes was born in Ohio in 1822. He studied law, and settled in Cincinnati. During the Civil War he became a brigadier-general in the Union axmy. After the war he was twice elected governor of Ohio. In 1876 he was elected President by the Republicans (William A. Wheeler of New York, Vice- President) over Samuel J. Tilden of New York and Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana, the Democratic candidates. Mr. Hayes had but one majority of the electoral votes over his opponent. The Democrats maintained that the election was not fairly conducted, and that many Democratic votes in the South had been thrown out by those whose duty it was to count them. Congress created an Elec- toral Commission composed of ten members of Congress and five Justices of the Supreme Court, to decide the matter. After investigating the facts, they decided in favor of Mr. Hayes by a vote of 8 to 7, and he was declaied elected. DEEPENING THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 34I many Pennsylvania coal-miners joined the strike. In all about a hundred and fifty thousand men stopped work. In Pittsburgh a mob of " roughs " and " tramps " took advantage of the strike to plunder freight-cars, and finally to set fire to the railroad machine-shops and other buildings, destroying nearly ^10,000,000 of property. The President was finally obliged to send troops to Pittsburgh to prevent further destruction. 374. Deepening the Chief Mouth of the Mississippi. — During President Hayes's administration, the attention of Congress was particularly called to the condition of the Lower Mississippi. That great river is constantly bringing down vast quantities of sand and mud, which gradually fill up the mouths of the stream.^ The sandbar thus formed had increased so that it finally blocked up the passage to such an extent that large and heavily loaded ships could pass over it only with the greatest difficulty. On one occasion over fifty vessels were seen lying north of the bar, waiting for an opportunity to get to sea. Sometimes they were delayed there for days, or weeks, even, and had at last to be at great expense, paying steam tug-boats to haul them through. Both the national government and the state of Louisiana had spent many millions trying to remove the obstructions, but they had met with only a partial degree of success. In 1875 Captain Eads, an engineer of St. Louis, the builder of the great steel arch bridge across the Mississippi at that point, undertook to open the mouth of the river. His plan was a most ingenious one. He had noticed that where the river was narrow the current was strong, and so deposited but Httle mud to fill up the channel. He said to himself, By building new banks on each side, near the mouth of the river, I can narrow the channel and increase the force of the current to such a degree that it will carry all the sand and mud out to sea. Then, if the bar is once dredged out, it will never form again. 1 The Mississippi has three principal mouths, of which that called the " South- west Pass " is the most important. 342 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY, Congress reluctantly gave him permission to try the experiment. He set to work, and in four years proved the truth of his idea. The Mississippi, Hke a well-behaved river, now sweeps out its own channel, and large ocean steamers can pass up to New Orleans, or out to sea, without difficulty or expense. The saving in a single year in this way amounts to nearly two millions of dollars. Captain Eads's great work has been of immense benefit, for the foreign commerce of New Orleans is larger by far than that of any other city in the ^outh.^ ^ 375. United States Paper Money becomes as Good as Gold ; Effect on the National Debt. — The paper money called "greenbacks"^ which the government issued during the Civil War, and with which it paid part of its enormous expenses, was worth less than gold. At one time (summer of 1864), it was worth so much less that it took nearly three dollars in " greenbacks " to purchase as much as a single dollar in gold would do. That meant that at that time people had so little confidence in the power of the government to do as it agreed that a paper promise of payment stamped " one dollar " was worth only about thirty-five cents. But after the war the feehng changed, especially as the govern- ment began at once to pay off its debt.^ On this account, paper money rose steadily in value, until at last a " greenback " dollar would buy quite as much as a gold dollar. 1 For an interesting account of Captain Eads's work, see Scribners Magazine, vol. xix., " The Mississippi Jetties " (illustrated). 2 " Greenbacks " : they were so called because the backs of the bills were printed largely in green ink. 3 For some time before 1877, silver dollars had not been in use in the United States. In 1877 Congress passed the " Bland Silver Bill," which ordered the coinage of large sums in silver dollars of 412I grains weight, and provided that they might be used in payment of debts by the government. As these dollars were worth then only about ninety-two cents, President Hayes vetoed the bill, on the ground that the government would be guilty of dishonesty and " bad faith " if it paid its debts in such coIh. Congress, however, passed the bill over the President's veto, and it became law. Notwithstanding this law, the credit of the government con- tinued to improve until its notes were as good as gold. >„ . . „,„ ,,„' GARFIELD S AND ARTHUR S ADMINISTRATIONS. 343 Finally, on New Year's Day, 1879, the Treasurer of the United States stood ready to give gold to those who preferred it to " greenbacks." This had such an effect in strengthening the credit of the government that it was now able to borrow all the money it wanted to meet the debt as it fell due, at very low rates of interest. 376. Summary. — The four most important events of Mr, Hayes's presidency were : (i) His withdrawal of troops from the South; (2) the great railroad and coal strikes; (3) the deepen- ing of the mouth of the Mississippi ; (4) the reduction of the expenses of the government in paying interest on its debt. "^ James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur. 377. Garfield's and Arthur's Administrations (Twentieth and Twenty-First Presidents, One Term, 1881-1885) ; As- sassination of the President; Civil Service Reform. — In the summer following his inauguration, President Garfield^ was shot by a disappointed office-seeker named Guiteau." He died in the autumn from the effects of the wound, and Vice-President Arthur became President. The murder of Garfield led to an attempt on the part of Con- gress to relieve the President from the necessity of appointing 1 James A. Garfield was born in Ohio in 1831 ; died, 1881. His early life, like that of Abraham Lincoln, was passed in hardship and poverty, in a part of the country then called the " Wilderness." Like Lincoln, he rose above all difficulties, and made his own way by the force and integrity of his character. By dint of hard work, he fitted himself for college, and graduated at Williams College, Massachusetts, with distinction. When the war broke out, he entered the Union army, and was promoted, for his services at the battle of Chickamauga, to the rank of major-general. In December, 1863, he was elected to Congress, and later, became United States Senator. In 1880 he was elected President (Chester A. Arthur of New York, Vice-Presi- dent) over General W. S. Hancock of Pennsylvania and William H. English of Indiana, the Democratic candidates. President Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau, July 2, 1881. He died September 19. Vice-President Arthur then became President. 2 Guiteau was convicted of the murder, and hanged. 344 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. thousands ^ of persons to government offices merely as a reward for their having worked, or spent money, to get him elected. A law called the Civil Service Act was passed (1883) which gave the President power to appoint commissioners to examine all persons applying for the lower grade of offices, and to recom- mend such as they thought showed themselves best fitted to do the work. Out of the list they furnish, the President can then make his selection. This method, which has received the name of Civil Service Reform,^ takes off of the President's hands (if he sees fit to use it) a vast amount of very laborious work. It also saves his time, and spares him the vexation of having to listen to that class — found even among office-seekers — who cry night and day, like the beggars of Italy, *' Give ! " " Give ! " President Arthur gladly appointed the Civil Service Commis- sioners ; and it is hoped that in time all appointments to the lower class of government offices will be made by examination — thus giving an equal chance to all. 378. Overflow of the Mississippi ; the East River Sus- pension Bridge ; Cheap Postage. — In the spring of 1882 the Mississippi overflowed its banks in Louisiana, tearing up and washing away railroads and farm-houses, and doing immense damage to cotton and sugar plantations. Over a hundred thou- sand persons were made homeless ; and if Congress had not sent cargoes of food to their relief, great numbers of destitute people would have died from starvation. The abundant aid given showed that the wealth of the country had now become so great that it 1 In 1881 there were 3400 government clerks and other persons employed in the Treasury Department at Washington. The whole number of government ofifices (including post-offices) was then estimated at about 140,000. This number is, of course, constantly increasing. The Civil Service Reform aims to fill the greater part of these offices by competitive examination, and to make their tenure permanent during good behavior, unless some good reason arises for demanding a change. 2 Civil service : all persons in the employ of the government outside of the army and navy (that is, outside qf military service) are said to be in the civil service. The necessity for civil service reform has already been considered in Paragraphs 260 and 261. THE EAST RIVER SUSPENSION BRIDGE. 345 was easy for the nation to help any section of the repubHc that should really require it. An illustration of our steadily growing prosperity and enterprise was given during the spring of 1883 in the completion of the great East River Suspension Bridge, connecting New York City with Brooklyn. This bridge was built at a cost of nearly fifteen million dollars — an amount double that of the entire annual cost of carry- ing on the government of the United States in the first years of Washington's presidency. It took fourteen years to finish the The East River Suspension Bridge. structure, which has a total length of over a mile. The roadway is suspended by four steel-wire cables, each more than a foot in diameter, stretched from towers nearly three hundred feet in height. The bridge is divided into five avenues, — one for foot-passengers, two for carriages and wagons, and two for cable-cars. Taken as a whole, this bridge — a monument of American engineering skill — is the grandest work of the kind in the world.^ 1 The East River Suspension Bridge was begun by John A. Roebling (pro- nounced Ro'bling) of Trenton, New Jersey, the inventor of wire suspension 34^ LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Still another evidence of the prosperity of the country was the reduction of postage (1883) on letters, weighing not more than half an ounce, from three cents to two. Later (1885), the weight of a letter which might be sent at this low rate was increased to a full ounce. This gives us the cheapest postage in the world for the distance covered by it ; since for two cents we can now send a bulky letter from Eastport, Maine, to San Francisco, — about thirty-five hundred miles, — a distance greater than that from New York to London. 379. The New Orleans Cotton Centennial Exhibition ; the **New South.'* — In 1784, eight bags of cotton were exported from Charleston, South Carolina, to England.* It was the first shipment of the kind ever made from the United States. In time, this country came to supply nearly all the cotton used in Great Britain and Europe, and the value of the crop grew to be so great that it was a common saying at the South, " Cotton is king." ^ In the winter of 1884, an exhibition^ was opened at New Orleans — the largest cotton market in America — to mark the bridges, the builder of the famous railroad suspension bridge at Niagara, and of the great suspension bridge across the Ohio at Cincinnati. Mr. Roebling only lived to complete the plan of the East River Bridge, He was succeeded by his son, W. A. Roebling, who took up the work and finished it. 1 See Paragraph 205. Some accounts state that the first shipment was " six bags, amounting to about one bale." This seems to be a mistake. See the history of cotton exportation from Charleston in " The Charleston Year-Book " for 1883 and compare the " Year-Book " for 1880. 2 Samuel Slater, who came to this country from England in 1789, was the first person to establish the manufacture of cotton in the United States. Moses Brown, a Rhode Island Quaker, wrote to him : " If thou canst do this thing [set up a cotton-mill], I invite thee to come to Rhode Island, and have the credit of intro- ducing cotton manufacture into America." Mr. Slater was just the man who could " do this thing" ; and, trusting wholly to his memory to construct the complicated machinery required, he started a mill at Pawtucket in 1790, which proved an entire success, Francis C. Lowell of Newburyport, Massachusetts, following Mr. Slater's exam- ple, set up the manufacture of cotton in Massachusetts, and the great manufacturing city of Lowell was named in his honor. 8 The full title of the exhibition was " The World's Industrial and Cotton Cen- tennial Exposition." The buiMings covered more than seventy-five acres, and the THE " FREEDMEN. 34/ hundredth anniversary which had elapsed since the first export of that product, of which the " Crescent City " alone now ships nearly two millions of bales. ^ The real importance of that Centennial Exhibition did wot, however, depend on its display of any one production, but in the fact that it proved that the South had entirely changed, — that it had in fact become absolutely a " New South." 380. The Progress made by New Orleans an Illustration of what the **New South** is doing. — Take New Orleans itself as an illustration. Before the war, it had but a single im- portant line "" of railroad entering the city ; now it has six trunk- lines.^ Before the war, it was almost wholly a commercial city, and its manufactures practically counted for nothing. To-day, its commerce is larger than ever/ and its manufactures are rapidly increasing ; it now makes great quantities of goods which it for- merly bought. In i860, the money invested in its machine-shops, mills, and workshops was so small that it was not reported ; at the present time, it is probably close upon twenty-five million dollars, and the yearly wages it pays to its workmen amount to about nine million dollars. 381. The South no longer a Purely Agricultural Country ; its Manufactures ; its Prosperity ; the ** Freedmen ** ; Edu- cation. — The change that has taken place in New Orleans shows us what has been going on throughout the South. When the war broke out, it was almost purely an agricultural country ; now, within the past four years alone, fourteen thousand new manu- main building was the largest of the kind ever erected in t^e world. Important cotton exhibitions had been held in Atlanta in 1881, and at Louisville in 1883 ; but they did not compare in magnitude with this at New Orleans. 1 The bale varies in weight, but is usually estimated at about four hundred pounds. 2 See Scribner's " Statistical Atlas of the United States." 8 Trunk-lines of railroad : main lines, connecting large and important cities. * Much of this increased ocean oonwnerce is due to Captain £ads. See Para- graph 374- 34^ LEADING "FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. facturing and mining enterprises ^ have been started, and many thousands of miles of railroad have been built. Such cities as Chattanooga (Tennessee), Augusta and Atlanta (Georgia), and Birmingham (Alabama) are ''hives of industry." Their cotton-mills, iron-mills, and other important works are fast rivalling anything in the North or West; and they possess the advantage of having their supplies of raw material — their cotton, iron, lumber — at the very doors of their factories and mills ; with unlimited quantities of coal for fuel, and, in some cases, immense water-power* besides. But this is not aU. A new spirit shows itself in the South. Free labor is accomplishing double what slave labor did. In iS6o, the South produced less than four million bales of cotton; now it prodnces eight millions : the white man does about half the work.; the black man, the other half. The " freedmen " share in this prosperity; and the men who, when the war broke out, could not call even themselves their own, are to-day taxed for over a hun- dred million dollars' worth of property, which they have fairly made and just as fairly enjoy. In education the progress has been equally great.- Common schools have multiplied all through the South, — they are free to black and white alike, though the schools are separate,^ — and the negro has not only many thousand teachers of his own race, but great numbers of white teacli^rs besides. 1 Among these new enterprises none is more remarkable tlian that of the pro- duction of cotton-seed oil. Before the war the seed was thrown away or burned as useless. Now nearly ^50,000,000 are invested in its production. The oil is used as a substitute for olive-oil for making a superior soap, and for many other purposes. 2 In 1882, Paul Tulane, ol Princeton, New Jersey, but for more than half a century a resident of New Orleans, left over ^1,000,000 to found a university for the education of white youth in that city. VanderbJlt University of Nashville, Tennessee, is another example of the same kind. In 1866, George Peabody of Danvers, Massachusetts (the London banker), gave a sum of money, which he later increased to $3,500,000, for the promotion of education at the South. In 1882, John F. Slater of Norwich, Connecticut, gave j^i.ooo.ooo for the education of the " freedman " at the South. To-day the Southern States are spending very large sums on common and high-school education, 2 The common schools for the blacks and the whites throughout the South, says the late Mr. Gradl^, " are separate, without exception." See " In Plain Black and White," Century^ April, 1885. * Augusta, Spartanburg and Columbus have great water-power. CLEVELAND'S ADMINISTRATION. 349 Horace Greeley used to give this advice to the young men of his acquaintance who wanted to get a start in life : " Young man, go West." To-day we might change this advice a little, and say. Young man, go West, or South. 382. Summary. — The principal events of the Garfield and the Arthur administrations were the assassination of President Gar- field, followed by Vice-President Arthur's succession, and by an act of Congress providing for civil service reform. During Arthur's presidency, great destruction of property was caused by the overflow of the Mississippi ; but the general pros- perity of the country was shown by the completion of the East River Suspension Bridge, by the reduction in the rate of letter postage, and by the immense growth and prosperity of the " New South." Grover Cleveland. 383. Cleveland's Administration (Twenty-Second Presi- dent, One Term, 1885-1889) ; Progress made in Civil Service Reform. — The Republican party had held control of the government ever since the first election of Abraham Lincoln ; Grover Cleveland^ was the first Democratic President that had been inaugurated for over a quarter of a century.^ Among the important matters to which President Cleveland gave special attention was the reform of the Civil Service,^ which had been imdertaken under President Arthur. The success of such a 1 Grover Cleveland was born in Caldwell, New Jersey, in 1837. His father soon after moved to New York State, and his son began the study of law in Buffalo, at the age of eighteen. In 1881, he was elected mayor of that city, and the year following, he became governor of New York. In 1884, Mr. Cleveland was elected President (Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana, Vice-President) by the Democrats, over James G. Blaine of Maine and John A. Logan of Illinois, the Republican candidates. Many " Indep'ri'iident Republicans," or " Mugwumps," as they were called, voted for Mr. Cleveland. 2 James Buchanan, the last Democratic President before Cleveland, was elected in 1857, just twenty-eight years before. 3 See Paragraph 377. 350 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. movement — earnestly advocated by the best men of all parties — mujt depend on the whole people. When the vast good which this measure promises is clearly seen, no one can doubt that the nation will thoroughly work out this reform as it has so many others.^ 384. The *< Knights of Labor »'; the < x ^ (367) OUR NEW SHIPS OF WAR. 35/ thousand persons lost their Hves, and property worth ten million dollars was utterly destroyed. 392. The Congress of the Three Americas; the Admis- sion of Six New States ; Our New Ships of War. — In the autumn (October 2, 1889), representatives of the leading govern- ments of Central and of South America, together with the Repub- lic of Mexico, met representatives chosen by the United States in a conference or congress held at Washington.^ The object of the congress was to bring about a closer union of the Americas, for purposes of trade, and of mutual advantage. The delegates spent six weeks in visiting the principal commercial and manu- facturing cities of the United States. They then returned to Washington, and devoted the greater part of the remainder of the year and part of 1890 to the discussion of business. Early in November (1889), the President, by proclamation, admitted the four new states of Montana, Washington, North Dakota, and South Dakota^ to the Union. Their representa- tives met with the next national Congress in December. The addition of these states made the whole number in the Union forty-two. These forty-two states desired to be properly represented on the ocean. Many of the vessels comprised in the United States navy were simply old, worn-out wooden ships, utterly unworthy of the country. Congress resolved to replace them with a number of first-class steel vessels. The work was pushed through with great energy, and in November (1889), a squadron of magnifi- cent war-steamers was formed, composed of the Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, and Yorktown. Under the new United States flag, with 1 The following countries were represented at the conference, popularly called the " Pan-American Congress " (from Pan, a Greek word, meaning c//) : i. Hayti ; 2. Nicaragua; 3. Peru; 4. Guatemala; 5. Uruguay; 6. Colombia; 7. Argentine Republic; 8. Costa Rica; 9. Paraguay; 10. Brazil; 11. Honduras; 12. Mexico; 13, Bolivia; 14. Venezuela; 15. Chili; 16. Salvador; 17, Ecuador; 18. the United States. The total number of representatives was sixty-six, * The Act of Congress providing for their admission was passed under President Cleveland (1888K 358 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. its forty-two stars, they are now (1890) on a foreign cruise; by the time they return, the admission of the two new states of Idaho and Wyoming (July, 1890), making a total of forty-four, will still further increase the stars on the banner of the republic. It is The Flag-Ship "Chicago." (One of the leading ships of our new navy.) especially worthy of notice that the state of Wyoming is the first one ever admitted to the Union, since the adoption of the Consti- tution, in which women may vote^ and hold office the same as men. 1 Women voted in New Jersey from 1800 to 1807. Since 1869 they have voted at all elections in Wyoming. A law granting them similar power in Washington GENERAL SUMMARY. 359 393. General Summary. — We have traced the progress of this country from its earHest period to the present time. We have seen it grow from a few feeble colonies gathered on the edge of the Atlantic to a group of thirteen independent states. We have followed the development of those states into a great, prosperous, and powerful nation of over sixty millions of people, extending across the continent from ocean to ocean. The American Repub- lic now embraces the largest portion of the earth's surface ^ con- trolled by any one government on any one grand division of the globe, with the single exception of Russia in Asia.^ Here every advantage is open. Education is absolutely free ; millions of acres of Western land are free. Here, and here only, among the leading civilized nations, no immense standing-army eats up the daily earnings of the people. Here every law springs directly from the will of the majority. These facts prove the truth of the motto chosen for this book. They show that America means Opportunity. In closing this brief history can we do better than ask, each one of himself. What use do I intend to make of this opportunity ? The whole future of the republic, for good or ill, for growth or decay, for glory or shame, depends on the way in which we individually answer that question. . (then a territory) was declared unconstitutional by the territorial Supreme Court. In Utah such a law was repealed by Congress. Partial woman suffrage (especially the power to vote on questions relating to schools) now exists in a majority of the states. In 1893 the people of Colorado voted an Amendment to the State Con- stitution by which suffrage was granted to women on the same conditions as to men. 1 Nearly 3,600,000 square miles. See Table of States, page xxii. 2 The Chinese Empire is not excepted, because, in the first place, authorities differ very widely as to its area (the Encyclopaedia Britannica estimating it at only about 3,000,000 of square miles) ; and next, for the reason that Warren and others state that a large part of the country is only " nominally " subject to the emperor. NOTE : For a chronological sununary of RECENT EVENTS see (Principal Dates) pages xxxi and xxxii of Appendix. I DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. In Congress, July 4, 1776. A DECLARATION BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN CONGRESS 1 ASSEMBLED. When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the poUtical bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. ^ The First Continental or General Congress met in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, Sep- tember 5, i774> It consisted of forty-four delegates, representing eleven of the thirteen colonies. Later, eleven more delegates took their seats, and all of the colonies were repre- sented except Georgia, which promised to concur with " her sister colonies " in their effort to maintain their rights as English subjects. Peyton Randolph of Virginia was elected Presi- dent of the Congress. Among the distinguished men who had assembled there, were Washing- ton, Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, John Dickinson, William Livingston, John Jay, John Adams, Samuel Adams, Roger Sherman, and the Rutledges of South Carolina. On the 14th of October, the Congress adopted a Declaration of Colonial Rights. On the 26th, a Petition to the King, asking the redress of their wrongs, was drawn up. The Second Continental Congress (at which Georgia was represented), met in Philadelphia, in the State House (Independence Hall), May lo, 1775. A second Petition to the King -was adopted, and Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental army, though Congress still denied any intention of separating from Great Britain, and earnestly expressed a desire for the peaceful settlement of all difficulties. The King's Proclamation, declaring the Colonies in rebellion, and calling for volunteers to force them to submit to taxation without representation, and other unjust measures, finally convinced the delegates to Congress of the impossibility of our continuing our allegiance to the English crown. On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia moved "That these United Colonies are, and of right ougVt to be, free and independent states." John Adams of Massachusetts seconded the motion. Later, a committee of five — Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, and Robert R. Living- ston of New York — was appointed to draft the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson drew up the paper, though a few alterations were made in it by the committee and by Congress. It was adopted on the evening of July 4, 1776, and signed by John Hancock, President of Congress, and Charles Thomson, Secretary. On August 2, 1776, it was signed by the mem- bers, representing all the thirteen states. 11 LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. We hold these truths to be self-evident : — That all men are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes ; and accordingly all experi- ence hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are suffer- able, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accus- tomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies ; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world. He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing impor- tance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained ; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legis- lature — a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measure. He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people. He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise ; the State remaining, in the mean time, ex- posed to all the dangers of invasions from without, and convulsions within. He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States ; for that purpose obstructing the laws for the naturalization of foreigners ; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. He has made judges dependent on His will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. Ill He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. He has kept among us in times of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to, the civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our con- stitutions, and unacknowledged by our laws ; giving his assent to their acts of pre- tended legislation : For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us ; For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these States; For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world ; For imposing taxes on us without our consent ; For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury ; For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended offences ; For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, estab- lishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies ; For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our governments ; For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection, and waging war against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and de- stroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally un- worthy the head of a civilized nation. He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and breth- ren, or to fall themselves by their hands. He has excited domestic insurrection among us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms ; our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have we been wanting in our attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their legislature to extend an un- warrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice IV LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. and magnanimity; and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kin- dred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connec- tions and correspondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends. We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the recti- tude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved from all alliance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved ; and that, as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And, for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. The foregoing Declaration was, by order of Congress, engrossed, and signed by the following members : — JOHN HANCOCK. N^W HAMPSHIRE. JOSIAH BaRTLETT, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton. MASSACHUSETTS BAY. Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry. RHODE ISLAND. Stephen Hopkins, William Ellerv. CONNECTICUT. Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott. NEW YORK. William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris. NEW JERSEY. Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark. PENNSYLVANIA. Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross. DELAWARE. C^SAR Rodney, George Read, Thomas M'Kean. MARYLAND. Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll, of Car- rollton. VIRGINIA. George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Fransis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton. NORTH CAROLINA. William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn. SOUTH CAROLINA. Edward Rutledge, Thomas Hayward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton. GEORGIA. Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. V Resolved, That copies of the Declaration be sent to the several assemblies, con- ventions, and committees, or councils ot safety, and to the several commanding officers of the continental troops ; that it be proclaimed in each of the United States, at the head of the armVo VI LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.^ We, the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, pro- mote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this CONSTITUTION for the United States of America, L,. -\ ARTICLE I. Section I. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress 2 of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. 1 Before the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, the Thirteen Colonies were subject to the king of Great Britain. From July 4, 1776, the United States of America were governed by a Continental or General Congress, until March i, 1781, when the states adopted a con- stitution, called the " Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union between the States." The Confederation had no president, no supreme court; and consisted of a single house of Congress, made up of delegates elected by the legislatures of the states. Under this constitu- tion Congress continued to govern — in so far as a body with no practical authority can be said to govern — until March 4, 1789; but on May 14, 1787, a convention of delegates from all the states, except Rhode Island, met in Philadelphia" to form a tnore perfect union" (see the opening words of the Constitution above). The whole number of delegates that attended was fifty-five, but only thirty-nine signed the Constitution. The Articles of Confederation had been made by the States only; but as the opening words of the new compact declare, " We, the People" made the Constitution. George Washington presided over the convention, and Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris, James Madison, Rufus King, Roger Sherman, Alexander Hamilton, John Dickinson, Charles C. Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, J. Rutledge, and Gouvemeur Morris, were among its distin- guished members. Madison, Hamilton, Washington, and Franklin took the leading part in the great work of drafting the new Constitution, and after its adoption by the convention, Madison and Hamil- ton used their influence, with great effect, to urge its ratification by the states, especially by New York (see their papers in the Federalist^. After a stormy session of nearly four months, during which the convention several times threatened to break up in hopeless dispute, the Constitution was at last adopted. (For the compromises on which it rested, see page 188, note 3.) While the members of the convention were signing the Constitution (for Its leading pro- visions, see page 190), the venerable Dr. Franklin, then aged eighty-one, rose and said: " I have often, in the course of the session, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at the sun [painted on the wall back of the president's chair], without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting; but now, at length, I have the happiness to know that it is a rising, and not a setting sun." The Constitution was then submitted to the thirteen states. In 1788 eleven had ratified it (Rhode Island and North Carolina declining then, though they gave their assent before the close of 1790), and on March 4, 1789, the new Constitution went into operation, although, owing to delays, Washington was not inaugurated as the first President until April 30 of that year. ' Congress assembles on the first Monday in December; the session closes, by custom, ^t ajiijnight on the ^d of the following March. Each Congress exists two years. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. vii Section 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislature. No person shall be a representative v/ho shall not have attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, i which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, includ- ing those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons.2 The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one representative : and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three ; Massa- chusetts, eight; Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, one ; Connecticut, five; New York, six; New Jersey, four; Pennsylvania, eight ; Delaware, one ; Maryland, six; Virginia, ten; North Carolina, five; South Carolina, five; and Georgia, three. When vacancies happen in the representation firom any State, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker 3 and other officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment. Section 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six years ; and each senator shall have one vote. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year; of the second class, at the expiration of the fourth year ; of the third class, at the ex- piration of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen every second year ; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or otherwise, during the recess of the Legis- lature of any State, the executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. The Vice-President of the United States shall be president of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. * At present (1890) one representative is sent to Congress for every 154,325 persons. * " Persons" meaning slaves. This has been amended (by Amendments XIII. and XIV.), and is no longer in force. 8 The Speaker presides. Other officers are the clerk, sergeaut-at-arms, door-keeper, etc. o Vlll LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. The Senate shall choose their other officers,! and also a president pro tempore^ in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise the office of Presi- dent of the United States. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments : When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief-Justice shall preside: and no person shall be con- victed without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States ; but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. Section 4. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time, by law, make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. Section 5. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifi- cations of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties, as each house may provide. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time pub- lish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy, and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. Section 6. The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation 2 for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective houses, and in going to and returning fi-om the same ; and for any speech or de- bate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place. No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased, during such time ; and no person holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of either house during his continuance in office. 1 The chief of these are the secretary, sergeant-at-arms, door-keeper, etc. * $ 5CXXJ a year, with twenty cents for every mile necessarily travelled in coming to and returning from the CapitaL CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. tX Section 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Repre- sentatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other bills. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States ; if he approve, he shall sign it, but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to that house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration, two- thirds of that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if ap- proved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sunday excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be » law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjourn- ment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States ; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be re- passed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. Section 8. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States ; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States ; To borrow money on the credit of the United States ; To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes ; To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States; To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures ; To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States ; To establish post-offices and post-roads ; To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for limited times, to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries ; To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court ; To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and ofFences against the law of nations ; To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concern- ing captures on land and water ; To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years ; X LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. To provide and maintain a navy ; To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces ; To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, sup- press insurrections and repel invasions. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for govern- ing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively the appointment of the officers, and the author- ity of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress ; To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular States, and the accep- tance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the Legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings ; — And To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execu- tion the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof. Section 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.l The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. ''^ No bill of attainder or ex-post-facto law shall be passed. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one State over those of another ; nor shall vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropria- tions made by law ; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expen- ditures of all public money shall be published from time to time. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States : And no person hold- ing any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state. Section 10. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation ] grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of credit ; make any- thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts ; pass any bill of attain- der, ex-post-facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any impost or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its in- ^ " Person " meaning slave/ referring to the foreign slave-trade, abolished in 1808. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. XI spection laws; and the net produce of all duties and impost, laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress. No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops, or ships-of-war, in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. ARTICLE II. Section i. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, be elected, as follows : Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress : but no senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be ap- pointed an elector. [The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the num- ber of votes for each; which list they shall sign and certify and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the president of the Senate. The president of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for Presi- dent; and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said house shall, in like manner, choose the President. But in choosing the Presi- dent, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the greatest num- ber of votes of the electors shall be the Vice-President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice-President. 1] The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United States.2 ^ This paragraph in brackets has been set aside by the XII. Amendment. 2 The electors are chosen on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November, next before the expiration of a presidential term. They vote (by Act of Congress of Feb. 3, 1887) on the second Monday in January following, for President and Vice-President. The votes are counted, and declared in Congress on the second Wednesday of the next February. Xll LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President ; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years resident within the United States. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and the Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice-Presi- dent, declaring what officer shall then act as President; and such officer shall act accordingly until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected^ The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services ^ compensation i which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other emol- ument fi-om the United States, or any of them. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or affirmation : — "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." Section 2. The President shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States, when called into the actual service of the United States ; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices ; and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law : but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session. Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information 2 of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient ; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall 1 The President now receives $50,000 a year; the Vice-President, $ 8000. Previous to 1872 the President received but $25,000 a year. 2 The Presidents, beginning with Jefferson, have done this by messages sent to Congress. Washington and Adams read speeches or messages to that body. N 9 iW-4^ A^Si^X. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES- xiii think proper ; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers ; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United States. Section 4. The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, trea- son, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. ARTICLE III. Section i. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Su- preme Court, and m such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. Section 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, aris- ing under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority ; — to all cases affecting ambassadors other public ministers, and consuls; — to all cases of admiralty and maritime juris- diction ; — to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; — to con- troversies between two or more States; — between a State and citizens of another State ; i — between citizens of different States ; — between citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of different States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a State shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate juris- diction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions and under such regulations as the Congress shall make. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury; and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been commit- ted ; but when not committed within any State, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed. Section 3. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two wit- nesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted. ARTICLE IV. Section i. Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by ^ But compare Amendment XI. Xiv LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. general laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. Section 2. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and im- munities of citizens in the several States. A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime. No person 1 held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. Section 3. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union ; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular State. Section 4. The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion, and on application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic violence. ARTICLE V. The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the Legisla- tures of two-thirds of the several States, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress ; provided that no amend- ment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article ; and that no State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. ARTICLE VI. All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the confederation. ^ " Person " here means slave. This was the original Fugitive Slave Law. It now has no force, since, by Amendment XIII. to the Constitution, slavery is prohibited. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. XV This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding. The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial ofificers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution ; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. ARTICLE VIL The ratification of the Conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for the estab- lishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the same. Done in conventions, by the unanimous consent of the States present, the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the independence of the United States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names. GEORGE WASHINGTON, President, and Deptityfroni Virginia. NEW HAMPSHIRE. John Langdon, Nicholas Oilman, MASSACHUSETTS. Nathaniel Gorham, RuFus King. CONNECTICUT. William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman. NEW YORK. Alexander Hamilton. NEW JERSEY. William Livingston, David Brearley, William Paterson, Jonathan Dayton. PENNSYLVANIA. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris. DELAWARE. George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jacob Broom. MARYLAND. James M'Henry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll. VIRGINIA. John Blair, James Madison, Jr. NORTH CAROLINA. William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson. SOUTH CAROLINA, John Rutledge, Charles C. Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler. GEORGIA. William Few, Abraham Baldwin. Attest: WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary, Xvi LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. AMENDMENTS To THE Constitution of the United States, ratified according TO THE Provisions of the Fifth Article of THE Foregoing Constitution. Article i.i — Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abri($ging the freedom of speech, or of the press ; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for redress of grievances. Article II. — A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Article III. — No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner ; nor in time of war but in a manner to be pre- scribed by law. Article IV. — The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affir- mation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Article V. — No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war and public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor to be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. Article VI. — In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascer- tained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him ; to have compulsory process for obtain- ing witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence. Article VII. — In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States than ac- cording to the rules of common law. Article VIII. — Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines im- posed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. * The first ten amendments were offered in 1789, and adopted before the close of 1791. They were largely the work of James Madison. They were adopted, says Judge Story, in order to " more efficiently guard certain rights already provided for in the Constitution, or to pro- hibit certain exercises of authority supposed to be dangerous to the public interests." CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. XVU Article IX. — The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. Article X. — The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitu- tion, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. Article XI.i — The judicial power of the United States shall not be con- strued to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against any of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state. Article XII.^ — The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant with the same State with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice- President ; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the govern- ment of the United States, directed to the president of the Senate; —the president of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted; — the person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist 'of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of Marcli next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other con- stitutional disability of the President. The person having thi^ greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-Presi- dent ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States. "Article XHI.s — Section i. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, ex- cept as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legis- lation. 1 Proposed in 1794; adopted 1798. A number of states have, at different times, taken advantage of this amendment to repudiate their debts. ^ Adopted 1804. 3 This confirmed the Proclamation of Emancipation; it was adopted in 1865, XVIU LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Article XJV.i — Section I. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States ; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Section 2. Representatives shall be appointed among the several States accord- ing to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, repre- sentatives in Congress, the executive or judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of represen- tation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. Section 3. No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, or elector of President or Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State Legis- lature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each house, remove such disability. Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave ; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void. Section 5. Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Article XV.2 — Section x. The rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legis- lation. 1 Adopted 1868. The object of sections i and 2 was to make the freedmen (negroes), emancipated during the Civil War, citizens of the United States. * Adopted 1870. Its object was to give the freedmen (negroes) the right to vote. 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H -* M N ro ro (s H ro ro w -• lA in to in in K '^ IT) M l-t f-. 0^ M M t^ o in r^ in gs o O 00 -a- O ro N^ in ro ^ H M •s o »o t^ O. ^ 00 cT o" ON 0) On N -<*■ in H ro 'l- ■^ in •iN3lM 00 m t^ A.. ro rf O A. -^ o A.. t^ A.. ro ro -3^Xias m 00 H ro ro N ro t~^ M 0 VO VO VO VO HO axva M H W M H M M H H M M M u n.. 1 w « C V §« 2 O I* .„ U ^1 PQ • 13 J3 3 O e en O A-, > o o s n 1— > CTJ e *-■ o S a xS • • • • • tfl .c ^x. ^ ^ -c -C X . 4= 05 to -a .2 'G .12 ."' _U1 _cn .i2 CT) t/i -G .« ^^ u U . — ' 0) M tl M bfl bX) bC bO bfl bJD 4-1 bfl ^ 1= ^ a c c C C C S 3 C en W Q WW W H H W W Q W DATE OF AD- MIS- SION. t^ t^ (^ 00 00 00 00 00 oo oo 00 On 00 00 00 00 00 CO oo 00 00 00 00 00 t^ t^ t^ t^ t^ t^ t^ t^ t^ t^ t-~ f^ H M H M M w H H H M tH H 1 •.<.!-• a s «<; 2 b O o H < > P -H o o o c o c Cj o o'-S u 1 1-^ rt C ^ i/j C ,*" S Ml— » 1 ^ ■-3 u 1— ( -^ « S ^ o £ 1 u .2 bD-- t) O .2"^ -T! 5 U * t:;; c •- c s rti^ ^'mc- o .> 1>< I- 1) u rt W M ^ ^ u .5 ^ ■£ ^ liu • • • « u 8 £ 1 jS H •'^ • 'W *«A 1 •«» CO • •» ® « S 1 O 1 >> s • •«* 5io e \ 5» -S 8 • S •< 1 S 1 1 1 ^ 1" 1 • o M N cn ■^ lO vO t^ 00 ON H et i z H H M 1 XX LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. c *-> c o o W Pi O H I— I Pi P^ W h Q < CO W h O w < ia vO « iri oo \o t^ -* O H t^ « CO H H 00 in M lO ■• (I) m 3 w b O < o z 0^ VO VO in 00 CO «n CO O in in VO o o o VO o PI o oo" o o VO VO CO ^1- m vD_^ VO*" in t; M V o c "> o £ rt ^ 3 '^ M « 1- 3 -^3 03 O C 4-. U l- 1- ^ c O >5 rt CS a! c« I/) a 4) 00 I^ -- CO . C 30 en U w C IJ a H "blD c w C c o 'u s o c v -ex o u c a V V u 4} O ffl ^ 'D c o o c 3 o C 1) c t-H ^^ c C u ■t-t 4J ,J2 I— I *j •^1 «J3 o o § o V ox Pi ■" ^3 M-O 05 C C O >-■ D O OS -< M^ I c ^ r- OS "5 1) 13 c OS 3 OS V c 1) U 05 (J) *j 6 • -; u >% S OKx-o o 1-. -M O iH tn 0! O otiH 'oSS 13 Vh c u I— 1_> 4) iv Sg^2 o c o I u 4j rt 03> cO o 0! V X ^ s - ^ <= I- §'-' o *ix i; o ■* lx c o in PI PI m •XN3W VO -^ TT Ov 00 PI VO n PI -3aXX3S CO VO PI t^ l^ VO 00 11 00 VO JO axva H H M It H H H H H H X • 'r2 s . I- >> X a OS OS iiW CJ 12; c H N VO CO N VO t«^ 00 Ov ov OV Ov Ov tH H H M M t^ t^ l^ t^ 00 00 00 00 00 00 Qg-^s; H H H M H * H H H H H 1) o OS I u'o'a I c 2 c S gf^ S rt s V ■8 (^ o 6 u u o 4) V t/1 V c a • tt V X H • •.fr a Ctf Ul G <« '3 .2'=" T3.2 G ^S 1—1 CO Ov H w H PI (1 OS OS S «< s V X ^ "* V <.> 4-> l-i OS V rC 13 c OS ^ <-) ^1 K «« ^ V. ►«; ^ 11 g^ S a «i V S > s M ,^ >, lo OS Vj 1 r* Ul i>, 3 9) n 4-1 OJ 13 "0 rG N eg H b v»-. 4-* Tl Ul 03 X v« a ■ It I/) CO hr c 00 H fc4 V4- K 4) 4) 4-> ifl CS ^> ■V in V u x ll V >■ 4-1 ■bb -1 a « 4-* v> c ^4 V » 1: S ■vi « V g CQ .« X "^1 H ^ * •^ ■--ft Vj APPENDIX. XXI O 00 CO 00 i-T d\ vo t-~ 00 m O CO in 00 o 00 00 vo 00 o ro ocT o ca 00 H o CO vo O o in vo" Id . in m o in in K t/5 3" '" in M 00 oo N -*• vo vo ro < U ^ 00 Ov vo t~. ro ro D -J m dv m 00 00 in vo vo 00 ro vo mvo in in in vo m in in M 00 o •XNHW -aixxas Ao axva in ov r) H vo t^ O Ov VO o 00 vo VO in in ro 00 ro vo 00 Ov VO vo Ov VO Ov H OO C I- C o " (U O v^ 5 u Q >v ■a ID 3 C ^ rt rt G a* 5 ""A ^ G >> Hfa 3 1) >^rt li <-> o s =: « U ^fa c rt « •-5:5 c I— -a u c -c rt fa rt I c rt •5 c I t :',o o c j= Sfa « >.Ph Sh c o c a, rt — ■" r o 4) ^rt;: . c rt '-S c 4) i 1 p C M (u c S <" c -^ Q.« rt " IT. > tn C *.•"■ a b rt c Cfi c t/1 SO« ^fa >: So -a V rt lyl ^ C >- O u o ■^^ bo u in ac 3 o o O 3 o >. 3 O I 3 2 3 »— I i .S e o a.' 3 W (J rt-f-'^S t-H 5 4i 'S c_: 3-c ■— "O 3 I/) ^ o 3 p £;5 3 J5 -■a O rt .■^*- 4_» rt rt u'^-a 3 -3 t, 4-1 z; ti 3 S2.H ^ w -5^ V \i H o •< 2 O 2 3 (/I rt •M CO -^ C4 ei Ul c rt rt , ifl bfi rt , 3 T3 Ul rt Xi rt nt -2 O fa O e o o C rt u 3 3 § o vo t^ M 00 « Ov C4 XXll LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. a .—I o C o O W o t— t Pi Di W h Q < CO W H < CO O w PQ < ^ o O 00 O < s 'XN3W -3aXX3S do 3xva O ' [I. o z S < z O z o p K a a o z CO 00 0^ 00 00 ON O m CO M 00 pr CO M O >o in O>00 O ro (O t^ ■*00 CO o On CJ -a <-> r- C3 C.5-- o 00 q_ pT 00 o 00 CO C o IS o t/1 c u 1/! c vo 00 O S c 2 '-5 B .2 "S >--s V t'* c rt '^•rt ^ ^ a 1 .12 3 c c o S,s -a w >» c „ > HH !§ V C/3 S^ >;£ y « & fci fe « « R 73 4) O Pi U 1-5 IT. O "c " . OS M o o CJ 05 ^-> rt O " '^ 4) U 1-1 c c ' *^ 4) I 0-C e C « ,4) bi) 41 C . O S « S O r- O e rt M 4) •^ 3 ^ . --1 O 4) 3 rt = ° o E """ iH S O CO o o li 1-. U l-< o oo ON A., n.. N On H in 0) f;. H invD ■<^NO NO 00 00 00 00 00 00 H H M H M H 4) c c u >. 4) X- O C oi o 41 E ■N 00 00 oo CO ON ON 00 oo 00 00 00 00 00 00 CO 00 M M H H w M H M H H c 4) 1-1 o c .2 c c §£ S 2 in OS in C oj cH > in i-< o nl "o O o 0) P o o ^ Q rfi 4-i s u n o ta-i c/J.«i; B O CXI c I/) rC rt OJ ^2 C 'e o to NO ro ro 00 fO O fO O M « oo 2 IS E "o U 4> O -i >N «" ON '^••r. o oir^ in !/■' 4) ni '^ rt O 4) k-< .n -^J m ■J^^ in 4i<| m ol ^-v.S d tn 1) « 0J2 « U i2 N in Q o! ro C g ^^ 05 3 J;; C ^ -13 o NX! vO *J ON 2 00 P " o 80 00 O >-. in o o'C 00 >- 00 4) "H .S 3 (11 v-> OSr 4) •" O ^ J2 _ — -r- (n 4) 4) 3< Z; 4)^ > fv tn H •" • — rt a3G?.'B 41 ^_3x D 4) ^ ■3 " t, - f^ o: .- %<.^ C o!^ .'oT !- ^N_^ o S o S =^4) o "Iz; o 3 ^-v-i-. .- M O 3"^'iE C .. c ■*-. in O oJ 4J O "3 'C in n.. 4) oH 4) X- ON ■" 00 ^ ^J'^S 4) 3?3 i-> 4) o 3^ i:; 3 in^ J5 O O. O 4) 0) >n3> OS 3^ 3 iV oi 3 O O J on-,U H U C 01 O (U 1-t CU c-i' oi inC/2^ „ 4J n • in ' " .ti u o^ 4) ii 41 j=^S 00 E E I ""^ *^ — 4) v3 4) It) E 0! 3 • 3. in 3 O*- in * , W 3 - -w " £h O -.4- (^ 0>4-. 00 f) i. <> ji 1-7 ^ in » ? - Ji Al 3 - O 4) N rt 4> "N 00 3 O 2 il ^-^ m in m u) ON ' APPENDIX. XXlll < H O >" U W u M in c &, c c o "o ■ C ■ S J ss ^p:^ 'P^ Ph "H rt o S HWHH 5 o o C ■5 S S o V V .s '3 C c o c 4) li 3 C c > 03 &"3 -O o O Or*- ^^Q c< 2 O 1 ft « =* 2 it^ « rt ■« ^'^^ ■ — I fl) S rt E-^ rt 3 Scd .2 3 r3-S '^5 iJ^ 5 t/i 3 • (« • " C ^>-G . o o t: " 1) (U Ml O >-■•-■ 'S b ° °^ rt « 1) 35 3 ft O 3 3 o CJ CJ 3 C . 3 §^ |« "rt 3 CJ 3 3 '5 -3 OS O ^ 3 O 3 O X. 3 en O o to 3 (I s IL) bfl 5 ffi 1> .S d 7: o E « p3 3 o pq -3 cJ 5 '- . . . . >- •/« C }J tJ CO'* u ^ O (U ^ > E «J ■CJ :p^ . o > iS u E o O W H h ft O u ft O -3 u, aj O 3 rt 3 in tn • o y 'J •^ ,4_, ft' .1 O • -* cs - - - - - 4) -u-^S ao ft ft 3 o u o s Q u O bi) bfl u o bfl bO 3 n 3 ft I) 3 03 U 3 ft 3 3 ft lA in m . u) 3 3 3 ^ 3 u3 . rt C3 03 -*-J C3 +-» u u u 03 o ^ 3 3 3 2 3 u .. u 3 2 ^ ^ ^ r* ^ 3 : ft ft ft E ft C al ij ^ V V V V T* H I 00 6 u V o o 00 H I o 00 o 00 I o 00 CO I 0\ N 00 00 0) H 00 S S 6 E E c *^ *-• ^ J-. ^ « « « s 4> ii ij N 00 6 u u 4-» o 00 H „ 00 " H ., ..-3 eg a s 3 3 00 in 00 00 o E >. M in 00 ..>^ 3 3 H N O O l/I 00 H I CTi VO 00 in ■00 00 • 00 g iH o CO H 00 g ;/; 00 M .1 I "^ I ON ^^ t^ . . " "~CO is, c^ . inoo 00 ^-^ 00 (/3 M CX) IH L r E IC' S E g^ ' _0S 'b 'bfl 3 ,3 u .2 "3 'bfl "b bfl u 1/1 3 u bfl m C3 s > > ;> s U3 V C B u H o :-^ 3 ft > 03 bfl w 3 o B -^ to 03 K~ 3 t», 3 3 u 3^ K I 1) O O 0! O 3 •^ ^ jr 1) « 13 ^o > H kj:z; ^ PL, frj.H s oo^;z;h5;zic 55 III »^ B O 4-( ho a u bfl hi o V O E d a o 3 O in a 6 o x: H 3 O in CJ V i/i 6 03 V -fl It >, u 3 S 3 i/i (D- V E 3 rt n •-> •-^ 3 o in o OS •— » II ii •T3 B 3 J <^ 3 in 3 • .5 rt 41 'tl >-i "~! • 3 4) C« H B r3 O o 5r* E 4) • -tJ '^ '^ ■^ in 4=..;:; 3 Ji Pr3 rt B 01 o 3 3 O in 3 O •T3 U r- " OJ rt ,3 ^ 3 3 c« 11 o V) 41 in ^ 3 4) . . • _ ca'O g-a 9 ■ !> "1 i: iJ rt f-l Hi Tl *^ ^9 ^ U in ti E « 13 PiAuOPQ' o 00 OS « m ■>♦■ m On O M CI CO ■* H « N N N « XXIV LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. PRINCIPAL DATES IN AMERICAN HISTORY. [The * marks the most important dates.] I. The Period of Discovery, igoo- 1507- The coming of the Northmen, 1000. *Columbus discovers the West Indies (San Salvador), 1492. Letter of Columbus describing his voyage, 1493- *The Cabots discover the Continent of North America, 1497. Voyages of Amerigo Vespucci to South America, 1499-1503. Amerigo Vespucci publishes an account of his voyages, 1504. *WaldseemuIler publishes a geography in which he suggests that the New World be called AMERICA, 1507. II. Attempts at Exploring and Colonizing North America, 1509-1587- Diego Columbus (son of Christopher Colum- bus), governor of San Domingo, conquers Cuba, 1509. *Ponce de Leon discovers and names Florida, 1513- *Balboa discovers the Pacific, 1513. Cortez conquers Mexico, 1519- *Magellan's voyage round the globe, 1519- 1521. Verrazzano explores the coast of North America (?), 1524 (?). Cabeza de Vaca discovers one of the mouths of the Mississippi, 1528. Cartier discovers the St. Lawrence and names Montreal, 1535. *De Soto's expedition (he discovers the main stream of the Mississippi), 1539-1542. Huguenot settlement at Port Royal (not per- manent), 1562. Huguenot settlement on the St. John's River, Florida (broken u^j by the Spaniards) , 1564. *The Spaniards settle St. Augustine, Florida (the oldest town in the United States), 1565. Sir Martin Frobisher's voyages (in search of a Northwest Passage), 1576. *Sir Francis Drake sails round the world (visits the western coast of North America and names it New Albion), 1577-1579. Sir Humphrey Gilbert's voyages (takes pos- session of Newfoundland), 1578, 1583. *The Spaniards settle Santa Fe, New Mexico (the second oldest town in the United States), 1582. *Sir Walter Raleigh sends out his first expe- dition to North America (the country named Virginia in honor of Queen Eliza- beth), 1584. Sir Walter Raleigh sends out colonies to setde (Roanoke Island) "Virginia" (not permanent), 1585, 1587. III. Opening of the Seventeenth Century; Permanent English AND French Settlements; The Thirteen Colonies, (i 602-1 763.) Gosnold's expedition to Northern Virginia (New England), 1602. *Jamestown, Virginia, settled (the first per- manent English settlement made in Amer- ica) , 1607. Sir George Popham attempts to make a set- tlement in Maine, 1607. *The French settle Quebec (first permanent French settlement in America), 1608. *Henry Hudson explores the Hudson River, 1609. *John Rolf begins the cultivation of tobacco at Jamestown, Virginia, 1612. *The Dutch take possession of New Nether- land (New York), 1614. *The House of Burgesses (the first law-mak- ing assembly in America) meets at James- town, 1619. *Negro slavery is introduced into Virginia, 1619. *Landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, 1620. PRINCIPAL DATES IN AMERICAN HISTORY. XXV The Dutch build Fort Orange (Albany), 1622. First permanent English settlement made (at Pemaquid Point) in Maine, 1625. ♦The Dutch purchase Manhattan Island (New York City) of the Indians, 1626. Settlement of Dover, New Hampshire, 1627. Settlement of Salem, Massachusetts, 1628. *Settlement ol Boston, 1630. Settlement of Portland, Maine, 1632. ♦Settlement of St. Mary's, Maryland, 1634. ♦The first English Catholic Church estab- lished in America, 1634. ♦Religious toleration granted in Maryland to all Christians, 1634. ♦Settlements begun in Connecticut (Wethers- field and Windsor), 1635. ♦A public school is established in Boston, 1635. ♦Settlement of Providence, Rhode Island, by Roger Williams, 1636. ♦Religious toleration granted in Rhode Island to all persons (whether Christians or not), 1636. ♦Harvard College founded, 1636. The Pequot War, 1637. New Haven, Connecticut, settled, 1638. Delaware settled by the Swedes, 1638. ♦The Connecticut Constitution (the first writ- ten constitution framed by the people in America), 1639. First printing-press in New England, 1639. First New England Confederacy, 1643. Clayborne's Rebellion in Maryland, 1645. Coming of the Quakers to New England, 1656. The English settle in North Carolina, 1663. The Regicides come to New England, 1663. The English seize New Netherland (New Amsterdam becomes New York City) , 1664, The English settle Elizabeth, New Jersey, 1664. The Connecticut and the New Haven colo- nies united, 1664. ♦French exploration of the West begins, 1669. ♦Settlement of Old Charleston (South Caro- lina), 1670. ♦King Philip's War, 1675. ♦Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia, 1676. ♦William Penn settles Philadelphia, Pennsyl- vania, i683. ♦La Salle explores the Mississippi, 1682. First war with the French and the Indians (" King William's War"), 1689. The Salem Witchcraft, 1692. William and Mary College (Virginia) founded, 1692. ♦Cultivation of rice begun in South Carolina, 1693. Yale College founded, 1701. The French establish a colony at Mobile, 1701. Second war with the French and the Indians (" Queen Anne's War"), 1702. ♦The Boston News Letter, the first news- paper published in America, 1704. New Orleans founded by the French, 1718. Benjamin Franklin begins his " Poor Rich- ard's Almanac," 1732. Oglethorpe settles Savannah, Georgia, 1733. Cultivation of indigo begun in South Caro- lina, 1741. Third war with the French (" King George's War"), 1744. Louisburg taken, 1745. ♦Benjamin Franklin discovers that lightning and electricity are identical, 1752. Washington sent as a commissioner to the French, 1753. The fourth French and Indian War, 1754. ♦The Albany Convention, 1754. The Rev. Jonathan Edwards publishes his work on the '* Freedom of the Will," 1754. Braddock's defeat, 1755. ♦Fort Duquesne taken by the English and named Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh), 1758. ♦Wolfe takes Quebec, 1759. ♦Treaty of peace, 1763. Pontiac's War, 1763. IV. The Revolution; The Consti- tution. ( 1 765-1 788.) ♦Parliament passes the Stamp Act, 1765. Repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766. The Declaratory Act, 1766. Duties laid on glass, paints, paper, and tea, 1767. British troops sent to Boston, 1768. The Boston Massacre (March 3), 1770. Destruction of the Gaspee (June 10), 1772. All duties repealed except that on tea, 1773. ♦The "Boston Tea-Party" (December 16), 1773- General Gage appointed military governor, 1774- ♦Parliament closes the port of Boston (June i), 1774- ♦The first Continental Congress meets at Phil- adelphia (September 5), 1774. The battle of Lexington (April 19), 1775. The battle of Concord (April 19), 1775. The siege of Boston begins (April 20), 1775. XXVI LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Ethan Allen takes Ticonderoga (May lo), 1775- Crown Point taken (May ii), 1775. *Washington appointed commander-in-chief (June 15), 1775. *Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17), 1775. Washington takes command of the Conti- nental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts (Julys). 1775- General Montgomery takes Montreal (No- vember 13), 1775. Montgomery and Arnold attack Quebec (Montgomery killed) (December 31), 1775. Paine's " Common Sense "(January 5), 1776. *The British evacuate Boston (March 17), 1776.^ . The British fail in their attack on Fort Moul- trie, South Carolina (June 28), 1776. ♦Declaration of Independence (July 4), 1776. *Battle of Long Island (August 27), 1776, Battle of White Plains, New York (October 28), 1776. Fort Washington taken (November 16), 1776. ♦Washington retreats across New Jersey and crosses the Delaware (November 19 to December 8), 1776. ♦Washington gains the victory of Trenton, New Jersey (December 26), 1776. ♦Washington victorious at Princeton, New Jersey (January 3), 1777. He goes into winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey, 1777. Arrival of Lafayette in summer of i ■]■]■]. ♦American victory at Bennington, Vermont (August 16), 1777. British victory at Brandjrwine Creek, Penn- sylvania (September 11), 1777. Battle of Bemis Heights, New York (Sep- tember 19), 1777. ♦Howe enters Philadelphia (September 26), 1777. British victory at Germantown, Pennsyl- vania (October 4), 1777. ♦American victory at Stillwater, New York (October 7), 1777. ♦American victory at Saratoga, New York; Burgoyne surrenders (October 17), 1777. Washington goes into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (December 11), 1777. ♦France acknowledges the independence of the United States (February 6), 1778. ♦The British evacuate Philadelphia (June 18), 1778. Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey (June 28), 1778. Indian massacre at Wyoming, Pennsylvania (July 3), 1778. Indian massacre at Cherry Valley, New York (November 11), 1778. The British take Savannah, Georgia (De- cember 29), 1778. "Mad Anthony" Wayne takes Stony Point (July 15), 1779- ♦Victory of Paul Jones off coast of England (September 23), 1779. British conquest of Georgia, 1779. British capture of Charleston, South Caro- lina (May 12), 1780. British victory at Camden, South Carolina (August 16), 1780. ♦Arnold's treason (September), 1780. American victory at King's Mountain, South Carolina (October 7), 1780. ♦General Greene takes command of the Amer- ican army at the South, 1780. ♦American victory at Cowpens, South Caro- lina (January 17), 1781. ♦Greene's retreat northward, 1781. British gain battle of Guilford Court-House, North Carolina (March 15), 1781. British success at Hobkirk's Hill, South Carolina (April 25), 1781. British retreat from Eutaw Springs, South Carolina (September 8), 1781. Benedict Arnold and Cornwallis invade Vir- ginia, 1781. ♦American victory of Yorktown (October 19), 1781. The war suspended, 1782. ♦Treaty of peace with Great Britain (Septem- ber 3), 1783. Shays' Rebellion in Massachusetts, 1786. ♦The Federal Convention frames the Consti- tution, 1787. The ordinance concerning the Northwest Territory, 1787. ♦The states accept the Constitution, 1788. V. The Union; National Devel- opment. ( 1 789-1860.) WASHINGTON inaugurated President of the United States (two terms), 1 789-1797. ♦Organization of the departments of the gov- ernment and formation of the Cabinet, 1789. Revenue Tariff imposed, 1789. First census, 1790. Cincinnati (settled 1788) named 1790. United States Bank established, 1791. United States Mint established, 1792. PRINCIPAL DATES IN AMERICAN HISTORY. XXVll Organization of political parties begun, — Fed- eralists and Anti-Federalists or Demo- cratic-Republicans, a name later shortened to Democrats, — 1792. ♦Whitney invents the cotton-gin, 1793. The Whiskey Rebellion, 1794. Jay's treaty with Great Britain, 1795. ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION (one term, 1797-1801). The X. Y. Z. Papers, — War with France, 1798.^ *The Alien and the Sedition Laws, 1798. Peace made with France, 1799. Death of Washington, 1799. *The city of Washington made the national capital, 1800. JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRA- TION (two terms, 1801-1809). War with Tripoli, 1801. ♦Purchase of Louisiana, 1803. *Lewis and Clarke's expedition, 1804. Peace with Tripoli, 1805. The Leopard and the Chesapeake, 1807. *The Embargo, 1807. Burr's expedition and trial, 1807. ♦Fulton's steamboat (August 11), 1807. The importation of slaves forbidden, 1808. The Non-Intercourse Act, 1809. MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION (two terms, 1809-1817). End of the Non-Intercourse Policy, 1810. First steamboat on the Ohio and the Mis- sissippi, iSii. Great earthquake in the Southwest, 181 1. Battle of Tippecanoe, 181 1. [1812. *War declared against Great Britain (June 18), Hull surrenders Detroit (August 16), 1812. *The Co}istii7itio7i takes the Qiierriere (August 19), — many American victories on the sea follow, 1S12. [1S13. *Perry's victoiy on Lake Erie (September 10), Jackson's victory at Tohopeka, Alabama (]\L-irch 27), 1S14. Battle of Chippewa (July 5), 1814. Battle of Lundy's Lane (July 25), 1814. [1814. *The British take Washington (August 24), ■♦Macdonough's victory on Lake Champlain (September 11), 1814. Hartford Convention (December 15), 1814. Treaty of peace signed at Ghent (December 24), 1814. •Jackson's victory at New Orleans (January 8), 1815. MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION (two terms, 181 7-1825). First Seminole War, 1817. The first steamship — the Savannah — (American) crosses the Atlantic, 1819. ♦Purchase of Florida, 1819. ♦The Missouri Compromise, 1820. ♦Extension of National Road, 1822. ♦The Monroe Doctrine, 1823. High Protective Tariff established, 1824. Lafayette visits the United States, 1824. ADAMS'S (J. Q. ) ADMINISTRA- TION (one term, 1825-1829). ♦The Erie Canal opened, 1825, ♦The temperance reform movement begun, 1826. ♦Ground broken at Baltimore for the first rail- road, 1828. ♦Publication of Webster's " Dictionary," — Irvifig, Cooper y Bryatit, — 1828. JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION (two terms, 1829-1837). ♦General removal of government officers, 1829, ♦The first steam railroad opened (at Balti- more), 1830. ♦Garrison begins the publication of the Liber- ator (January i), 1831, The President vetoes the United States Bank Bill, 1832. ♦Nullification in South Carolina, 1832. Chicago founded, 1833. The New York Daily Sun, the first one- cent newspaper, appears, 1833. ♦McCormick's reaper, 1834. Rise of the Whig party, 1834. Second Seminole War, 1835. Coal comes into extensive use, 1835. Great fire in New York City, 1835. ♦Rise of American Literature, — Whittier, Lo7igfellow , Holmes, Lowell, Fmerson, Bancroft, Prescott, Hawthortie, Poe, — 1835. VAN BUREN'S ADMINISTRA- TION (one term, 1837-1841). ♦Business panic, 1837. Repudiation of state debts, 1838. Congress refuses to receive petitions for the abolition of slavery in the District of Co- lumbia, 1838. ♦Beginning of the American express system, 1839. The Mormons settle Nauvoo, 1839. ♦The first line of steamships between Europe and America (Cunard) established, 1840. ♦The government establishes an independent treasury with sub-treasuries, 1840. HARRISON AND TYLER'S AD- MINISTRATIONS (one term, 1841- 1845). XXVlll LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Death of President Harrison (April 4), 1841. *Ashburton Treaty, 1842. The "Dorr Rebellion "in Rhode Island, 1842. Anti-rent troubles in New York State, 1842. Dr. Whitman leaves Oregon for Washington (October 3) (returns, 1843), 1842. *Morse completes the first line of electric tele- graph and sends the first message (May 24), 1844. *The President signs the bill for the annexa- tion of Texas (March i), 1845. *Morton's discovery of the anaesthetic uses of ether, 1845. POLK'S ADMINISTRATION (one term, 1845-1849), *Texas admitted to the Union (December 20) , 1845- Great increase in emigration to the United States begins, 1845. *Treaty settling the Oregon boundary, 1846. *Elias Howe invents the sewing-machine, 1846. Protective duties taken off (1846) Revenue Tariff established ; this continued until 1861. *War declared against Mexico (May 13), 1846. (The battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, May 8 and 9, 1846, were fought before the formal declaration of war.) Conquest of California, 1846. New Mexico conquered, 1846. Battle of Monterey September 24), 1846, Battle of Buena Vista (February 23), 1847. Battle of Contreras (August 20), 1847. Battle of Chapultepec (September 13), 1847. The city of Mexico taken (September 14), 1847. Treaty of peace with Mexico (February 2) , 1848. ♦Discovery of gold in California, spring of 1848. The Mormons emigrate to Utah, 1848. Great movement of emigrants and gold-dig- gers to California, beginning in the spring of 1849. TAYLOR AND FILLMORE'S AD- MINISTRATION (one term, 1849- 1853). Death of President Taylor (July 9), 1850. Clay's " Omnibus Bill," 1850. *Passage of the Fugitive Slave Law (included in the " Omnibus Bill "), 1S50. The Maine prohibition law passed, 1851. Rise of the American or "Know-Nothing" party, 1852. *" Uncle Tom's Cabin " published, 1852, PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION (one term, 1853-1857). ^Purchase of Arizona and New Mexico, 1853. Opening of the World's Fair at New York, 1853- Perry's treaty with Japan, 1854. ^Passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, 1854. *The struggle for the possession of Kansas begins; first appearance of John Brown, 1855. Assault on Senator Sumner, 1856. *RIse of the Republican party, 1856. BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION (one term, 1857-1861). *The Dred Scott decision, 1857, *Business panic, 1857. First Atlantic Cable (soon failed), 1858. *I)iscovery of silver in Nevada and Colorado, and of petroleum in Pennsylvania, 185S- 1859. [ber 16), 1859. *John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry (Octo- *Election of Abraham Lincoln, i860. *Secession of South Carolina (December 20), i860. Steamer Star of the West fired on by the Secessionists (January 9), 1861. *Formation of the Southern Confederacy (Feb- ruary 4), 1861. Jefferson Davis elected President of the Con- federacy (February 18), 1861. VI. The Civil War. (1861-1865.) LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION (one term and part of second, 1861 to April 14, 1865). *Bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter (April 13), 1861. ^President Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers (April 15), 1861. Seizure of arms at Harper's Ferry by Confed- erates (April 18), 1861. Bloodshed at Baltimore (April 19), 1861. Seizure of Norfolk Navy Yard by Confeder- ates (April 20), 1861. 'Secession* of Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina, making the whole number of states in the Confederacy eleven (May-June), 1S61. General Butler declares fugitive slaves co7i- trahatid of ivar, 1S6 1 . Union victory of Rich Mountain, West Vir- ginia (July 21), 1861. ♦Confederate victory of Bull Run (July 21), 1861. PRINCIPAL DATES IN AMERICAN HISTORY, XXIX Confederate victory of Wilson's Creek, Mis- souri (August lo), 1861. Union capture of Fort Hatteras, North Caro- lina (August 29), 1861. Union capture of Port Royal, South Caro- lina (November 7) , 1861. Union capture of Mason and Slidell {Trent affair) (Novembers), 1861. Union victory of Mill Spring, Kentucky (January 19), 1862. Union victory at Fort Henry, Tennessee (February 6), 1862. Union capture of Roanoke Island, North Carolina (February 8), 1862. *Grant takes Fort Donelson, Tennessee (Feb- ruary 16), 1862. Union victory at Pea Ridge, Arkansas (March 5-8), 1862. *The Monitor fights the jSkrrimac (or Vir^s:inin) (March 9), 1S62. *Grant's victory at Pittsburg LandiHg or Shi- loh, Tennessee (April 6-7) , 1862. ♦Union capture of Island No. Ten, Mississippi River (April 8), 1862. Union capture of Fort Pulaski, Georgia (April 11), 1862. *Farragut takes New Orleans (April 25), 1862. jBattle of Williamsburg, Virginia (May 5), 1862. " Stonewall " Jackson drives Banks out of the Shenandoah Valley (May 26), 1862. Union capture of Corinth, Mississippi (May 30), 1S62. Union victoiy of Fair Oaks, Virginia (May 31), 1S62. Lee takes active conunand of tlie armies around Richmond (June 3), 1862. The " Seven Days' Battles " around Rich- mond (June 25 to July i), 1862. Pope's campaign in Virginia (Confederates victorious) (August), 1S62. Second battle of Bull Run (Confederate vic- tory) (August 30), 1862. " Stonewall " Jackson takes Harper's Ferry (September 15), 1S62. *Union victory at Antietam (Sept. 17), 1S62. Bragg invades Kentucky (September), 1862. fBattle of Perryville, Kentucky (Oct. S), 1S62. *Confederate victory at Fredericksburg, Vir- ginia (December 13), 1862. Union victory of Murfreesboro', Tennessee (December 31 to January 2), 1862. ♦Lincoln's Proclamation of Emancipation (January i), 1863. Union victory of Arkansas Post (January 11), 1863. *Act establishing National Banks (February 23), 1863. Confederate victory of Chancellorsville, Vir- ginia (May 2-3), 1863. *Union victory of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (July 1-3), 1863. *Grant takes Vicksburg (July 4), 1863. Union victory at Helena, Arkansas (July 4), 1863. *Union capture of Port Hudson on the Missis- sippi (July 9), 1863. Draft riots in New York City (July 13-16), 1863. Morgan's raid into Ohio (July), 1863. Confederate victory of Chickamauga, Geor- gia (September 19-20), 1863. Confederates besiege Chattanooga, Tennessee (October-November), 1863. Confederates besiege Knoxville, Tennessee (November 18-29) , 1863. Union victory at Lookout Mountain, Ten- nessee (November 24-25), 1863. Sherman destroys Meridian, Mississippi (February 3 to March 5), and the rail- roads centering there, 1864. Grant made lieutenant-general (March 3), 1864. Confederate capture of Fort Pillow, Tennes- see (April 12), 1864. fBattle of the»Wilderness, Virginia (May 5-7), 1864. fBattle at Spottsylvania Court-House, Vir- ginia (May 8-18), 1864. Union victory at Resaca, Georgia (May 14- 15), 1864. Union victory at Dallas, Georgia (May 25- 28), 1864. Confederate victory at Cold Harbor, Vir- ginia (June 3), 1864. Siege of Petersburg, Virginia, begun (June), 1864. The Kearsarge sinks the Alabama (Juhc 19), 1864. Confederate victory at Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia (June 27), 1864. Union victories at Atlanta, Georgia (July 20-28), 1864, Early's raid on Washington (July), 1864. Early burns Chambersburg, Pennsylvania (July 30), 1864. Confederate success at the Petersburg mine, Virginia (July 30), 1864. t Battles so marked were indecisive. XXX LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. ♦Farragut enters Mobile Bay (August 5), 1864. *Sherman takes Atlanta, Georgia (Septem- ber 2), 1864. *Union victory at Winchester, Virginia (September 19), 1864. *Union victory at Cedar Creek, Virginia (" Sheridan's Ride") (October 19), 1864. ^Sherman's march from Atlanta to Savannah (November 12 to December 21), 1864. Union victory at Franklin, Tennessee (No- vember 30), 1864. Sherman takes Fort McAllister, Georgia (December 13), 1864. *Thomas gains decisive Union victory at Nashville, Tennessee (December 15-16), 1864. *Sherman takes Savannah, Georgia (Decem- ber 21), 1864. Union capture of Fort Fisher, North Caro- lina (January 15), 1865. Sherman marches northward (February to March), 1865. Union capture of Columbia, South Carolina (February 17), 1865. Union capture of Charleston, South Caro- lina (February 18), 1865. Union capture of Wilmington, North Caro- lina (February 21), 1865. Union victory at Averysboro', North Caro- lina (March 15), 1865. Union victory at Bentonville, North Caro- lina (March 19), 1865. Sheridan's raid on Lynchburg, Virginia (March), 1865. Union victory at Five Forks, Virginia (April i), 1865. Union capture of Petersburg, Virginia (April 2), 1865. *Grant takes Richmond, Virginia (April 3), 1865. *Lee surrenders to Grant (April 9), 1865. General Anderson raises the Union flag over Fort Sumter, South Carolina (April 14), 1865. ♦Assassination of Lincoln (April 14), 1865. VII, Reconstruction; The New Nation. (1865 to the Present Time.) JOHNSON'S ADMINISTRATION (April 15, 1865, to 1869). Review of Grant's and of Sherman's armies at Washington (May 23-24), 1865. Gradual disbanding of the Union armies, 1865. The President's proclamation of pardon (limited) (May 29), 1865. j Reorganization of Southern States, 1865. *The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitu- tion accepted by the states, 1865. *Payment of the National Debt begun, 1865. Tennessee re-admitted to the Union, 1866. *The second Atlantic Cable laid, 1866. Reconstruction acts passed over the Presi- dent's veto, 1867. Tenure of Office Act, 1S67 (repealed, 1887). *Purchase of Alaska, 1S67. Impeachment of the President, 1868. *Six states re-admitted to the Union, 1868. The Burlingame Treaty with China, 1868. *The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitu- tion accepted by the states, 1868. *The President's proclamation of full and un- conditional pardon (Christmas), 186S. GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION (two terms, 1869-1877). *The Pacific Railroad completed (Mayio),i869. "*Organization of the "Knights of Labor, "1869. *Completion of the reconstruction of Southern States (all re-admitted to the Union), 1870. *\Veather Bureau established, 1870. [1S70. *Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, Tweed Ring in New York, 187 1. Ku-Klux Klans, 1871. *Great fire at Chicago and Western forest fires, 1871. *Treaty of Washington, 1871, *Great fire at Boston, 1872. Settlement of the Alabama claims, 1872. Modoc War, 1872. *Busines3 panic, 1873. Whiskey Ring, 1875. *Centennial celebration and exhibition (electric light and Bell telephone exhibited), X876. Sioux War — death of General Custer, 1876. *Electoral Commission, 1877. HAYES'S ADMINISTRATION (one term, 1877-1881). The President withdraws all troops from the South, 1877, *Great railroad strikes, 1877. *The telephone begins to come into general use, 1877, Yellow fever at the South, 1878. Silver dollars restored (remonetization of sil- ver), 1878. *Resumption of specie payment (January i), 1879.^ *Eads's improvement of the navigation of the Mississippi, 1879. Treaty with China, 1880. PRINCIPAL DATES IN AMERICAN HISTORY. XXXI GARFIELD'S AND ARTHUR'S ADMINISTRATIONS (one term, 1881-18S5). *Assassination of the President (July 2) 1881. Death of the President (September 19), 1881. Overflow of the Mississippi, 1SS2. *Passage of the Edmunds Bill punishing plural marriages and polygamy in the Territories, 1882. Electric lights begin to come into general use, 1883. Completion of the East River Suspension Bridge, 1S83. *Civil Service Reform Commission, 1883. *Reduction in rates of letter-postage (to two cents), 1883, 1885. Cincinnati riot, 1884. New Orleans Exhibition, 1884. CLEVELAND'S ADMINISTRA- TION (one term, 1885 to 1889). Progress in civil service reform, 1885. Extensive labor strikes, 1S86. Anarchist riot at Chicago, 1886. The Charleston earthquake, 1886. The Statue of Liberty completed at New York, 1886. Presidential Succession Act, 1886. Interstate Commerce Act, 1887. Chinese Immigration Act, 1888. Western " blizzardsf" 1888. HARRISON'S ADMINISTRATION (one term, 1889-1893). Opening of the Oklahoma lands to settlers (April 22), i88g. Centennial celebration of the inauguration of Washington (April 29 to May i), 1889. The Johnstown disaster (May 31), 1S89. *Electricity begins to be extensively used for driving light machinery and propelling street cars, i88g. A number of new steel war-ships added to the Navy, 1889. Trouble with Germany relative to Samoa ; settled by conference, 1889. *Introduction of the Australian or Secret Bal- lot (Massachusetts), 18S9. Congress of the Three Americas (Pan-Amer- ican Congress) (October 2), 1889-1890. The " Squadron of Evolution " sails from Boston for Lisbon (December 7), 1889. *The United States Supreme Court (the Chief- Justice and two associate justices dissent- ing) affirms the Edmunds Law of 1882 punishing plural marriages and polygamy in the Territories, dissolves the Mormon Church corporation, and declares its prop- erty forfeited to the United States, 1890. Formation of the Farmers Alliance at the South and in sections of the West, 1890. New Pension Act, 1890. *The first State (Wyoming) having full woman suffrage, admitted, 1890. Act against Trusts and Combinations, 1S90. *The Sherman Silver Purchase Act (directing the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase 4,500,000 ounces of Silver monthly), 1890; (repealed 1893). *The Mormon Church renounces plural mar- riages and polygamy, 1S90. Great Sioux reservation (9,000,000 acres) opened to white settlers, 1890. Indian lands (3,000,000 acres) opened in Min- nesota to white settlers, 1890. ♦Passage of the McKinley (Protective) Tariff ■ 1890. Mississippi adopts a new Constitution (deny- ing the right of future secession from the Union), 1S90. The eleventh or centennial Census taken, showing a total population of 62,622,250 1S90. Italian murderers lynched at New Orleans, 1891. International Copyright Act, 1891. Difficulty with Chili on account of assaults on American seamen, 1891. Behring Sea (Seal Fishery) controversy be- tween England and the United States sub- mitted to arbitration, 1891. Hawaiian Protectorate, 1892. Chili apologizes to the United States, 1892. Louisiana refuses to re-charter the Louisiana Lottery, 1S92. Chinese Exclusion Law, 1892. Great floods at the West(more than ^30,000,000 of property destroyed), 1892. Great Strike at Homestead, Pa., 1892. Organization of the People's Party, 1S92. Columbus celebration, 1892. *Extension of Civil Service Reform by Presi- dent Harrison, 1893. CLEVELAND'S ADMINISTRA- TION (.S93-). ♦Opening of the Columbian Exposition at Chicago (May i), 1893. International Naval Review at New York, 1893. ♦Financial Panic (July-Aug.), 1S93. XXXll LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. *Behring Sea Commission's decision, 1893. Terrible Cyclones at the South (Aug. and Oct.), 1893- ♦Repeal of the Sherman Silver Bullion Pur- chase Act of 1S90 (Nov. i), 1S93. *By Amendment to the State Constitution, Colorado grants full suffrage to women, 1893. The Louisiana State Lottery ceases to exist, Dec. 31, 1893. A LIST OF BOOKS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. XXXlll A SHORT LIST OF BOOKS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. -•o*- General Histories. *Winsor*s Narrative and Critical History, 8 vols, (to 1887, but not including the period ofthe Civil War). *Bancroft's United States, 6 vols, (revised edition) (to 1789). *Hildreth's United States, 6 vols, (to 1821). *Bryant and Gay's United States, 4 vols, (to 1865). *Johnston's United States (reprinted from the Encyclopaedia Britannica) (1607 to 1889). *Gilman's American People (to 1881). *Higginson's Larger History of the United States (to 1837). Schouler's United States, 5 vols. (1783-1S61). Hart's Epochs of American History, 3 vols. (1492-1SS9). [(1492-1871). Scribner's American History Series, 5 vols. Goldwin Smith's United States, (1492-1871). Works of Reference. Lalor's Cyclopjedia of U. S. History, 3 vols. Appleton's Annual Cyclopjedia. Spofford's American Almanac. Johnston's American Politics. Von Hoist's Constitutional History of the United States, 8 vols, (to 1S59). Scribner's Statistical Atlas of the U. S. Lossing's Cyclopaedia of U. S. History. Revised edition. Labberton's Historical Atlas. Poole's Index to Reviews. Bryce's American Commonwealth, 2 vols. Revised edition. MacCoun's Historical Geography of the U. S. Hart's Epoch Maps of American Histor>\ Curtis's Constitutional History of the United States, 2 vols, (to 1865). Wilson's The State. Macy's Civil Government of the U. S. Putnam's Great Cities of the Republic (a series of vols.). Brooks's The Story of the States (a series of volumes now in course of publication). Scudder's American Commonwealths (a se- ries of volumes giving the histories of the states, by eminent writers). Sparks's American Biography, 25 vols. Morse's American Statesmen (a series of volumes by able writers) . Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biogra- phy, 6 vols. Warner's American Men of Letters (a com- panion series of vols, to the American Statesmen series). Harper's The First Century of the Republic (1776-1876). The North American Review for January, 1876 (covering the general progress of the country from 1776 to 1876 in a series of arti- cles on Religion, Politics, Science, Polit- ical Economy, Law, and Education). The Statesman's Year Book. The Magazine of American History. The Magazine of Western History. Adams's Manual of Historical Literature (re- vised edition). (This valuable manual contains full references to all works on American History.) L Period of Discovery (1492- 1521). Help's Columbus. Irving's Columbus. * Irving's Companions of Columbus. Harrisse, Colombo, sa vie, etc. §Major's Select Letters of Columbus (Hak- luyt Soc. Pub.). Higglnson's American Explorers. Vogel's Century of Discovery. Markham's The Sea Fathers. §Hakluyt's Divers Voyages touching the Dis- covery of America. Bourne's Voyages (The Cabots). Nicholl's Sebastian Cabot. * Books so marked begin with the earliest period of American History. § Early or contemporaneous history, XXXIV LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. II. Period of Exploration and Spanish Colonization of Amer- ica (1509-1587).^ Irving's Companions of Columbus, with Hakluyt, as above. Higginson and Vogel, as above. Parkman's Pioneers of France in the New World. T. Irving's Conquest of Florida. §De Soto's Discovery and Conquest of Florida (Hakluyt Soc. Pub.). Barrow's Sir Francis Drake. Jones's Sir Martin Frobisher. Edwards's Sir Walter Ralegh [Raleigh]. Towle's Sir Walter Ralegh [Raleigh]. Cooke's Virginia.^ On the Indians, see Ellis's The Red Man and the White Man. Parkman's Jesuits in N. America (Intro- duction). Schoolcraft's Indian Tribes, 6 vols. Morgan's League of the Iroquois. Drake's Indian History for Young Folks. Bancroft's] Native Races of the Pacific Coast. III. Period of Permanent English AND French Settlements (1607- 1763)- Lodge's English Colonies, Grahame's United States, 4 vols. Doyle's The English in America, 3 vols. §Winthrop's New England, 2 vols. Palfrey's New England, 5 vols. Drake's Making of New England. Fiske's The Beginnings of New England. Lowell's Essays: New England Two Hun- dred Years Ago. §Jefiferson's Notes on Virginia. Coffin's Old Times in the Colonies. §Captain John Smith's Works (Arber's edi- tion). Cooke's Virginia.^ Brodhead's New York, 2 vols. O'Calligan's New York, 2 vols. Roberts's New York, 2 vols.^ Barry's Massachusetts, 3 vols. §Hutchinson's Massachusetts, 4 vols. §Young's Chronicles of the Pilgrims. §Bradford's Plymouth (Deane's edition). Goodwin's Pilgrim Republic. Ellis's The Puritan Age in IMassachusetts. Oliver's Puritan Commonwealth (compare Thornton's Reply) Winsor's Memorial History of Boston, 4 vols. Lowell Lectures (1869), The Early History of Massachusetts. Arnold's Rhode Island, 2 vols. Greene's Rhode Island. Johnston's Connecticut.^ Browne's Maryland. ^ McVeagh's Pennsylvania.* Williamson's North Carolina, Moore's North Carolina, 2 vols. Trescott's South Carolina. ^ Sanborn's New Hampshire. Scott's New Jersey. 1 Jones's Georgia, 2 vols. Vincent's Delaware, 2 vols. Goldwin Smith's Lectures on Am. Colonies. Weeden's Economic Hist, of N. E., 2 vols. (1620-17S9). Seeley's Expansion of England (First Part). Roosevelt's Winning the West (1769-1776), JParkman's Frontenac. JParkman's Old Regime in Canada. JParkman's Jesuits in North America. JParkman's The Discovery of the Great West, JParkman's Wolfe and Montcalm, 2 vols. JParkman's Conspiracy of Pontiac. Johnson's History of the French War. Drake's Making of the Great West. Hinsdale's The Old Northwest. Biography. See Sparks's American Biogra- phy for Lives of Nathaniel Bacon, Daniel Boone, Lord Baltimore (Calvert), Jona- than Edwards, John Eliot, Patrick Plenry, Anne Hutchinson, John Ledyard, Cotton Mather, Governor Oglethorpe, James Otis, Sir W. Phips, William Penn, Count Rum- ford (Benj. Thompson), Captain John Smith, Roger Williams, Governor Win- throp ; Bigelow's Benjamin Franklin, 3 vols.; Montgomery's Franklin (Ginn&Co.). IV. The Revolution and the Con- stitution ( 1 763-1 789). Frothingham's Rise of the Republic. Greene's American Revolution. Ludlows's War of Independence. § Early or contemporaneous history. * In Scudder's " American Commonwealths " Series. t These works all deal, more or less directly, with our relations with the French and the Indians in the Colonial Period. A LIST OF BOOKS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. XXXV Lossing's Pictorial Field-Book of the Revo- lution, 2 vols. Fiske's American Revolution. Coffin's The Boys of '76. Abbot's Blue-Jackets of '76.. Abbott's Revolutionary Times. Scudder's America One Hundred Years Ago. McMaster's People of the United States (Vol. I., 17S4-1790). Laboulaye, Histoire des Etats-Unis, 3 vols. Winsor's Handbook of tlie Revolution. J.aiidon's Constitutional Hist, of the U. S. Von Hoist's Constitutional History of the United States, Vol. I. §The Federalist. Fiske's Critical Period in American History. Story's Constitution of the U. S., 3 vols. Moireau, Histoire des Etats-Unis, 2 vols. Curtis's History of the Constitution of the United States, Vol. I. Macy's Civil Government (revised edition, Ginn & Co.). Wilson's The State. Biography. Parker's Historic Americans, Bigelovv's Franklin, 3 vols., Hosmer's Samuel Adams, ^ Morse's John Adams, ^ Greene's General Greene, 2 vols.. Lodge's Washington, 2 vols.,i Fiske's Irving's Washington and his Country (Ginn & Co.) , Sparks's American Biography, Lodge's Hamilton,! Gay's Madison,' Roosevelt's Gouverneur M orris. ^ V. The UiNioN National Develop- ment (1789-1S61). McMaster's People of tiie United States, Vols. II, III. (1790-1812). Schooler's United States, 5 vols. (1789-1861). Tucker's United States, 4 vols. (1607-1841). Adams's United States, 9 vols. (1801-1817). H. H. Bancroft's Pacific States, Vols. VIII. to XXXII. inclusive. Coffin's Building the Nation. Johnson's War of 1S12. Abbot's Blue- Jackets of 1S12. Lossing's Fleld-Book of the War of 1812. Rhodes's U. S., 2 vols. (1850-1860). Cooper's Naval History. Ripley's War with Mexico, 2 vols. Jay's Mexican War. Bishop's History of American Manufactures, 2 vols. Tuckerman's American Art. Nichol's American Literature^ Richardson's American Literature, 2 vols. Johnston's American Politics. Johnston's American Orations, 3 vols. Benton's Thirty Years' View, 2 vols. Webster's Great Speeches (Whipple's edi- tion). McCulloch's Half Century. §Dwight's Travels in New York and New Eng- land, 4 vols. (1796-1821). §Lewis and Clark's Expedition, 1804, 2 vols. §Breck's Recollections (Scudder). For histories of the states, see Scudder's American Commonwealth Series. Biography. .See in Morse's American States- men Series (Houghton & Mifflin), the Lives of John Adams, J. Q. Adams, Benton, Cal- houn, Clay, Jackson, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Randolph, Washington, and Web- ster; in .Sparks's American Biography, the Lives of Fulton and Rumford; Redpath's John Brown, Johnson's Garrison, Prime's Morse, Rice's Morton, Abbott's Kit Car- son, Upham's Fremont, Parton's Famous Americans, Mrs. Stowe's Men of Our Times, Hunt's American Merchants. VL The Period of the Civil War (1861-1865). Draper's Civil War, 3 vols. Greeley's American Conflict, 2 vols. The Comte de Paris's Civil War, 4 vols. Scribner's Campaigns of the Civil War, 12 vols. Abbot's Battle-Fields of '61. Abbot's Blue-Jackets of '61. Johnson's Short History of the War. Coffin's Four Years of Fighting. Thayer's Youth's History of the Civil War. Dodge's Bird's-Eye View of the Civil War. Nichol's Story of the Great March. Conyngham's Sherman's March. Blaine's Twenty Years of Congress, 2 vols. The Century Company's War-Book, 4 vols. McPherson's Political History of the Re- beUion. Swinton's Decisive Battles of the War. Pollard's Lost Cause (Confederate). Stephens' War between the .States, 2 vols. (Confederate). Davis's Rise and Fall of the Confederate Gov- ernment (Confederate), 2 vols. § Early or contemporaneous history. ^ In Morse's "American Statesmen " Series. XXXVl LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY Cooke's Wearing of the Gray (Confederate). Johnston's Narrative of the War (Confed- erate). Biography . Nicolay and Hay's Abraham Lincoln, Holland's Lincoln, Herndon's Lincoln, 3 vols., Thayer's Lincoln, Car- penter's Six Months in the White House, McClellan's Own Story, Roman's Beaure- gard, 2 vols., Badeau's U. S. Grant, 3 vols.. Grant's Personal Memoirs, 2 vols., Sherman's Memoirs, 2 vols., Sheridan's Memoirs, 2 vols., Farragut's Life of Far- ragut, Schuckers' I^ife of S. P. Chase, Cooke's Robert E. Lee, Cooke's " Stone- wall " Jackson, Jo^'huston and Browne's Life of Alexander H. Stephens, VII. Reconstruction. — The New Nation (1865 to the Present Time). McPherson's Political History of Recon- struction. .*- ■" Johnston's American Politics. Bryce's American Commonwealth, 2 vols. Badeau's Grant in Peace. Thayer's Garfield. McCulloch's Men and Measures of Half a Century. King's The Great South, 1875. Harper's First Century of the Republic. The North American Review, Jan., 1876. Blaine's Twenty Years of Congress, 2 vols. Bancroft's Pacific States, vols, on California, Utah, Oregon, Alaska, etc. Appleton's Annual Cyclopaedia, 1865-1890. Thayer's The New West. Ballou's The New Eldorado (Alaska). McClure's The South. Bruce, The Plantation Negro as a Free- man. Herbert's Noted Men of the Solid South. Fiske's American Political Ideas (The Future of America). Whitney's United States (Physical Geogra- phy and Statistics). Stoddart's (New) Encyclopaedia Americana- Johnston's United States (reprinted, with some additions, from the Encyclopaedia Britannica). Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biogra- phy. Note. — Many valuable articles relating to the history of the United States during this period will be found in The Centu?y, The Ailajiii'c, Harper's Magazine, Scrihjiers I\Iagazi7ie, The Nation, The North Amer- ican Revietv, and The Forn77t. For a gen- eral index to reviews and magazines, see Poole's Index. QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. XXXVll QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. {These qjcestions cover the principal topics of the history. It is believed that the headings of the paragraphs ivill be fo7i7id to answer all the purpose of questions for ordinary recitations.) *i. When and where was Columbus born ? What was the earth then supposed to be ? What countries were then laid down on the maps ? 2. What was the Atlantic called ? Why ? Who were the Northmen ? 3. What discoveries did the Northmen make in 850 ? In 1000 ? Is it known where Vinland was ? Did the discovery of America by the Northmen have any result ? Why not ? 4. Did Columbus learn anything of America from the Icelanders ? What country did Columbus wish to reach ? 5. What can you say of Marco Polo ? What was the first motive of Columbus ? 6. What was his second motive ? How was trade with the Indies then carried on ? " 7. What change in trade with India occurred in 1453 ? What did the Portuguese attempt to do ? What did Diaz accomplish ? 8. What was the plan of Columbus ? State his three reasons. 9. What mistake did he make ? From whom did Columbus seek help ? How did the council regard his proposed voyage ? 10. What help did he finally receive ? When did he sail ? 11. What route did he take ? How was he equipped for the voyage ? 12. What conviction did he have ? 13. What is said of the voyage ? Variation of the needle ? Feeling of the crew ? When and why did Columbus change his course ? 14. When and where did he land ? 15. What did Columbus believe this land to be ? What did he call the natives ? Why? 16. When did Columbus return to Spain ? What about his letter ? 17. How did the Pope divide the world ? Was Spain satisfied with the dis- coveries of Columbus ? Where and how did he die ? 18-19. Who discovered the continent of North America ? Where ? When ? 20-2I. How did America get its name? 21-23. What was it thought to be ? Who first discovered it to be an independent continent ? 23. What was the great merit of Columbus ? 24-25. What did Ponce de Leon discover ? Why did he name the land Florida ? 25-26. When and where did Balboa discover the Pacific? When did Cortez land in Mexico ? 27. What exploration did Cartier make ? What did Cabeza de Vaca discover ? 28-29. Describe De Soto's expedition. What great river did he discover ? 30. Where was he buried ? Who were the Huguenots ? Where did they attempt to settle ? 31-32. What did Menendez do ? What is said of St. Augustine ? What of De Gourgues ? 33. What did Frobisher and Davis try to do ? What were the results ? 34. Describe Gilbert's voyages ; Drake's voyage. What country did he call New Albion ? 35. What expedition did Raleigh send out, and with what result ? * The figures refer to pages-. XXXVlil LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 35-36. When did he send out his first colony to Virginia ? What new root and new weed did the colonists discover ? 37. What happened to his second colony ? 38-39. What white settlers did this country have in 1600 ? What was America found to be ? How is America superior to Europe ? 39-46. What can you say about the Indians ? Their appearance ? Mode of life ? What was their most ingenious work ? How were they governed ? What was wampum used for ? How was the Indian bound by customs ? What was the totem ? What was the Indian's religion ? What about his self-control, his torturing captives, his respect for courage ? What about the Indian and the White Man ? What did the Whites learn from the Indians ? What influence did the Indians have on the early history of the country ? 46-48. What effects did the discovery of America have on Europe in regard to geographical knowledge, enterprise, precious metals, commerce, new products, sugar, cotton, rice, and coffee? what effect on men's minds ? 49-51. Describe Gosnold's expedition. Did England need America ? Why ? What is said of the London and the Plymouth Companies ? What is a Charter ? 51-55. When did the first colony sail ? Of what did the colony consist ? Where did the colonists settle ? Did they own any land ? Could they vote ? Did they own what they raised ?V How did they get on the first summer ? What about Pocahontas ? What happened in the summer of 1608 ? What did the colonists resolve to do ? Why did they go back ? 55-56. What did Governor Dale do ? What did he give the settlers ? 56-57. What effect did the raising of tobacco have ? 58-60. What met in Jamestown in 1619 ? When did negro slavery begin in America ? What about white apprentices ? Who had now settled in the North ? When did Virginia become a royal province ? What about Sir William Berkeley ? 61-65. Who were the Puritans ? The Cavaliers ? What famous men in Vir- ginia descended from the Cavaliers ? What were the Navigation Laws ? Who was Nathaniel Bacon, and what did he do ? 65-72. Describe Hudson's expedition. Who took possession of the country? What did they name it ? What is said of Fort Orange ? What of Peter Minuit ? Who were the Patroons ? What can you say of Peter Stuyvesant ? Who claimed the country ? What happened in 1664 ? 72-74. Who first claimed New Jersey ? How did it get the name of New Jersey ? What about the Friends, or Quakers ? 74-76. What about religious liberty in England in 1607 ? Who were the Sepa- ratists ? To what country did they first go ? Why did the Separatists or Pilgrims come to America in 1620 ? 77-80. Describe the sailing of the Mayflower. What land did the colonists first see ? What did they do there ? Where did they finally land ? How were public matters settled and the laws made ? What about Governor Bradford and the Indians ? Of what did Plymouth colony finally become part ? 80-87. Where did Endicott plant a colony ? When did Winthrop come, and where did he finally settle ? What is said of the emigrants who came in the next ten years ? How was Massachusetts governed ? Who could vote ? What did the people do for a living ? Who was Roger Williams ? Why did he leave Massachusetts ? What about Mrs. Hutchinson ? How did Williams influence the Narragansett Indians ? What is said of public schools, of Harvard College, of John Eliot ? 87-91. What was the object of the New England Confederacy ? What about the coming of the Friends, or Quakers ? What did the Puritans do to the Friends ? What did the king do ? 91-93. Describe King Philip's War. What about the Salem witchcraft ? When did Massachusetts become a royal province ? What is said of Andros ? What of the new Charter ? 94-96. Where and by whom was New Hampshire first settled ? Why was it so named ? What of Exeter ? Of Londonderry ? QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. XXXIX • 96-101. Describe the first settlements in Connecticut. What about the Pequot War ? What about the Connecticut Constitution ? What about the New Haven colony? What of the Regicides, of Andros and the Charter? 102-105. Who were the CathoUc Pilgrims ? Where did they settle ? What was the first English Catholic church in America ? Who made the laws of the colony ? How about religious freedom ? What is said of the Clayborne and Ingle rebellion ? What was done in regard to Catholic worship in Maryland ? What happened when Lord Baltimore got his rights again ? What was done when the king took possession ? What is said of Mason and Dixon's line ? 106-109. What did Roger Williams do in 1636 ? Why did he name the place Providence? What is said of religious liberty in the colony ? What other settle- ments were made in Rhode Island ? What is said of the Charter? 109-111. Who first settled Delaware ? Where ? What happened to the colony ? What was the first state to enter the Union ? 111-115. How did the name Carolina originate ? Where was the first settlement made ? What is said of Charleston ? What about the Huguenots ? What was the " Grand Model " ? When was the province divided into North and South Carolina ? What is said of rice ? Of indigo ? Of Charleston in 1773 ? 116-120. Why did Charles II. give William Penn a large tract of land ? What did the king name it ? What did Penn intend to do in America ? Where was the first settlement made ? What is said of the " Great Law " ? Of the Great Treaty ? Of Philadelphia ? 120-124. Why did General Oglethorpe wish to establish a colony in America ? Why was the province named Georgia? Where did the colonists settle? What about silk culture ? Did the colonists have much freedom ? When did Georgia become a royal province ? 124-128. Who first explored the West? Describe Joliet and Marquette's ex- pedition. What did La Salle do? Who founded Mobile ? Who New Orleans ? How much of the country did the English hold ? What had France got posses- sion of? What did France mean to do ? What forts did the French build ? 129-139. When did war with the French begin ? When did it end ? How many wars are usually mentioned ? Did the Indians take any part ? What can you say of Louisburg? What of the great line of French forts ? What of the Ohio Company ? What message did the governor of Virginia send to the French ? What results did the journey have ? What is said of the Albany Con- vention ? What of Braddock's expedition ? What of William Pitt ? How did the name Pittsburgh originate ? What is said of the fall of Quebec ? What did the French and Indian War settle ? 139-148. What was the population of the thirteen colonies in 1763 ? What about foreign trade ? Did all the colonies liave the same form of government ? How did the farmers live ? What is said of the life in cities and on plantations ? What about travel, letters, hospitality, laws ? What of education, of books ? What did Edwards write ? What did Franklin ? What about Franklin and electricity ? 149-165. What is said of George III.? How did he interfere with American commerce ? What happened in Boston ? Why did the king propose to tax the colonists ? Why did they object ? What about the Stamp Act ? W^hat of the Declaratory Act ? The Boston Massacre ? The New Taxes ? What about the " Boston Tea Party " ? What did Parliament do ? What did Massachusetts do ? Describe the British expedition to Lexington and Concord. How did it end ? Describe the taking of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Who was appointed commander of the Continental Army ? What is said of Bunker Hill and the battle ? When and where did Washington take command of the army ? Describe the expedition against Quebec. How did Washington drive the British out of Boston ? What about Fort Moultrie ? What is said of " Common Sense " ? Did the Americans seek to separate from Great Britain? What is said of the Declara- tion of Independence ? 166-176. What did the British hope to do in New York ? What is said of Washington ? Describe the battle of Long Island. In what direction did Wash Xl LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. ington retreat ? What is said of Fort Washington ? Of Lee ? Describe Wash- ington's retreat across New Jersey, The victory of Trenton, What did Robert Morris do for Washington ? How did Washington outwit Cornwallis ? What is said of Burgoyne's expedition ? Describe the battle of Bennington, Describe Howe's expedition to Pennsylvania. What is said of the Saratoga battles ? What did France do. What help did Franklin render? 176-185. What was the condition of Washington's army at Valley Forge ? What did England offer in the spring of 1778 ? What is said of the battle of Monmouth ? Of Lee ? What did the Britisli do next ? Why ? Spealc of Savannah; of Wayne's victory; of Paul Jones. What of Charleston? What of Marion and Sumter? What of battle of Camden? Of King's Mountain? Spealc of Arnold's treason; and of the winter at Morristown, What is said of General Greene ? Of Cowpens ? Of Guilford Court-House ? What did Corn- wallis resolve to do ? What is said of Greene's victories in South Carolina ? Describe the " Crowning Victory of War." How did the news affect Lord North ? Give summary of the Revolution. 185-190, What of George IH.'s speech ? When was peace made ? What was the condition of United States ? How about money ? About trade between the states ? What is said of Shays' Rebellion ? What of the Northwest Territory ? When and where did the Convention meet to make a new Constitution ? What did they accomplish ? What is said of Alexander Hamilton ? What four things did the Constitution accomplish ? Give summary of the period. ' 191-199. What is said of political parties ? Of the election of Washington ? Of his inauguration ? Whom did Washington choose for his cabinet ? How did the government raise money? What did Hamilton do with a large part of this money ? What did the government do in 1790, 1791, and 1792 ? What is said of " Citizen " Genet ? What of emigration to the West ? What great invention was made in 1793? What came of it? Speak of the Whiskey Rebellion; of Jay's Treaty, 199-201. What is said of France ? Of the " X. Y. Z," Papers ? What were the Alien and the Sedition Laws ? What illustrious man died in 1799 ? 201-209. Of what party was President Jefferson ? Where was he inaugurated ? What was thought of the probable extent of the Republic ? Why ? What about the war with Tripoli ? What great territory did Jefferson purchase ? What advantage did it secure us ? Describe Lewis and Clarke's expedition. What about the French and English war ? What was the Embargo Act ? What effect did it have ? What was the Non-Intercourse Act ? What results did it have ? What is said of Aaron Burr? What about "Fulton's Folly"? What of the Savannah ? What did Congress do in 1807 ? What did Jefferson say of slavery ? 210-219. What is said of Madison's attempt to re-open trade with Great Britain ? What of Napoleon ? Speak of Tecumseh's conspiracy; of the Henry letters. What caused the War of 18 12 ? Speak of General Hull ; of the Constitution and the Guerriere ; of Perry's victory; of Jackson's. What is said of Chippewa and of Lundy's Lane ? What of the British capture of Washington ? Describe Macdonough's victory. What is said of Fort McHenry ? What of Jackson at New Orleans ? What results did the war have ? 220-229. What is said of Monroe ? What of his journey through the North ? What was the Seminole War? What did Spain do with Florida? What great question now came up ? What change of feeling had occurred ? How did slavery divide the country? How did the North and South feel about the exten- sion of slavery ? What was the Missouri Compromise ? What about the National Road ? What is the Monroe Doctrine ? Speak of the visit of Lafayette. 229-234. Describe the building of the Erie Canal and its results. What about "' Steam -Wagons " ? What was the first railroad opened in the United States? Of what did railroads convince people ? What is said about Drinking Habits and the Temperance Cause ? 234-246. Who was the first President from the West ? What mistake did he make ? How would Jackson act now ? What is said of Garrison ? What did Channing say ? What happened in Virginia ? What was done at the North ? QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. xH What about Abolition Societies ? What petitions were sent to Congress? What was the result ? Why did the President put an end to the United States Bank ? Why did South Carolina resist the duty on imported goods ? What was Nullifi- cation ? What debt do we owe Daniel Webster ? What did the President do ? Speak of the growth of the country. What about coal ? What of the Express System ? What of Chicago ? Who were our first painters ? Our first writers ? What appeared in 1833 ? 247-251. What is said of the panic of 1837 ? What did the government estab- lish ? What can you say of the Mormons ? Where did they finally go ? What happened in 1840 ? What is said of Emigrants ? 252-256. What was Harrison called ? How long did he live after he became President? What is said about Tyler? What of the Dorr Rebellion, the Ash- burton Treaty, the Anti-renters ? What about the Electric Telegraph ? Who dis- covered that ether would control pain ? What country did we annex in 1845 ? 256-265. What is said of Oregon ? What of Dr. Whitman ? How did we finally get Oregon ? Why did the Mexican War break out ? What battles can you mention ? What countries did we conquer ? What is said of General Scott ? What important city did he take ? What was there remarkable about the war ? What two results did it have ? What is said of the discovery of gold in California ? What results did it have ? ,^265-269. What is said about slavery ? What were Clay's plans of compromise ? What important law was passed, and what were its results ? What can you say of " Uncle Tom's Cabin " ? of Sumner and Davis ? 270-275. What did the " Crystal Palace " exhibition of 1853 prove ? Who opened the ports of Japan ? What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act ? What hap- pened in Kansas ? How did Kansas enter the Union at last ? 275-284. What was the Dred Scott case ? What was Judge Taney's decision ? How did the North feel about it ? What can you say of the panic of 1857 ? What was discovered in Nevada and Colorado ? In Pennsylvania ? How is much of the oil sent to market ? What was John Brown's raid, and how did it end ? Who was elected President in i860? What did the people of South Carolina think of the election ? What did they do ? What did six other Southern States do ? Why did the South secede ? What did the Confederacy seize ? What did President Buchanan try to do ? What is said of the growth of the United States between 1789 and 1861 ? What sad difference was there between 1789 and i86i ? What had caused the difference ? What must now happen in regard to the Union ? 285-299. What did President Lincoln say at his inauguration ? What did he intend to do ? What is said of Major Anderson ? What next happened ? What did the President do when he heard of the surrender of Fort Sumter ? What states now seceded ? How many did that make in all ? Name them. To what place was the Confederate capital now removed ? What did General Butler do with fugitive slaves ? What was the condition of the North with respect to the war ? of the South ? Speak of the number and position of the two armies. What is said of the battle of Bull Run ? How did " Stonewall " Jackson get his name ? What results did the defeat at Bull Run have ? What was the Union plan of the war ? What about the Confederate war-vessels ? What of Mason and Slidell ? What can you say of the Merrlmac? What of the Monitor? What about the war in the West ? What did General Grant write to General Buckner ? What is said of the battle of Pittsburg Landing? Of Island No. 10? What was the general result of the first year of the war ? 299-305. Describe the expedition against New Orleans. What was the result ? What is said of Port Hudson and Vicksburg ^.What did McClellan do ? What was the result of the Peninsular Campaign.^«*^' What about the second battle of Bull Run ? Describe Lee's advance. What "happened at Antietam ? What is said of the battle of Fredericksburg ? Of Murfreesboro ? What did the President do on New Year's Day, 1863 ? What has been the result ? What was the North fighting for before the Proclamation ? What afterwards ? 306-311. What is said of the battle of Chancellorsville ? What of Gettysburg ? Who made a famous charge at Gettysburg ? Can you describe it ? What was xlii LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. the result of the battle ? What can you say about Vicksburg ? How did many of the people have to live during the siege ? How did the siege end ? On what day ? What about Port Hudson ? What had now been done ? ^\Vhat about the draft riots ; Morgan's raid ? Where was a severe battle fought September 19-20 ? WTiy was General Thomas called " the Rock of Chickamauga " ? Speak of Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain. What did Sherman do at Meridian ? WTio was now made general-in-chief of the Union armies ? 311-323. What did Grant and Sherman now decide to do ? Where were the battles of the Wilderness fought ? \\'hat is said of them ? Did Grant turn back ? WTiat did he do ? Where and by whom was the Alabama taken ? What was Elarly's raid ? Describe Sheridan's raid in the Shenandoah \'alley ? What is said of the Petersburg mine ? What of Sheridan's ride ? What did Sherman do in the West ? What important city did he take ? What is said of Farragut ? WTiat did Sherman determine to do ? What did he accomplish ? What is said of Thomas ? To how many states had the Confederacy now shrunk ? What message did Sherman send to the President ? Where did his men think they were going ? Describe Sherman's march northward. What did Sheridan do on the west of Richmond ? on the south ? What did Grant then capture ? What did Lee do ? What happened the next day ? Describe Lee's surrender. What happened at Fort Sumter on April 14, 1865 ? What had the war cost ? What happened at Washington on the evening of April 14, 1865 ? What can be said of the North in the war ? Of the South ? What did the war establish ? 324-332. Describe the military review in Washington. What next occurred ? What three things did the war settle ? What is said of the President's proclama- tion of pardon ? What question now came up ? How did the President and Congress disagree ? WTiat was the result ? What did Congress do in the spring of 1867 ? What is said of the Fourteenth Amendment ? Wliat of Tennessee ? How many states came back ? What about the others ? What is said about the negroes? About the "Carpet-Baggers"? After a time what happened? Why did Congress impeach the President ? What was the result ? What did the President do the next Christmas ? What did Congress do in 1869 ? What is said of the Thirteenth Amendment ? Of the Fourteenth ? Of the Fifteenth ? What had Professor Morse predicted ? What did Cyrus Field do ? What result has the cable had ? What territory did Congress purchase in 1867 ? What can you say about it ? What can you say about the payment of the war-debt ? 332-339. \\Tiat great work was completed shortly after Grant became President ? Describe the road, WTaat is said of the railroad and the telegraph ? \\'hat of the effect of the Pacific road on commerce with Asia ? On the growth of the far West ? WTien was reconstruction completed ? What is said about the " Force Bill " ? \\Tiat happened at the West in 1871 ? What at the East in 1872 ? What is said of " Boss " Tweed ? Of the " Whiskey Ring" ? What happened in 1873 ? WTiat is said of the Centennial Exhibition ? What great change has taken place since Washington's day ? What were two of the most remarkable novelties exhibited? What is said of electricity? What treaty was made in 1871 ? What was one of its results ? WTiat wars shortly after occurred ? 340-343. What is said of the election of President Hayes ? (See note i.) How was the dispute finally settled ? (See note i.) What action did the Presi- dent take respecting the South ? Wbat is said of the negro ? WTiat happened in 1877 ? W^hat great work did Captain Eads accomplish ? W^hat is said about the " greenbacks " ? WTiat was done on New Year's Day 1879 ? What w as the result ? 343-349. WTien was President Garfield assassinated ? What did Congress do ? What effect does the Civil Sen-ice Reform have ? \Vhat happened in Louisiana in 1882 ? Describe the East River Bridge. WTiat about letter postage ? WTiat is said of the New Orleans Exhibition ? WTiat did it prove ? WTiat great change has taken place in New Orleans ? WTiat is said of the South before the war and since? Wb at about free labor? Cotton? Cotton-seed oil (Note i)? WTiat of the Freedmen ? Of education ? 349-3-5- W'hat is said of President Cleveland ? What did he try to do ? How did he succeed ? What was one object of the " Knights of Labor " ? What is QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION. xHii said of the " Black List " ? Of the " Boycott " ? What happened in 1886 ? What occurred at Chicago ? What happened at Charleston in 1886 ? What at the West in the winter of 1888 ? What can you say about the Statue of Liberty ? What four importaitt !a\vs were passed during Cleveland's presidency? 355-359, Where is Oklahoma ? EXescribe the opening of Oklahoma. W^hat event was celebrated in New York in the spring of 1889 ? Describe the Johnstown disaster. What is said of the C ngress of the three America ? What new states were admitted in November, 1889 ? What two in 1890 ? What is the whole num- ber of states in the Union ? How many stars h. our flag now ? What is said of our new ships-of-war ? What about woman suffrage (or right to vote) in Wyoming? What is said of the growth of the American Republic ? What advantages does this country offer ? What do these facts prove ? What question ought each one to ask himself? What depends on the answer to this question ? :^ /3'/ r /_ TOPICAL ANALYSIS. xlv TOPICAL ANALYSIS FOR SLATE AND BLACKBOARD. The figures refer to the numbered paragraphs. First Period, — The Discovery and Naming of America. (1000-1521.) The Northmen. Geographical knowledge. Columbus. The Cabots, 2. Who were they? 2. Iceland. 2. Greenland. 2. " Leif the Lucky." 2. Vinland. 3. Results of the discovery of America by the Northmen. I. I. I. 3- 4- 4- 4. 5- 5- 6. 7- 8. 10. II. 12. 13- 13- Ideas about the earth in 1436. The " Sea of Darkness." Birth of Columbus. Visits Iceland. What he wished to do, Marco Polo's book. First motive or object of Columbus. His second motive. Trade with the Indies. (Venice, Genoa.) Portuguese voyages. (Results.) Plan of Columbus. (How far right, how far wrong.) He seeks assistance. He sails. (Vessels; Canary Islands; equipment for the voyage.) Incidents of the voyage. (Compass, crew, birds.) Land! (The /^^.y/ Indies; the Indians.) Return. (Letter of Columbus; division of the world.) Disappointment of Spain. Death of Columbus. (What he had accomplished.) 14. John. 14. Sebastian. 14. Henry VII. 's note-book. 14. England's claim to America. f. . . , f 15. Amerigo Vespucci. Ongm of the I 15. WTiat happened in 1507. name America. 1 ^5- ^^^ Amerigo Vespucci deserve the honor he re- ! ceived? ^ .\ xlvi TOPICAL ANALYSIS. Discoveries concerning America. ' 1 6. What people thought of America. 1 6. Magellan. 1 6, How Europe felt about his discovery. 1 7. Summary of the section. Second Period. Ponce de Leon. Balboa. French explorations. New attempts of the Spaniards. The French (Huguenots) and the Spaniards. English explo- rations and attempts at settlement. America and the Indians. Attempts at Exploring and Colonizing America. (1513-1602.) 18. Discovers and names Florida. 19. Discovers the " South Sea." (Cortez.) 20. Francis I.; Cartier. 21. Narvaez; Cabeza de Vaca. 22. De Soto's expedition. (. 23. Jean Ribaut; Laudonniere. 24. jSIenendez; St. Augustine. 25. De Gourgues. (Results of the struggle between the ■ French and the Spaniards.) 26. Frobisher; Davis. 27. Sir Humphrey Gilbert; Drake. 28. Sir Walter Raleigh's expedition. 29. Raleigh's first colony. (The new root; the new weed.) 30. Raleigh's second colony. (Croatoan.) 31. Results of the Spanish, French, and English at- tempts up to 1600. 32. WTiat America was found to be. (Climate, soil, crops; healthfulness; superiority to Europe.) 2$. The Indian population. 34. Personal appearance of the Indians. (The scalp- lock.) 35. How they lived. (The four chief families or tribes; note I.) 36. Their work. (The moccasin; the snow-shoe; the canoe.) 37. Government of tribes; "wampum." 38. Social condition; customs; " totems." 39. ReHgion; character. 40. Self-control; torture; re€pect for courage. (General Stark.) 41. The Indian and the white man; what the Indian taught the white man. 42. Influence of the Indians on the early history of the country. (The Iroquois; the Indian wars.) TOPICAL ANALYSIS. xlvii Effects of the discovery of America on Europe. 43. (i) Geographical knowledge. 43. (2) Spain, Portugal, France, and England. 43. (3) The precious metals. 43, (4) Trade and navigation. 43. (5) New products. 43. (6) Sugar, cotton, rice, coffee. 43. (7) Effects on men's minds. (Opportunity.) 44. Summary of the section. (Spaniards, French, Eng- lish.) Third Period. — Permanent English and French Settlements. (1602-1763.) 45. Opening of the 17th century; Gosnold. 46. England's need of America; the king grants a char- ter to settle Virginia. (Articles of the charter; instructions.) 47. The London Company; Captain John Smith. 48. Jamestown; condition of the colonists. 49. Their sufferings; search for the Pacific; Pocahontas. 50. Gold! The P'rench in Canada; what the colony owed Smith; Jamestown abandoned. 51. Lord Delaware; the new charter; Governor Dale; the great reform. (Gift of land.) 52. Cultivation of tobacco. (Four effects.) 53. Virginia becomes practically self-governing. (The House of Burgesses; wives.) 54. Negro slaves; white " apprentices." 54. What settlements were made at the North. 55. Virginia loses her charter; Governor Berkeley; Puri- tans and Cavaliers. 56. Berkeley restored to power; the Navigation Laws; the king gives away Virginia. (Other English colonies.) 57. Condition of the Virginia colonists; the Bacon re- bellion. (Results.) . 58. Summary of the Virginia colony. The English and the French establish permanent colonies. I. Virginia (1607). The Dutch settle New Netherland. II. New York (1614). III. New Jersey (1617). 59. Henry Hudson. 60. The Indians. 61. The Dutch take possession of New Netherland; English and the French. 62. Purchase of Manhattan Island. 63. The Patroons. (Van Rensselaer.) 64. Peter Stuyvesant; New Amsterdam. claim the country; they seize it.) 65. Summary of New Netherland or New York. the (The English 66. Dutch claim; English claim. 66. English get possession. (Name New Jersey.) 67. The Friends or Quakers. (Treaty with the Indians; government of the colony.) 68. Summary of New Jersey. xlviii TOPICAL ANALYSIS. IV. Massachu- setts (Ply- mouth Colony, 1620). 69. Religious liberty in England. (Catholics, Puritans, Separatists.) 70. Emigration; the Separatists. 71. Why the Separatists or Pilgrims resolved to leave Holland for America. 72. Where they intended to settle; how they got as- sistance. 73. The Pilgrims sail; Myles Standish. 74. Cape Cod; the compact. 75. Exploring the coast; Plymouth Rock. (The first winter.) 76. Governor Bradford; town-meeting; Indians. 77. The Pilgrims buy out the English Company. (Growth of the colony; what made the Pilgrims great.) IV. Massachu- setts (Massa- chusetts Bay Colony, 1630). ' 78. Salem; Governor Endicott; religious toleration. (Love of England and love of America.) 79. Governor Winthrop; Boston. (Emigration to New England.) 80. Government of Massachusetts; occupations of the people. 81. Banishment of Roger W^illiams; of Mrs. Hutchinson; Williams and the Indians. 82. Public schools; Harvard University; Rev. John EHot. 83. The New England Confederacy; object; results. 84. The coming of the Friends or Quakers. 85. Why it excited alarm. (What the Friends refused to do.) 86. Effect of persecution on the Friends. 87. What Massachusetts did ; what the king did. 88. King Philip's War. (Eliot's Indians; result of the war.) 89. The Salem witchcraft. 90. Massachusetts loses her charter; Andros; the new charter. 91. Summary of Plymouth and of Massachusetts Bay colonies. V. New Hamp- shire (1623). VI. Connecticut (1634)- 92. 93- 94. 95- Grant to Gorges and Mason; first settlements. Division of the territory; Exeter. Londonderry; union of New Hampshire with Mas- sachusetts. (Voting; New Hampshire a royal province.) Summary of New Hampshire. 96. Emigration to the valley of the Connecticut; Hook- er's colony. 97. The Pequot War. 98. The Connecticut constitution. (Of what it was the. parent.) TOPICAL ANALYSIS. xlix ( Connecticut — ^ continued^ VII. Maryland (1634). 109. VIII. Rhode Island (1636). no. III. . 112. IX. New ' 113. Sweden, or Del- ' 114. aware (1638). . 115- ■ 116. 117. X., XI. Caro- 118. lina (1663). 1 119. 120. r 121. XII. Pennsyl- 122. vania (1681). 123. 124. . 125. ■ 126. XIII. Georgia 127. 128. (1733)- 99. The New Haven colony; Scripture laws. 100. The Regicides; Davenport's sermon; Andros and the Connecticut charter. loi. Summary of Connecticut. 102. The Catholic Pilgrims; Lord Baltimore; Maryland. 103. St. Mary's; the wigwam church. 104. Government of the colony; religious freedom. 105. Clayborne and Ingle; what the English commis- sioners did; how the Assembly or Legislature treated Lord Bahimore. 106. Lord Baltimore restored to his rights; Maryland loses her charter. 107. Establishment of the Church of England; Mary- land restored to Lord Baltimore; Mason and Dixon's Line. 108. Summary of Maryland. Roger Williams; Providence. Liberty of conscience. (The Constitution of the United States.) Settlement of the island of Rhode Island; the char- ter. (Rhode Island and the Revolution.) Summary of Rhode Island. The Swedes plant a colony; the Dutch. The English seize the country. (William Penn; the "Territories"; the National Constitution.) Summary of Delaware. Grant of Carolina; first settlements. Charleston; the Huguenots. The " Grand Model "; division of the territory into North and South Carolina. Gsowth of the two colonies; rice; indigo; Charles- ton in 1773. Summary of Carolina. William Penn; Pennsylvania; the " Holy Experi- ment." The first emigrants; Philadelphia; Penn at New castle. The " Great Law." 1 he Great Treaty ; importance of Philadelphia. Summary of Pennsylvania. Oglethorpe. (His two objects in establishing a colony.) Georgia; Savannah; silk culture. Five restrictions on the colony. (Results.) 129. The Wesleys; Whitefield; removal of the restric- tions; the Spaniards; Georgia in 1752; natural resources of Georgia. 130 Summary of Georgia. 1 TOPICAL ANALYSIS. The French in the West and the South (1669-1718). The wars of the English with the French and the Indians (1689-1763). General state of the country in 1763- 131. French exploration of the West; the Jesuit mis- sionaries. 132. Joliet and Marquette on the Mississippi. 133. La Salle's expedition. (The forts; Louisiana.) 134. Mobile and New Orleans; what the English colo- nists held ; what the French held. 135. War with the French and Indians ; (i)" King Wil- liam's War." (Schenectady, H-averhill, Acadia.) 135. (2) " Queen Anne's War." (Deerfield, Annapolis, Nova Scotia.) 136. (3) " King George's War "; Louisburg. (Results.) 137. (4) The "French and Indian War." (Object; the French forts.) 138. The Ohio Company; Governor Dinwiddle's mes- senger. 139. Results of Washington's journey. < 140. The Albany Convention; Franklin's snake; Brad- dock. 141. Braddock's defeat; Washington. 142. Acadian exiles; William Pitt. (Louisburg; Fort Duquesne; the French driven back to Canada.) 143. Fall of Quebec; Pontiac. 144. What the war settled. (France and the West in 1759; treaty of 1763; what America was to be- come; Spain; the English flag at the end of 1763.) 145. Four results of the wars between the English an'd the French. 146. The thirteen colonies in 1763. ("Making roots.") The population. 147. Language, religion, social rank; cities; trade. 148. Government of the colonies; law. (" Don't tread on me.") Unity of the people. 149. Farm life. (The houses; the fires; food; the store; recreation.) 150. City life; the Southern Plantations. (Dress; life then and life now.) 151. Travel; letters; hospitality; severe laws. 152. Education; books; Edwards; Franklin. (Elec- tricity.) Summary of the colonial period. I 153 Fourth Period. — The Revolution; the Constitution. The Revolution, (i . The colonists resist taxation without repre- sentation, 1764-1775.) (i 763-1 789.) (What he 154. American commerce; the new king. was and what he did.) 155. The king proposes to tax the colonies; object of tax; protest of the Americans. (Pitt and Burke.) 156. The Stamp Act. 157. Resistance of the Colonies to the Act. 158. Repeal of the Act; the Declaratory Act; the Bos- ton Massacre; the Gaspee. TOPICAL ANALYSIS. li {Colonists resist taxation — con- tinued.) The Revolution. (2. From the be- ginning of the war, 1775, to the Declaration of Independence, 1776.) The Revolution. (3. The war of Independence, from 1776 to 17770 The Revolution. (4. The war of Independence, from 1777 to 1781.) 159. The new taxes; their ofcject; the "Boston Tea- Party." 160. Parliament closes the port of Boston. (General Gage; Patrick Henry; the first Continental Con- gress; Massachusetts; the " Minute Men.") r 161. 162. 163. 164. 165. 166. 167. 168. f 169. 170. 171. 172. 173- 174. 175- 176. 177. 178. 179. I 180. r 181. 182. 183. 184. 185. 185. 186. 186. 187. 188. 189. 190. Lexington; Concord. (Paul Revere; the siege of Boston.) Ethan Allen. (Ticonderoga, Crown Point.) Washington made Commander-in-Chief; Bunker Hill. (Frankhn's letter.) Washington takes command; the attack on Canada. Washington enters Boston; Fort Moultrie. The idea of independence; " Common Sense." The Declaration of Independence. (The Liberty bell; the King's statue.) The new nation. Summary. Fort WTiat the British hoped to do in New York. Washington at New York; Fort Washington; Lee. The Battle of Long Island. Washington retreats northward. (Fort Washington; General Lee.) Fort Lee; Washington retreats southward. (Gen- eral Lee.) Trenton. Robert Morris. Cornwallis outwitted; Princeton; Lafayette. (De Kalb, Steuben.) Burgoyne's Expedition ; Bennington. Howe's Expedition; Biandywine; (Valley Forge.) Saratoga; " Stars and Stripes; " results of victory. Summary. Morristown; (Stark.) Germantown. The winter at Valley Forge ; England's offer in 1 778. Monmouth; Lee; Indian massacres; Clark's vic- tories in the West. The war in the South; Savannah; Wayne's vic- tory; Paul Jones. Charleston; Marion and Sumter. Our defeat at Camden, Our victory at King's Mountain. Arnold's treason. The terrible winter at Morristown. General Greene; Cowpens; the retreat; Mrs. Steele; Guilford Court House; Cornwallis. Greene's victories in South Carolina. The crowning victory of the war. (Lafayette ; the French Fleet; the "World's Upside Down"; Lord North.) Summary of the Revolution. lii TOPICAL ANALYSIS. After the Revolution (1782-1787). The formation and adoption of the Constitu- tion (1787- 1789). 191. George III. 's speech; the treaty; John Adams. 192. Condition of the United States. (Congress.) 193. Distress of the country. (Debt, paper money; quarrels of the states; no freedom of trade.) 194. Shays' rebellion. 195. The Northwest territory. (The ordinance of 1787; what the states thought of the territory.) 196. The convention of 1787; the Constitution. 196. Alexander Hamilton. (The " Ship of State.") 197. Wliat four things were accomplished by the Con- stitution. 198. Summary. (What John Adams said.) Fifth Period. — The Union; National Development. (1789-1860.) I. Washington's Administration. (Two terms, 1789-1797,) II. John Adams's Administration. (One term, 1797-1801.) Ill, Jefferson's Administration. (Two terms, 1801-1809.) C Waskingion. See note 3, page /jj, and the section on the Revolution^ 199. Political parties; election and inauguration of Washington. 200. Washington's Cabinet; how the government ob- tained money. 201. Payment of three great debts. (Hamilton.) 202. The first census; the U. S. Bank; the Mint. (Deci- mal coinage.) 203. "Citizen " Genet; Washington's proclamation. 204. Emigration to the West. (Boone.) Marietta, Cincinnati. (The first Western newspaper.) 205. The Cotton Gin and its four results. 206. The Whiskey rebellion. 207. Jay's treaty; three new states. 208. Summary of Washington's presidency. (^Sketch ofyohn Adams. See note j, page 799.) 209. Trouble with France ; the " X. Y. Z. Papers." (Pinck- ney; war; " Hail Columbia.") 210. The Alien and the Sedition Laws; death of Wash- ington. 211. Summary of John Adams's presidency. (jfefferson. See note 2, page 201?) 212. Republican simplicity; the new capital. 213. Probable extent of the republic. (Means of travel.) 214. The Pirates of Tripoli; war; results. 215. Purchase of Louisiana; four results. 216. Lewis and Clarke. (Oregon.) 217. The French and English war; the Leopard zxid the Chesapeake. 218. The Embargo; the Non-Intercourse Act. TOPICAL ANALYSTS. liii {.Jefferson's Ad- ministration - continued.) IV. Madison's Administration. (Two terms, 1809-1817.) V. Monroe's Administration. (Two terms, 1817-1825.) VI. John Quincy Adams's Administration. (One term, 1825-1829.) 219. Aaron Burr. 220. "Fulton's Folly." (Western steamboats; the Sa- vannah.') 221. Importation of slaves forbidden. (Jefferson and slavery.) 222. (Summary of Jefferson's presidency.) ' {^Madison. See note i, page 210.') 223. Trade re-opened with Great Britain. 224. How Napoleon deceived us. 225. Tecumseh's conspiracy; Tippecanoe. 226. The Henry Letters; cause of the war of 1812. 227. General Hull; Detroit. 228. The Constitution and the Guerriere. 229. Perry's victory. (His dispatch.) 230. General Jackson and the Indians; Tohopeka. (Result.) 231. Chippewa; Lundy's Lane; burning of Washington. 232. Macdonough's victory; Fort McHenry. (The "Star Spangled Banner.") 233. Jackson at New Orleans; end of the war. (The Hartford Convention, note I, p. 219); the treaty of peace. 234. The three chief results of the war of 1812. 235. Summary of Madison's presidency. {^Monroe. See page 220, and note /.) 236. The President's inauguration. 237. His journey; the " Era of Good Feeling." 238. Plrst Seminole War; purchase of Florida. 239- Question of the western extension of slavery. (Jefferson.) 240. Change of feeling about slavery; the North and the South. 241. How slavery divided the country in regard to trade. 242. Why the North opposed the western extension of slavery; why the South demanded it. 243. The Missouri Compromise. 244. 245. Desire to reach the West; the "National Road." 246. The Monroe doctrine. (" America for Ameri- cans.") 247. Visit of Lafayette. 248. Summary of Monroe's presidency. {John Quincy Adams. See note r, page 22g.) 249-251. The Erie Canal and its results. 252-255. " Steam-wagons"; railroads and their results. 256-257. The temperance cause; results. 258. Summary of J. Q. Adams's presidency. liv TOPICAL ANALYSIS. VII. Jackson's Administration. (Two terms, 1829-1837.) VIII. Van Buren's Administration. (One term, 1837-1841.) IX., X. Harrison and Tyler's Ad- ministrations. (One term, 1841-1845.) XI. Polk's Administration. (One term, 1845-1849.) XII., XIII. Taylor and Fillmore's Ad- ministrations. (One term, 1849-1853.) {^Jacksmi. See page 234 and note 3.^ 260, 261. Removal of government officers. (Jefferson's rule.) 262-264. Garrison, Channing; the anti-slavery move- ment; J. Q. Adams. 265. Jackson and the United States Bank. 266. South Carolina resists the duty on imported goods. 267-269. Calhoun ; nullification ; Webster ; Jackson's course of action; Henry Clay. 270. Growth of the country; railroads; canals; coal; the express system. 271. Indian wars; the West; Chicago. 272. American art, books, and newspapers. 273. Summary of Jackson's presidency. ( Van Buren. See noie j, page 246.^ 274. 275. Business failure and panic. (Causes.) 276. The Independent Treasury and the sub-treasuries. 277, 278. The Mormons; Nauvoo; Utah. 279. Emigration to the United States. (Ocean steam- ships.) 280. Summary of Van Buren's presidency. (^Harrison and Tyler. See note j, p^i^ 2^1^ '^^d note 4, page 2^2.) 281. Election of Harrison; his death; Tyler, 282. The Dorr rebellion; Ashburton treaty; Anti- renters. 283. The electric telegraph; Doctor Morton's discovery. 284. Annexation of Texas. 285. Summary of Harrison and Tyler's presidencies. {Polk. See note 4, page 2j6.) 286-288. The Oregon question; treaty. 289-292. The Mexican War; Palo Alto; Resaca de la Palma; declaration of war; Monterey; Buena Vista; California; New Mexico; General Scott; Vera Cruz; Cerro Gordo; the City of Mexico; results of the war. 293, 294. Discovery of gold in California; Emigration; results. 295. Summary of Polk's presidency. ( Taylor and Fillmore. See note 2, page 26^.^ 296. The question of the further extension of slavery. (The North and the South.) 297. Three methods of settlement proposed; danger of disunion; the compromise of 1850; the Fugitive Slave Law. 298. Passage of the Fugitive Slave Law ; its results ; the " Underground Railroad "; the " Higher Law." 299. "Uncle Tom's Cabin"; Charles Sumner and Jef- ferson Davis. 300. Summary of Taylor and Fillmore's presidencies. Dr. Whitman; the TOPICAL ANALYSIS, Iv XIV. Pierce's Administration. (One term, 1853-1857.) XV. Buchanan's Administration. (One term, 1857-1861.) (^Pierce. See note i, page syo^ 301. The World's Fair of 1853; American labor-saving machines. 302. Commodore Perry and Japan. 303. The Kansas-Nebraska Act. (Stephen A. Douglas.) 304-306. The struggle for the possession of Kansas; rival governments; civil war in Kansas; attack on Lawrence; John Brown; assault on Sumner. 307. Summary of Pierce's presidency. (^Buchanan. See note i, page 27^.') 308, 309. The Dred Scott Case; Chief Justice Taney's decision; results. 310. The business panic of 1857. (Causes.) 311. Discovery of silver, of petroleum, and of natural gas. 312. John Brown's raid into Virginia. 313. Election of Abraham Lincoln; secession of South Carolina. 314. Secession of six other states; formation of the " Confederate States of America." 315. Why the South seceded; national property; the Star of the West. 316. General summary from Washington to Buchanan. (i, population; 2, territorial growth; 3, cities, railroads, and telegraph; 4, disunion: its cause; what must be done; what freedom would ac- complish.) Sixth Period. — The Civil War. (April, 1861, to April, 1865.) {^First year of the war, 1861-1862.^ XVI. Lincoln's Administration. (One term and part of second, 1861-1865.) (^Second year of the ivar^ 1862- 1863.) (Lincoln. See note 2, page 2yg, and note /, page 28^.") 317. President Lincoln's arrival at Washington and inaugural speech. (Feeling at the North.) 318. Major Anderson; FortSumter; the Civil War begins. 319. President Lincoln's call for troops; result. Secession of four more states; General Butler's " Contrabands." Condition of the North and the South. (The three advantages of the North; the four of the South.) Number and position of the two armies. 324. Battle of Bull Run; results. Union plan of the war. The Confederate war-vessels; Mason and Slidell. The Merrimac ; the Monitor. ^ The war in the West; Fort Henry; Fort Donelson. Pittsburg Landing; Island Number Ten, Summary of the first year of the war, April, 1861, to April, 1862. Second year of the war; expedition against New Orleans. 332. Bombardment of the forts; capture of New Orleans. 320. 321. 322. 323» 325- 326. 327- 328. 329. 330- 331- Ivi TOPICAL ANALYSIS. (^Lincoln's Ad- ministration ■ continued.) ( Third year of the war^ i86j- 1864.) (^Fourth year of the wary 1864- i86s.) 333. The war in Virginia; McClellan's advance on Rich- mond; the Peninsular Campaign. 334. "Stonewall " Jackson's raid; Stuart; results of the Peninsular Campaign. 335. Second battle of Bull Run; Lee's advance; An- tietam. 336. Battles of Fredericksburg and Murfreesboro'. 337. Proclamation of Emancipation; results. 338. Summary of the second year of the war, April, 1862, to April, 1863. 339. Third year of the war; Chancellorsville. 340. Gettysburg. 341. Vicksburg and Port Hudson. 342. Draft riots; Morgan's raid; Chickamauga; siege of Chattanooga. 343. Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain; Me- ridian; Grant made general-in-chief. 344. Summary of the third year of the war, April, 1863, to April 1864. 345. Fourth and last year of the war; planning the " Hammering Campaign." 346. The battles of the Wilderness; Petersburg. 347. Captain Winslow and the Alabama ; Early's raid. 348. Sheridan's raid in the Shenandoah Valley. 349. The Petersburg mine; Sheridan's ride. 350. The war in the West; Sherman's advance to At- lanta. 351. Sherman takes Atlanta: Farragut enters Mobile Bay. 352. Sherman's march from Atlanta to the sea. 353. Thomas and Hood. 354. Sherman at Savannah; his message to the Presi- dent; bis advance northward. 355. The end of the war; what the war cost; murder of the President. 356. The North and the South in the war. 357. Summary of the fourth and last year of the war, April, 1864, to April, 1865. Seventh Period. — Reconstruction; the New Nation. (1865 to the Present Time.) XVII. . Johnson's Administration. (Part of one term, 1865-1869.) (JJohnson. See note j^ page 324?) 358. Task of reconstruction; the grand review; dis- banding the armies. 359. What the war settled. 360. The President's proclamation of pardon; the Presi- dent and Congress. 361. Congress and the Southern States. TOPICAL ANALYSIS. Ivii [yoknson's Ad- ministration — continued.) 362. Six States re-admitted; negro legislators and " Car- pet-Baggers," 363. Congress impeaches the President; the President's proclamation of full and unconditional pardon; the three amendments to the Constitution. 364. The Atlantic cable. 365. Alaska; payment of the national debt. 366. Summary of Johnson's presidency. XVIII. Grant's Administration. (Two terms, 1869-1877.) XIX. Hayes's Administration. (One term, 1877-1881.) XX., XXI. Garfield and Arthur's Ad- ministrations. (One term, 1881-1885.) ■ ( Grant. See note /, page 2gj, sectioft on the Civil War, and note j, page 332.) 367,368. The Pacific Railroad; what railroads and tele- graphs have done for the Union; Effect of the Pacific Railroad on commerce with Asia, and on the growth of the far West. 369. Completion of reconstruction; great fires ;" Rings." 370. The business panic of 1873; the Centennial Exhi- bition; the electric light; the telephone. 371. Treaty with Great Britain; the Alabafna ; Indian wars. 372. Summary of Grant's presidency. (^Hayes. See note i, page 340.") 373. Withdrawal of troops from the South; railroad and coal strikes. 374. Deepening the mouth of the Mississippi. (Results.) 375. "Greenbacks" and gold; the national debt. 376. Summary of Hayes's presidency. (^Garfield and Arthur. See note i, page 343.") 377. Assassination of the President ; Civil Service Reform. 378. Overflow of the Mississippi ; the East River Suspen- sion Bridge; cheap postage. 379. The New Orleans Exhibition; the "New South." 380. 381. Progress in the South; manufactures; the cot- ton crop; the freedmen; education. (Horace Greeley.) 382. Summary of Garfield and Arthur's presidencies. I XXII. Cleveland's Administration. (One term, 1885-1889.) ( Clevetaftd. See fiote /, pa^e 34g. ) 383. Progress in Civil Service Reform. 384. The "Knights of Labor"; the " Black List"; the "Boycott." 385. The Year of Strikes; the Chicago Anarchists. 386. The Charleston earthquake; "Blizzards." 387. The Statue of Liberty. 388. Four important laws, (i, Succession to the presi- dency; 2, counting the electoral votes; 3, inter- state commerce; 4, Chinese immigration.) 389. Summary of Cleveland's presidency. Iviii TOPICAL ANALYSIS. XXIII. Harrison's Administration. ( 1 889-1 893.) {Harrison. See note j>, page 355^ 390. Oklahoma. (Oklahoma City and Guthrie.) The Washington Centennial ; the Johnstown disaster. The Congress of the three Americas; six new states; the new war ships. Woman suffrage (or right to vote) in Wvoming. General summary, (i, Growth of the Republic; ex- tent ; 2, advantages ; 3, what America means ; 4, the great question.) 391 392 393. 394' '• INDEX. Jix INDEX Abolition societies formed, 238. Adams, John 164, 165, 185. pres'dency, 199. Adams's, J. Q., presidency, 229. on right of petition, 239. Adams, Samuel, 152, 154, 155, 156 (note 2) ; 157- Alabama, the, built, 294. sunk, 313. claims settled, 339. Alaska purchased, 331. Albany (Foit Orange) settled, 66. Albany, the, Convention (1754), 135. Albion, New, 34. Alien, the, and Sedition laws, 200. Allen, Ethan, takes Ticonderoga, 159. Amendment, the 13th, to the Constitution, 327. the 14th, to the Constitution, 328. the 15th, to the Constitution, 330. Amendments, the constitutional, and the negro, 330. America discovered by the Northmen, 3. discovered by Columbus, 14. continent of, discovered by Cabot, 18. origin of name, 20, 21. white settlers in 1600, 38. what it was found to be, 38. wherein superior to Europe, 38, 39. Gladstone on, 39. effects of the discovery of, on Europe, 46-48. ■first permanent English and French colonies in, 49. England's need of, 50. thought to be less than two hundred miles broad, 53. first law-making assembly in, 58. Dutch settlements in, 66. English settlements in, 52. .French settlements in, 54. Spanish settlements in, 16, 24, 26, 32. Swedish settlements in, 109. French explorations in, 124-128. | America, Struggle of English and French for, 129-139. Early trade of, 52, 62, 114, 141, 149, 150. declares itself independent, 164. first flag of, 175 (note 3) ; 178. a country of advantages, 359, means Opportunity, 359. See also United States. American Party, the, 270 (note i)a Americas, Congress of the Three, 357. Amerigo Vespucci, voyages of, 20. Anarchists, the Chicago, 351. Anderson, Major, at Fort Sumter, 286, 322. Andros, Governor, of Massachusetts, 93. is seized and imprisoned, 93. tries to get possession of the Connecticut Charter, 100. Anti-Federalists, 191. Ami- Renters, 253. Anti-Slavery movement, beginning of, 237. Apprentices, white, in Virginia, 59. Armies, in the Revolution, 167. in the Civil War, 290, 291. review of, at close of the war, 325. disbanding the Union, 325. Arnold, expedition against Quebec, 161. at Saratoga, 175. treason of, 180. Art, American, 245. Arthur's presidency, 343. Ashburton Treaty, 253. Astor, John J., 206 (note i). Astoria, 206 (note i). Atlantic, the " Sea of Darkness," 2. Atlantic Telegraph Cable, 330. Authors, American, 146, 245, 269. Bacon, Nathaniel, rebellion, 63. burns Jamestown, 63. Balboa discovers the Pacific, 25, ,26. Baltimore, Lord, loi, 104, 105. Baltimore, city of, founded, 105. first railroad in America begun at, 232. Ix LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Baltimore, first blood in Civil War shed at, 288. Bank, the U.S., established, 194. U.S., Jackson ends the, 239. Banks, the " Pet Banks," and worthless banks, 248. National, established, 249 (note i). Baptists forbidden to preach in Massachu- setts, 85. Battle of Antietam, or Sharpsburg, 303. Atlanta, 316. Ball's Bluff, 294 (note i). Bennington, 173. Brandywine, 174. Buena Vista, 260. Bull Run (ist), 292. (2d), 303. Camden (ist), 179. (2d), 182. Cerro Gordo, 261. Chancellorsville, 306. Chapultepec, 262. Charleston, 179. Chickamauga, 310. Chippewa, 216. Cold Harbor, 313. Concord, 158. Constittition and the Guerriere, 213. Cowpens, 181. Dallas, 316. Eutaw Springs, 182. Flamborough Head (Paul Jones), 178. Fort Donelson, 297. Fort Duquesne, 135, 136. Fort Henry, 297. Fort McAllister, 320. Fort McHenry, 218. Fort Moultrie, 163. Fort Sumter, 287. Fort Washington, 168. Franklin, 319. Fredericksburg, 304. Germantown, 174. Gettysburg, 306. Goldsboro', 320. Guilford Court-House, 182. Horseshoe Bend, or Tohopeka, 216. Island No. 10, 298. Kearsarge and the Alabama^ 313. Kenesaw Mountain, 316. King's Mountain, 180. Lake Champlain, 217. Lake Erie, 214. Lexington, 158. Long Island, 167. Lookout Mountain, 310, 311. Louisburg, 130, 136. Battle of Lundy's Lane, 216. Mill Spring, 296. Missionary Ridge, 310. Mobile Bay, 317. Molino del Rey, 262. Monitor and the Merrtmac, 295. Monmouth, 177. Monterey, 260. Murfrcesboro', 304. Nashville, 319. New Orleans (1815), 218. (1862), 300. Palo Alto, 259. Peninsular Campaign, 301, 302. Petersburg (Mine), 3150 Petersburg, 321. Pittsburg Landing, or Shiloh, 298. Port Hudson, 309. Princeton, 171. Quebec (1759), 137. (1775), 162. Resaca, 316. Resaca de la Palma, 259. Saratoga, 174-176. Savannah, 178. Seven Days round Richmond, 302^ Spottsylvania Court-House, 313. Stony Point, 178. Tippecanoe, 211. Tohopeka, 216. Trenton, 170. Tripoli, 203. Vera Cruz, 261. Vicksburg, 307. Wilderness, 313. Winchester, 315, 316. Yorktown, 183, 184, 301. Beauregard, General, 287. 291, 292. Benton, Thomas H., 239. Berkeley, Sir William, 60-64. Black List, 350. Black Hawk, 244. Blackstone, William, 83. "Blizzards" of 1888, 353. Boston, settlement of, 81, 83, Writs of Assistance at, 150 ^note 2), Stamp Act Riot at, 152, " Massacre," 152. " Tea Party," 154, 155. port of, closed, 155. siege of, 159. evacuated by the British, 162. Boycott, 350. Braddock's defeat, 135. Bradford, Governor, of Plymouth, 79. Bragg, General, 304, 310. I INDEX. Ixi British at New York, plans of, i66. Brown, John, in Kansas, 273. raid of, and execution, 278. John Brown Song, 279. Buchanan's presidency, 275. Buchanan, Captain, 295. Burgesses, House of, established, 58. Burgoyne, 159. expedition, 172, 173. Burnside, General, 304. Burr, Aaron, 207. Butler, General, and the " Contrabands," 289. at New Orleans, 300. Cabeza de Vaca discovers a mouth of the Mississippi, 27. Cabinet, the first, 192. the present, 354 (note i;. Cabot discovers the continent of America, 18. Calhoun, 241 (note 2) ; 242. California, named by Spaniards, 34 (note 2). conquest of, 260. gold found in, 263. emigration to, 263. Canonicus, 79. Carolina, North, settled, in, 112. South, settled, in, 112. trade in rice and indigo, 114, 115. cotton first exported from, 346. nullification in, 241. secession of, 281. negro rule in, 328. Carpenters' Hall, 156. " Carpet-Baggers," 328. Cartier's explorations, 27. Carver, Governor John, 78. Catholics, the, in England, 74, 75. emigrate to Maryland, loi. establish the first English Catholic Church in America, 102. grant religious freedom to all Christians, 102. are deprived of their rights, 104. regain them at the Revolution, 105. Cavaliers, the, in Virginia, 61, 62. Census, the first (1790), 193. See Population. Centennial Exhibition of 1876, 337. Chambersburg, burning of, 314, 315. Champlain, the French explorer, 54, 65. Charleston, South Carolina, 112, 115, 241, 281, 352. Charter, definition of, 24 (note 3). Charter Oak, the, 100. Charter of the Virginia Companies (1606), 5o> 5i« Chase, Secretary, our debt to, 322. Chatham, Lord. See Pitt. Chattanooga, siege of, 310. Chicago, 245, 336, 351. Chinese Immigration, 354. Christian Commission, the, 323. Civil Service Reform, need of, 237, Civil Service Reform Act, 344. Civil Service, progress in, 349. Civil War, beginning of the, 287. Clark's victories in the West, 178. Clay, Henry, 225, 243, 267. Clayborne and Ingle rebellion, 103, 104, Cleveland's presidency, 349. Clinton, DeWitt, 249. Clinton, General, 159, 177 (note i)* Coal comes into use, 243. College, Harvard, founded, 86, 87. Colonies, Dutch, 66. English, 35-37. 49. Si- French, 30-32, 54. Spanish (St. Augustine), 32, Swedish, 109. condition of the thirteen in 1763, 139-147 resistance to English oppression, 149-164 declare themselves independent, 164. Columbus, birth, voyages, and death, 1-18. Compromise, definition of, 225 (note 3). measures of 1850, 267. Missouri, 225. Confederacy, New England (1643), 87, 88. the Southern, 2S1. Confederation, Articles of, 186 (note 188). Congress, First Continental, 156: Second, 159. Connecticut, first settlement of, 96. Constitution of, 97, 98. Andros and the charter of, 100. extent of, under its charter, 100. Constitution, the first in America, 97, 98. the "Grand Model," 113. of Pennsylvania (the "Great Law"), 117. the U. S., formed and adopted, 1S8, 189. necessity of the, 188. what it accomplished, 190. amendments to, 327, 328, 330. Constitution and Giierriere, 213. " Contrabands " applied to fugitive slaves, 289. Cornwallis, General, 162 (note 2); 167, 171, 179, 181, 183, 184. Coronado's expedition, 27, 28. Cotton, first exported, 196. gin invented, 196, 197. exhibition at New Orleans, 346. manufacture first established, 346 (note 2). effect of war of 18 12 on manufacture of, 219. crop of 1890, 348. Ixii LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Cotton-seed oil, 348 (note i). Croatoan, 37. Crystal Palace (1853), 270. Custer, General, killed, 339. Dale, Governor, in Virginia, 55, 56. Dare, Virginia, birth of, 37. Davenport, Rev. John, 99. Davis, Jefferson, in Mexican War, 260. in Congress, 269. elected President of the Confederate States, 281. capture of, 321 (note i). Davis, Captain John, voyages, 33. Debt of the Revolution, 193. the Civil War, 322 (note i). payment of, 331. reduction of interest on, 343. Declaration of Independence, 164. De Gourges's revenge, 32. Delaware, Lord, 55. settled by the Swedes, 109. seized by the Dutch, no. English, no. granted to William Penn, no. first state to enter the Union, no. Democrats, 191, 229 (note i); 252 (note 2). Dc Soto, expedition, 28-30. discovers the Mississippi, 29.- is buried in it, 30. Detroit, Hull surrenders at, 213. Dixie, song of, 314 (note i). Dorr Rebellion, the, 253. Douglas, Stephen A., 271, 272. Drafting at the South, 310. Draft riots in New York, 310. Drake, voyage of, 34. names Pacific coast New Albion, 34. Dred Scott case, 275. Drinking habits of early times, 233. Dutch, the, in New Netherland (New York), 66, 67. seize the Delaware country, no. dispossessed of New York by the English, 72. dispossessed of Delaware, no. Eads's, Captain, work on the Mississippi, 341. Early's raid, 313. Earth, ideas of, before Columbus sailed, i. countries known before Columbus sailed, i. Earthquake, the Charleston, 352. Eccentric lathe, the, 255 (note i). Education in New England, 86. Governor Berkeley on, in Va., 60 (note i) . in the colonies, 146, Education at the South since the war, 348. in America, free, 359. Edwards, Rev. Jonathan, 146. Election of Hayes disputed, 354 (note i)„ Electoral Commission, 340 (note i). votes, law for counting, 354. Electricity, Franklin's discoveries in, 147. present uses of, 147, 338, 339. Electric telegraph, the, 254, 330. Eliot, Rev. John, 87. Emancipation, proclamation of, 304. Embargo, the, 206. Emigration to the United Stales, 251. from China, 354. laws concerning, 354 (note 3). Endicott, Governor, 80, 81. England's need of America, 50. England, formerly no religious liberty in^ 74. English explorations, early, 18, 32. attempts to colonize America, 35-38. first permanent colony in America, 52. Ericsson's inventions, 255 (note i) ; 296 (note i). " Era of good feeling," 220. Erie Canal, 229. Ether, Dr. Morton's discovery respecting, 255. European trade with the Indies, 6, 7. Exhibition, the Centennial (1876), 337. the New Orleans, 346. Ohio, 356 (note 2). Express system established, 244. Faneuil Hall, 152, 214. Farragut takes New Orleans, 299. enters Mobile Bay, 317. Federalists, the, 191. Fillmore's presidency, 268. Fires, the Chicago, forest, and Boston, 336. Flag, the first American, 175 (note 3). first American, on a war-ship, 178. the Confederate, 282 (and note i). our present, 357. Florida, discovery and naming of, 25. Narvaez in, 27. De Soto in, 28. struggle of French and Spaniards for, 31, 32. purchase of, by the United States, 222. Fort Duquesne, 134, 135. (Pittsburgh), 136. Orange (Albany), 66. Forts, line of French, 132. France sends expedition to America, 27. colonies of, in America, 30, 32, 54. struggle of, with England for America, 129-139. INDEX. 1X111 France recognizes American Independence, 175. 176. aid from, in the Revolution, 176. trouble with, 194, 199, 206, 211. war with, 200, sells us Louisiana, 204. Statue of Liberty given by people of, 353. See French. Franklin, sketch of life of, 131 (note i). writings of, 146. electrical experiments of, 147. Snake, the (Albany Convention), 135. and the Stamp Act, 151. letter to Strahan, 161, 162. negotiates treaty with France, 176. money obtained by, in aid of Revolution, 176 (note i). fits out ships in our defence, 179. helps frame the Constitution, 188. Freedmen, the, 304, 327, 328, 330, 336. progress made by, 348. Free Trade (i 846-1 861), 240 (note i). Fremont conquers California, 260. sketch of life of, 291 (note 3). French, the, explore the St. Lawrence, 26. the, in Carolina and Florida, 30-32. found Quebec, 54. explore and take possession of the West, 124-128. found Mobile and New Orleans, 128. build forts at Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, and Natchez, 132. and Indian Wars, 129-139. See France, Huguenots. Friends, or Quakers, buy New Jersey, 73. treaties with the Indians, 73, 118. in Massachusetts, 88-90. found Pennsylvania, 116. See William Penn. Frobisher's voyages, 32. Fugitive Slave Law, 267. Fulton's steamboat, 208. Gadsden Purchase, the, 270 (note i). Gage, General, in Boston, 153, 155, 157, 160, 162. Garfield's presidency, 343. Garrison publishes the Liberator ^ 237. mobbed, 237. Gaspee, the, destroyed, 153. Gates, General, 175, 179. Genet " Citizen," 194. George III., 149, 150, 153, 163, 164, 185. Georgia, settlement of, 120. Gilbert, voyage of Sir H., 33. Goffe, the regicide, 99 (note 3). Gold, supposed finding of. In Virginia, 54. discovery of, in California, 263. effects of, in 1857, 276. Gorges, Sir F., 94. Gosnold's expedition, 49. Governments, colonial (see Colonies), 83, 141, 156, 186. organization of our present, 188, 191, 192. See Constitution and United States. "Grand Model," the, 113. Grant, General, sketch of life, 297 (note i). " unconditional surrender " letter, 297, 299. takes Fort Donelson, 297. at Pittsburg Landing, 298. takes Vicksburg, 308. made general-in-chief, 311. and Sherman's " hammering campaign," 3". in battles of the Wilderness, 313. sends Sheridan to lay waste the Shenan- doah Valley, 314. takes Petersburg, 321. in Richmond, 321. receives Lee's surrender, 321. presidency, 332. " Greenbacks" become equal to gold, 342. Greene, General, in command at the South, 180. campaign in the Carollnas, 181-183. Hail Columbia, song of, 200. Halleck, General, 296. Hamilton and the Constitution, 189. first Secretary of the Treasury, 193. shot by Burr, 207. Hancock, John, 156, 157, 158, 165. Harrison, General, at Tippecanoe, 211. presidential campaign of, 252. Harrison's, Benj., presidency, 355. Harrison's, W. H., presidency, 251. Harvard, John, 86. Harvard University founded, 86. Hayes's presidency, 340. election of disputed, 354 (note i). Henry, Patrick, 156. Henry, the, letters, 211. Higher Law, the, 268. Hoe's press, 255 (note i). " Holy Experiment," the, of Penn, 116. Hood, General, 316, 319. Hooker, General, 304, 306, 310. Hooker, Rev. Thomas, 97. Howe, General, 159, i6d, 162, 166, 173, 174, 17s. 176, 177 (note i). Hudson, Henry, 65, 66. Ixiv LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Huguenots attempt to settle in America, 30-32. settle in Charleston, 112. illustrious descendants of the, 113. Hull, Captain Isaac, victory of, 213. Hull's march to Detroit, 212. surrender, 213. Hutchinson, Mrs. Anne, 85, 108. Immigration, 251, 354. Independence, Declaration of, 164. Independence Hall, 164, 165. Indians, why so named, 15. tribes of, 40 (note i). mode of life, character, religion, 39-45- what they taught the whites, 45. influence on our history, 46. first taste strong drink, 65. Eliot's work among, 87. wars with (see Wars), 63, 80, 91, 97, 129-139, 215, 221, 244, 339. treaties with, 67, 73, 118, 216. massacres by, in Revolution, 178. Indies, trade with, in fifteenth century, 6, 7. schemes for reaching the, by sea, 5-9. America supposed to be part of the, 15. Indigo, culture of, in South Carolina, 114, 115. Ingle, Captain, 103. Interstate Commerce Act, 354. Intolerable Acts, the, 155 (note 2). ^ Inventions, American, 195, 197 (note i) ; 208, 254, 255 (note i) ; 270, 296 (note i) ; 330. 337> 338 (note 3). See Cotton Gin, Eccentric Lathe, Moni- tor, Phonograph, Reaper, Revolver, Screw Propeller, Sewing Machine, Steamboat, Steam Printing Press, Telegraph, Telephone. Iroquois Indians, 67, 135, 173, 178. Jackson, General, at Tohopeka, 215. at New Orleans, 218. and the Seminoles, 222. sketch of life of, 234 (note 2). presidency of, 234. Jackson, " Stonewall," 293, 302, 3o6« Jamestown, settlement of, 52. colony of, 52-63. burned by Bacon, 63. Japan, Perry's treaty with, 271. Jay, John, 192, 198. Jefferson drafts the Declaration of Tnde- pendence, 165. first secretary of state, 192. sketch of life of, 201 (note 2). presidency of, 201. purchases Louisiana, 204. Johnson, presidency of, 324. impeached, but acquitted, 329. Johnston, General A. S., 296, 298 (note 1). General Joseph E., 291 (note 2); 307 312, 320, 321 (note i). Johnstown disaster, the, 356. Joliet and Marquette's expedition, 125. Jones, Paul, 178. Kansas and Nebraska Act, 271. struggle for possession of, 1^72-274. John Brown in, 273. enters as a free state, 274. Kearsarge, the, sinks the Alabama, 313. Kentucky, first settlement of, by Boone, 195. and Virginia resolutions, 200. Know Nothing Party, 270 (note i). Knox, General, 162. Labor, free and slave, compared, 197, 266, _ 305, 348- Knights of, 350. strikes, 340, 351. Lafayette in the Revolution, 172, 175, 183. visit of, in 1824, 228. La Salle explores the Mississippi, 126. Laudonniere's colony, 31. Lee, General Charles, in the Revolution, 168, _ 170, -^n- Lee, Richard Henry, 62, 164. Lee, General Robert E., 290, 302, 303^ 306, 312, 313, 321, 326. Leif the Lucky, 3. Leopard and the Chesapeake., 206. Lewis and Clarke's expedition, 205. Liberty, Statue of, 353. Lincoln, sketch of early life of, 279 (note 2). election of, 279. presidency of, 285. his inaugural speech, 285. calls for 75,000 volunteers, 288. emancipates the slaves, 304. assassination of, 322. Literature, colonial, 146. rise of American, 245, 246. influence of " Uncle Tom's Cabin," 268. London Company, the, 50. Louisburg taken, 130, 136. Louisiana, origin of the name, 127. purchase of, 204. explored by Lewis and Clarke, 205. great flood in, 344. progress since the war, 347. Macdonough's victory, 217. Machinery, American labor-saving, 270, 338, \ INDEX. h XV Machinery, changes effected by, 338. See Inventions. Madison's presidency, 210. Magellan's voyage, 22. Maine, settlement of, 94. Marco Polo's travels and book, 5. Marion, General, 113, 179. Marquette's explorations, 125. Maryland, settled by Catholics, loi. j political and religious liberty in, 102, 103. Catholics of, deprived of their rights, 104. Maryland, my Maryland (song). Mason and Dixon's line, 105. Mason and Gorges, 94. Mason and Slidell, capture of, 294. Massachusetts (Plymouth) settled, 74. Bay Colony, settlement of, 80. Puritan rule in, 83-85. education in colony, 86. Massasoit, 79, 91. Mayjlower, sailing of the, 77. McClellan, General, 293, 301-304. McCormick reaper, the, 270. McDowell, General, 292. Meade, General, 306, 307. Menendez in Florida, 31, 32. Merrimac, destroys the Cuniberla7id and the Ctnigress, 295. and the Monitor, 295. Mexican War, the, 259-262. results of, 262. See Battles. Minister, definition of, 185 (note 3). Mint, United States, established, 194. Minute Men, the, of Revolution, 157. Mississippi explored by the French, 124-128. opening of, in the war, 309. deepening the mouth of, 341. overflow of, 344. Missouri Compromise, 225. repealed, 271. Mobile founded, 128. Farragut enters harbor of, 317. Money, paper, of Revolution, 170. just after the Revolution, 186. how obtained in 1789, 193. decimal system of coinage, 194. in 1832 (note 3), 239. in 1837, 248. in Civil War, 322, 342. of national banks, 249 (.lote i). Monitor and Merrimac, 295. Monroe, presidency of, 220. Doctrine, the, 227. Montgomery's expedition against Quebec, 161. Morgan's raid, 310. Mormons, rise of the, 249. , emigration to Utah, 250. Morris, Robert, w^liat he did for Washington; 170, 183. Morristown, Washington's terrible winter at 180, Morse's, Professor, electric telegraph, 254. Morton, Dr., discovers that ether will control pain, 255. Mound Builders, the, 40 (note i). Napoleon, 211. Narvaez, expedition of, 27. National road, 226, 227. Natural gas, 278. Navigation laws, 62. Navy, 166, 179, 200, 203, 206, 213, 295. our new, 357. Negro slavery, introduction of, 59. slaves emancipated, 304. See Slavery. Negroes become lawmakers, 328. the, and the Amendments to the ConstitU' tion, 330, progress of, since the war, 348. See Freedmen and Slavery. Neutrality, proclamation of, 194. New Albion, 34. New Amsterdam (New York) , 67-72. New England, origin of name, 66. confederacy (1643), 87, 88. New Hampshire, settlement of, 94. Nev Jersey, settlement of, 72, 74. New Mexico, conquest of, 260. New Netherland, Dutch settle, 66. seized by the English, 72. New Orleans founded, 128. battle of (1815), 218. taken by Farragut, 300. exhibition, 346. progress since the war, 347. Newspaper first published in America, 14c (note 6). first cheap, 246. New York seized and named by English, 72. streets, 71, 72. in the Revolution, 166. East River bridge, 345. Statue of Liberty, 353. Non-Intercourse Act, 207, 210, 211. North Carolina, see Carolina. North, Lord, 184. Northmen, discovery by the, 2, 3. Northwest Territory, the, 187. Nullification, 241. Ixvi LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Oglethorpe, General, colonizes Georgia, 120. Ohio Company, the, 132. Ohio, first settlement of, 195. Oklahoma, opening of, 355. Oregon, how we got, 205, 206, 256-258. Osceola, 244 (note 2). Otis, James, 150. Pacific named by Magellan, 22. Balboa discovers the, 26. search for the, by colonistr, 53, Railroad completed, 332. effects of, 334. Paine's " Common Sense," 163. Pan-American Congress, 357. Panic, business, definition of, 247 (note i). of 1837, 247. 1857, 276, 1873. 337- Patroons, the, 68, 6q_ 253. Penn, William, no, 116-119. Pennsylvania, grant of, to Penn, 116. colony of, 117. Perry's victory on Lake Erie, 214. Commodore, treaty with Japan, 27T. Petroleum discovered in Pennsylvania, 277, Philadelphia founded, 116, 117. importance of, in early history, 119. Philip's, King, war, 91. Phonograph, 338 (note 3). Pierce, presidency of, 269. Pilgrims, the, in England and Holland, 75. sail for America, 77. settle at Plymouth, 78. their colony, 78-80. Pitt, William (Lord Chatham), ,36, 152. Pittsburgh, origin of name, 136. to-day, 137. Plymouth Company chartered, 50. Plymouth named by Capt. John Smith, 78. colony, 78-80, Rock, 78. Pocahontas, 53. Political parties, rise of (1789), 191. Whigs vs. Democrats, 229 (note i) ; 252 (note 2). American Party, 270 (note i). Republicans, 273, 280 (note 2). Polk, presidency of, 256. Ponce de Leon and Florida, 24, Pontiac's conspiracy, 138. Pope, General, 302 (note 4) ; 303. Pope, the division of the world by the, 17. Popham colony, Maine, 94 (note 7). Popular Sovereignty, 266 (note 1). Population in 1763, 139. Population in 1776, 194 (note i). in 1790, 194. in 1861, 283. in 1890, 359. Porter's bombardment of forts below New Or- leans, 300. Port Hudson, situation of, 301. taken, 309. Portuguese voyages, 7. Postage cheap, 346. Powhatan, 53, 54. Presidential Succession Act, 354. Providence, settlement of, 107. Puritans, origin of the, 61. religion, ideas of the, 75. the, settle Massachusetts, 83. their colony; mode of government, 83. in Maryland, 103, 104. Putnam, General, 160, 167. " Quaker Guns," 303 (note i). Quakers, see Friends. Quebec, the English take, 137. Montgomery's expedition against, 161. Arnold's expedition against, 161. Railroad, the first in America, 232. the first across the continent, 332-334. Railroads in 1835, 243. effects of, 232, 233, 334. Raleigh sends an exploring expedition to America, 35. attempts to colonize, 35-38. what he really accomplished, 37, 38. " Rally round the flag " (song), 309. Reaper, McCormick's, 270. Reconstruction begun, 324. (Congress and the President), 327. completed, 335. Regicides, the, 99 (note 3). Religious liberty, for all Christians in Mary- land, 102. for all persons in Rhode Island, 107, 108 Congress not to interfere with, 108. not recognized by the Puritans, 81, 83, 104. " none in England, formerly, 74. Removals from office, Jackson's, 236. See Civil Service Reform. Republicans, first party of that name, 191 (note 4). modern party, origin of, 273 (note 2). election of Lincoln by the, 280. Resumption of specie payment, 342. Revere's, Paul, ride, 157. Review, grand military,at close of the war,324. Revolution, the, 149, INDEX. 1: XV 11 Revolution, causes of the, 150, 156, 163. battles of, see Battles. Revolver, Colt's, 255 (note i). Rhode Island, settlement of, 107. entire religious liberty in, 107, 108. in the Revolution, 109. Ribaut, Jean, 30. Rice, cultivation of, in South Carolina, 114. Richmond, Va., made the Confederate capi- tal, 289. capture of, 321. Ring, the " Boss" Tweed, 336. the Whiskey, 336. Rolfe, John, 54, 56. Rosecrans, General, 310. Salem, Mass., settled, 80. witchcraft, 92. Sanitary commission, 323. Santa Fe, second oldest town in the United States, 38. Savannah settled, 121. taken by the British, 178. taken by Sherman, 320. Savannah, first ocean steamship, 209. Schools, public, established in Massachusetts, 86. Governor Berkeley on, in Va., 60 (note i). at the South, 348. Schuyler, General, 173. Scotch-Irish emigrants, 95. Scott, General, 216, 243, 260, 262, 291. Screw Propeller, 255 (note i). Search, right of, 206, 212, 219, 295. Secession of South Carolina, 281. of other States, 281, 289. reasons for, 282, 284. effect of the war on, 326. Separatists, the, 75. Sewing-machine, the, 255 (note i). Shawmut (Boston), 82. Shays' rebellion, 186. Shenandoah Valley, " Stonewall " Jackson in, 302. Sheridan's raid in, 314. Sherman, General, at Pittsburg Landing, 298. raid on Meridian, 311. in the " Hammering Campaign," 311. advance of, on Atlanta, 316. march to the sea, 317. at Savannah, 320. march northward, 320. surrender of Johnston to, 321 (note i). Sheridan's raid in the Shenandoah Valley, 314. ride, 315. . at battle of Winchester, 315. Sheridan's raids about Richmond, 321. Silk culture attempted in Georgia, 121. Silver, discovery of, in Nevada and Colorado, 277- remonetization of, 342 (note 3). Slavery introduced into America, 59. spreads into all the colonies, sr, 140. introduced into Georgia, 123. effect of the cotton-gin on, 196, 197. Jefferson on, 209. law restricting slave'trade, 209. discussion of the western extension of, 222-225, 266. change of feeling respecting, 223. how it divided the country, 223, 266. the Missouri compromise, 225. Garrison attacks, 237. Channing, Dr., on, 237. J. Q. Adams and, 239. formation of Abolition societies, 238. annexation of Texas, 256. forced the North and the South apart, 266. the question of, in 1850, 266. the Fugitive-Slave Law, 267. the " Underground Railroad," 268. " Uncle Tom's Cabin," 268. * Kansas-Nebraska Act, 271. struggle in Kansas over, 272. Dred Scott decision, 275. John Brown's raid, 278. Lincoln on, 285. the corner-stone of the Southern Confed- eracy, 282 (note 3). the country divided by, in 1861, 284. the enemy of the Union, 284. Butler, General, and the " contrabands," 289. the Emancipation Proclamation, 304. the Constitutional Amendments, 305, 330. compared with free labor, 266, 305, 326, 348. progress of the South since the abolition of, 347, 348. Smith, Captain John, 52, 54, 66, 78. Songs of the Civil War, 279, 303, 309, 314, 318. South Carolina, see Carolina. South, the, secedes, 281. forms a Confederacy, 281. fires on Fort Sumter, 287. how prepared for war, 290. sufferings of, in the war, 323. during reconstruction, 328. withdrawal of troops from, 340. the solid, 340. the New, and its progress, 347, 348. Spaniards, the, in Florida, 31, 32. Ixviii LEADING FACTS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. " Spoils System," the, 236. Stamp Act, the, 151, 152. Standish, Myles, Captain, 77, 80. Stark, General, 44, 173. '• Star of the West " fired on, 282. "Star Spangled Banner," the (song oQ, 218 (note i). State rights, doctrine of, 200, 201 , 241 , 243, 282. States admitted in 1889, 357; in 1890, 358, whole number of, now, 357. Statue of Liberty, 353. Steamboat, Fulton's, 208. Steam Printing Press, 255 (note i). Steamboats, influence of, in the West, 209. Steamship, the first ocean, 209. Steamship, first line established, 251. Steam-wagons (locomotives), 231. Steuben, Baron, 172. Strikes, great, 340, 351. Stuyvesant, Governor, 69-72. Suffrage restiicted in colonial times, 83. Suffrage, Woman, 35S and Note i. Sumner, Charles, 269, 274. Sumter, Fort, 286, 322. Suspension Bridge, East River, 345. Tariff, sketch of the, 240 (note i). revenue (1789), 193. first protective, 240 (note i)» and nullification, 241. Taylor, presidency of, 265. Taxation of the colonies by England, 150, 153. Tecumseh's conspiracy, 211. Temperance cause, 233, 234. Telegraph, electric, 254, 255, 334. Atlantic cable, 330. Telephone, the, 338. Texas, annexation of, 255. and the Mexican War, 259. Thomas, General, 296, 310, 319. Ticonderoga, Ethan Allen takes, 159. Tobacco in Virginia, 56, 57, 62. Tories of the Revolution, 162. Town meeting, government by, 79, 83. Treasury, independent, established, 248. Treaty of England and France (1763), 138. with France (1778), 176. of peace, 1783, 185. with England (1795), 198. of Ghent (1814), 219. Ashburton (1842), 253. Oregon (1846), 258. with Mexico ("1848), 262. with Japan (1854), 271. Washington (1871), 339. Trent affair, the, 294. Tri-mountain (Boston), 82, 83. Tripoli, war with, 203. Tyler, presidency of, 252. ♦' Uncle Tom's Cabin," 268. " Underground Railroad," 268. Union, the, how formed, i83. vs. " State Rights," 200, 241-243, 282, 326. what Daniel Webster did for the, 242. Jackson's determination to maintain, 243. how threatened by slavery, 266, 284. the war for, inevitable, 284. what the Civil War decided respecting the, 326. United States independence declared, 165. acknowledged by France, 175, 176. acknowledged by Great Britain, 185. condition of, at close of Revolution, 185, 186. Constitution of, framed, 188-190. government of, organized, 192. Revolutionary debt paid, 193. first census, 193. first tariff, 193. Bank, 194, 239. Mint, 194. expectation of extent of, in 1801, 202. condition of, in 1861, 283, 284. territory added to, 204, 255, 258, 262; 270 (note i), 331. roads, canals, railroads, etc., in, 209, 226, 230, 232, 243, 255, 284, 333. emigration to, 251, 354. National banks established, 249 (note i). payment of Civil War debt, 331. treaties of, see Treaties. wars of, see Wars. growth of, 283, 359. population, see Population. present condition of, 359. University, Harvard, founded, 86. Yale, 86 (note 4). Utah, Mormons, in 250. Valley Forge, Washington at, 176, Van Buren's Presidency, 246. Van Rensselaer estates, 69, 253. Vermont, 95 (note i). Verrazano's expedition, 27 (note i). Vespucci, Amerigo, voyages of, 20. Vicksburg, situation of, 301. siege and capture of, 307. Vinland, 3. Virginia, Raleigh sends expedition to, 35. attempts to colonize, 35-37., charter of company, 50. INDEX. Ixix Virginia, settlement of, at Ja .lestown, 52. tobacco, cultivation of, 56. House of Burgesses established, 58. slavery introduced into, 59. Cavaliers in, 61. Navigation Laws hurt trade of, 62. Bacon's rebellion in, 63. R. H. L-ee of, moves Declaration of Inde- pendence, 164. Virginia Dare, birth of, 37. Vote right to, restricted in colonial times, 83. War, the Pequot (1637), 97. King Philip's (1675), 91. French and Indian, 129-139. , " King William's " (1689), 129. "Queen Anne's" (1702), 130. " King George's " (1744), 130. " French and Indian " (1754), 131. Revolutionary, the (1775), 157-185. with France (1793), 200. with Tripoli (1801), 203. •with Tecumseh (1811), 211. with England (1812), 212-219. with the Creeks (1814), 215. First Seminole (1818), 221. Black Hawk (1832), 244. Second Seminole (1835), 244 (note 2). Mexican (1846), 259-263. the Civil (1861) , 285-323. cost of the Civil, 322. loss of life in the Civil, 322. results of the Civil, 326. Modoc (1872), 339. Sioux (1876), 339. See Battles. Warren, General Joseph, 161. Washington, sketch of early life of, 133 (note 3). sent a messenger to the French, 133. his interest in the West, 134. accompanies Braddock, 135, 136. helps take Fort Duquesne, 136. made commander-in-chief, 159. takes command of army, 161. enters Boston, 162. at New York, 166. saves Putnam and his army, 167. retreats northward, 168. retreats across the Delaware, 168, 169. victory at Trenton, 170. victory at Princeton, 171. worries Howe, 174. at Brandywine, 174. at Germantown, 174. and Franklin, 176. at Valley Forge, 174, 176. Washington at Monmouth, 177. and Benedict Arnold, 180. winters at Morristown, 180. at Yorktown, 183, 184. and the Constitutional Convention, 188. presidency of, 191. cabinet of, 192. death of, 201. centennial of inauguration of, 356. Washington the national capital in 1801, 202. taken by the British, 216. Wayne, " Mad Anthony," 178. Webster, Daniel, early life of, 95 (note 4). and Calhoun, 242. our debt to, 242. and the Ashburton treaty, 253. and the Fugitive-Slave Law, 267* Webster, Noah, dictionary of, 245. Wesley, John and Charles, 123. West, Washington's interest in the, 134. the, emigration to, 195, 226, 227, 335, 356. growth of the, 244, 333. the, to-day, 335. Whigs of the Revolution, 162. rise of the, 191. victory of, in 1840, 252. See Political Parties. Whiskey rebellion (1794), 197. ring, 336. White " Apprentices " in Virginia, 59. Apron Brigade, the, 63. Whitefield in Georgia, 123. Whitman, Dr., and Oregon, 257. Whitney invents the cotton-gin, 196. William and Mary College, 220 (note 2). Wilmot Proviso, 262 (note 5). Williams, Roger, driven from Massachusetts, 85. saves Massachusetts from an Indian War, 86. settles Providence, 107. establishes entire religious liberty, 107-8. secures a liberal charter for R. I., 108. Winslow, Captain, 347. Winthrop, Governor, 82. Witchcraft in Salem, 92. Wolfe takes Quebec. 137, 138. Woman sufrrage,358 and Note i. Worden, Captain, 296. World's Fair (1853), 270. Writs of Assistance, 150 (note 2). X. Y. Z. Papers, the, 199. Yeardley, Governor, 57. York, the Duke of, seizes New Netherland, 72. seizes Delaware, no. Yorktown, capture of, 183, ^34. ?- . . \ \ Y^Vj'-^ .>-- -ji . Jr ■^':' I