k $ »*«««»'. imtt' -*«»»»M»»»»»MM«»t«' mr mi. Class. Eiag Book .f^q GopyiighlN^ i-^i^ COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. E J •S "^ «, tn 5 ^ <; o w W) & ^ u. u 0) < ^ J3 H ^ rt ■O 1^' C « P^ rt T! • • cu O P S u B W nl IX U (U o £ Pi (U ■" j=. u> t; a %- o 4J 'fii u l-l n. rt j= fd >> ^ o 0. C ■^ Ml C O E "E *i2 o (11 _ c '5. -d 5 (U o V 'o V s m « $ o s j: -c V +j rt ^ o :j !^ u c J2 "i^ o .y XI S _ o " "", c o. 3 .a S "B. 'g "3) First Steps in the History of Our Country Revised Edition ' ^f^By WILLIAM a/mowry, Ph.D .,LL .D. and ARTHUR MAY MOWRY, A.M. 1 1 SILVER BURDETT AND COMPANY NEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO STANDARD BOOKS FOR SCHOOLS. By WILLIAM A. MOWRY, Ph.D., LL.D. First Steps in the History of Our Country. In collaboration with Arthur M. Mowry. For lower grades. 334 pages. 60 cents. Essentials of United States History. In collaboration with Blanche S. Mowry. For grammar grades, x, 434 pages. 90 cents. A History of the United States. In collaboration with Arthur M. Mowry. For upper grades and high schools. 486 pages. $1.00. Elements of Civil Government. 226 pages. 72 cents. With special state editions for Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. Studies in Civil Government. 259 pages. 96 cents. AMERICA'S GREAT MEN AND THEIR DEEDS American Pioneers. In collaboration with Blanche S. Mowry. 363 pages. 65 cents. American Heroes and Heroism. In collaboration with Arthur M. Mowry. 223 pages. 60 cents. American Inventions and Inventors. In collaboration with Arthur M. Mowry. 298 pages. 65 cents. The Territorial Growth of the United States. 245 pages. $1.50. Marcus Whitman and the Early Days of Oregon. 358 pages. $1.50. ■ First Steps in the History of England. By Arthur M. Mowry. 324 pages. 70 cents. NOV 30 1914 '^ ^'^o Copyright, 1898, 1902, 1907 1914, By Silver, Burdett and Compaivy 'aA387766 ^1 TO THE MEMORY OF C. E. M. Publishers' Note The popularity of " First Steps in the History of our Country " has been such that the printing of the requisite editions has completely worn out the original plates. Dr, Mowry has taken advantage of the necessity of re-setting the type for making new plates, to bring the text thoroughly up to date, and to make slight re- visions wherever such changes would manifestly add to the value of the text. Advantage has also been taken of the opportunity to substitute many new illustrations, and otherwise to beau- tify the typography and embellishment of the book. While these changes which have been made will greatly enhance the beauty and the value of the book, it is not anticipated that teachers will find difhculty in having the older and the new editions used side by side. It is with particular pleasure, therefore, that this new and improved edition of "First Steps in the History of our Country " — already so widely used and highly appreciated by teachers and young students of our country's history — is submitted to the public. Preface The study of the history of our country is every year becoming more and more important. New books for the young on history, biography, and historical fiction are constantly appearing. It is now very generally admitted that this study should be taken up at an earlier age than has hitherto been customary. Everybody now agrees that the schools should have an elementary book preceding the regu- lar, systematic pursuit of this branch in the two higher grades of the grammar school. But this preliminary book should not be an " epitome " of the his- tory of our country. It ought not to be a history for more ma- ture pupils boiled down to a small book for smaller boys and girls. Such a book should have no place in the schools. The bio- graphical plan has great advantages for beginners in the study of this subject. History is a record of events. Events presuppose actors who bring about the events. It is the action of men and women that makes history both valuable and interesting. Another important factor in this elementary study of history is to create a love for the study in the minds of the children. It is, there- fore, necessary that this early treatise should be written in the most entertaining and engaging manner. To this end but few characters can be made prominent. The leading events of each period are made to cluster around a few leading persons. There are many other great personages in the history of our country, but it is by no means neces- sary to give them a place in this preliminary book. A proper presen- tation of the lives of the " history-makers " will tend to cultivate a taste for further reading and study. As an aid to teachers and pupils, % select list of books appropriate for supplementary reading has been prepared. In a book like this, the authors have thought it important to confine the attention of the pupils principally to the text itself. Hence they have omitted all analyses, reviews, foot-notes, appendices, etc. The 8 PREFACE. thirty-eight chapters may be taken one a week, through the year, or two a week, covering half a year. Recitations should be both by topics and by questions. A few topics have been introduced at the end of each chapter. These are merely suggestive, and more should be added by every teacher. Of course the topical recitation should be supplemented by questions which the teacher will devise at the time, and which will tend to bring out the main points of the lesson, especially those that the pupils have failed to note in reciting upon the topic. It is expected that each teacher will prepare and use his own questions, appropriate to the particular class under his mstruction, according to the advancement, age, grade, and capacity of the class and the amount of time at his disposal. The authors accordingly have thought it best not to introduce full and complete sets of questions, either to save time or to aid the teacher in conducting the recitation. They have, however, presented a few typical " thought-questions " at the end of each chapter. These are prepared only as hints and pointers, to suggest such a course to the teacher as will help to avoid the too usual parrot-like method of study — learning the words of the text but not getting down to the thought. These questions can be answered by the study of the text and by proper thought upon what the text says. Different answers to these questions by different pupils are to be encouraged by the teacher. Independence of thought and expression is of deep importance. In the teaching of history, geographical connections should be con- stantly observed. The study of history aids the geography, and the geography is everywhere an aid to the history. At the time that the pupils are studying history by this book they are usually studying geography also. Each will help the other. The authors have thought it wise not to introduce many dates. Only a few should be memorized at this early period. It is recom- mended that all dates in the text which are found in parentheses should not he memorized. Neither should the dates at the beginning of the chapters, which show the years of the birth and the death of the person whose name heads the chapter, be committed to memory. W. A. M. A. M. M. w^^ CHAPTER. PAGE. I. — Christopher Columbus (The Beggar) ... 15 II. — Christopher Columbus (The Prince) ... 22 III. — John Cabot 30 IV. — Ferdinand de Soto 36 V. — Sir Walter Raleigh 41 VI. — John Smith 48 VII. — William Bradford 56 VIII. — John Winthrop 64 IX. — Williams and Hooker 69 X. — Peter Stuyvesant 75 XI. — Lord Baltimore 83 XII. — William Penn 88 XIII. — King Philip 95 XIV. — Cavalier de la Salle loi XV. — James Wolfe 106 XVI. — Samuel Adams 114 XVII. — Paul Revere 124 XVIII. — George Washington 131 XIX. — Nathanael Greene 142 o lO CONTENTS. CHAPTER. PAGE. XX. — Benjamin Franklin 148 XXI. — George Rogers Clark 159 XXII. — Alexander Hamilton 168 XXIII. — Thomas Jefferson 176 XXIV. — Robert Fulton .186 XXV. — Stephen Decatur 192 XXVI. — Andrew Jackson 201 XXVII. — Calhoun, Clay, Webster 210 XXVIII. — Samuel Houston 222 XXIX. — Marcus Whitman 230 XXX. — Samuel F. B. Morse 237 XXXI. — Abraham Lincoln 245 XXXII. — Robert E. Lee 257 XXXIII. — Ulysses S. Grant 265 XXXIV. — David G. Farragut 273 XXXV. — Horace Mann 280 XXXVI. — Clara Barton ........ 292 XXXVII.— Thomas A. Edison ..,.».,,. 304 XXXVIII. — John Hay, Theodore Roosevelt . . . .314 Illustrations " Westward the Course of Empire The Nation's Capitol at Washington PAGE IS Columbus in His Study . . Columbus Begging Shelter . The Ijoy Columbus .... Columbus Ridiculed in Court Columbus Landing .... Flagshij) of Columbus . . . Columbus Returning in Chains Coat of Arms of Columbus . Embarkation of John Cabot Cabot's Ship among Icebergs A Bear Catching Cod . . . The Royal Arms of England De Soto's Men in the Swamp Portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh Raleigh and the Queen . . Raleigh's Frightened Servant Destruction of Settlement by dians Indian Pipes Portrait of Captain John Smith Pocahontas Saving Captain Smith John Smith Exploring the River Indians Wonder at Smith's Writ The Marriage of Pocahontas . Signature of King James I . . A Pilgrim Governor A Ship from England .... The Mayflower The Fireplace in a Pilgrim's Home Standish Receiving the Challenge The Departure of the Mayflower Portrait of Governor Winthrop . The Six Ships at Salem .... ng> IS i6 19 23 27 29 30 32 34 35 36 41 41 45 46 47 48 48 SI 52 S3 55 56 56 59 61 62 63 64 64 . Frontispiece 14 PAGE. Governor Endicott's Pear Tree . . 65 Mrs. Winthrop Preparing to Come to America 67 Roger Williams's Flight 69 First Church at Salem 70 Williams Meeting Friendly Indians, 71 Hooker's Expedition to Connecti- cut 73 Portrait of Peter Stuyvesant ... 75 View of New Amsterdam .... 75 Hudson Sailing up the River ... 76 Stuyvesant and the Petitioners . . 78 English Fleet at New Amsterdam . So Portrait of Lord Baltimore .... 83 Calvert's Landing 83 Maryland Cavalier iVotecting a Puritan 86 Portrait of William Penn .... 88 Penn's House in Philadelphia ... 88 Penn '-«efore King Charles .... 90 Penn's Talk with the Indians ... 93 A Colonial Home near Philadelphia, 94 King Philip 95 The Pioneer's Enemy 95 Annawan as a Prisoner of War . . 99 Indian Weapons 100 La Salle Meets the Illinois Indians, 10 1 A Birch Bark Canoe 105 Portrait of General Wolfe .... 106 Quebec in 1760 106 Wolfe on the Way to Battle ... 108 English Troops Scaling the Heights of Quebec no 12 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE. Portrait of Samuel Adams .... 114 Old South Church 114 Faneuil Hall 114 " We Have No Tea on Our Table," 117 The Boston Tea Party 119 New England Colonial Houses . . 122 Paul Revere Alarming the Country, 1 24 The Fight at Concord 128 Flag of Bunker Hill 129 Revolutionary Musket 130 Washington at Valley Forge . . . 131 Mount Vernon 133 The Washington Elm 134 Washington's First Sight of the Stars and Stripes 137 Washington at Monmouth .... 139 Washington at Trenton 140 Portrait of General Greene .... 142 Greene Watching British Drill . . 142 " I Want a Book " 143 The Fighting at King's Mountain . 145 Portrait of Benjamin Franklin . . 148 Franklin and His Kite 148 Young Franklin Laughed at by His Future Wife 150 Franklin and Queen of France . . 153 " Independence Hall " 154 Franklin at the Constitutional Con- vention 156 On the Road to Vincennes .... 159 Clark Descending the Ohio .... 164 Pushing into the Northwest ... 167 Young Hamilton's First Speech . . 168 Portrait of Alexander Hamilton . . r68 Hamilton at Yorktown 170 Washington's Inaugural Journey . 172 Federal Hall, New York 173 The Old Continental Money ... 175 Portrait of Thomas Jefferson . . . 176 Jefferson Writing Declaraticu of Independence 176 Patrick Henry in His Great Speech, 177 Napoleon Decides to Sell Louisiana, 181 Livingston Congratulating Monroe, 182 Lady and Gentleman of 1800 ... 185 PAGE. Portrait of Robert Fulton .... 186 A Modem " Ocean Greyhound " . 186 A Modem Iron-Clad 186 Fitch's Steamboat 187 Stevens's Steamboat 188 The First Trip of Fulton's Clermont, 190 Statue of Fulton 191 Portrait of Decatur 192 Burning the Philadelphia .... 192 United States Capturing the Mace- donian 195 The Famous Constitution 197 Perry at the Battle of Lake Erie . . 199 Portrait of Andrew Jackson . . . 201 The Capitol in 1825 201 The British Officer Ordering Young Jackson to Clean His Boots . . 202 The Battle of New Orleans .... 206 Traveling by Canal Boat 207 The Early Railway Train .... 208 Calhoun, Clay, and Webster ... 210 Webster Replying to Hayne ... 218 Portrait of Samuel Houston . . . 222 The Alamo 222 The " Lone Star " Flag 223 General Scott before the City of Mexico 225 Searching for Gold in California . . 226 Across the Continent 230 " The Ride for Oregon " 233 The Western Settler's First Home, 235 Portrait of Samuel F. B. Morse . . 237 Telegraphing News 237 Morse's First News of His Success . 240 Laying an Ocean Cable 243 Portrait of Abraham Lincoln . . . 245 Dome of the Capitol 245 Lincoln's Birthplace 246 Young Lincoln Studying by Fire- light 249 Fort Sumter, i860, 1864 252 Portrait of Jefferson Davis .... 253 Statue of Lincoln Freeing the Slave 255 Portrait of General Lee 257 ILLUSTRATIONS. 13 PAGE. Arlington, the Home of Lee ... 257 Confederate Soldiers 258 Lee and Jackson at Chancellorsville, 260 Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg . . 262 Confederate Flags 263 Portrait of General Grant .... 265 Union Calvary Fighting 265 Federal Soldiers 266 Grant in the Wilderness 268 Portrait of General Sherman . . . 269 Grant's Tomb 272 St. Gaudens' Statue of Farragut . 273 Attack of Ram on the //ari/orcf . . 273 Federal Fleet at Mobile Bay ... 273 Young Farragut and His Father . 274 Farragut's Mortar Boats 275 Farragut in the Rigging 277 Statue of Horace Mann 280 State House, Boston 280 Old-Time Country Schoolroom . . 282 After " Spelling School " 284 PAGE, A Master Mending a Quill Pen . . 286 The Nation's New Library .... 289 Portrait of Miss Clara Barton . . 292 Nurse in the Civil War 292 Red Cross Nurse on Battlefield . . 297 The Johnstown Flood 298 Battleship Maine at Havana . . . 300 The Maine after the Explosion . . 301 Portrait of Thomas A. Edison . . 304 Listening to the Phonograph . . . 304 Gold Hunters in Alaska 305 Young Edison Selling Papers , . . 308 Edison and New York Operator . . 310 Portrait of McKinley 314 Reviewing Volunteers 314 The Oregon 314 Secretary Long 319 Admiral Dewey 320 Winning the Crest of San Juan Hill, 321 Mr. McKinley and the Engineer . . 327 Portrait of Theodore Roosevelt . . 329 List of Maps. PAGE. Map that Columbus Sttidied ... 17 Route of Columbus 24 What Columbus Discovered ... 28 What Cabot Discovered 34 Long March of De Soto 37 Where Raleigh's Colony Landed . . 42 Where John Smith Explored ... 49 Where the Pilgrims and the Puri- tans Settled 57 Where Baltimore Started His Colony, 84 French Explorations 104 America before the French War . . 112 An.erica after the French War . . 112 PAGE Ride of Revere and Dawes .... 125 Map of Yorktown 147 The Young Nation at Its Start . . 158 The Old " Northwest " 166 United States in 1802 183 United States in 1803 183 United States in 1845 229 United States in 1846 229 United States in 1848 229 The Old " Oregon Country " ... 231 Battle Map of Eastern Virginia . . 259 The Civil War 270 H K Christopher Columbus 1436-1506 I. THE BEGGAR Boyhood. On the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, where the peninsula of Italy widens to join the continent of .Europe, stands the city of Genoa. Here, more than four hundred and fifty years ago, was born a boy who became a great sea-captain and who made one of the most famous voyages recorded in the history of the world. This boy's name was Christopher Columbus. His early life was very much like that of many other Italian boys. He went to school long enough to know something about arithmetic, geography, and astronomy, and to read Latin. His father was a wool-comber; that is, a man who combs out the wool and prepares it for the weavers. For a while Christopher worked at his father's trade, as it was the custom at that time for the eldest boy to have the same trade as his father. But he soon determined that he did not want to stay in Genoa and comb wool all his life. Instead, he wanted to go to sea and learn something of the world. Life at Sea. It is not strange that he had this desire. Genoa was a busy seaport town, many of its inhabitants were sailors, IS i6 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. and vessels were continually coming and going in its beautiful harbor. Columbus, like other boys, doubtless enjoyed going down to the wharves and hearing the sailors tell stories of the countries they had seen. When he was about fourteen years old he became a sailor, and for years led an adventurous life. He took part in many sea-fights and sailed wherever vessels dared to venture. People now would not call him a great traveler, but in those days sailors were afraid to go far from sight of land, and what seems to us a short distance was then a very long journey. The Old World. If we should take a map of the world as it was known five or six hundred years ago and compare it with the maps of to-day, we should find a great difference. There was no North or South America, no Australia, on the maps that Columbus studied. People did not even dream that any such lands existed. Europe was the only continent that was well known. Only the northern portions and some parts of the western coast of Africa had been visited, and most of Asia was unexplored. The unknown lands were thought to be filled with huge dragons and other fearful beasts; the men, instead of being small like the inhabitants of Europe, were supposed to be great and terrible giants. Sailors said that in the Atlantic Ocean were monsters so large that they could taTce vessels THE BOY COLUMBUS. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 17 upon their backs and dash them in pieces. Many other fooHsh and impossible stories were also believed. Marco Polo. When Columbus was a young man, people were beginning to get over these notions. The compass had been invented, which showed sailors how to direct their vessels, even THE MAP THAT COLUMBUS STUDIED. when they could not see land, or sun, or stars. Now they were able to go farther from the shore. When the terrible things which they expected to find did not appear, they grew braver and the next time sailed a little farther. More than a hundred years before the birth of Columbus, a man named Marco Polo wrote a book in which he described his travels in Asia. Wonderful stories of countries almost unknown were told. He said that these lands were rich in gold and jewels, and that fragrant spices and costly woods were abundant. Of course people were anxious to see these countries and obtain wealth. But to do this they would have 1 8 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. to make an expensive and dangerous journey across Asia on camel-back. So some of the wise men thought that if vessels could only sail around the southern part of Africa, it would be an easier and less costly journey. The New Plan. Columbus, while a young man, had been doing something more than fighting and sailing from one country to another. He had been reading books on geography and science, and he had thought and planned until finally an idea took complete hold of him. The idea was this. If he could sail straight west across the Atlantic Ocean, he thought that he would reach the eastern coast of Asia and thus make a shorter voyage than that around Africa. This would prove that the world was round and not flat, as everybody still believed except a few of the most learned men. How could Columbus carry out his plan? He had no ships and he had no money to buy them. He was obliged to sup- port himself by making maps and charts. Besides, only some king or prince could send out an expedition such as would be needed, and Columbus had no friends at court to take up his cause. At the very beginning his plan seemed hopeless, and a less persistent man would have given up in despair. The Deceit of Portugal. Portugal had been for a long time more interested in sending out vessels on voyages of discovery than any other country of Europe. Columbus thought that its king might listen to his plan and give him help. Therefore he went to Lisbon and in time came before the king. King John called all his wise men together. They discussed the matter, and decided that it was impossible to make a voyage such as Columbus planned. Some said, however, that there might be something in it, and that it would be a shame for Portugal to lose the glory of making the discovery. Therefore they decided to send CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 19 out a vessel privately, without the knowledge of Columbus. This vessel sailed westward a few days, and then, because the sailors became frightened, came back and reported that the voyage could not be made. Columbus was very angry with the king when he learned of his deceit. He left Portugal and went to try his fortunes at the court of Spain. Aid Sought from Spain. Columbus could hardly have chosen COLUMBUS RIDICULED IN COURT. a more unfortunate time to seek aid from Ferdinand and Isabella, the king and queen of Spain. They were in the midst of a fierce and costly war against the Moors, who had possession of the southern part of the Spanish peninsula. It could scarcely be expected that they would be willing to furnish money to aid an entire stranger, unless they were quite sure that his plan would be successful. Consequently Columbus was put off again and again. 20 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. At one time the king and queen went so far as to ask the opinions of the wisest men of the kingdom. These learned men laughed at the idea, and brought up all the old arguments and superstitions to prove that Columbus was entirely wrong. Columbus, however, was not easily discouraged, for he believed thoroughly in his plan. A few noblemen became his friends, but many thought him crazy. He was called " the man with the cloak full of holes." Even the children in the streets would point at him as he passed by. Discouragement. At last Columbus became quite discour- aged and decided to leave Spain. Taking his boy by the hand, he started on the long journey to France on foot. One day, tired and hungry, they stopped at the door of a convent, and Columbus asked for a bit of bread and a cup of water for his son. While they were resting, the prior walked by, and see- ing the strangers stopped to talk with them. It was not long before he drew out the story of the traveler's life. He became interested, and he determined, if possible, to keep Columbus in Spain. Spain*s Opportunity. This good man had once been Queen Isabella's priest, and he knew that she would listen to what he said. Therefore he kept Columbus at the convent and hurried off to see the queen. He told her that Columbus was an honest man, and that what he said was true. To be sure, it would cost something to help him, but what was a little money compared with the glory that would fall to Spain if the voyage should be successful? Queen Isabella Hstened to the priest's plea and sent for Columbus to come back to court. He arrived just as the Moors surrendered. Soon after, he was summoned before the king and queen to describe his plans again, but he de- manded so high a reward if he came back successful that they CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 21 declared It would be Impossible to help him. He would accept nothing less, and again everything was given up. Success. Columbus mounted his donkey and started once more for France. But the queen soon became sorry that she had allowed him to leave. She sent messengers after him in great haste to tell him that she had decided to furnish the money for ships and provisions for the voyage. Once more Columbus turned back. All the long weary years of waiting were at an end. At last the time had come to prove to those who had made such sport of him that he was not so wholly wrong after all. Tell the story of Columbus : as a boy ; as a sailor ; at the court of King John; at the court of Spain; at the convent; as, at last, he obtains aid. Give an account of Marco Polo and the effect of his book. Explain what was the great idea of Columbus. How did the studies of Columbus, when a boy, help him in his great discovery? What route of travel did people use in going to Asia after spices and jev/els? Why did people think that the earth was not round? Why did Columbus seek help from the courts rather than from rich men? Why was Columbus angry with the king of Portugal ? Why was Columbus nicknamed? What made the prior interested in the poor beggar? Christopher Columbus 2. THE PRINCE Preparation. We must not think that everything suddenly became smooth and easy for Columbus. He must get together vessels, men, and provisions, and this was a difficult task. Sailors were very superstitious and could scarcely be in- duced to go on this unknown voyage. They thought that if they went they would never see home and friends again. At last two brothers named Pinzon, who had wealth and influence, decided to go with Columbus. Others were in- duced to join them, and in time three little vessels were ready. These were very small, not so large as many of our fishing- boats. We should consider them hardly fit to sail from one port to another along the coast. In fact, only one of the three had a deck over the whole vessel. In the other two the deck covered only a part of the hold. Is it any wonder that the sailors were afraid to go? The Departure. Columbus, however, was not afraid. He believed he was going to succeed, and succeed he did, though not exactly as he expected. He thought that he was going to CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 23 find the eastern coast of Asia, and King Ferdinand gave him a letter of introduction to the king of China. We shall see whether he had a chance to use it or not. Finally the last good-byes were said, and on one bright sum- mer morning the little vessels turned their prows westward and were gone. For two days all went well, but on the third one of the vessels broke its rudder. For- tunately they were not far from the ^ir=' Canary Isles; they sailed into port to mend the rudder and change the sails of one of the vessels. Fears of the Sailors. After spending nearly a month at the islands, they once more set sail and went on day after day, though it seemed as if each day brought them no nearer land. The sailors became frightened at the length of the voyage, and Columbus felt obliged to keep from them the true number of miles they sailed each day. Besides, the nee- dle of the compass did not point just as it did at home, and the wind always blew from the east. The sailors thought that they surely would never get home again, for they would need a west wind to help them sail back. One day the wind changed and that trouble was ended. Still every strange thing frightened them, and their fear increased as each day went by and no land appeared. At one time they talked of throwing Columbus overboard, so THE FLAGSHIP OF COLUMBUS. 24 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. that they might be free to go home. We must not blame them too severely for this. They were only poor ignorant sailors, and had never before been so far from home. All watched eagerly for land; nearly every day some one raised the cry of ' ' Land ! ' ' This served only to make them more disappointed when what they saw proved to be only a cloud on the horizon. The Discovery. At last all decided that land must be near. Many little birds flew about the vessels ; a fish which only lives ROUTE OF COLUMBUS near the shore was seen ; a branch with red berries floated by ; and a piece of wood, with marks on it that could only have been made by men, was picked up. All murmuring ceased, and every one was on the watch to be the first to catch sight of the long-desired land. One night, as Cohimbus stood on the deck of his vessel, he thought he saw a light far off in the distance, which flashed out brightly several times and then vanished. Later, the cry of " Land! land! " came from one of the vessels. This time it was no false call. With daylight a beautiful island covered CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 2$ with green trees and tropical plants appeared. The vessels were anchored; boats were lowered; and Columbus and his companions, richly dressed, were rowed to the shore. As soon as they landed, Columbus knelt, kissed the earth, and gave thanks to God for having brought them safely on their voyage. Then he arose, planted his flag, and took pos- session in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. We must not forget the day on which Columbus reached the island, as it is the first important date in the history of the New World. It was October 21, 1492 (or October 12 by the old style of reckoning). The Indians. The inhabitants of the island, who at first had been frightened and had fled, now came up, bringing simple presents. They had never before seen men with white skins or boats with great sails. They thought that the vessels were huge birds which had come from heaven, and that the men were gods. They gave the newcomers the best they had and treated them as superior people. Poor creatures! it was not many months before they found that these white people were very unlike gods. The natives had a dark, copper-colored skin, and wore little or no clothing. Their hair was straight and black, their eyes were bright, and their bodies well formed. They lived an easy, simple life. Everything they needed for food grew abundantly and was close at hand. So long as they had plenty to eat and shelter from storms, they required nothing else. Columbus called them Indians, because he thought that the island was off the coast of India. This name they kept, even after it was found that they did not live on one of the East Indies, but in a new and hitherto wholly unknown part of the world. Exploration. After this the vessels sailed from one island to another, seeking the rich kingdoms of Asia and gold. But 26 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Asia did not appear and gold was obtained only in small quantities. Among the islands discovered was Hayti, which Columbus called Hispaniola or Little Spain. Here his largest vessel went ashore through the carelessness of one of the sailors, and could not be repaired. Columbus decided that this would be a good place to leave some of his followers. These men were to make a hom^e on the island and put things in readiness, so that others could come out from Spain and join the colony. He built a fort from the timbers of the wrecked vessel, left on the island about forty men, and started back to Spain. The Return. It was then winter, and a severe storm came on. It seemed as though the vessels would be destroyed and all on board lost. Therefore Columbus wrote two accounts of his voyage and his discoveries, and put them in two casks. These he placed on the deck in such a manner that if the vessel sunk they would be washed off. He hoped that in time they might float to shore and tell the story of the voyage, even if the whole expedition were lost. Fortunately, the vessels were not destroyed, and the port of Palos was reached in safety. There was great rejoicing in Spain at the return of the expedition. A procession was formed, in which Columbus rode in state, preceded by the Indians whom he had brought back with him and by men bearing fruits and treasures from the land which he had discovered. He was treated like one of Spain's greatest noblemen, and was given a seat in the presence of the king and queen while he told them the story of the voyage. How different was this from his first entrance into Spain! Then he was a poor, unknown man — now he was a prince, honored by all. The Second Voyage. Almost immediately preparations CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 27 were made for a second voyage. This time there was no difficulty in finding men wilhng to go. Every one, from the poorest sailor to the noble in court, wanted to gain a fortune in the new land. In a few months, seventeen vessels and fifteen hundred men were ready. They reached the islands without mishap, and anchored in the harbor near which the col- ony had been left the year before. No signs of men or build- ings were to be seen. The place was deserted and the fort completely destroyed. Columbus sought another place in which to leave his new colony. He selected a harbor thirty or forty miles distant, and commenced to build a city. This city, the first in the New World, was named Isabella, in honor of the Queen of Spain. Mistakes. Now began Columbus's misfortunes. He was well fitted for a life of exploration ; he was a man of great earnestness and persistence of purpose, but he was not a good governor. He made many mistakes and more enemies. When it was found that gold was not to be picked up everywhere, as was expected, and that every one was obliged to work hard to obtain even a living, the colonists became very angry and declared that Columbus was an impostor. COLUMBUS RETURNING IN CHAINS. 28 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. So many complaints came from the colony to Spain that at last Ferdinand sent out a man to look into the truth of the stories. He thought it a good opportunity to make himself governor; therefore he put Columbus in chains and sent him back to Spain. Upon his arrival the people were indignant at the treatment he had received. They thought that even if he had made mistakes he ought not to have been sent home like a common criminal. The king and queen received him WHAT COLUMBUS DISCOVERED. {The white portions of the map show the land which he saw.) kindly and gave him back his property; but they decided not to send him again as governor of a colony. Death. Columbus made four voyages of discovery in all. Soon after his last voyage he died, worn out by his many troubles. His body was carried across the Atlantic and buried on the Island of Hayti, which he had discovered. When that island was ceded to France, his remains were again taken over sea and with great pomp deposited in the cathedral in Havana, where they remained until 1898, when the Spaniards, after CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 29 their defeat by the United States, were granted permission to take them to Spain. To Christopher Columbus belongs the honor of being the " Discoverer of the New World," even though it does not bear his name and though he died still believing that it was a part of Asia. Tell the story of the preparations for the voyage ; the voyage itself ; the watching for land; the taking possession of the island; the re- turn to Spain; the second voyage; the harsh treatment of Columbus; his later life. Describe the people whom Columbus found on the islands. How did the Pinzon brothers aid Columbus? Did Columbus give the letter to the king of China? What do you think made the light which Columbus saw? How many years have passed since the discovery of America? What changed the Indians', idea of the white men? Why did Columbus build a fort? How did the Spaniards expect to gain a fortune in the new land? What became of the fort and the men whom Columbus left behind? COAT OF ARMS OF COLUMBUS. CHAPTER III John Cabot The Fabled Islands. On the maps drawn four and five hundred years ago, the Atlantic Ocean, instead of a broad expanse of water west of Europe, was represented as being full of islands. Many stories of these islands were told by sailors, who said that land could frequently be seen, lying low on the horizon, as the sun set over the western sea. Some of the islands w^ere supposed to be large and important, especially the Island of Brazil and the Island of the Seven Cities. The latter was said to be inhabited by Christians, who, years before, had fled from seven cities of Asia under their seven bishops, and had taken refuge across the ocean. John Cabot. For years the merchants of Bristol, England, had sent out vessels to search for these fabled islands. One of the commanders of these expeditions was John Cabot. He had been one of the foremost in these explorations, as he felt quite certain that, somewhere in the western ocean, land could be found. Thus far he had been unsuccessful, for he had at no time sailed far enough west to reach the coast of the new world. John Cabot, like Columbus, was bom at Genoa, but he JOHN CABOT, 31 had lived for many years in Venice and is usually called a Venetian. He was a skilled and experienced seaman, who had sailed on many waters and had been in many countries. He had traveled east as far as Mecca, the holy city of Arabia, There he had seen caravans loaded with fragrant spices that had come from the far East. He asked those who had charge where these spices grew, and received the answer that they had been brought by other caravans that had come from still farther east. The " Matthew." Whether Cabot had reasoned that these rich lands of Asia could be reached by sailing west is not certain. But as soon as the news of Columbus's discovery reached England, Cabot immediately decided that he also could sail west and reach the coast of Asia. King Henry VH of England, who naturally desired to share with Spain in the new discoveries, was pleased at the plan and promises of Cabot. He gave him and his sons permission to sail, and soon a little ship was made ready for the voyage. This vessel was called the Matthew, and had a crew of but eighteen men. Three or four other vessels were fitted out for trading purposes by the merchants of Bristol. These started with Cabot, but it is supposed that they went only a short distance and then turned back, leaving the little Matthew to sail on alone. The Mainland Discovered. Little is known about this first voyage, except that it began early in May (1497). Cabot probably encountered but few storms or serious hardships, as land was reached in June. This land, which Cabot called Newfoundland, is now known as Cape Breton Island, and is separated from Nova Scotia by a narrow channel. Thus Cabot was the first to find the mainland of America. Although Columbus had by this time made a second voyage 32 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. across the Atlantic, he had gone no farther than the islands that lie some distance from the coast. Not until the year after Cabot discovered the North American continent did Columbus succeed in reaching the coast of South America. A Barren Land. It was no fertile, tropical land that Cabot found, but a barren and unproductive region. No natives CABOT S SHIP AMONG ICEBERGS. came to the beach to welcome him, thinking that the new- comers were gods. So long as the vessel stayed no Indians appeared. Still it was decided that there must be some inhabitants, as traps set for catching wild animals were dis- covered in the woods. A needle for net-making was picked up. Besides, many trees were found notched, perhaps to guide those who were traveling through the forests. Cabot JOHN CABOT. 33 and his men, however, did not stay long enough to make a very thorough search. As they had but Httle food with them, they started back to England in a few days. Rewards. Their arrival caused the greatest excitement. The report was spread that Cabot had discovered the Island of the Seven Cities and a portion of the coast of Asia. A writer of the time says that the Englishmen followed Cabot " like madmen." He was called " the Great Admiral." He dressed in silk and was treated like a prince. Cabot, unlike many others, did not wish to keep all his good fortune to himself. Instead, he wanted his friends and neighbors to share it with him. Some he appointed governors, others he made bishops over the new land which he had discovered. King Henry was so delighted at the success of the expedition that he sent its leader the sum of £io, or about $50 of our money. This seems a very small sum for a rich king to send to a man who had performed such a service as Cabot had. But Henry was a miserly king and it probably seemed a large sum to him. Besides, money went a great deal further then than now. The Second Voyage. The next year a larger expedition was fitted out. Cabot planned to go west until he reached the land he had found the year before. Then he thought that if he sailed south he would come to the Island of Cipango, or Japan, where he expected to fill his vessel with spices and jewels. Five or six ships started out early in the spring. This time Cabot sailed farther north than before — so far that the ships met many icebergs and the days were so long that there was almost no night. The sailors became frightened at the quan- tity of ice, and the vessels were turned to the south. From Labrador Cabot sailed along the coast of North Amer- ica until he nearly reached the peninsula of Florida. Once 34 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. he tried to form a colony. But the soil was barren, the men became discouraged, and the colony was given up. The Fisheries. Although the land was for the most part improductive, the waters were wonderfully full of fish. In fact, Cabot called the country the " Land of the Codfish," be- cause the seas contained such quantities of cod. The bears of the country were almost harmless, he said, since they could obtain such an abundance of food. They were accustomed to swim out iilto the water and catch the fish in their claws. Terrible struggles would take place as the fish, which were large and strong, tried to get away. The WHAT CABOT DISCOVERED. W'^fi""//^" bears usually came off victors and would swim with their prey to the shore where they would eat it at their leisure. The Claim of England. After this second voyage no trace of Cabot can be found. Whether he died on the return trip or soon after his arrival in Eng- land is not known. Why, then, should the boys and girls of the United States study the story of this almost unknown man ? The reason is that, because of these two voyages of John A BEAR CATCHING COD. JOHN CABOT. 35 Cabot, England laid claim to the whole Atlantic coast from Labrador to Florida. Because she laid claim to it, she sent out colonists to take possession. And because she sent colo- nists, the people of the United States speak the English lan- guage. Had it not been for John Cabot, the inhabitants of this part of America might now have for their native tongue the Spanish language, as do the people of Mexico and most of the nations of South America. Give an account of the fabled islands. Tell the story of Cabot: in early life; on his first voyage; on his return; on his second voyage. Tell why Cabot supposed the new land to be inhabited. Tell Cabot's story of the fish. Do you suppose the fabled islands were really the coast of America, or were they low-lying clouds? What was the difference between the aid given by Queen Isabella to Columbus and that by King Henry to Cabot? Why do some people claim that Cabot and not Columbus dis- covered America? Do you think that Cabot ever knew that the land he had found was not Asia? Why do you suppose we know so little about the life of John Cabot ? THE ROYAL ARMS OF ENGLAND. Ferdinand de Soto 1496-1542 Enthusiasm for Exploration. When it was known that a new world had been discovered beyond the Atlantic, great excite- ment took possession of the inhabitants of Spain. A splendid opportunity was now thrown open to all who were brave and adventurous to explore these new regions. Those who were poor expected to gain great wealth, and those who were already rich wanted to add still more to their abundance. Not only was it said that gold, silver, and jewels could be obtained in great quantities, but it was also reported that somewhere in this new world was a wonderful fountain. If any one who was old should bathe in its waters, almost immediately his lost youth would return to him. This, in the opinion of many, would be of more importance than all the gold or jewels in the world. Therefore it was not strange that expedition after expedition was sent out, for all were anxious to obtain youth and riches. 36 FERDINAND DE SOTO. 37 Ferdinand de Soto. One of the bravest of the leaders of these expeditions was the young and courageous Ferdinand de Soto. He belonged to a noble Spanish family, but was so poor that when he went on his first voyage he had no outfit but his sword and shield. He was the bravest of the brave, how- ever, and his valor soon made up for his poverty. He gained riches in Peru and was promoted step by step until he became governor of Cuba and president of Florida. Some one who had been to Florida had said that it was the richest country in the world. This traveler, seeing with the eyes of imagination, must have thought that the sand, sparkling in the sunshine, was gold, and the many bright colored flowers were jewels. The Expedition. But everybody shared fully in the belief that America was fabulously rich, and thousands were eager to go. So many prepared for the voyage that the ships could not hold them, and thus, disappointed, some had to stay be- hind. THE LONG MARCH OF DE SOTO. On a Sunday morning in early springtime (1539), seven ships set sail, with De Soto and six hundred eager compan- ions on board. After touching at Cuba, De Soto arrived at Tampa Bay, on the western coast of Florida, without disaster. His plan was to go anywhere and everywhere in search of gold. In 38 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OP OUR COUNTRY. his endeavor to capture some Indians who would serve as guides and interpreters, he met with a remarkable piece of good fortune. He came upon a Spaniard, John Ortiz, who had been seized by the Indians many years before. He had lived with the red men, first as a captive cruelly treated, and afterward as a friend and counselor ; consequently he knew their language and customs perfectly. No better guide and interpreter could have been found, and he was not at all unwilling to leave his Indian friends and cast in his lot with De Soto. A Terrible Journey. Now began a terrible march, north- ward and westward. The ground was covered with thick woods. Vines and tangled creepers ran from tree to tree. There were no roads except here and there Indian trails. The country was full of bogs and marshes, in which the horses stuck fast and sank. Every few miles rivers were reached — some wide, some narrow. When the travelers came to one that could not be forded, they made a rude bridge of trees; if the river was especially wide, they built boats. At times pro- visions were scarce and men and horses grew thin and ill for lack of proper food. Spanish Cruelty. Added to all this, the Indians were hos- tile and treacherous. In the land through which De Soto first passed, white men had been before. These had treated the Indians with great cinielty, and the red men, in their turn, were ready to fight and deceive whenever it was possible. Then, too, De Soto was not more wise than the Spaniards whom the Indians had previously seen. When he passed into a region entirely imknown to white men, he was for a time received with kindness. The chiefs placed all their braves at his service, and gave him plenty of food for his men and horses ; in fact, they gave him the best they had. But it did not take FERDINAND DE SOTO. 39 many days for this to change. De Soto was cruel ; he captured the chiefs and made the Indians slaves, compelling them to carry his heavy burdens. If they rebelled or deserted, they were tortured and killed. Therefore it is not strange that many battles were fought and many lives were lost. No Gold. All this time no gold was discovered. The Indians continually told stories of rich villages to the west. But when these settlements were reached, nothing of impor- tance was found except a few pearls, which had been ruined by having holes bored through them. It was like following a will-o'-the-wisp. Still they pushed on, their number daily growing smaller and the survivors weaker, ever hoping to find the fabled gold. The Mississippi Discovered. Finally they reached a mighty river, the Mississippi, which means in the Indian tongue the " father of waters." This river they crossed with great diffi- culty, and they pushed on west — ever west. After nearly a year more of travel, even De Soto became discouraged. The expedition turned and sought the sea. The Missis- sippi was again reached, and there De Soto became ill and died. Then a panic seized his followers ; they feared that, now that their leader, whom the Indians supposed to be immortal, was gone, they would be attacked and killed. Therefore they determined to conceal the death of De Soto from the Indians. The Secret Burial. The Indians were skilled in all kinds of woodcraft. They would be able to detect the slightest disturbance in leaf or twig, and a grave would quickly be discovered, no matter how skillfully con- cealed. One night a boat pushed out silently from the shore. When the deep water of the river was reached, the body of the intrepid leader was lifted over the side of the boat and lowered 40 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. into the stream. Quickly it sank in the waters, with only a ripple to mark its resting-place. It was a sad end for the brave De Soto, who had left his ships so hopefully three years before. His misfortunes he brought upon himself. The Indians were ready to repay kindness with kindness. They were cruelly and deceitfully treated, and they were cruel and deceitful in return. De Soto's followers, discouraged and hopeless, succeeded in building a few small vessels. These were launched in the Mississippi River, and, fifteen months after the death of De Soto, reached Mexico. Out of the six hundred who set out from Tampa Bay, nearly half perished in this disastrous journey. Describe the interest that Spaniards felt in the new countries. Tell the story of De Soto's journey. i)escribe the character of the country through which he passed. Give an account of the death and the burial of De Soto. Was the desire for wealth sufficient to lead men to cross the ocean? Do you know of any recent cases where people have been " crazy " to go into some new country ? How did it happen that John Ortiz was in America? Why were there " no roads "? What is meant by " fording a river "? Why did the Indians continually tell the Span- iards that there were " rich villages to the west "? CHAPTER V Sir Walter Raleigh 1552-1618 A Famous Englishman. More than half a century after the voyages of Columbus, an English boy was born, for whom the capital of North Carolina is named. His family had been il- lustrious for many generations, and, though it had lost much of its possessions, it was still able to give young Walter Raleigh a fair start in life. After that, however, all that he accomplished was obtained by his own hard work. As a soldier he fought bravely in the civil wars in France. As a sailor he led in the overthrow of the famous Spanish Armada. As an orator he was able to dispute with the great statesmen of his day. As a courtier he was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth. Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth. Raleigh was a man of com-, manding presence. He was six feet in height and remarkably well built. He was accustomed, like the other courtiers of Elizabeth, to set off his handsome face and striking form by dress of the richest material. Silks and velvets, embroidered with gems and gold, were his usual apparel. He possessed most charming manners and was a model of politeness. One day the queen, with her attendant courtiers, came to a muddy 42 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. place in the road. Seeing that she hesitated to place her dainty slippers in the mud, Raleigh immediately " spread his new plush cloak on the ground, whereon the queen trod gently over, rewarding him afterward with many suits for his so free and seasonable tender of so fair a foot-cloth." English Indifference. Raleigh, however, was more than a mere idler about the court. Before he was thirty years of age he began to show an interest in America. Eighty years had passed since the voyages of Cabot gave England a claim to the Atlantic coast of America. Meanwhile, Spain had conquered Mexico and the West Indies, and had made a settlement at Saint Augustine in Florida. France had explored the coast and had tried to establish colo- nies. But England had ap- parently forgotten all about the new world. English Explorations. The time had come for a revival of English interest in Amer- ica. Sir Francis Drake returned from his voyage around the world and gave an account of what he had seen of the unknown lands. IMartin Frobisher sought a northwest passage around the new continent to Asia. Sir Humphrey Gilbert made two expeditions from England, and tried in vain to make a settle- ment in Newfoundland. A few of the more thoughtful as well as the more adventurous Englishmen began to perceive WHERE RALEIGH S COLONY LANDED. SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 43 that a new England in America would greatly increase the power of the old England across the water. Among these statesmen was Walter Raleigh, the handsome, popular, brave courtier of Elizabeth. Raleigh was a younger brother of Sir Humphrey Gilbert and had taken part in his first expedition. Fortunately he did not accompany his brother in the second, or he might have lost his life in the same storm in which his brother perished. Virginia. The death of Gilbert and the loss of his entire fortune did not lessen Raleigh's desire to build up an English home in the new world. He took up the work where his brother left it, and the next year fitted out two ships to explore the coast of America and choose a suitable place for a colony. The leaders of this expedition returned and reported that the Island of Roanoke, off the coast of what was later called Carolina, was well adapted for a settlement. There they had found a fertile soil, a delightful climate, and friendly In- dians. Queen Elizabeth knighted Raleigh for his expedi- tion, and directed that the new country be named Virginia, in honor of herself, the " Virgin Queen." The First English Colony. The next year (1585 ) Sir Walter sent out his first colony. What energy and courage were needed by the one hundred colonists who left England in a fleet of seven small vessels ! A voyage across the Atlantic did not then have the terrors that it had in the time of Columbus, but the thought of a home in the wilds of an unknown land, thousands of miles from England, with an ocean between them and all their friends, must have been disheartening. But they sailed bravely across the waters, began at once to build their rude houses, and sent all their vessels back to England. Indian Hostility. Troubles arose at once. The friendly 44 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OP OUR COUNTRY. Indians of the year before began to show themselves hostile. They did not like the way that these newcomers had taken the land that had been theirs. Moreover, they were angry, and they had reason to be, at the way the white men treated them. Governor Ralph Lane had sent out an exploring party soon after the colonists arrived. On its return it was found that a silver cup, which one of the party had carried, was missing. Instantly they charged the red men with stealing it. Hastening back, they came to an Indian town from which all the inhabitants had fled. In retaliation for the loss of the cup the white men burned the whole town, with all the houses and stores of provisions. This foolish act was fol- lowed by a long series of injuries, until the red men plotted to massacre the entire colony. The Colony Abandoned. Lane and his little band discovered the plot and succeeded in defending themselves. But the constant fear of the Indians and the unaccustomed hardships proved too much for the colonists. They missed their well- built houses at home, their wholesome food, and their soft beds. When Sir Francis Drake sailed into the harbor in June, he was eagerly besought to take them home. The admiral consented, and Raleigh's first colony was abandoned. Products of the New World. Governor Lane carried home with him samples of three of the products of the new world, which had hitherto been unknown in England, — maize or Indian corn, white potatoes, and tobacco. Raleigh planted the potatoes on his estate in Ireland, where the root became popular. It has since been cultivated by the people of that island so persistently that it is now everywhere known as the Irish potato. Lane and Raleigh also introduced into Europe the habit of smoking. Every one enjoys the story of Raleigh's servant, SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 45 who, carrying his master a mug of ale, saw him for the first time sending forth whiffs of tobacco-smoke. Overcome with fright, the man threw the ale in Raleigh's face and ran from the room, calling out that his master was on fire and would soon be consumed. Raleigh's Second Colony. Still anxious to extend the English domain, Raleigh sent out a larger colony the next year, under Captain John White. When the fleet reached Roanoke Island, it was found that all the houses of the previous settlement had been destroyed by the Indians. Where the village had been was now a melon-patch. Not a very pleasant wel- come for these strangers! New houses were soon built, however, and the colony at once settled down to regular life. But provisions and re- inforcements were necessary, and the governor sailed for England to seek them and to give a report of the colony. Virginia Dare. Governor White was very sorry to be compelled so early to leave the colony. He felt himself responsible for its welfare, and he was especially anxious because he left behind him a daughter, Mrs. Dare, and a little granddaughter. This girl was named Virginia, because she was the first English child bom in the new land. She was but nine days old when her grandfather sailed RALEIGH AND HIS FRIGHTENED SERVANT. 40 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY, out of sight of the colony. Anxiously did the governor look forward to a quick return from England. But England was at war with Spain. The Spanish Ar- mada, of nearly a hundred and fifty vessels, was preparing to make an attack upon the English. Raleigh, like all other true Englishmen, was devoting his energies to aid in warding off the attack. The little band of exiles on Roanoke Island DESTRUCTION OF AN EARLY SET- TLEMENT BY THE INDIANS. must wait a while. Two vessels, it is true, were sent to carry them supplies, but both met Spanish ships and were driven back to England. It was three years after Governor White sailed out of Roanoke Harbor before an English rescue fleet arrived. The Lost Colony. The little settlement was nowhere to be seen. Scarcely any remains were found to indicate that white men had ever lived there. On the bark of one of the trees the SIR WALTER RALEIGH. 47 letters C-R-0-A-T-A-N had been cut. This was intended to show where the colonists had gone. But where was " Croa- tan "? And where were the eighty-nine men, the seventeen women, and the Httle Virginia Dare? No one could tell then and no one can tell now. They were never found. They may have been killed by the red men, or perhaps adopted into an Indian tribe. Thus perished the second colony. Raleigh was discouraged. He could not afford to send out more expeditions. He was engaged in other matters during the rest of his life. He spent many of his later years in prison, and finally was beheaded, because of the hatred of the new king James I. Yet he lived long enough to see the first permanent English colony established on the James River, a few hundred miles from Roanoke Island. Tell the story of Raleigh : as a boy ; as a courtier ; as a sailor. Describe Raleigh's first colony; his second colony. Explain why English interest in the new world was awakened. Give an account of the loss of the cup; of the possible fate of the colonists. Why was the name Raleigh given to the capital of North Carolina rather than to the capital of some other State? Did Raleigh expect a reward when he kept the mud from the queen's slippers? What hope that Columbus had was still held by some people in Raleigh's time? Why was the voyage of Raleigh's colonists less dreaded than that of Columbus? Had the colonists any right to destroy the Indian town? Which of the three new plants found by Governor Lane has proved of the most value? INDIAN PIPES. CHAPTER VI John Smith 1579-163 I The Virginia Company. The failures of Gilbert and Raleigh taught the English people that it would not be an easy matter to establish a colony in the new world. Such expeditions were seen to be more expensive than one man could afford to under- take, even if he were a rich courtier, favored by the queen. Therefore but little more was done for many years, imtil another century had begun and another ruler had come to the throne of England. When the idea of colonization was again taken up, it was decided that several men, tmited into a company, were more likely to be successful than a single adventurer. Accordingly, the new king, James I, gave a charter, which allowed a few men to organize the Virginia Company. This company had the right to make settlements in the new world, to control and govern them, and to make all the profit it could out of 48 JOHN SMITH. 49 them, if it would pay the king one fifth of the gold and silver which might be obtained in its possessions. The Voyage. Nearly twenty years after the arrival of White and his band upon the shores of Roanoke Island, a fleet, sent out by the Virginia Company, set sail from England. Leaving port in December, the three small vessels sailed south, along the coasts of France and Spain, to the Canary Isles, and then west- ward nearly in the track of Colum- bus to the West Indies. From here the voyage was north- ward. A severe storm was en- countered, and, being at the mercy of the wind, Captain Newport was unable to bring his ships to Roan- oke Island, as he had intended. As he sailed into Chesapeake Bay, the headlands on either side were named Cape Henry and Cape Charles, in honor of the sons of King James. Jamestown. The pleasure of the immigrants in the quiet waters into which they had come after the four months' voyage, has been commemorated in the name of Old Point Comfort. Continuing up a broad river, which they called the James, they chose a little peninsula for a settle- ment, and named it Jamestown. Thus was begun the first permanent English settlement in America, in May, 1607. By the first stroke of the ax to fell trees for the houses of the little village, the colony of Virginia was started, and the first step was taken in forming what was to be the United States of America. The little B/ILTlMO«e 1^9 w^ i^^ % A V Jr ^J - MM [^ ^^m^^IL yd (^>ip^ Chm^$--i f^'^^S^^^^ ■^^eifea^ _ WHERE JOHN SMITH EXPLORED. 50 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. band of colonists at Jamestown succeeded in doing what no earlier company of Englishmen had accomplished. They kept the colony alive ; they did not abandon it ; and they pre- vented their own destruction by the Indians. The Settlers. That success came to them seems almost a miracle. Of the one hundred and five men — for there were no women — nearly fifty were " gentlemen," unaccustomed to do any work with their hands ; twelve only were laborers, and these were mostly body-servants of the gentlemen ; four were carpenters, one a blacksmith, one a bricklayer, and one a mason. Probably very few had had any experience in cutting trees ; not any were accustomed to cultivating the land ; there were no bricks for the bricklayer and the mason ; and three of the carpenters had but partly learned their trade. The First Summer. The beautiful month of May saw their arrival in Virginia, the best season of the year in that climate. But soon the warm June came, then the hot July, and the sultry August. The peninsula of Jamestown was hardly more than a swamp; many fell ill with malaria, which the extreme heat greatly increased. Before the cooler weather of autumn arrived, nearly half of the entire colony had perished. John Smith. Had it not been for the courage and enterprise of one man, Jamestown would have met a fate similar to that of Roanoke Island. John Smith proved to be the right man in the right place. He knew what was necessary to be done; he saw clearly what should be avoided; he was able to con- duct the colony through trials under which others had failed. Always cheerful, always ready in an emergency, never cast down by ill-fortune, John Smith saved the Virginia colony. Early Adventures. This young man, for he was less than thirty years of age, had already passed through more dangers and disasters than often came to men in a whole lifetime. JOHN SMITH. 51 While scarcely more than a boy, he had fought bravely in Holland. Afterward he had traveled through Europe, even into Egypt, from which country he returned to enter the war' against the Turks in Hungary. Here he won great renown in many single combats, but he was finally wounded and cap- tured. Sold as a slave in Constantinople, he was put at the JOHN SMITH EXPLORING THE RIVER. hardest kinds of labor, until, rendered desperate by his cruel treatment, he succeeded in escaping. He traveled through the dense forests of Russia, pushed his way across Europe, and reached England just in time to join the expedition to Virginia. A Wise Leader. John Smith had thoroughly learned hu- man nature; he could control the colonists, even in cases of rebellion; he could fill the Indians with a fear of him- self. He also realized that food was of more value to starving men than gold. He guided in building the houses; he taught the colonists how to till the soil; he obtained the 52 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. much-needed food from the Indians; and he kept the dis- heartened settlers from saihng for England until winter set in. Then heat and disease were gone, and a more hopeful, cheerful spirit filled all hearts. Smith's Explorations. When the Virginia Company sent out the colonists, it laid three commands upon them : one was to seek Raleigh's " lost colony "; the second was to find gold ; and the third was to search for a northwest passage through America to the Pacific Ocean. Although Smith realized that none of these objects could be accomplished easily, yet he was more than willing to set out on any exploring expedition. He rowed up the Chicka- hominy River as far as his boats could go, proving that the Pa- cific could not be reached in that way. He continued his journey into the country and was cap- tured by the Indians. He saved his life for a time by showing them a pocket compass. They were greatly impressed with his genius, and were filled with wonder when he conveyed a message to his friends at James- town by sending them a written letter. Pocahontas. The Indians determined to send their captive to the great chief, Powhatan, at his royal residence near the present city of Richmond. There a council of war was held, which decided to put Smith to death. Pocahontas, the twelve- year-old daughter of Powhatan, throwing her arms around INDIANS WONDER AT SMITH S WRITING. JOHN SMITH. 53 THE MARRIAGE OF POCAHONTAS. the neck of the captive, begged her father to spare his h'fe. The chief could refuse nothing to his beloved child, and Smith, instead of suffering death, was treated with the utmost friend- ship. 54 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Pocahontas continued to be a friend to Smith and the colo- nists. She often conveyed them food in the hard times that followed. Five years later she helped to make a firmer bond of union between the Indians and the white men by her marriage with John Rolfe, an Englishman of high family. When, a few years afterward, the Lady Rebecca, as Pocahontas had been christened at her marriage, visited England, she won the hearts of all who met her. Unhappily, the severe climate of the British Isles proved more than her southern blood could endure, and she died just as she was to sail back to America, with her husband and infant son. The Father of Virginia. Captain Smith continued to be the life of the colony until he was severely wounded by an acci- dental explosion and found it necessary to return to England for proper surgical treatment. Meanwhile he had explored Chesapeake Bay, visiting the harbor of what is now Baltimore, and sailing up the Potomac River past the site of Washington, he also made an accurate map of the entire region. He had so conducted the colony, with its newly arrived reinfoi'cements, that but seven died the second year. Recovering from the accident. Smith, a few years later, explored the coast of New England and named many of the capes and harbors, among them Plymouth, the site of the second English settlement in America. John Smith has rightly been called the " Father of Vir- ginia," but for all his labors and exertions he received not one cent in payment ; not one foot of land, not the house he himself had built, not the field his own hands had planted, nor any reward but the applause of his conscience and the world. Hard Times. After the departure of Smith the Jamestown colony began to lose ground again, and in six months the four JOHN SMITH. 55 hundred and ninety persons in the settlement had been reduced to sixty. Three years after the first arrival at James- town the wretched survivors embarked in four small vessels and permitted the tide to carry them down the river, for they had decided to give up the colony and to sail for England. Fortunately, the next morning, before reaching Point Comfort, they met the fleet of the new governor, Lord Dela- ware. This contained more immigrants and supplies, and inspired the deserters with fresh courage. Returning to James- town, the colonists, new and old, assembled in the little church and gave thanks to God for His goodness. The hardest times in Virginia were past. More than a century and a half later the colony became the State of Virginia, the largest of the original thirteen United States, State the result of Raleigh's failures. Describe the voyage of Captain Newport. Give an account of the character of the colonists. Tell the story of John Smith: as a young man; as a leader in Vir- ginia; among the Indians; during his later life. Tell the story of Pocahontas. How much money do you suppose the kings of England have re- ceived from Virginia as " one-fifth of the gold and silver " obtained in that colony? What did the " gentlemen " seek in Virginia? Did the Englishmen in the seventeenth century hope to find the same things that Columbus did? How did the pocket compass save Smith's life? Smith governed Virginia well; did he do anything else for his fellow- men? Do you know of any other men besides John Smith who did not receive proper reward for the good which they did? SIGNATURE OF KING JAMES I. A • FlLGfyM- COYERHOR- William Bradford 1588-1657 The Scrooby Separatists. The same year that saw the arrival of Captain Newport and his httle fleet in Chesapeake Bay and the settlement of the colony of Virginia (1607), witnessed also a sad scene upon the eastern coast of England. Just as a vessel was about to sail, some government officers boarded it and carried the passengers to prison. After a month of confinement nearly all were set free, on condition that they would return to their homes at Scrooby, What had these men and women and children done that they should be thus imprisoned? Nothing that would be called a crime to-day. They were merely trying to leave England for some country where they could worship God in the way that they thought was right. They were a little band of earnest Christians, who were called Separatists, be- cause they desired to separate from the established church. They believed that the Church of England had made mis- takes, and they wished to worship God as seemed best to them. Persecution. Queen Elizabeth had tried during her entire reign to strengthen the Church of England. She thought it S6 WILLIAM BRADFORD. 57 wrong for any to stay away from service or to meet together to worship by themselves. Therefore she forbade all such meetings, and directed that those who attended them, and even those who did not attend the regular service, should be punished. When James I came to the throne, he was even more harsh than Elizabeth had been. The Separatists were more severely treated than before. What seems especially strange to us, the king not only refused to per- mit them to worship as they pleased but he also would not allow them to leave England and seek a country where they would be granted reli- gious freedom. The Flight to Holland. In spite of the laws against emigration, how- ever, many tried to flee across the Channel to Holland. It was while thus attempting to es- cape, that these Scrooby Separatists were cap- tured and sent home. They were not discouraged, but tried again the next year and succeeded, after great suffering, in reaching Amsterdam, a city in Holland. William Bradford. Among these exiles was a lad, about WHERE THE PILGRIMS AND THE PURITANS SETTLED. 58 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. eighteen years of age, named William Bradford. Six years before this time the boy had joined the Httle Separatist body at Scrooby. As he grew older, he became an earnest upholder of the beliefs of the small denomination. He was a scholar, and was familiar with those studies which require considera- ble thought, such as the ancient languages, philosophy, and theology. He was fitted to be a leader in a religious move- ment, and, thongh still young, he was prominent very early among the exiles in Amsterdam. The Pilgrims. Soon the little band removed to Leyden, another city of Holland. Here these wanderers began to call themselves Pilgrims, because they seemed to have no permanent home. In Leyden, with their beloved pastor, John Robinson, they hved for nearly eleven years. These English people, in the strange Dutch land, had no easy task to find means of support. But as weavers, masons, carpenters, hat makers, and tailors, they were able to make a competent and comfortable hving by continued hard labor. After some years, however, they began to question among themselves if everything was as it should be. They were English people, and believed in English methods and customs. Was it not likely that their sons and daughters, growing Up among the Dutch, would learn Dutch ways instead of English? Perhaps they might even marry among the people of Holland, and so make it their permanent home. A Pilgrim Colony. Consequently their thoughts were turned toward the possibility of settling in America. There they would be free from English punishments and also from Dutch customs. There they could worship God as they thought right and at the same time carry the Bible to the Indians. Accordingly, for two or three years, they tried to make arrangements with the Virginia Company to send them WILLIAM BRADFORD, 59 across the ocean. At last, in 1620, an agreement was reached, and in the middle of summer, the vessel Speedwell sailed from Delftshaven, the port of Ley den. The Voyage. The Speedwell was too small to carry half of the members of the Leyden church; therefore Elder William Brewster was sent with the colonists, and Pastor John Robin- son remained in Holland with the majority, who could not then go. The little vessel sailed to Southampton, England, where it was joined by the Mayflower, with other Sep- aratists who had remained in England. The two vessels left S o u t hampton, but were twice compelled to re- turn to English harbors, because the Speedwell was leaking. Finally it was decided to use the Mayflower alone, and, early in September, a little band of one hun- dred men, women, and children left the harbor of Ply- mouth, England, for their stormy voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. More than two months passed before land was seen. This proved to be a part of Cape Cod. The Pilgrims had one of John Smith's maps of the New England coast, and therefore THE MAYFLOWER IN PLYMOUTH HARBOR. 6o FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. knew where they were. They anchored in the harbor of Provincetown, and at once thanked God " who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean and dehvered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth." The Compact. While the Mayflower lay in the harbor, an agreement was drawn up and signed by forty-one men. This was the " Mayflower Compact," which pledged the signers to obey the government which it established. Then the voyagers elected John Carver governor. Nearly a month was spent in exploring the shores of Cape Cod Bay, in order to find a suitable spot for the settlement. Finally a party of twelve Pilgrims landed at the spot marked on Smith's map as Plymouth. This took place on December 21, 1620 — a day since celebrated as Forefathers' Day. The explorers chose Plymouth as the site of the colony, and the Mayflower was brought across into that harbor. The First Winter. The Virginia colony had commenced its settlement just at the beginning of a hot and sickly summer; the Plymouth colonists arrived at the beginning of a cold and dreary New England winter. The Jamestown settlers lacked provisions during that first summer; the Plymouth band had not sufficient food to keep them alive through that first winter. The hundred Virginians of the summer of 1607 decreased to about fifty before autumn ; the hundred Pilgrims of the De- cember of 1620 were but about fifty at the beginning of the next summer. Thus the winter hardships of the New England colony were as severe as those of the first summer in Virginia. Governor Bradford. Among the deaths, that spring, was that of Governor Carver. The colonists at once elected young William Bradford as his successor. Year after year the Plymouth colony chose him as governor, even to the WILLIAM BRADFORD. 61 time of his death. During the thirty-six years of his Hfe in America, Bradford was governor thirty-one. To his wise government was due much of the success of the colony, which slowly but surely grew after the first winter. The Indians. As was the case everywhere among the new settlements in America, one of the greatest dangers lay in the hostility of the Indians. Fortunately for the Pilgrims, but few red men lived in the neighborhood of Plymouth when THE FIREPLACE IN A PILGRIM S HOME. the colony was founded. This was one of the main reasons for the years of peace with the Indians that followed the land- ing of the colonists. Moreover, although the Pilgrims treated the Indians with great kindness, yet they showed a firm deter- mination to protect themselves. Early in the spring of 162 1 an Indian named Samoset visited the Plymouth colony ; he was received with kindness and sent away with a few presents. Soon he returned with Squanto, another Indian, who could speak some English, as he had been captured and taken to England years before by a party 62 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. exploring the New England coast. Squanto was of considera- ble assistance to the colonists, teaching them how to plant the Indian corn and also giving information concerning the neighboring Indian tribes. The Challenge. The next autumn a tribe of Indians called the Narragansetts, hoping to terrify the Pilgrims, sent them a " bundle of arrows tied about with a great snake skin." The colonists, though desiring peace, were not cowardly ; they imme- diately returned the skin filled with bullets. Then they began to strengthen their fort and to place themselves in readiness. But the Indians did not dare make an attack, and for more than fifty years, until King Philip's War, Plymouth colony was free from Indian wars. Thus the Pilgrims found their permanent home. Under the wise government of William Bradford, guided by the true counsels of Elder Brewster, and led in military affairs by the brave Miles Standish, Plymouth colony quietly and steadily grew. After seventy years of separate existence, Plymouth was joined to the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and to-day it is a part of the State of Massachusetts. State what the Separatists desired. Give an account of the arrest of the passengers. Tell the story of William Bradford : as a young man ; in his Leyden home; on the ocean; at Plymouth. CAPTAIN STANDISH RECEIVING THE CHALLENGE. WILLIAM BRADFORD. 63 Describe the Mayflower Compact. Tell how Squanto aided the Pilgrims; how the Indians threatened them. Do we have religious freedom to-day? Are any religious meetings forbidden now in our country? How did the Pilgrims go from Scrooby to Amsterdam? How did they go from Amsterdam to Ley den? The Pilgrims were afraid that they would become like the Dutch; was this probable? Do immigrants to the United States grow to be like the rest of us? PILGRIMS WATCHING THE DEPARTURE OP THE "MAYFLOWER." Arms! ^ tMSicSAiju otSolem^ CHAPTER VIII John Winthrop I 588-1 649 The Puritans. The Separatists, a few of whom came to Plymouth, were not the only English people who did not accept all the doctrines of the Church of England. A much larger number, called Puritans, still went to church with the rest of the English people. These were not at first persecuted, but, as they became more numerous and important, trouble arose between them and the king. When this quarrel began, some of the leaders proposed to establish a colony for the Puritans, like the Pilgrim settlement at Plymouth. Early Settlements. A fishing-hamlet had been started at Cape Ann (1623 ), a few years after the landing of the Pilgrims, with Roger Conant in charge. The cape was bleak and rocky and not easily cultivated, and the settlement was a failure. One day, however, when Conant was paddling his canoe along the shore, he found a fertik piece of land stretching out into the sea between two little rivers. He thought that this penin- sula, which the Indians called Naumkeag, would be a good place for a settlement, and in the spring (1626 ) he and fourteen ' companions moved over from Cape Ann and established themselves at Naumkeag. JOHN WINTHROP. 65 Conant wrote for aid to a Puritan leader in Dorchester, Eng- land, named John White ; he needed more colonists and supplies. Two years later, John Endicott was sent over to Naumkeag with a hundred settlers, having a grant of all the land between Plymouth and New Hampshire. The New Hampshire colony had been settled at Portsmouth and Dover the year that Cape Ann was first used as a fish- ing station (1623 ). The Endicott Pear Tree. Governor Endi- cott brought over from England some pear trees, and one of them is still living and blos- soming in the town of Dan vers. What a long life for a pear tree, — not far from three centuries! What chan- ges that tree has witnessed ! If it could think and talk, what a tale it could tell! A pretty story is told about a young couple, who, walking home one Sunday after church service, stopped under the pear tree. The young man picked from the tree a double stem having two blossoms on it. He asked the young lady if she would take one and let him keep the other. She consented and soon after became his wife. He was a minute-man and went to the battle of Lexington. GOVERNOR ENDICOTT's PEAR TREE ONE THING IT SAW. 66 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY, Reinforcements. The next year, Endicott was rejoiced by the arrival of six vessels and four hundred colonists at Naum- keag, or Salem, as it was from this time called. A part of the newcomers remained at Salem, while others built a town on the peninsula of Charlestown. The next spring (1630) four more vessels sailed into Salem harbor, and before the year was over thirteen others arrived, bringing in all, that year, nearly fifteen hundred colonists. Some remained at Salem, others went to Charlestown, and others still built new villages, most of them near the present city of Boston. John Winthrop. The new governor, John Winthrop, came out in the spring of 1630. He was a little more than forty years old, and was an earnest, sincere Puritan. For several years he had felt certain that trouble was coming in England, and he was willing to leave home and friends behind him, in order to found a place of refuge for the Puritans. For the next nineteen years, until his death, he was the most important leader in the colony of Massachusetts Bay. Winthrop left his family in England when he sailed for the new colony, and soon after his arrival he wrote one of his loving letters to his wife in the mother-country. "Blessed be the Lord, our good God and merciful Father, that yet hath preserved me in life and health. We had a long and trouble- some passage, but the Lord made it safe and easy to us; and though we have met with many and great troubles, yet He hath pleased to uphold us." We can learn from Winthrop's letters something of the discomforts which the settlers suffered. A week later he wrote to his wife Margaret: " Let us join in praising our merciful God that He upholds our hearts in all our troubles. And howsoever our fare be but coarse, in respect of what we formerly had (peas, puddings, and fish being our ordinary diet ), JOHN WINTHROP. 67 yet He makes it sweet and wholesome to us. Therefore be not discouraged, my dear wife, for I see no cause to repent of our coming hither, and thou seest that God can bring safe hither even the tenderest women and the youngest children." Winthrop proposed that his family should come to New England the next summer, and he sent many directions as to what they should bring. " Remember to come well fur- MRS. WINTHROP PREPARING TO COME TO AMERICA. nished with linen, woolen, some more bedding, brass, and pewter. Be sure to be warm clothed and to have store of fresh provisions, meal, eggs, butter, oatmeal, peas, and fruits. Thou must be sure to bring no more company than so many as shall have full provision for a year and a half, for though the earth here be very fertile, yet there must be time and means to raise it ; if we have com enough we may live plentifully. 68 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Boston. Before Mrs. Winthrop arrived in the colony, the governor had built a new town and made it the capital. Shawmut, or Trimountain, as the English at first called it, lay- almost entirely surrounded by water, across which were the settlements of Charlestown, Newtowne, Roxbury, and Dor- chester. Here lived one man, William Blackstone by name, near a spring of clear, cold water. By his advice Winthrop chose this peninsula to be his home, and named it Boston, in honor of the old town of Boston en the eastern shore of Eng- land, from which many of the settlers had come. The colony was soon well established, and during the next twenty years many thousand Puritans left England to try a life in a new world. During the civil war in England the Puritans arose, beheaded King Charles I and took control of the government. Their rule, however, did not last long, and, only thirty years after the arrival of Winthrop in Boston, the young king, Charles II, was placed upon the throne. From this time on, the king opposed the Puritans in every way, especially those of Massachusetts. The dislike of the king for the colony and of the colony for the king continued imtil Massachusetts Bay joined with the other colonies in an opposition to the mother-country, which resulted in their in- dependence and the United States of America. Give an account of the Puritans in England. Tell the story of Roger Conant; of Governor Endicott; of the set- tlers of 1630; of the founding of Boston. Describe Winthrop 's letters. The Puritans wished to make the church better; do you see any- thing in their name that shows this? The reason is given why the settlement at Cape Ann was a failure; what does this show to be most necessary in a new colony? Winthrop calls his food " coarse "; was it not good? Why did Winthrop ask his wife to bring " fresh provisions "? Why was Boston first called Trimountain? CHAPTER IX Williams and Hooker ROGER WILLIAMS'S FLIGHT I599-I683 I 586-1 647 A Puritan Minister. Roger Williams, a young minister from England, arrived at Boston a few months after Winthrop. He was of a good family and was born in London ; his father was James Williams, a merchant tailor, and his mother's name was Alice. Yoimg Williams was a minister of the church at Salem for a little while, and then went to Plymouth, where he preached for more than two years. After this he returned to Salem, and was minister there for about two years and a half. During this time the government of Massachusetts Bay became bitterly opposed to Williams because of certain opinions which he held and preached. Banishment. Williams thought that the Massachusetts peo- ple ought to buy their lands from the Indians. He said that the king's gift was not enough, because the king did not own the land. He also taught that the government should punish for civil but not for religious offenses. That is, Williams held that in religious matters every one ought to be permitted to think and decide for himself. He was brought before the court, but he would not change his views. The court then passed a sentence of banishment, ordering him to " depart out of this jurisdiction." In January, 60 70 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. 1636, Williams left Salem, after bidding his wife and children good-by, and, with a staff in his hand and a pack upon his back, began a long and perilous journey through the deep snows of the wilderness. Which way he went is not known, but we may suppose that on the first day, going around Boston on its western side, he reached Natick, where he foimd friendly Indians who gave him a resting-place in their wigwam over night. The Wilderness. Perhaps on the next day he made a short journey to Ponka- poag, in the present town of Canton, where some friendly Indians resided. FIRST CHURCH AT SALEM, WHERE WILLIAMS Think of him as hc puslicd PREACHED (STILL STANDING). qj^ through the snow to a place near Taunton, hoping there to find lodgings with other Indians whom he knew. But the snows were deep and the weather cold, the way was long, and night overtook him in the wilderness. It may be that, finding a hollow tree, blown over by the wind, he crawled into it and during the night got such snatches of sleep as would come to him in his narrow bed-room, upon so hard a bed. Finally, reaching the friendly Indians near Taunton, he may have spent a night with them, and then, on the day following, have gone on to his old friend, Massasoit, at Sowams, which is now the town of Warren, in Rhode Island. Providence. There Williams remained for three months or more, making his home with Massasoit, but visiting the neigh- boring Indians from place to place. When the springtime WILLIAMS AND HOOKER. 71 came, some of his friends joined him, and Wilh'ams looked about for the best place to make a settlement. In a small canoe he crossed the Seekonk River with five companions. At Slate Rock, which is on the east side of the city of Providence, he was met by friendly Indians, who greeted him with the welcome, " What cheer, Netop, what cheer! " This means, " How do you do, good friend, how do you do? " ROGER WILLIAMS MEETING FRIENDLY INDIANS AT SLATE ROCK Religious Freedom. Williams paddled around the point of land and made a settlement near a beautiful spring of water. Here was begun a new settlement, a new town, a new colony, and one of the thirteen original States of the Union. Others soon joined him, and a government was established by a written agreement, which read as follows: " We, whose names 72 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. are here underwritten, do promise to subject ourselves to all such orders or agreements as shall be made for the public good of the body, in an orderly way, by the major consent of the present inhabitants and such others whom they shall admit unto the same — • only in civil things. '' " Only in civil things " means that the public laws shall not interfere with a man's religious belief. Here, first in the whole world, was established a government upon the princi- ple of full religious liberty. From that time till the present, Rhode Island has been noted for religious freedom. Roger Williams, therefore, deserves the title of " the great apostle of religious freedom." Thomas Hooker. Two years after Roger Williams came to Boston, Thomas Hooker, another minister, arrived. Within six weeks after he had landed he was chosen pastor of the church at Newtowne,. now Cambridge. Hooker was a man of great ability and a very attractive preacher. He at once took high rank among the learned men of Massachusetts, interesting himself in all the important political and religious movements of the colony. Hooker did not agree with Winthrop. He believed that all the people ought to take part in the government, while Winthrop thought that a large part of them were unfit to govern, Winthrop's idea favored an aristocracy, a govern- ment by a few, the better people ; Hooker thought the govern- ment should be a democracy, a government by ah the people. The Connecticut Colony. Hooker did not stop to quarrel with Winthrop, but a few months after Williams had gone to Providence (1636) he, with a great company comprising a large part of the inhabitants of three towns, Cambridge, Dorchester, and Watertown, left the Bay Colony and set out on a long and difficult journey to the Connecticut River. WILLIAMS AND HOOKER, 73 What a joumey that was from Boston to Hartford ! Through a trackless wilderness, across streams, they traveled, driving their cattle before them and living during the whole journey as best they could upon the milk of their cows and whatever they could hnd upon the way. The First Written Constitution. Three years later the Con- necticut settlers adopted a " Body of Fundamental Laws," doubtless drawn up by Hooker. HOOKER S EXPEDITION TO CONNECTICUT. The adoption of this document, and the founding of their government upon it, is the first case in the history of the world where a written constitution, which established and put in operation a new government, was framed and adopted by the people. It gave equal rights to all citizens, and promised freedom and protection to all tinder the laws which the people should adopt. 74 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Roger Williams and Thomas Hooker must be considered among the foremost men of their age. They laid the real foundations of American liberty. The New England Colonies. Four of the six States afterward forming New England were now settled. After a time Plym- outh was united to the Bay Colony, and the two thus brought together made the colony of Massachusetts. Providence Colony united with Newport Colony, and received a charter from Charles II. Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield for a time formed the Connecticut River Colony, while settlements about New Haven made the New Haven Colony. At a later date these two colonies were united and became the Colony of Connecticut. Give an account of Williams's early life. State the trouble between Massachusetts and Williams. Describe his possible wanderings. Give an account of the founding of Providence. Explain what is meant by *' religious freedom." State why Hooker left Massachusetts Bay. Describe the journey and its results. Was Williams right in his ideas about the lands? Was he right in his belief in religious freedom? How did Williams know the Indians at Taunton? Williams once wrote that he was " tossed for fourteen weeks, not knowing what bed or bread did mean " ; where do you sup- pose he spent most of that time? Why was the city which Williams founded called Providence? What do you understand by a " trackless wilderness"? What were the four New England States? How many New England colonies were there at first? ~Vew ,«NewAmsU>.3»rn -^ CHAPTER X Peter Stuyvesant 1602-1682 Henry Hudson. The same year that Pastor Robinson and the Pilgrims moved from one city in Holland to another (1609), the Dutch East India Company sent out Henry Hudson, an Englishman, in a vessel called the Half -Moon, to search for a nearer passage to Asia. Hudson sailed from Holland in the month of April, and reached the cold waters north of Russia so early in the season that masses of ice and broken icebergs prevented his farther advance. He then decided to seek a western passage, as he could not go east, and he turned his vessel toward Greenland. He passed along Newfoundland, and continued southward along the coast of America, seeking for some strait or passage into the land which might lead through to the Pacific Ocean. At last he reached a point opposite the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. Not caring to visit the two-year-old colony at Jamestown, Hudson sailed north again, made the first visit to Delaware Bay, and cast anchor in New York Harbor. For the first time Europeans viewed the spot where now stands Greater New York, one of the largest cities in the world. For the first time a vessel sailed up the river past the Palisades 76 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. and the Highlands, almost to the head of navigation, where the city of Albany now is situated. For the first time the Indians on the banks of this river looked upon a vessel bearing sails, and, filled w4th curiosity, they flocked to the Half-Moon in great numbers. HUDSON SAILING UP THE RIVER. Dutch and French Explorations. To this river Hudson gave nis own name. Two months earlier Samuel de Champlain had gone south from Quebec, and named for himself the great lake separating New York from Vermont. So these two men, one in the employ of the Dutch and the other sent out by France, began the exploration of the great region which is now the State of New York. Hudson entered from the south, and PETER STUYVESANT. 7/ Champlain from the north. They came within a hundred miles of each other. Hudson returned to Holland and reported the results of his voyage. He had found neither the northeast nor the northwest passage to India, but he had discovered the Hudson River. He told the Dutch people about the fine harbor and the fertile country; he stated that the Indians were kindly, and that the woods were filled with fur-bearing animals; and he described the grandeur and beauty of the scenery. Dutch Settlements. Because of the voyage of Hudson in the Half-Moon, the Dutch claimed the entire territory between the Connecticut and the Delaware rivers. To this country they gave the name of New Netherland. Forts and trading-posts were built (1614), one on the island of Manhattan, another on the Hudson River near Albany, and a third on the Delaware River. Three years after the Pilgrims sailed for America, fifty families arrived in the Dutch colony (1623), the larger part of whom settled at New Amsterdam and the rest at Fort Orange or Albany. A little later the governor, Peter Minuit, bought the entire island of Manhattan from the Indians for the small sum of twenty-four dollars. The Dutch did not always use the best judgment in the choice of the governors who were sent over to take charge of the colony. Disputes arose continually between the governors and the great land-owners, or " patroons." The Indians were often harshly treated, and they in turn frequently attacked and m-urdered the Dutch. Yet, little by little, the colony grew, until finally a governor arrived who succeeded in placing it on a firmi footing. An Able Governor. Peter Stuyvesant was forty-five years of age when he was given the charge of New Netherland. While 78 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. a young man he had entered the military service of Holland and had served loyally and faithfully, losing a leg in an attack upon a Portuguese fort. He was a proud man, with an over- bearing temper which could endure no opposition. He believed that a governor should have absolute power, as is shown by his answer to citizens who brought complaints against the former governor. He haughtily said : " It is treason to peti- tion against one's magis- trates, whether there be cause or not." In spite of his temper and his belief in his own absolute power, Peter Stuyvesant proved him- self well able to manage the affairs of the colony. The greatest danger to be feared was from the Indians. Stuyvesant for- bade the sale of liquor or firearms to the red men, and carefully considered their welfare in all his dealings with them. He succeeded in making the Indians his friends, and perhaps thereby saved his colony from destruction. Prosperity. He next turned his attention to promoting the well-being of the colonists. He established a system of schools ; he built a market and began a series of annual cattle-fairs ; he advised the building of better houses and taverns, and made New Amsterdam almost a model town. He enforced a careful observance of the Sabbath, but yielded religious tolerance to all persons. STUYVESANT AND THE PETITIONERS. PETER STUYVESANT. 79 As a result of his wise direction we read that " the colony increased; children swarmed in every village; new modes of activity were devised; lumber was shipped to France; the whale pursued off the coast; the vine, the mulberry, planted ; flocks of sheep as well as of cattle were multiplied. " ' This happily situated province,' said its inhabitants, "may become the granary of our Fatherland; should our Netherlands be wasted by grievous wars, it will offer our countrymen a safe retreat; by God's blessing we shall in a few years become a mighty people.' " Quarrel with the Swedes. In the midst of its prosperity the colony of New Netherland continually quarreled with its neighbors. West and south of the Delaware River lay the little settlement of New Sweden. Queen Christina of Sweden had sent out a colony under the lead of the Dutchman, Peter Minuit (1638). Minuit bought land of the Indians on the west bank of the Delaware River and built Fort Christiana, where the city of Wilmington now stands. The Dutch were angry at the coming of the Swedes, but they were too weak at the time to oppose them in any way except by words. After the arrival of Stuyvesant as governor, however, the Dutch became much stronger and grew to despise the little Swedish colony. Finally Stuyvesant built Fort Casimir, on the western bank of the Delaware, within five miles of Fort Christiana, and within the territory which the Swedes had bought from the Indians. The quarrel now became something more than words. The Swedes made an attack upon Fort Casimir and captured it. The next year Stuyvesant sailed from New Amsterdam, with six vessels and seven hundred men, to punish the rash people of New Sweden, as their settlement was called. He not 8o FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. only recaptured Fort Casimir, but he also took Fort Christiana, and New Sweden ceased to exist as a separate colony. THE ENGLISH FLEET APPEARING AT NEW AMSTERDAM. English Claims. New Netherland had now become appar- ently a well-established colony. It claimed all the territory of the present States of New York, New Jersey, and Delaware, and also the western bank of the Delaware River, in Pennsyl- vania. Suddenly 'the power of Stuyvesant and the Dutch came to an end. One day an English fleet quietly sailed into New Amsterdam Harbor. England and Holland were at peace with each other, but the English commander of the fleet. Colonel Nichols, sent a letter to Fort Manhattan, requiring Stuyvesant immediately to yield the fort and turn over the government to the English, He announced that Charles U, King of England, claimed all PETER STUYVESANT. 8l the east coast of America because of Cabot's discovery, more than a hundred and fifty years before. Nichols added that King Charles had given the territory between the Connecticut River and Maryland to his brother James, the Duke of York, afterwards King James II, who had sent this fleet to take possession of the country. Resistance Useless. From the moment that the English vessels were first seen, Stuyvesant began preparations for defense. He ordered all the able-bodied men to enroll as soldiers or to work upon the fortifications. New guns were mounted and the shores patrolled. But this effort came too late. The people saw that they could not successfully resist the English, and they entered into the work half-heartedly. Besides, many English people had settled among the Dutch, and these were ready to welcome an English government. A second letter reached Stuyvesant and his council. Thi-s offered very favorable terms. It stated that only a change in flag and governor would be required. The council advised that the letter be made public and the people permitted to decide what they would do. At this Stuyvesant became very angry, declaring that the people had nothing to do with it. He was the governor, and he would not surrender. He even tore the letter into small pieces, to prevent its being read to the people. The council put the parts together again, made a fresh copy of the letter, and published it. The people were so strongly in favor of yielding that six commissioners were sent to treat with Colonel Nichols. Terms of surrender were written and Stuyvesant was compelled to sign them. New York. Thus, without bloodshed and without even serious disturbance, New Netherland was lost to Holland, and New York became an English colony (1664). The 82 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Duke of York gave New Jersey to two of his friends, and afterward sokl Delaware to William Penn. In 1776 these three colonies entered the Union as three States. The Dutch people continued to live in New York and did not seem to realize the change in government. Stuyvesant himself retired to his farm, or " bowerie " of six hundred acres. His house was near the present corner of Third Avenue and Twelfth Street, and his farm gave the name to one of New York's famous streets. His garden was noted throughout the city, and a pear tree which he had brought over from Europe continued to thrive for two hundred years. Stuyvesant spent the rest of his life on this farm, and died at the ripe age of eighty. Describe Hudson's voyage: on the ocean; on the river; home again. Give an account of Champlain. Tell the story of the settlement of New Amsterdam, of its poor governors and its troubles. Give an account of Stuyvesant : as a soldier ; as a governor. Tell the story of the capture of New Sweden ; of the capture of New Netherland. Has a northwest passage yet been found? Do you know of any modem plans for a shorter western water-passage from Europe to Asia? What was the principal reason for colonizing New Netherland? Were Stuyvesant and Hooker much alike? Had Sweden any right to make a colony? Would Roger Williams have said that she had a right? Which had the better claim to the land between Connecticut and Maryland, Holland or England? How many colonies have we now read about? How many of the original thirteen States? CHAPTER XI Lord Baltimore 1582-1632 George Calvert. A few years before Walter Raleigh sent out his colonies to Roanoke Island, George Calvert was bom in Yorkshire, England. When barely seventeen years of age, he was graduated from the University of Oxford. After a few years spent in travel he became the private secretary of Sir Robert Cecil, the favorite statesman of Queen Elizabeth. When James I was king of England, Calvert was made a member of his private council, was knighted, and later was appointed to one of the highest offices in the English govern- ment. Sir George Calvert here showed himself to be exact and careful in all his work. In his high office he naturally made many enemies, but even they always acknowledged his hon- esty and purity. He was a most sincere lover of his country, but after serving it faithfully for six years he resigned and asked permission from the king to retire from public life. He did this because he had become a Roman Catholic and could no longer uphold the Church of England. The king granted his request and honored his faithful servant by making him Baron of Baltimore, in Ireland. 83 84 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Religious Persecution. The Pilgrims had fled to Holland and then to Plymouth because they would not obey the rules of the Chtu-ch of England. The Puritans had established Massachu- setts Bay as a place of refuge from religious persecution. At the same time the Roman Catholics in England were also harshly treated, but they had no place to which they might go. Lord Baltimore had for years been interested in the new colonies in America, and now that he had more leisure he wished that he might make a home for Catholics also. King James and his son, King Charles, still remained friendly to Lord Baltimore, even though he had changed his church. Therefore when he purchased a part of the island of Newfoundland, called Avalon, he easily ob- tained permission from King Charles to colonize it. He sent out a colony the year after Plymouth was settled, and buildings were erected and land was cultivated. A few years later he himself visited Avalon, but the cHmate was so cold that he was greatly discouraged. He gave up the colony and sailed for Virginia. Maryland. Baltimore was a Catholic, and the Virginians did not like Catholics. Therefore life in Jamestown was unpleasant for him, and he returned to England. He was still anxious to form a colony, and persuaded King Charles to give him land on both sides of Chesapeake Bay, north of the Potomac River. Before the deed was signed Baltimore died. X^^^ J (/^ N. baltimorA m k J I634>n w \J '^X^ c U' i J«mntov}tr^^X, WHERE BALTIMORE STARTED HIS COLONY LORD BALTIMORE. 85 and his son, Cecil Calvert, became Lord Baltimore, and received the grant in his father's stead. This was one of the largest free gifts of land ever made to any one man. The grant included the present State of Maryland and even much more territory. And what do you think the king required of Baltimore and his children in pay- ment for this land? All he asked was that they would give to him at Windsor Castle every year two Indian arrows. This was not a very high rent, it is true; but this yearly present showed that the king still claimed a higher power over the new province than the proprietor, Lord Baltimore. A Refuge for Catholics. Cecil Calvert at once began prepara- tions to send over a colony. He could not go himself, and therefore put his brother Leonard in command. Two vessels — one, the Ark, of large size, and the other, the Dove, much smaller — sailed in November, with about three hundred colonists. The colony was to be a refuge for persecuted Catholics, but many of the voyagers were Protestants, and Calvert showed his sense of justice by ordering that no one; should trouble another on account of the way in which he tried to worship God. For four months the two vessels continued on their course to the new province of Maryland, so named in honor of the queen of England, Henrietta Maria. The little company landed at an island in the Potomac River and set up a cross, claiming the country for Christ and for England. Then the Dove was sent farther up the river to seek for a spot for a vil- lage. The Potomac Indians were astonished when they saw the little vessel, and exclaimed that they would like to see the tree from which that great canoe was hollowed out; for they knew nothing of fastening different pieces of timber together. 86 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. St. Mary's. Leonard Calvert decided not to settle so far from the ocean. He was. not sure what the Indian chieftain had meant in his mysterious answer to his question. Calvert had asked him: " Shall we stay here or shall we go back? " The chief had replied : " You may do as you think best." The governor, accordingly, floated down the Potomac and finally built a village at St. Mary's (1634), two years before Roger Williams fled from Massachusetts Bay and founded Provi- dence and Rhode Island. A MARYLAND CAVALIER PROTECTING A PURITAN FROM ABUSE. Religious Toleration. Lord Baltimore's greatest wish was that the colony should be successful and should furnish a safe retreat for Catholics. He had no dislike for any who might not agree with his own religious views. He was a broad-minded man, willing that Protestants and Catholics alike should join in his settlement. Therefore, from the very beginning, although there was no law to that effect, Baltimore secured religious toleration in his colony. By this is meant that no one was punished or troubled for his religious beliefs. LORD BALTIMORE. 87 Thus it was that Maryland was the first colony to allow its colonists to worship God as they wished. Rhode Island, two years later, established by law perfect freedom in all re- ligious matters; Pennsylvania, founded fifty years afterward, also granted religious freedom. These three colonies differed from the others in this respect. Now, the religious liberty of Lord Baltimore, of Roger Williams, and of William Penn has become the law in each of the forty-six States of our Union. Mason and Dixon's Line. Maryland was frequently in difficulties with the neighboring colonies, but most of the quarrels were quietly settled. The boundary line with Penn- sylvania caused much trouble, but the two colonies finally accepted the line laid out by two surveyors. Mason and Dixon. This boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland has been called Mason and Dixon's line even to the present time. Maryland remained in the possession of the Baltimores most of the time, until, with the other colonies, it became independ- ent in 1776. Give an account of the life of George Calvert until he became Lord Baltimore. Tell the story of the Avalon colony. Give accounts of the grant of Maryland; of the voyage of Leonard Calvert ; of the settlement. Explain the " religious toleration " of Maryland. Newfoundland is not farther north than England; why did its cold discourage Calvert? Was the grant of Maryland pleasing to Virginia? For what reasons? Why did Leonard Calvert decide to settle near the coast? Do you think that the Indian chieftain wanted Calvert to stay? Name the colonies that you have already studied, in the order in which they were settled, without giving dates. CHAPTER XII William Penn I 644-1 718 The Quakers. Forty years after the Scrooby band ot Separatists fled from England to escape persecution, George Fox began to preach new reHgious doctrines that brought to him and his followers even more severe persecution. Like the Separatists, Fox demanded the right to worship God as seemed to him best. He even asked for a simpler form of worship than the Pilgrims had sought. He would give to everybody equal rights, and he claimed that God only was his superior. The company of earnest believers who followed the teaching of George Fox called themselves " Friends." Their peculiar religious beliefs brought them into constant trouble. They were nicknamed Quakers, and soon were commonly known by that name. Persecution. They were punished for refusing to show reverence to the king by removing their hats in his presence. They were persecuted because they preached their doctrines whenever they found an opportimity. They were whipped and imprisoned; they were confined in filthy dungeons; they were fined and sold as servants. 8ft WILLIAM PENN. 89 The Quakers were punished as severely in the colonies as they were in the mother country. Even those people who had left England because of religious persecution forgot the Golden Rule, and treated the Quakers worse, if anything, than they themselves had been treated. Massachusetts and Connecticut began by banishing the Quakers and ordering them not to return. When they did come back and continue to preach, they were punished terri- bly, and finally some of them^were put to death. After this, persecution became less severe, the people began to see more of good and less of harm in the Quaker ideas than they had supposed, and in time all opposition to them disappeared. William Penn. One of the most important followers of George Fox, and one who did more for the despised Quakers than any one else could have done, was William Penn. This famous man was born just before Fox announced the new doctrines. While a student at Oxford University, Penn was led by a Quaker preacher so far to accept the belief of the Friends that he was expelled from college. His father, a distinguished naval officer, was extremely angry with his son and refused to help him in anyway. After a time, however, young William obtained his father's permission to travel and study, and he spent a few years abroad. One day, while traveling in Ireland, Penn learned that his old Oxford friend, the Quaker preacher Thomas Loe, was to speak in the neigbhorhood. Penn determined to hear him again, and the sermon so moved him that he decided to join the despised and persecuted band. When it began to be reported in the high society in which the Penn family was prominent that " William Penn was a Quaker again or some very melancholy thing," his father refused to have anything more to do with him. Time and again this sincere Quaker 90 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. was fined and imprisoned, but all tlie opposition only in- creased his enthusiasm. After his father's death, Penn received his property. He now became interested in America, as he thought that in that new world, across the ocean, it might be possible to establish a home for the persecuted Friends. In spite of the unpopu- larity of his religious belief, Penn had many powerful friends, among whom was the king's brother, James, the Duke of York. The King's Debt. It hap- pened that Penn found himself one of the owners of that part of New Jersey which was called Jersey, fluence became West His in- here very PENN AS A COURTIER BEFORE KING CHARLES. great, but not so great as if he had been the sole owner. He began to think about that rich and fertile territory which lay across the Delaware River. His father had performed many services for the king of England, who, in consequence, WILLIAM PENN. Ql owed him sixteen thousand pounds. Penn feared that this debt might never be paid, and he accordingly proposed to King Charles to give him land across the Delaware in place of the money due him. " After many waitings, watchings, solicitings, and dis- putes in council," wrote Penn, " this day my country was confiimed to me under the great seal of England." Penn had great hopes for the future of his new province. He wrote again : ' ' God will bless and make it the seed of a nation. I shall have a tender care of the government, that it will be well laid at first." He at once sent out a company of emigrants, and with them instructions as to the founding of a city. He was anx- ious to have the capital of his province a more beautiful and healthy town than the crowded cities of Europe he knew so well. He directed that a site for the city should be chosen on the Delaware at some point where " it is most navigable, high, dry, and healthy; that is, where most ships can best ride, of deepest draught of water, if possible, to load or unload at the bank or key-side without boating or lightening of it." Here he planned a large and pleasant city, as he hoped, for all future time. Pennsylvania. Penn was a simple Quaker and wished to have nothing done that might make him proud or seem to be proud. He suggested that the name of New Wales be given to the province, as it was hilly like Wales. But the king's secretary, " although a Welshman," refused to accept that name. Penn next proposed Sylvania, or the forest country, and the secretary prefixed the syllable Penn to it. Penn wrote: " Though I much opposed it and went to the king to have it struck out and altered, he said it was past and would take it 92 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. on him." The name Pennsylvania was thus given to the col- ony in honor of the admiral, Penn's father. Penn had his own way, however, in naming the new city. He called it Philadelphia, or City of Brotherly Love. The City of Brotherly Love. The next year Penn, with a company of a hundred settlers, sailed from England. The voyage was long and gloomy, nearly one third of the passengers dying before the Delaware was reached. Penn landed in New- castle in October and was joyfully welcomed, not only by the Quakers who had arrived before him, but also by the Swedes, the Dutch, and the earlier English colonists. From Newcastle Penn proceeded slowly up the Delaware River to the spot which had been chosen for the new city. In a few months, houses began to appear and streets to be laid out in Philadelphia (1683). Penn had purchased the ground from the Swedes and was delighted with the spot. He said that the situation was " not surpassed by one among all the many places I have seen in the world." This was to be the city of brotherly love indeed, " the city of refuge, the mansion of freedom, the home of humanity." Treaty with the Indians. Penn's love for his fellow-men was not limited to his countrymen nor to European white men. One of his first steps was to bring about a meeting with the Indians, in which a treaty of friendship could be arranged. A large elm tree, at Shackamaxon, not far from the center of the new city, was chosen as the place for the interview. Here Penn made a speech which won the friendship of the red men. Penn told them: " I will not call you children, for parents sometimes chide their children too severely; nor brothers only, for brothers differ. We are the same as if one man's body were to be divided into two parts; we are all one flesh WILLIAM PENN 93 and blood." The Indians replied: " We will live in love with William Penn and his children as long as the moon and the sun shall endure." Thus was established the province of Pennsylvania, the twelfth of the thirteen English colonies. King Charles had •given to eight of his friends a tract of land south of Vir- ginia, called Caro- lina. Many years later this ten4tory was divided into two colonies. North and South Carolina. Fifty years after Penn had landed at Newcastle, James Oglethorpe estab- lished the thirteenth colony (1733). Georgia, the young- est of the company, but now an impor- tant State of the Union. The thirteen colonies, though en- gaged now and then in struggles with their governors, frequently in conflict with the red men, and at times at war with their French and Spanish neighbors, nevertheless steadily grew and developed until they were ready to become a nation themselves. PENN's talk with the INDIANS. 94 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Tell the story of George Fox and the Quakers. Give an account of how William Penn became a Quaker. Describe the grant of Pennsylvania; the founding of Philadelphia; the treatment of the Indians. What religious bodies were persecuted in England? What colonies were founded as refuges for persecuted people? Are any of these people persecuted in our country to-day ? Why could Penn give great aid to the Quakers? Was Penn's choice of a capital for his colony wise? Name the thirteen colonies in the order of their settlement. A COLONIAL HOME NEAR PHILADELPHIA. CHAPTER XIII King Philip —1676 Pequot War. The character and condition of the Indian tribes and their relation to the colonies form an important subject in New England history. In the earliest times the settlers and the Indians were at peace with each other. As the settlers began to spread over the country, occupying the old hunting grounds of the Indians, it was natural that differences should spring up, and that Indian wars should follow. The earliest important Indian war was with the Pequots, about the time that Hooker founded Hartford. In the Con- necticut colony the white settlers were so few in number and were so scattered that there was great danger that the Indians would overcome them and blot out their settlements. The Pequots, however, were finally destroyed, and, soon after, the colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven formed a league to protect themselves against the Indians. They called themselves " The United Colonies of New England." King Philip's War. Forty years of peace with the Indians 95 q6 first steps in the history of our country. followed the destruction of the Pequots. This was broken by King Philip's War. King Philip, as he was usually called, was the son and successor of Massasoit, who had been the chief of the Poka- nokets or Wampanoags. This was a powerful tribe living in Plymouth Colony and along the borders of Rhode Island. Most of Rhode Island was occupied by the Narragansetts. King Philip and the Pokanokets attempted to induce the Narragansetts to join them in a war against the white men, but Roger Williams was able to persuade them not to do so. This was a great blow to King Philip, and probably saved the New England settlements from being entirely destroyed. As it was, many towns in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Plymouth were burned by the Indians. The war was brought to an end by the death of King Philip near his old home, at Mt. Hope, in Bristol, Rhode Island, just across the bay from Fall River. After his death the remnants of his army that escaped started in retreat across the country northward under Chief Annawan. The Indian Camp. Annawan and his little army were captured by Benjamin Church. This was accomplished by a bold stratagem, the account of which is romantic and interest- ing. Annawan and his followers, fifty or sixty in number, had gone mto camp for the night at the foot of a great rock in Rehoboth, a few miles west of Taunton. On one side of their camp was this perpendicular rock, and on the other sides a great swamp covered with thick trees and bushes. Captain Church, with a few men and two or three friendly Indians, crawled out upon this rock after dark and looked down upon Annawan 's camp. The rock was fifty or sixty feet high. There was no way of approach but to climb down the steep side. Chtirch had an old Indian and his daughter KING PHILIP. 97 go down foremost with their baskets at their backs, so that Annawan, if he should see them, would not suspect any harm-. In the shadow of these two and their baskets, Chuich and his companions crept down also. Fortunately an Indian woman w^as pounding corn in a mortar, the noise of which prevented their movement being heard. On reaching the foot of the rock. Church stepped over Annawan's son and sprang to the spot where the Indians had stacked their mus- kets. The Capture. The Indian chief started up and cried out, " Howoh! howoh!" This means, " I am taken." Seeing no way of escape, he threw himself back upon the ground and lay silent until Captain Church had secured all the arms. Then Church sent his friendly Indians to those beyond to tell them that their chieftain, Annawan, was taken, and if they would surrender peaceably they should have good quarter, but if they attempted to escape they would all be slain. The Indians, thoroughly disheartened, gave up their arms, both guns and hatchets, which were immediately carried to Captain Church. Having posted his guards, Church turned to Annawan and asked, " What have you for supper? " The Indian women now prepared supper for Church and his men. Annawan asked Church whether he would eat " cow-beef " or " horse- beef." The captain told him that " cow-beef " would be more acceptable. They made their supper, therefore, from " cow- beef " and dried green corn. The Indians had no salt, but Captain Church had brought some with him and with this he seasoned his meat. Church and Annawan now laid themselves down, but they both remained wide awake while the rest of the company were fast asleep. These two captains — one an Indian, the 98 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. other a white man — lay upon the ground looking at each other perhaps an hour. Captain Church said nothing, be- cause he could not speak the Indian language, and he thought Annawan could not speak English. At length the Indian arose, threw off his blanket, and walked away from the com- pany back into the woods. Church moved close to the guns and rolled himself over next to young Annawan, so that if the Indian should attempt to shoot him his son would be in danger. Philip's Royalties. The moon was now shining, and after a while Church saw Annawan coming toward him with some- thing in his hands. Annawan fell upon his knees before the captain and said in English, " Great captain! you have killed Philip and conquered his country. I believe that I and my company are the last that war against the English. You have ended the war, and these things belong to you." Opening his pack, he pulled out Philip's belt, nine inches broad, wrought in various figures, flowers, and pictures of many birds and beasts, made with black and white wampum. This belt when hung upon Captain Church's shoulders reached to his ankles. Annawan then handed him another belt of wampum, wrought after the same manner, which Philip was accustomed to wear upon his head. It had two flags on the hinder part which hung down on his back, and another small belt with a star upon the end of it which he used to hang upon his breast. These were all edged with red hair, which Annawan said came from the Mohawk coun- try. He then pulled out two horns of glazed powder and a red cloth blanket. A Strange Conversation. Annawan told Captain Church that these were Philip's royalties, and he thought himself happy in presenting them to Church, as he was now entitled to them. KING PHILIP. 99 They spent the remainder of the night in conversation with each other. Annawan gave Captain Church a graphic account of his successes in former wars. What a picture I These two captains — one the conqueror, the other the vanquished — talking all night; and in the morning the one with his few men leading the other with his larger company to Taunton as prisoners of war ! ANNAWAN AS A PRISONER OF WAR. King Philip's War was ended. It had lasted a little more than one year, but thirteen villages had been burned to ashes and others partially destroyed, and more than five hundred white settlers had been killed. Indian Gratitude. Though the Indians hated the white men and often murdered them without reason, yet they showed strong and true friendship to such as had been friendly to them. lOO FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Hugh Cole lived in Swansea, near Mount Hope, He had always been friendly to the Indians and had made King Philip his friend. Before the war broke out, Philip sent word to Cole that trouble was ahead, but that no harm should come to him or his family. A little later Philip sent another messenger, saying that he could not restrain his yoimg men and Cole must take care of himself. He went to a place of safety, but the Indians did not bum his house and no one of the Coles was ever molested by the Indians in all that terrible war. Describe the Pequot War; King Philip's War. Tell the story of the capture of Annawan; of his gift to Captain Church. Give an account of Hugh Cole. What colonies were not admitted to the " United Colonies of New- England "? Why could Roger Williams persuade the Narragansetts not to aid Philip? Wh>' did Annawan yield so easily? Why did neither Church nor Annawan sleep? What is meant by " royalties "? Had the Indians reason for hating the white men? LA SAL"tB^^E£TS THE ILLINOTsCrrN-D-uAN CHAPTER XIV Cavalier de la Salle I 643- I 687 French Explorations. Samuel de Champlain ascended the St. Lawrence early in the seventeenth century, and was delighted with the great attractions of the river and the charm- ing scenery of the country. He built the City of Quebec the year after the settlement of Jamestown, and has therefore been called the " Founder of New France." He was anxious to establish a French empire and the Roman Catholic faith in this new world. Other French leaders followed Champlain, and in time Montreal, Detroit, and Fort Mackinaw^ were built. Many French priests came to New France and established missions among the Indians. French fur traders also made friendship with the red men, in order to obtain supplies of furs. These priests and traders were active in exploring the country, and, I02 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. while the English colonists remained near the Atlantic coast, pushed farther and farther inland. Father Marquette discovered the upper Mississippi just before King Philip's War in New England. He floated down the great river as far as the mouth of the Arkansas. Father Hennepin pushed his canoe up the Mississippi until he saw the Falls of St. Anthony, at what is now Minneapolis, The greatest of the French explorers was Cavalier de la Salle, who gave to France, by his discoveries, her claim to the great Mississippi valley. La Salle's Strenuous Life. La Salle's life was filled with hardships and romantic adventures. He first went to Canada when he was twenty- three years of age. He engaged in the fur trade and made many excursions into the back country among the Indian tribes. Think of this Frenchman as, with a few pioneers to help him, he built a vessel of sixty tons on Lake Erie. In this craft he sailed from Lake Erie, past Fort Detroit, up Lake Huron, by Fort Mackinaw, and through Lake Michigan. Near the site of the present city of Peoria, he built a fort which he hoped to make a center around which a large French colony might grow. His Resolute Purpose. But misfortunes met him on every hand. His vessel was lost on a voyage eastward to get supplies for the new settlement, and La Salle was compelled to return to Canada on foot to obtain the needed food and ammunition. While in Quebec, his enemies opposed him at every step and the Indians destroyed his fort at Peoria. Not discouraged, but eager as ever, La Salle again started for the Mississippi valley. He built another fort, and de- scended the Mississippi River in canoes, continuing southward until he reached the mouth of the river. Here with imposing ceremonies he took possession of the coimtry in the name of CAVALIER DE LA SALLE. IO3 France. To him belongs the glory of tracing the great river from its upper waters to the sea, and of connecting the discov- eries of De Soto in the south with those of Joliet and Marquette in the north. Louisiana. In honor of his king, Louis XIV, La Salle named this great valley Louisiana. The valley of the St. Lawrence, as we have seen, was called Canada. These two valleys made up the whole region of North America that was claimed by France, and were together called New France. La Salle and his party, returning northward, paddled up the river and then crossed the country to Canada. Now La Salle sailed for France, to obtain a commission to plant a French colony at the mouth of the Mississippi River. He was determined that the fertile valley of this greatest of all rivers should belong to France. He obtained his commission, and in four vessels set sail for the Gulf of Mexico. Misfortunes. In these vessels he carried colonists and supplies, with the intention of making permanent settlements. He was disappointed in the character of his men. Many of his soldiers were merely vagabonds and beggars from the streets, who had never handled muskets. Many of his work- men, whom he supposed were skilled mechanics, proved to be totally ignorant of the trades for which they were employed. Besides, La Salle had almost a constant quarrel with Beaujeu, his captain. When the expedition reached the Gulf of Mexico, La Salle failed to find the mouth of the Mississippi. Finally the whole company landed in what is now called Matagorda Bay, in the southwestern comer of Texas. Here they built a fort, which La Salle named St. Louis. One of the vessels loaded with valuable stores was wrecked at the entrance of the bay. Quarrels am.ong the men continued, until finally Beaujeu and 104 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. his crew set sail for France. One small vessel was left, but this was afterw^ard wrecked. La Salle's Death. La Salle made repeated journeys to dis- cover the mouth of the Mississippi. Nearly two years passed and mat- ters went from bad to worse. He finally made a last and desper- ate effort to reach the river, hoping to ascend it and bring relief from Canada to his perish- ing colonists. But upon a branch of the River Trinity, he was murdered by one of his followers. Thus ended in a fearful tragedy the life of the foremost pioneer of the Great West. Father Anastace, who stood by his side when the fatal shot was fired, said : " Thus per- ished our wise con- ductor, constant in adversities, intrepid, adroit, skilled, and capable of anything. He, who during a period of twenty years had softened the fierce temper of savage nations, was massacred by his own people whom he had loaded with benefits. He died in the vigor of life, In the midst of his career and labors, FRENCH EXPLORATIONS. CAVALIER DE LA SALLE. 105 without the consolation of having seen their results." This great Frenchman deserved a better outcome for his life's work. But he had done great things for France. He — and we might almost say he alone — had by his great daring and his repeated explorations given to his king the entire valley of the Mississippi River from the Alleghanies to the Rocky Mountains. Give an account of the settlement of Canada. Describe La Salle's trip to Illinois; his journey down the Missis sippi River ; his search for its mouth ; his failure and death. What was the principal business of the French in Canada? Was this like that of the men in the English colonies? Who first discov- ered the Mississippi River? Who first sailed down this river? Who discovered its motith? What was the principal cause of La Salle's final failure? iii|ii)!*J)i^ _ A Birch Q&rk C»no« CHAPTER XV James Wolfe 1727-1759 The French and Indian War. For a hundred and fifty years a contest went on between the kings of France, Spain, and Great Britain, to see which of them should finally control America. At the middle of the eighteenth century, France held the valley of the St. Lawrence and the entire valley of the Missis- sippi, from the AUeghanies to the Rocky Mountains. These two great valleys formed by far the best portion of the con- tinent. Spain had Florida, Mexico, and the country farther south. The English provinces lay along the Atlantic coast from Maine to Georgia. This contest was finally ended by a war which has usually been called the French and Indian War. This name means that it was the war fought by England and her colonies against France and her American settlers and her allies among the Indian tribes. The war closed with the battle of Quebec. A Decisive Battle. This battle was not great in the number of persons engaged, but it was great in its results. General 106 JAMES WOLFE. IO7 Wolfe, who commanded the British army, brought into the engagement but Httle more than three thousand men, while the French opposed him with nearly seven thousand. Probably there were less than ten thousand men actively engaged, but it was one of the decisive battles of the world, because of the changes which it made in the future history of North America. General Wolfe. General James Wolfe was one of England's distinguished soldiers. His father was General Edward Wolfe, also an officer of distinction in the British army, w^ho had risen from grade to grade until he had attained the rank of major-general. James was bred to the army, being adjutant of his regiment when he was but sixteen years of age, a lieutenant-colonel at twenty-three, a brigadier-general at thirty-one, and a major- general at thirty-two. Yet he was his mother's boy, delicate, affectionate, thoughtful, and refined. At one time he wrote to her: " The greatest happiness that I wish for is to see you happy. If you stay much at home I will come and shut myself up with you for three weeks or a month and play at piquet; and you shall laugh at my short red hair as much as you please." His Appearance. How do you suppose this young man looked when he commanded the British army at Quebec, wearing the title of major-general? *' The forehead and chin receded; the nose, slightly upturned, formed with the other features the point of an obtuse triangle ; the mouth was by no means shaped to express resolution; and nothing but the clear, bright, and piercing eye bespoke the spirit within. On his head he wore a black three-cornered hat ; his red hair was tied in a queue behind; his narrow shoulders, slender body, and long, thin limbs were cased in a scarlet frock, with broad io8 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. cuffs, and ample skirts that reached the knee ; while on his left arm he wore a band of crape in mourning for his father, of whose death he had heard a few days before." An Impregnable Fortress. The time had come for his decisive battle. His small army had tried again and again to bring on the contest. The French occupied the Heights of Quebec, and for a long time the English could not gain an approach. Flags of truce sometimes passed between the two armies. At one time a Frenchman said: " You will demolish the town, no doubt, but you shall never get inside of it." Wolfe re- plied: " I will have Quebec if I stay here till the end of November." Finally Wolfe discovered a narrow path by which he thought he might be able to scale the Heights. This path led up from what is now known as Wolfe's Cove, a mile or two up the river from the city of Quebec. During the night for two full hours the procession of boats carrying the soldiers floated silently down the St. Lawrence to this little cove. A Hero Greater than a Poet. General Wolfe v/as in one of the foremost boats. John Robison, afterward professor in the University of Edinburgh, who sat in the same boat, used after- ward to tell how Wolfe, as they floated along, repeated Gray's WOLFE RECITING GRAY S ELEGY ON THE WAY TO BATTLE. JAMES WOLFE. lOQ "Elegy in a Country Church yard." Among the verses was one which so soon illustrated his own fate : " The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, Await alike the inevitable hour. The paths of glory lead hut to the grave." Robison said that, after Wolfe had recited this stanza in a low voice and quiet manner, he remarked: " Gentlemen, I would rather have written those lines than take Quebec." Every- body was silent in the boat when he made this statement. No one ventured to say that the hero is greater than the poet. His men landed rapidly and pushed up the narrow path to the summit. At the top the sentry challenged them. He was overpowered, and soon the first detachment was on the heights called the " Plains of Abraham." These heights were so named because a pilot whose name was Abraham Martin had owned this piece of ground in the early times of the colony. This was in the early dawn, but the real battle did not take place until after ten o'clock. The Battle of Quebec. Montcalm, who commanded the French forces, was greatly surprised to find that the English had performed the " impossible feat " and had really gained the Heights. He attacked Wolfe with gallant energy. In the sharp battle which followed, both commanders were wounded. Wolfe led the charge and was shot in the wrist. He wrapped his handkerchief about it and kept on. Another shot lodged in his breast and he sank to the ground. A moment after, some one exclaimed: " They run! See how they run! " " Who run? " inquired Wolfe. " The enemy, sir; they give way everywhere." " Go," said the dying man, " tell Colonel Burton to march no FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. ENGLISH TROOPS SCALING THE HEIGHTS OF QUEBEC. JAMES WOLFE. Ill Webb's regiment down to Charles River, to cut off their retreat from the bridge." Then he turned over on his side and murmured: " Now God be praised, I will die in peace." Death of Montcalm. Montcalm, fighting bravely and impetuously, received a shot through his body. Some one shrieked : " Oh, my God ! my God ! The marquis is killed ! " " It's nothing, it's nothing," cried Montcalm. " Don't be troubled for m.e, my good friends." The French were com- pletely routed. Montcalm was carried within the walls of the city. He asked the surgeon how long he might live. The reply was: " Twelve hours, more or less." " So much the better," replied the general. " I am happy that I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec." The next morning he breathed his last. Late in the evening he was buried under the floor of the chapel of the Ursuline Convent. A crowd of townspeople witnessed the burial. Tears and sobs burst forth. It seemed as if the last hopes of the colony were buried with him. Indeed, it was true that the funeral of Montcalm was the funeral of New France. After five days the city surrendered. France Loses Her American Possessions. The treaty of peace followed (1763). England demanded everything, and obtained whatever she asked for. She swept France entirely off this continent. She took from France all Canada, the whole valley of the St. Lawrence, and that vast territory between the Alleghanies and the Mississippi. She, however, allowed France to cede to Spain all that territory lying between the Mississippi and the Rocky Moun- tains, which was afterward called Louisiana. Spain ceded to Great Britain East and West Florida. With the triumph of Wolfe on the Heights of Abraham the story of New France ended and the history of the United States began. 112 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. AMEBICA BEFORE AND AFTER THE FRENCH WAR. JAMES WOLFE. II3 Count de Vergennes at this time was minister from France to Constantinople. When he heard of the treaty he said: " England has overshot the mark. She has gone too far; she will now tax her American colonies to help defray the ex- penses of this war. They no longer need her protection, and therefore will throw off all dependence upon the mother country." What a true prophet he was ! State the position of France, Spain, and England on this continent before the French and Indian War ; after the same war. Give an account of General Wolfe. Describe the trip down the river; the ascent to the plains; the battle. Tell the story of the death of Wolfe; of the death of Montcalm. In looking at the upper map, remember where the English sailor Cabot made his voyage, the Spaniard de Soto traveled, and the French- men Champlain and La Salle explored; do you see any reasons for the divisions of the map? Why did the English fail so often to " gain an approach " to Quebec? Do you think that the hero may be greater than the poet? Each of the generals was glad to die; why? ■Alll The "Old South,"' where Adams urged the people of Bos- ton to resist the British, still stands, almost as on the day It heard his eloquence. Saved from sale by those who loved it for its memories, it is used as an historical museum and for patriotic meetings. In the busiest part of Boston stands old Faneuil Hall, the "Cradle of Liberty." Thelower floor is used for markets, and the great halt, with walls covered with portraits of famous pa- triots, is still, as in the Revolu- tion, the meeting place of the people. CHAPTER XVI Samuel Adams 1722-1803 The Growth of the Colonies. After the great treaty of 1703, by which France divided between England and Spain her possessions in North America, the EngHsh colonies began a new life. Before this time the French on the north and west were continually troubling the English settlements, and the Span- iards on the south were frequently in conflict with them. Now Canada and Florida were imder English government, and the thirteen colonies had only the ever-present Indians to fear. Another change had come at the same time. These thirteen colonies had been small and weak; they had been able only with difficulty to keep themselves alive ; they could not always protect themselves without help from England. But now they had largely outgrown their weakness; their population and wealth had greatly increased ; they had learned in the last French war that they could fight well, if necessary; they no 1x4 SAMUEL ADAMS. II5 ' longer felt dependent upon help from England. Moreover, many of the rivalries and jealousies that had divided the colonies had been forgotten as the men had fought together on the battlefields or sat around the campfires. A common danger and a common foe had brought together for the first time all sections of the country. England Taxes the Colonies. On the other hand, England saw that the colonies were stronger, and thought that they ought now to make return for her protection to them. The king and the English Parliament believed that the French War had benefited the colonies and that they ought to help pay the great expenses that had come from it. Therefore Parliament decided to tax the colonists. But the colonists considered that this was not right, because they were subject only to the king and not to Parliament. They had no voice in Parliament and did not wish to have. They declared, as the English people had declared hundreds of years earlier, that no one had the right to tax them; that it was just only for them to tax themselves. Thus a struggle began between the mother-country and the colonies, over the question of taxation. This contest lasted for ten years, and was ended by a war which we call the War of the American Revolution. What England did and what the colo- nies did year by year make an exceedingly interesting story, but v.'c can tell here only a few of the most important facts. The Stamp Act. The struggle began when Parliament passed the Stamp Act. This Stamp Act required the colonists to buy stamps from English officers to place upon all legal papers. No newspapers, almanacs, marriage certificates, law documents, or other important papers could be printed or written unless they were stamped by the proper officers. As these stamps must be Il6 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. paid for, this act was a form of taxation. As soon as the news of its passage reached America, great excitement arose from New Hampshire to Georgia. Speeches were made against it in colony after colony. The Stamp Act Congress. The two leading colonies were Virginia and Massachusetts. Virginia spoke first, being led on by the wonderful oratory of Patrick Henry. This brilliant young lawyer asserted in the Virginia House of Burgesses that each colony had the right to tax itself. In his famous speech he declared that the English king, George IH, was acting like a tyrant and that he must expect the fate that comes to tyrants. Massachusetts quickly followed by inviting the other colo- nies to send delegates to a congress to be held in New York City, to consider what the colonists should do. The Stamp Act Congress met and made appeals to the king that their rights be not interfered with. A few months later Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, and there was great rejoicing when the news reached America. The Tax on Tea. Parliament did not, however, yield its right to tax the colonies, and a year later laid a duty upon many articles which might be imported by America. Again the colonists were stirred with anger and at once began to resist. They formed associations which agreed to import none of those articles upon which the duty was laid. One of these articles was tea, and for years almost no tea was seen upon the tables of the patriotic colonists. As a result, the money obtained by this taxation was very little, indeed, not sufficient to pay the salaries of the officers who collected it. Samuel Adams. Such a conflict as had here arisen always brings some great man forward to be a leader. In Massachu- SAMUEL ADAMS. 117 setts this leader was Samuel Adams. His father had always been an earnest patriot, and had filled his son with an enthusi- astic belief in the future greatness of Massachusetts and her sister colonies. The year that the Stamp Act was passed, Samuel Adams was chosen one of Boston's four representatives to the Massa- A PATRIOT COLONIAL DAME TELLS HER GUEST, " WE HAVE NO TEA ON OUR TABLE. chusetts Legislature or General Court. He was soon elected clerk, and for ten years he was the head and front, the leader in every movement in the colony to resist the English Parlia- ment and its claim of the right to tax the colonies. He took the lead in Boston in the formation of the " Non-Importation Associations," and daily and hourly guided everything with his own hand. Il8 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. The Dispute becomes a Quarrel. Little by little the dispute grew into a quarrel, and the quarrel became more and more violent. Little by little the anger of the English authorities and of the colonists increased until they seemed to have nothing in common. It needed but a trifle to bring the two parties to blows, and that came in 1773. King George III directed that cargoes of tea should be sent to America and the duty collected upon it. At once fierce opposition was shown throughout the colo- nies. The first vessel arrived in Philadelphia and was im- mediately sent back. Another sailed into Charleston Harbor, where the tea was landed; but it was stored in damp cellars and rotted. A third was compelled to return to England as soon as it reached New York. At Annapolis a committee of citizens compelled the owner of the Peggy Stewart to bum his vessel and her cargo of tea. In Boston. The great struggle, however, came in Boston. Here the governor was loyal to England, and was determined that the tea should be landed. Besides, as there had been trouble in Boston before, English soldiers were stationed in the town and English war-vessels in the harbor. When the ships arrived, a town-meeting was held in Faneuil Hall to determine what should be done. Samuel Adams took the lead at once, and, in the presence of thousands, moved that: " This body is absolutely determined that the tea now arrived shall be returned to the place from whence it came." This was agreed to without a single vote " No," and the owner was ordered not to land any of the tea. The governor, however, refused to permit the return of the vessels. Another town-meeting filled the Old South Meeting- House and the streets adjoining. The people again voted that the tea must be sent back, and the owner went to the SAMUEL ADAMS. 119 governor for permission. While he was gone, the people waited in anxious expectation; darkness arrived and the church was lighted only by a few candles, but the crowd still lingered. The Tea Party. Finally the owner of the tea returned and reported that the gov- ernor still refused. There- upon Samuel Adams arose, and said in a quiet but clear voice : ' * This meeting can do nothing more to save the country." This was doubtless a sig- nal, for immediately a war- whoop was heard, and forty or fifty men, dressed as Mo- hawk Indians, rushed by the doors. The crowd followed them to the wharves and eagerly watched them as they boarded the vessels and threw three hundred chests of tea into the sea. Nothing else was done; but the tea was not landed nor was a duty paid. This action at Boston — the " Tea Party," as it was called — seemed worse than that of any of the other colonial towns, and Parliament immediately began to punish the rebellious citizens of the capital of Massa- chusetts Bay. English Retaliation. Already the struggle is about to break out into open fighting. An English general is made governor of Massachusetts, and to him is given great power THE BOSTON TEA PARTY. I20 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. over the colony. He seeks to deprive the colonists of all means of carrying on war, if they should be driven to it. He sends portions of his army out in various directions to capture cannon and ammunition wherever he hears that any is stored. He tries to seize cannon at Salem, and his soldiers can scarcely be prevented from firing upon the people. He attempts to destroy the ammunition stored at Concord and causes the first bloodshed in the Revolution, as we shall see in another chapter. Patriots at the General Court. Meanwhile Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and other Massachusetts patriots are actively at work. Governor Gage calls the General Court to meet at Salem. The representatives come together and are ready to begin their sesvsion, but their clerk, Samuel Adams, is not present. Has he been captured by Governor Gage's soldiers? No ! for here he comes. As he enters the hall, he sees a group of Tories, or friends of the king, gathered about the clerk's desk, and one of them quietly sitting in the clerk's chair. " Mr. Speaker," says the clear voice of Adams, " where is the place for your clerk?" The speaker points to the place. " Sir," continues Adams, " my company will not be pleasant to the gentlemen who occupy it. I trust they will remove to another part of the house." Thus, fearless and determined, Samuel Adams won his way in spite of all opposition. He saw that the colonies must work together, and he decided that Massachusetts ought to call a congress of all the colonies. But he knew that Governor Gage would dismiss the General Court if he should suspect what was being planned. Adams Proposes a Continental Congress. When all was ready Adams suddenly locked the door and directed the doorkeeper to allow no one to enter or leave. He then SAMUEL ADAMS. 121 proposed that a Continental Congress should meet at Philadelphia and that five men be chosen to represent Massachusetts in that Congress. The Tories attempted to get out of the hall, but Adams locked the door and put the key in his pocket. One of them did escape, however, and carried the news to Gage, who im- mediately sent a message to the court, ordering it to disband. His dismissing of the court came too late, however, for not until the delegates had been chosen was the messenger ad- mitted, notwithstanding his loud pounding upon the door. The deed was done. Now Samuel Adams must carry on his work at Philadelphia as well as at home. The First Continental Congress. The first Continental Congress met in September (1774), and a second Congress was called for the next May (1775 ). This met just after the first blood had been shed at Lexington and Concord, and war had evidently begun. Congress appointed Colonel Washington to be " General and Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the United Colonies," and also took such other steps as it found necessary to govern the coimtry while struggling against English oppression. All this time very few persons had any desire to sepa- rate from England and become independent. Nearly all the colonists wished merely that the mother-country would grant them their rights. Independence Must Come. Samuel Adams had been for a long time, however, certain that the struggle must result in independence, but he saw that the people were not yet ready for such a step. The war must continue and the hostility to England must increase, before that end could be reached. The idea that the colonists should declare themselves free and independent was first publicly proposed by Thomas 122 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Paine. He published a pamphlet, called " Common Sense," in which he said that independence must come some time, and easier now than later. Soon the colonies began themselves to speak for independ- ence. North Carolina directed its delegates in Congress to agree with other delegates in declaring indepen- dence. Rhode Island voted that it was no longer subject to the king, prac- tically declaring itself independent. South Carolina took the next step, followed by Virginia and Connecticut. Richard Henry Lee, a delegate from Virginia, moved in Con- gress that "These United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and index)endent States." The Declaration of Independence. On July 2, 1776, this motion was adopted ; and from that day the United States has been a free and independent nation. A committee of five was appointed to draw up a Declaration of Independence, in which the whole world should be told the reasons for the separation from England. Two days later the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, was adopted, and the first Fourth of July had come. Four days later the Declaration was publicly IN THE COUNTS lEW ENGLAND COLONIAL HOUSES. SAMUEL ADAMS. I23 read to the citizens of Philadelphia, and the great bell on the Pennsylvania State House was rung. On this bell was the motto, " Proclaim liberty throughout the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof." A few days afterward the delegates in Congress signed their names to the Declaration. The name of the president, John Hancock, written in a bold hand, — - which, as he said, George HI could easily read, — headed the list. Adams's Great Work. Samuel Adams continued to be the servant of the people of his loved colony and State, being, in turn, representative to the General Court, State senator, and governor. For twelve years he had worked early and late, employing all his powers to lead the thirteen colonies to unite as one people, and manage their affairs for themselves. For this purpose the United Colonies must be independent, and now they had so declared themselves. Samuel Adams's great work was now done. He left it to other leaders, like Washington and Greene, to bring the war to an end and comipel England to acknowledge that the United States were free and independent. Give an account of the general causes of the American Revolution. Tell the story of the Stamp Act, the tea tax, and the " Tea Party." Give an account of Samuel Adams: in the Old South Church; in the Salem court-room ; as he put the key in his pocket. State what Congress did. Tell how the idea of independence grew in the colonies. Describe the different steps taken by Congress in July, 1776. How did Wolfe aid in preparing the way for the United States? Could the colonies have helped pay the debt without being taxed by Parliament? What is a tax? Is there a stamp tax to-day? What is a " Non-Tmportation Association "? Was Boston's destruction of the tea a worse act than those of the other towns? Can you think of any reason why Governor Gage called the General Court to meet at Salem rather than at Boston? Was the signing of the Declaration of Inde- pendence in any way a dangerous act? Pa,ul ReveVe &I ar m I ng, t he c o u n t rv CHAPTER XVII Paul Revere 1735-1818 An Active Patriot. Paul Revere, from his romantic story, is one of the most famous of the Revolutionary heroes. His father being a goldsmith, Paul was trained in that business, and became expert in drawing and designing. He w^as especially skilful in working in copper and brass, and cast many church bells and bronze cannon. When the Massachusetts State House was built on Beacon Hill in Boston, he was grand master of the Masonic Fraternity and laid the comer-stone. Revere was a very active patriot during the years preceding the Revolution. Together with William Dawes, he was a leader in a secret society of about thirty young men, who watched the movements of the British soldiers and observed the plans of the Tories. These young men took turns in patrolling the streets, and whatever they discovered they reported to John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and other patriots. During this time Paul Revere went to Philadelphia to learn PAUL REVERE. 125 how to make gunpowder, and on his return he built a powder- mill and put it into successful operation. In the Boston " Tea Party," which destroyed so great an amount of tea in Boston Harbor, Revere was one of the prime movers. As we have seen in the story of Adams, General Gage deter- mined to send an armed force to Concord to capture military stores secreted there. He also desired to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock, and to send them to England to be tried for treason. The Expedition to Lexington. At this time these men were in Lexington preparing to go to Philadelphia to join the second Continental Congress. Gage was all ready to send the troops from Boston to Lexington and Concord, when the patriot BAY TON Cj HARBOR Jj al WHERE REVERE AND DAWES RODE, THE NIGHT BEFORE LEXINGTON AND CONCORD. General Warren was told that they were about to start. This was on the night of the i8th of April, 1775. Warren at once decided to send William Dawes to Lexington by way of Rox- bury, Brighton, and Watertown, and Paul Revere by way of Charlestowii and Medford. It was a wise precaution on the part of General Warren 126 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. to send men to arouse the people and notify Adams and Han- cock. Warren was shrewd and sagacious. He sent two men instead of one, so that if the British should capture one of them, the other might perhaps get through. Then again, Dawes would notify the people through what is now called Brookline, Brighton, and Watertown, while Revere waked those along the road through Charlestown and Medford. The Midnight Ride. We can easily imagine these two men, earnest in purpose and full of zeal for the cause they served, galloping along the country roads, stopping at the house of every mintite-man, rapping upon the door, and calling upon him to arise, take his musket, powder-horn, and shot-bag, and hasten to Lexington to oppose and dispute the passage of the British soldiers through the country. The dogs barked, the children were frightened, and a great commotion was stirred up everywhere. On they went, and at each farmhouse you might see the tin lantern hastily lighted, the minute-man buckle on his belt and cartridge-box, take down his musket from the two wooden pins over the door, kiss his wife good-by, saddle and bridle his horse almost as quickly as the story can be told, and ride post haste toward Lexington Green. In the early hours of April 19 both the young men reached Lexington and gave notice to Adams and Hancock. There they were joined by Samuel Prescott, " a high son of liberty," and the three rode onward from Lexington toward Concord, arousing the people along the route. On their way, in the town of Lincoln, they met a party of British officers. Prescott at once put spurs to his horse, leaped over a stone wall, and galloped onward for Concord. Revere and Dawes were taken prisoners and were marched back to Lexington, where they were released. PAUL REVERE, I27 The Patriots Gather. And now, at about two o'clock in the morning, the bell of the old meeting-house at Lexington rang out in sharp and rapid peals. Its strokes were quick and heavy. It seemed to say: " Rouse-ye, rouse-ye; wake-up, wake-up; free-dom, free-dom; liber-ty, liber-ty; all-awake, all-awake." This midnight peal soon brought together the people of the village, old and young, with their firelocks and ammimition, ready to defend their town and dispute the advance of the British. Messages were sent everywhere to all the cross-roads, and the minute-men of the neighborhood were quickly notified. What a hurrying and scurrying was there! What intense anxiety! Men hastily leaving their homes unprotected, their wives weeping, the children scared out of sleep by the cries; the men for the first time in their lives taking arms, without guides, counselors, or leaders, hurrying together with one common impulse to fight their common foe, the insolent British invaders! The British at Lexington. At early dawn the British forces, eight hundred strong, drew up and formed a line of battle at the village of Lexington. They were led by Major Pitcaim, who, finding the mintite-men ready to oppose his march, rode out in front of his troops and cried : ' ' Disperse, ye villains ! Ye rebels, disperse ! Lay down your arms ! Lay down your arms and disperse!" But the patriots stood motionless,— " too few to resist, too brave to fly." Pitcaim then drew his sword, discharged his pistol, and with a loud voice erica out, " Fire ! " The patriots plainly saw that they could not oppose the progress of Pitcaim's army; so they withdrew and left them to go on to Concord. Concord Bridge. Among the most active that morning was William Emerson, the minister of Concord. He came out, gun 128 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. in hand, his powder-horn and pouch of balls slung over his shoulder. By his sermons and his prayers his flock had learned to hold the defense of their liberties as a part of their covenant THE FIGHT AT CONCORD. with God; his presence with arms strengthened their sense of duty, though they would not allow him to fight. The Americans made a stand at Concord Bridge. There the British fired upon them, and Major Buttrick, of Concord, leaped up and cried out: " Fire! fellow-soldiers, for God's sake, fire I " PAUL REVERE. 129 " By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April's breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood. And fired the shot heard round the world." War Begun. The Revolutionary War had begun. All the wav back to Boston the redcoats marched in great haste, harassed by the patriots who fired upon them from behind walls and rocks and trees. The loss of the British during this retreat was very great. They had marched out of Boston, insolent as usual, to the tune of " Yankee Doodle." They returned utterly ex- hausted, leaving in killed, wounded, and missing nearly three hundred men. The Conti];iental Congress met and vig- orously commenced to prepare for war. It voted an army,, and on the 15th of June, 1775, George Washington was unanimously elected commander-in-chief. Meantime everything in and about Boston displayed intense activity. The British army held the city, and the pa- triot army was scattered around it. The Battle of Bunker Hill. The first great battle was fought at Btmker Hill on the 17th of June. During the previous night the hill had been fortified by the patriots, and early in the morning the British opened fire from the deck of a vessel in the channel. Just after midday three thousand British soldiers landed at the foot of the hill and marched straight up toward the American works. They were met by a ter- rific discharge of musketry and retreated in great disorder. The officers rallied the troops and they advanced the FLAG USED BY THE NEW ENGLAND TROOPS AT THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. I30 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. second time up the hill. The patriots reserved their fire till the British were within five or six rods, and then the slaughter was fearful. A second time they retreated, but British honor was at stake, — the fort must be carried, Charlestown had been set on fire and nearly five hundred buildings were burned. Moreover, the Americans had used up their powder and ball. At the third British charge they were therefore obliged to retreat. They withdrew in good order across the neck to the main- land, but during the retreat General Warren was shot in the head and died instantly. This was a deep loss to the Ameri- can cause. The battle was over, and the British held the field. An American recently, in Quebec, was shown an old cannon. The Canadian said : " We took this cannon from you at Bunker Hill." " Well," said the American, " you have the cannon, but we have the hill." This battle showed General Gage that the Americans were not to be easily subdued. Franklin wrote to his English friends: "The Americans will fight; England has lost her colonies forever." Give an account of Revere 's early life. Tell the story of the night of April i8; of the battle of Lexington; of the battle at Concord. Describe the battle of Bunker Hill. Why did Revere want to know how to make gunpowder? Why did Gage desire the arrest of Adams and Hancock? Where do you understand that General Warren was on the night of the i8th of April? Why did Pitcairn call the men at Lexington " rebels "? What did the minute-men do after the battle at Concord? Who were the men in the " patriot army " at the battle of Bunker Hill ? Who won the battle of Bunker Hill? Did the battle aid the Americans in any way? CHAPTER XVIII George Washington 1732-1799 A Distinguished Virginian. We have already been made acquainted with Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, two Boston boys. We have also heard about Patrick Henry, a native of Virginia. Now we shall learn about the most distinguished man that Virginia ever produced, — George Washington. George Washington was bom February 22, 1732. His birthplace was not far from the lower Potomac River, at a place called Pope's Creek, in Westmoreland County. His father was Augustine Washington, and his mother was Mary Ball. He was the oldest child of his mother, and his father died when he was eleven years of age. Few sons ever had a more lovely and more devoted mother, and it is certainly true that few mothers ever had a more dutiful and affectionate son. 132 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. In those early days the country sections of Virginia had few inhabitants. Well-to-do people had large plantations and but few neighbors. Traveling was mostly done on horse- back. Negro slaves were numerous. Schools were few in that thinly settled region, but young Washington had the best advantages that the times afforded. He learned to read well, to write well, to " cipher " well, and to be an expert land surveyor. Boyhood. In his boyhood he was fond of mathematical studies and athletic sports. He had great strength and endurance. Tall, well formed, hardy, he could surpass all other boys in leaping, jumping, wrestling, and running. In his early years he formed his schoolmates into a military company and drilled them in the tactics. In his boyhood he was a bom leader of boys ; later, in his manhood he was equally a leader of men. He was always methodical in his habits, careful, exact, and thorough in all he did. Many interesting stories are told of Washington's boyhood. Some of them, how- ever, are not true. It is a pity that even good stories, which are not true, should ever be told, especially of a great man. But we must not stop for the interesting incidents of the boyhood and youth of Washington. These stories can be found in other books, and you will all enjoy reading them. When he was sixteen years old, Washington was engaged by Lord Fairfax to survey his wide tracts of wild land. These lands ran across the Blue Ridge and through the Shenandoah Valley. It was a severe task for a boy to undertake. More- over, it was full of danger. But it was done in such a manner as to give entire satisfaction to his friends and establish his reputation as a surveyor. Manhood. At nineteen he was appointed adjutant-general in the Virginia army. A few years before the French and GEORGE WASHINGTON. 133 Indian War, when Washington was only twenty -one, he was sent by the governor of Virginia as commissioner to confer with the officer commanding the French forces on Lake Erie. This was a wonderful journey, full of adventures, but accom- plished in safety. He made his report to the governor and his journal was published. The next year Washington was promoted to be colonel and was made second in command of the Virginia forces. Then came the famous expedition of General Braddock against the French and Indians at Fort Duquesne and his disas- trous defeat at the battle of the Monongahela. Colonel Washington was present dur- ing the battle as Braddock' s aid. Braddock was killed and the troops returned to Virginia in disorder. At the age of twenty- three, twenty years before the battle of Bunker Hill, Washington was placed in full command of the entire force of the Virginia militia. Commander-in-chief. But we must hasten to consider Washington's part in that war which made the United States one of the nations of the earth. Washington was a member of both the continental congresses that assembled at Phila- delphia, and it was at the earnest request of John Adams, of Massachusetts, that he was, as we have seen, unanimously elected commander-in-chief of all the forces for the defense of liberty. The battle of Bunker Hill had been fought when, on July 3, MOUNT VERNON IN WASHINGTON S TIME. 134 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Washington, drawing his sword, took command of the army under an ancient elm which is still standing in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For nearly nine months the British army under General Gage and Lord Howe was penned up in Boston, while all communication between the town and the surrounding country was cut off. Evacuation of Boston. In March, 1776, Wash- ington fortified Dor- chester Heights by night. The British saw them- selves so surrounded and the city so threatened that Gage and his forces left the city and sailed away to Halifax. The Continental troops marched in, to the great relief of the citizens of the town. On the next Fourth of July Congress passed the immortal Declaration of Independence. In New York. The British army, having been driven out of Boston, took possession of New York City. They intended to obtain control of the Hudson River and thus to separate New England from the rest of the country. Washington so managed as to prevent the British from carrying out these plans. His army, however, was now quite THE ELM AT CAMBRIDGE, WHERE WASHINGTON TOOK COMMAND OF THE PATRIOT ARMY. GEORGE WASHINGTON. I35 small, numbering only six or eight, thousand men, and the outlook was very discouraging. In New Jersey. Washington was obliged to retreat across New Jersey into Pennsylvania. Then by a skillful movement he recrossed the Delaware River and gained the great victories of Trenton and Princeton, finally driving General Howe back to the vicinity of New York. Howe left New York (in 1777) and transported his army south to the Chesapeake Bay. Landing there, he started on the march toward Philadelphia, defeated the Americans, pushed on, and entered Philadelphia unmo- lested. Washington with his army took up a favorable position on the Schuylkill River, While all these movements were going on through New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, let us see what hap- pened farther east. In New Jersey our General Charles Lee had been captured by the British. The British General Pres- cott was in command of the forces at Newport, and Colonel William Barton, of the Rhode Island militia, laid a bold plan for his capture. The Capture of General Prescott. With a picked company of forty brave men, Colonel Barton one dark night rowed across Narragansett Bay, almost directly under the guns of the British vessels, and tied his boats to the bushes upon the shore. He and his men silently crossed the fields and sur- roimded the house where Prescott was sleeping. They dis- armed the sentinels, burst open the doors, and took the British general and one of his aides out of their beds, grasping their clothing and carrying it with them without waiting for the prisoners to dress. They hurried them down to the water's edge, into the boats, and succeeded in rowing past the British guard-ship before the alarm had been given. During their hurried march across the fields with the 136 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. . prisoners, not a word had been spoken, but when they were once seated in the boat General Prescott quietly remarked to Colonel Barton : " You have made a bold push to-night, colonel." " We have done what we could, general," was the reply. Prescott was exchanged for General Lee, and Colonel Bar- ton, for his bold and successful enterprise, received a sword from the Continental Congress. Burgoyne's Campaign. The first campaign of the British had been to cut the country in two by holding New York and the Hudson River, They now made their second great plan, which was to send an army by way of Canada and Lake Champlain down the Hudson and so accomplish what they had failed to do before. This plan led to Burgoyne's campaign (in 1777), during which occurred several battles. The most important of these was the battle of Bemis Heights, which resulted in the surrender of Burgoyne and his army. The Stars and Stripes. Meantime Congress had adopted the " Stars and Stripes " as a national banner. This flag had thirteen stripes, seven red and six white, and thirteen stars in a field of blue at the upper comer next to the staff. The first flag — made by Mrs. Betsy Ross, of Philadelphia, who lived near the foot of Arch Street in a house which is still standing — was patterned from a pencilled sketch drawn by General Washington himself. The new flag was used when Burgoyne's army was marched away as prisoners of war. Treaty with France. Soon after this, Franklin succeeded in making a treaty with France, by which the independence of the United States was acknowledged. This was the first acknowledgment of our independence by any European power, and the first treaty of commerce and friendship. Valley Forge. The winter of 1777-78 was a period of great GEORGE WASHINGTON. 137 depression to the American cause, and particnlariy in the American army. This army was encamped at Valley Forge, now a picturesque little village on the right bank of the Schuyl- kill. It was then a bleak and desolate place, where the patriots protected themselves behind breastworks which they had thrown up, and lived in poor huts made of fence-rails and earth. One small room on the ground floor of a stone house, Washington's first sight of the stars and stripes. owned and occupied by a plain farmer, a Quaker named Isaac Potts, served both for headquarters and lodgings for General Washington, the commander-in-chief. The soldiers suffered much; clothing was scarce and of poor quality. Their provisions were scant, and some of them were without shoes, so that frequently the soldiers could be tracked by the blood from their naked feet, which crimsoned the white snow. There were three thousand men iinfit for 138 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. duty, as Washington said, " because they are barefoot and otherwise naked." And he added that " for seven days past they had Httle else than famine in the camp." Washington at Prayer. Then again, Washington was abused and slandered in a way unwarranted and wicked. It is related that one day Friend Potts, the Quaker, when on his way up the creek, heard the voice of prayer. Following the direction of the sound, he soon discovered Washington upon his knees within the great forest of tall trees, at a place retired and hidden from view. His cheeks were wet with tears as he poured out his soul to God. The good farmer quietly withdrew without being discovered, and when he arrived at his house he said to his wife, with much emotion : " Hannah, Hannah, George Washington will succeed! I tell thee George Washington will succeed! The Americans will secure their independence ! ' ' " What makes thee think so, Isaac? " inquired his wife. " I have heard him pray in the forest to-day, Hannah, and the Lord will surely hear his prayer. He will, Hannah; thee may rest assured he will." Battle of Monmouth. General Clinton, who had succeeded General Howe, evacuated Philadelphia, and moved across New Jersey. Then occurred the battle at Monmouth Courthouse, where Washington himself saved the day and gained a notable vic- tory. The British army now retreated to New York, and Washington took up his position at White Plains. This was the last important conflict fought in the Northern States. A Gloomy Period. The next year was another gloomy period, but through the whole war, whether in victory or defeat, even in the midst of the greatest perplexities and difficulties, Washington was never wholly discouraged. Good GEORGE WASHINGTON. 139 ^^. y- M judgment, self-control, and confidence that the right would finally win were marked features of his character, and eventu- ally brought to him the greatest and most permanent success. A further account of the progress of the war will be found in the next chapter. We must not, however, part with Washington just here. We shall see, hereafter, that the war was con- tinued vigorously and under serious discourage- ments until finally the British army under Lord Comwallis surrendered at Yorktown to the com- bined land and sea forces of the United States and France. The war was soon ended, and Great Britain acknowledged our independence. Elected President. Gen- eral Washington then re- tired to private life ; but a new constitution for the United States was adopt- ed in 1787, and under it W^ashington was unanimously elected President. He held that high office eight years, from 1789 to 1797, and refused a third election. He died December 14, 1799. His death caused sincere mourning, not only all over the United States, but in every country of the civilized world. He had successfully conducted a war against Great Britain, ;/ ^ ih I ^'^ - f /• 4 \ ///XV WASHINGTON TURNING THE BATTLE AT MONMOUTH. I40 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. HHB^^HLy^l^^..^^^^b^'^ . ,-^ mx liw"- .Mdl: 1 |--"^ ■ ^,_ " ^i;;.-s*~ WASHINGTON AT TRENTON. ( From the painting by John Faed. ) the foremost power of the world. He presided over the con- vention w^hich framed our national Constitution, and he was chief magistrate of the young republic for eight years. " Like Joshua of Old." An anecdote is told to the effect that, after the treaty of peace with Great Britain had been GEORGE WASHINGTON. 141 concluded, a grand dinner was given in Pans in honor of the success of the commissioners in arranging terms of peace. At this dinner the EngHsh ambassador offered a toast: "King George III: Hke the glorious sun at midday, he illumines the world." Then the French minister offered as his toast : ' ' Louis XVI : like the full moon riding in splendor, he dissipates the shades of night." It was now Franklin's turn, and all eyes were fixed upon him. The philosopher slowly arose and called on the company to join him in a toast as follows: " George Washington: like Joshua of old, he commanded the sun and the moon to stand still, and they obeyed him." A Majestic Figure. Washington displayed the highest qualities as a leader of men, as a military chieftain, and as a statesman. He shrank from no duty, his patience and per- severance overcame every obstacle, his moderation disarmed all opposition; his courage, physical, mental, and moral, was of that kind which knew no fear whatever. In the case of obstacles which would discourage other men, he knew how to conquer by waiting imtil victory should come. He stood high among men, not only in the eyes of his country- men, but also in the opinion of the world. As his fame was bounded by no country, so it will be limited to no age. Give an account of Washington as a boy ; as a young man. Describe the campaign about Boston; around New York City; in Mew Jersey; near Philadelphia. Tell the story of the capture of Prescott. Describe Burgoyne's campaign; also the last campaign in the North. Why was the surveying of Lord Fairfax's lands a " severe task "? .Why was it " full of danger "? Who were the " Continental troops "? Why did their entrance into Boston " relieve " its citizens? How has the United States flag been changed since it was first made? Why v/as Friend Potts so certain of Washington's final success? [general GREENE CHAPTER XIX Nathanael Greene 1742-1786 Greene's Thirst for Knowledge. General Greene was a Rhode Islander. His father was a Quaker preacher. He had a strong and vigorous constitution, and in his boyhood was foremost in every rural sport and game. He had a marked passion for books, but his only schooling was at his father's house under the direction of a private tutor for the half-dozen boys in the family. It is said that " one of the happiest days of his life was that which first saw him the owner of a Euclid." On one occasion when he visited Providence and had fin- ished the business for which he had come, he hastened to a bookstore, stepped up to the coimter, and said: " I want to buy a book." "What book?" asked the bookseller. To this young Greene was unable to reply, and he stood silent and blushing, not knowing what to say. Dr. Stiles, a clergyman from New- port, afterward the president of Yale College, was present and saw the boy's perplexity. " So, my boy," said he, " you want to buy a book and don't know what book you want?" " I guess so," said Greene. '* Well," said the clergyman, " is it a story book or a school S4S NATHANAEL GREENE. M3 book that you want? " "I want a book," said Greene, " that will make me know more." " Well," said the clergyman, " there are many such books, for I suppose there are a good many things which you do not know yet." " I do not know much of anything," said the boy, " but I want to know more." So the minister gave him good advice as to what were the best books to read and what to study, and became one of his lifelong friends. A Quaker Soldier. Greene helped to organize a miUtary company called the Kentish Guards, and, arms being scarce, he went to Boston to purchase a musket (1774). While in Boston he witnessed the drilling of the British troops, and was greatly impressed with the imposing ap- pearance of the regulars at their morning and evening parades. Little did the British officers, in the pride of their gallant array, dream who was looking upon them from under the broad- brimmed hat of the Quaker, or how fatally for them the lessons would be applied. Hiding his musket under the straw in the wagon, he started for Rhode Island. He took with him a British deserter whom he had engaged as drill-master for the Kentish Guards. Rhode Island voted to raise an army of sixteen hundred men, and appointed Greene to command them, with the rank of major-general. At the age of thirty-three, this young mai» I WANT A BOOK THAT WILL MAKE ME KNOW MORE." 144 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY led his regiment to join the Continental army at Cambridge. He was appointed a brigadier-general in the Continental service, and entered upon those military duties which were to engage his whole attention till the close of the war. Proposes Independence. He was one of the earliest to rec- ommend a declaration of independence. More than a year before the Declaration was passed, he wrote to a member of Congress as follows: " Permit me to recommend, from the sincerity of a heart at all times ready to bleed for my country's cause, a declara- tion of independence; and call upon the world and the great God who governs it, to witness the necessity, propriety, and rectitude thereof." General Greene rapidly won the confidence and esteem of Washington, and through the whole war was regarded as the second general in the army, next in command to Washington. He marched his brigade from Boston to New York, and took a prominent part in the skirmishes and battles around that city. At Valley Forge. He was with AVashington through the long winter at Valley Forge. From there he wrote to a friend: " I have no hopes of coming home this winter; the general will not grant me permission. Mrs. Greene is coming to camp ; we are all going into log huts — a sweet life after a most fatiguing campaign." After this, we find him in New Jersey at the battle of Monmouth, where his services were of the highest order. The British General Clinton, determined to transfer the war to the South, sent a force against Savannah, and took the city. The British, emboldened by their success, captured Charleston after a long siege, and General Lincoln was obliged to surrender his army. Then General Gates was placed in command in the South, and lost the battle of Camden. This NATHANAEL GREENE, M5 battle clearly showed that Gates was not the man for the place. King's Mountain. But we must not forget that notable battle of King's Mountain. Colonel Tarleton, unlike most officers cf the British army, was notorious for his extreme barbarity and inhuman butchery of prisoners. Made almost desperate by Tarleton 's cruelty, an impromptu band of volunteers, under the command of Colonels Shelby and Sevier, THE FIGHTING AT KING S MOUNTAIN, marched against the British under Major Ferguson at King's Mountain, and, after the most severe fighting, gained a com- plete victory. The Battle of Cowperis. Finally, General Greene was ap- pointed to succeed Gates in command of the Southern army. Washington had intended that Greene should have the command before, but Congress had given the position to Gates. Greene's campaign was carried on under many disad- vantages, but was managed with great skill. The Americans 146 P'lRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. were entirely victorious at the battle of Cowpens . They lost but twelve men killed and sixty wounded, while the British lost one hundred and twenty -nine killed and wounded and six hundred prisoners. The Americans captured one hundred horses, with many wagonloads of stores. Tarleton barely escaped with his life. He was wounded by a blow from the sword of Colonel William A. Washington. Some time afterward, in a company of Southern ladies, Colonel Tarleton said: " I have been told that Colonel Washington is very illiterate and can scarcely write his name." " But, colonel," replied one of the ladies, " he can at least make his mark!" Tarleton said: "I would very much like to see Colonel Washington." The lady instantly replied: "You might have had that opportunity and pleasure, colonel, if you had looked behind you at the battle of Cowpens." The South Regained. Greene now increased his army by new recruits. Then came the battles of Guilford Courthouse and Hobkirk Hill. Comwallis was in command of the British army in the South, and he marched northward into Virginia, hoping to draw Greene after him; but Greene defeated his plans by moving south to win back the Southern States. Sumter and Marion captured Orangeburg, Fort Mott, Granby, Fort Comwallis, Georgetown, and Augusta. In September, 1 781, Greene fought the last battle of the war in the far South at Eutaw Springs. He had reconquered the entire South. Yorktown. Now the armies are drawn together in Virginia. Comwallis is there and Washington sends Lafayette thither. The French fleet under Count de Grasse sails up the Chesa- peake Bay and the York River. About the first of September, Count de Saint Simon joins Lafayette with over three thousand troops. Washington rapidly moves his main army through New Jersey and on to Virginia. Comwallis has fortified York- NATHANAEL GREENE. 147 town. The combined American forces surround the town and his retreat by water is blocked by De Grasse. A hundred cannon are turned upon the British forts and dismount every one of their guns. The British general cannot break through the lines, he cannot retreat, he cannot stay where he is. So Comwallis surren- dered to Washington, on the 19th of October, 1 781, and the British fleet to De Grasse. This practically ended the war, although the final treaty of peace was not made till about two years afterward (1783). The news of the surrender of Comwallis was received with great joy by the people all over the country. December 13 was observed as a day of national thanksgiving. Give an account of Greene's boyhood; of his trip to Boston; of his joining the army; of his life at Valley Forge. Describe the war in the South; the battle of King's Mountain. Tell the story of Greene's Southern campaign; of the siege of York- town; of the surrender and the treaty of peace. What is a " Euclid "? How did Greene's trip to Boston aid him? What were the " regulars "? Was life at Valley Forge a " sweet life "? How long did the Revolutionary War last? What nations made the treaty of peace? WASHINGTON BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. H CHAPTER XX Benjamin Franklin 1706-1790 The Changes of a Century. Benjamin Franklin was one of the most famous men that America has ever produced. His Hfe covers the greater part of the eighteenth century. He was bom in Boston, at that time the largest town in all the English colonies, although its inhabitants numbered less than ten thousand people. At the time of his birth there were ten colonies along the coast. Baltimore had not been settled, nor New Orleans. There were no railroads, and not even a stage-coach in the country. There were only three colleges in the land and but one newspaper. How different was America when Franklin died, an old man, eighty-four years of age! The Revolutionary War had been fought, the Constitution of the United States had been adopted, and Washington had become President. At the birth of Franklin the population of this cotuitry was probably less than half a million. At his death it was nearly ten times as great. A Self-Educated Man. Franklin was a self-educated man. He went to school only two years, leaving it when he was ten xaH BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 1 49 years of age. At that time he went into his father's candle- shop to help make candles for the people of Boston. He did not like this occupation and soon grew tired of it. Then his father apprenticed him to his brother James, who published a newspaper. Franklin liked this business better. Franklin and the Apple Woman. While Franklin was at work for his brother, one of his duties was to deliver the papers to subscribers. One day, in hurrying around a comer of the street, he suddenly ran against the table where an old woman was selling apples, and the apples rolled off upon the sidewalk. Benjamin picked them up and made his apologies to the old lady. She was pleased with his intelligence and began to talk to him. "Do you ever dream, my little man?" she said. "Oh, yes," he replied; " I dream sometimes when Fve eaten too much supper." " Well, do you believe in dreams?" " Oh, yes," said Franklin; " I believe in dreams — that is, I believe that I dream and other people dream." " Yes," said she; "but do your dreams come true?" "Well, no; I don't think they do usually. Do yours? " " Oh, yes," said the old lady; " my dreams always come true, and I dreamed about you last night." " Did you? Well, what did you dream?" " I dreamed that you bought this book and that you became a very wise man." " Well, well! Indeed, what is the book? " and he picked it up and looked at it. " How much do you ask for it? " " Only sixpence, sir." " Well, I think it would be too bad for your dream not to prove true just for sixpence, so I will buy it." He went away with this book, which was a copy of the third volume of Addison's " Spectator." With the book he was delighted. He was charmed not only with the thought, but with the elegant way in which it was expressed. He 15° FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. would read one of the short papers, close the book, and re write it, partly in his own language. Then, comparing his work with Addison's, he was quite inclined to say that Addi- son's was the better. In this way he found that a good deal depends upon how thoughts are expressed, and he began to study style. Miss Read Laughs at Him. If you will read his auto- biography, you will find that he tells in a charming way how he left Boston when he was seventeen years old, went to New York, and from there to Philadelphia. You will be greatly interested in his story of how he walked up Market Street, Sunday morning, with a loaf of bread under each arm and munching a third, and how Miss Read stood at the door of her father's house laughing at him . Then you will find that after- ward this same Miss Read became Mrs. Benjamin Franklin. An American Printer in London. Franklin's first visit to England was when he was eighteen years of age. On reaching London he sought for work in a printing-office. The foreman said: "Where are you from?" Franklin replied: "From America." " From America!" said the printer. " And can you set type? " " Try me and see," said Franklin YOUNG FRANKLIN LAUGHED AT BY HIS FUTURE WIFE. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 15I He took the composing-stick in his hand, examined the case of types, noticing that the letters were arranged in the boxes in the same way that they were in America, and within four minutes he set with perfect accuracy the following sentences : " Nathaniel said unto him. Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see." When he was twenty years of age he returned to Philadelphia and really began his life work in that city. Three years later he started his first newspaper. At the same time he kept a stationery shop, and soon began to publish " Poor Richard's Almanac." " Poor Richard's Almanac." This almanac brought him large profits, and he continued it for many years. " Poor Richard's Almanac " contained a great many homely maxims, which made it very popular and which had a good influence upon the habits and morals of the people. Here are a few of these maxims: " Then plough dee^ while sluggards sleep, And you shall have corn to sell and to keep." " Vessels large may venture more, But little boats should keep near shore." " Handle your tools without mittens: remember that the cat in gloves catches no mice." " The sleeping fox catches no poultry." " Diligence is the mother of good luck, and God gives all things to industry." " Silks and satins, Scarlet and velvets, Put out the kitchen fire." 152 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. " Many estates are spent in getting, Since women for tea forsook spinning and knitting, And men for punch forsook hewing and splitting." " He that by the plough would thrive, Himself must either hold or drive." Franklin rose rapidly in the esteem of the people. He was chosen to fill many high offices; he was postmaster of Philadelphia and a member of the city government; he was clerk as well as representative to the colonial legislature; and he was postmaster-general for the English colonies. Franklin's Inventions. By no means the least of his great services to mankind was that which he rendered by his mar- velous inventions. By sending up a kite during a thunder storm he demonstrated that lightning is only a form of elec- tricity, and thus he paved the way for the wonderful develop- ment in electrical science v/hich came in a later day. Among his other inventions was the Franklin stove, which was a great improvement on the old-fashioned open fireplace and which is still widely used. In the cause of education he was also active. He fotmded the University of Pennsylvania, and he started the first public library in Philadelphia. His Patriotic Zeal. When Franklin had become greatly in- terested in his studies, they were interrupted by the struggle which led up to the Revolutionary War. Franklin was ap- pointed by the people of Pennsylvania as their representative to the British government. From this time onward his mind and time were mostly occupied in public affairs. Franklin tried his best to prevent the passage of the Stamp Act, but it was passed and the inevitable results followed. From the Stamp Act events moved rapidly on to the Revolu- BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 5 53 tion, which ended in the independence of the colonies. Frank- lin was one of the last to believe that independence was neces- sary. Still, when the time came, he heartily yielded and signed the Declaration of Independence. Franklin in France. Franklin was sent to France to repre- sent the government of the new republic at the court of Paris. The war went on; the contest was uneven between this little FRANKLIN AND THE QUEEN OF FRANCE. republic with its small army and the great power of England with its experienced generals. But Washington, through the help of France, which Franklin by his genius and popularity had secured, overcame the difficulties, and the army was finally victorious. Cornwallis, as we have seen, surrendered at York- town and the war was at an end. The Treaty of Peace. Next came the treaty of peace with Great Britain, In that treaty the most important question 154 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. was what should be our western boundaries. Franklin and John Jay of New York finally succeeded in securing for this country the territory north of the Ohio, thus carrying the western bounds of the new republic to the Mississippi River. Franklin was now an old man. Soon after the making of this treaty he returned to his native land never again to leave it. Yet he had strength enough to engage in one more great work for his country. When he was bowed down by the burden of more than fourscore years, he was appointed by the State of Pennsyl- vania as a member of that great convention which was to frame the Constitution of the United States of America. The Constitutional Convention. For four months during the heat of summer Franklin daily met with his colleagues in the old state house in Philadelphia, in " Independence Hall," giving to his coimtry those wise counsels which came from his long life and varied experiences, his great mental ability and his remark- « able genius. INDEPENDENCE HALL, IN PHILADELPHIA. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 155 This convention had a very difficult task to perform. The delegates represented different States, under different condi- tions, and it was almost impossible to agree upon anew Consti- tution that would' be approved by the States they represented. God Governs the Affairs of Men. More than a month passed by before any successful agreement had taken place among the members. One morning, when the convention had assembled, Franklin arose and said: " How has it happened, sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of Lights to illuminate our understandings? In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for the divine protection. Our prayers, sir, were heard; and they were graciously an- swered. Have we now forgotten that powerful Friend, or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance? I have lived, sir, a long time; and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? " The convention finally succeeded in framing a Constitu- tion that all could agree to. It was not perfect, but it was clearly the best that could be obtained. Franklin said of it, in a speech to the convention just before the vote was taken : " Thus I consent, sir, to this Constitution, because I expect no better and because I am not sure that this is not the best." " The Rising Sun." While the different members of the convention were signing the Constitution, Franklin, stood rubbing his eye-glasses and looking toward the president's chair, on the back of which was represented the sun upon the horizon, shooting its slanting rays upward, Franklin turned to the member standing near him, and remarked that painters 156 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. P'UANKLIN AT THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION ALLUDING TO THE " RISING SUN " CARVED ON THE PRESIDENT'S CHAIR, have found it difficult to distinguish in their art a rising from a setting sun. " I have," said he, " often and often, in the course of the session and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that picture behind the president with- out being able to tell whether the sun was rising or setting, but now at length I have the happiness to know that the sun of America 'iS rising." Franklin continued to exert himself for the public good until the very end of his life. Just before his death he signed a memorial to Congress, praying for the abolition of slavery in the United States, and the very day before he died, in the BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 157 midst of extreme suffering, he finished a paper upon this subject. His age was a Httle above eighty-four years. Without question, Benjamin Franklin was one of the greatest men of his age. When the news of his death reached France, the National Assembly put on mourning. Turgot, an eminent French statesman, said of Franklin: " He snatched the thunderbolt from the sky and the scepter from tyrants." Franklin and his wife were buried in the graveyard of Christ Church, Philadelphia, at the comer of Fifth and Arch streets. Over the two graves is a large stone slab, bearing the inscrip- tion here given. When Franklin was a young man BENJAMIN FRANKLIN DEBORAH 1790 and a printer in Philadelphia, he wrote his own epitaph ; THE BODY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, PRINTER, (Like the cover of an old book, Its contents torn out, And stript of its lettering and gilding,) LIES HERE, FOOD FOR WORMS. BUT THE WORK SHALL NOT BE LOST, FOR IT WILL (as he believed) appear once more IN A NEW AND MORE ELEGANT EDITION REVISED AND CORRECTED BY THE AUTHOR. 158 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. State some of the changes in American life that Franklin saw. Tell the story of the book and its value to Franklin. Give an account of " Poor Richard's Almanac." State some of the ways in which Franklin served his countrymen. Tell what Franklin had to do with the Stamp Act; with the Declara- tion of Independence ; with the Treaty of Peace ; with the Constitution of the United States. Why do you suppose young Benjamin disliked the candle business? What different things are mentioned that helped Franklin to become a writer? Do you understand why Franklin set up those particular sentences for the London printer? What do we mean by " homely " maxims? Why should we " handle our tools without mittens "? How do " silks and satins put out the kitchen fire " ? Who passed the Stamp Act and how did Franklin try to prevent its passage? What did Franklin do in France for the United States? Why was Franklin one of the greatest men of his age? ^^^^^^^B >~^ y , R G 1 N 1 A ^^^^^K It en HI TORY X" ,7.> / ^^^^^^^^^^K \ CAROLINA /-^ United States in jtsoI 1 il T.rrit.r,.. I 1 -J 1 THE YOUNG NATION AT ITS START. on the ro&d to Vincennes CHAPTER XXI George Rogers Clark 1752-1818 Clark Arrives in Kentucky. A few days after General Wash- ington and his little patriotic army entered Boston, in the spring of 1776, a young boy was hurriedly walking along a trail in the woods of what is now Kentucky. As he passed a spring, bubbling up by the side of the path, he saw a wild duck drink- ing the cool waters. Like every pioneer boy, he was an expert shot, and in a few moments the duck was roasting over a fire which the boy had kindled. Suddenly the youth was startled by the sound of a step; but it was a firm tread, not the stealthy glide of an Indian moccasin. Looking up, he saw a young, soldierly appearing man approaching; a man '* square-built, thick-set, with high, broad forehead and sandy hair." The newcomer briskly called out: l6o FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. " How do you do, my little fellow? What is your name? Ar'n't you afraid of being in the woods by yourself?" The voice of the stranger was pleasing and cordial. The boy felt no fear of him, and invited him to taste the duck. The man was evidently hungry, for he continued to taste until the duck was entirely eaten. Then the boy asked his new friend what his name was. " My name is Clark," was the answer, " and I have come out to see what you brave fellows are doing, and to help you if you need any help." His Youth. George Rogers Clark, who thus suddenly arrived at Harrodsburg, had come, on foot and alone, from Virginia. He was twenty-three years of age and well educated for those days. Bom in western Virginia, he grew up a great hunter; he was from boyhood familiar with frontier life, always exposed to Indian attack. He had learned surveying in his youth, and armed with ax and rifle, chain and compass, he had become so used to tramping through the wilderness and the forests that he dared to travel to Kentucky without com- panions. The Fort. Such a life as it was in Kentucky in those days ! Ordinarily the families moved into the new country in groups. First they built a stockade fort for common use. This was a square piece of land, surrounded by a palisade or wall of up- right logs. At the comers were strong blockhouses, also made of logs, and fitted with portholes, through which guns could be fired. Within this palisade were cabins, so built that the back of the cabin was a portion of the palisade itself. Entrance to this fort was by a great gate, which was made as firm as possible and provided with strong bars to keep it shut against the most violent attack. The families also had their own cabins upon the farms or GEORGE ROGERS CLARK. l6l ' clearings " at greater or less distances from the fort. They came to the fort only when there was war with the Indians or when they feared an attack. Those days of anxiety and constant fear can hardly be understood by us. The Constant Fear. At any time the word of warning might come. Often it came at night. Then the family, quietly sleeping in their little cabins, far removed perhaps from any neighbor, would hear a tapping at the door. Instantly all the older people would be awake, for they were always watchful and could easily be aroused by the slightest sound. In a moment every one would be in motion. The father would seize his gun and ammunition. The mother would hurriedly dress the children. The older ones would carry the younger, perhaps, or at least some household article, and, with as little delay as possible, the house would be deserted. A Midnight Flight. A light they did not dare to have. Not a sound was it safe to make. The greatest care was used not to waken the baby, who would be sure to cry. To the other chil- dren, the word Indian was enough to prevent a whisper. Thus the family hurried along the trail to the fort. The men would then spend the rest of the night in making preparations for the expected attack. If it did not come, all waited through the day in readiness for the dreaded war whoop the following night. Perhaps the Indians did not come ; then the families would return home in a day or two, only to be ready again for the next alarm. Perhaps they would go to the fort too soon; then they would have to wait there many days. Perhaps the mes- sage would not arrive in time ; then the result was too terrible almost for thought. Life in Kentucky. Such was life in Kentucky and Tennessee at the beginning of the Revolution. Such was life in other new territories and States at a later day. Nevertheless, the hardy l62 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. pioneers continued to press forward. Taking their lives in their hands, they continually moved westward, leaving the more settled regions behind them. Many men seemed to be unable to live near their fellow-men; the uninhabited wilder- ness alone pleased them. Like the father of Kit Carson, they would move farther into the forests because neighbors had come within three miles of them. Others would continue in their new home and see the little fort become a village, the village become a town, and the town become a city. They would let other hardy adventurers carry the advancing settle- ments farther west. Valley of the Ohio. When Wolfe won the battle of Quebec and laid down his life, the English settlers all lived east of the Alleghany Mountains. By the treaty with France (1763), however, all the region between the mountains and the Missis- sippi River had been ceded to Great Britain. Before the Revolution began, a few pioneers had crossed the mountains and had settled in what is now Kentucky and Tennessee. North of the Ohio no English settlements had been begun, though some traders were traveling through this great North- west, buying furs of the Indians. The French had built a few forts to hold this land, in the years between La Salle's discoveries and Wolfe's victories. These the British government now held. The most important were Detroit, now in Michigan ; Kaskaskia, near the Mississippi River, on the western side of the Illinois; and Vincennes, on the Wabash, in southwestern Indiana. It was very important for the future development of the United States that we should hold all this western territory, rather than that any foreign power should possess it. Neither Congress nor Washington's army paid any attention to this territory during the entire war. Congress did not GEORGE ROGERS CLARK. 163 appreciate its value, and the army had all that it could attend to near the coast. One man, and one only, seemed to realize how important the region would be to the United States, and also that it could be obtained in spite of the neglect of Congress. Clark's Plan. A year after Clark arrived in Kentucky he was carefully making plans to capture the whole of the great Northwest. Accordingly, he sent scouts into the Illinois region, who brought back to him reports concerning the fort at Kaskaskia and its condition. Then he hastened to Virginia to seek assistance from the State government. He went to Virginia, because that colony had always claimed this western territory as a part of the grant to Virginia. Leaving Harrodsburg in October (1777), Clark started on foot, and in a month, after traveling six hundred and twenty miles, he reached his father's house. Resting here but a day, he hastened on to Williamsburg, where he was delighted to hear the news of the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga. Clark at once laid his plans before Patrick Henry, the governor of the State. Henry was just the man to approve the daring scheme, and entered into it at once. He appointed Clark a colonel in the militia, gave him permission to raise seven companies, loaned him twelve hundred pounds, and issued an order for supplies to be obtained at Pittsburg. The Expedition. Clark raised a force of a hundred and fifty men, and with his supplies left Pittsburg the next May. With him went a number of families for whom the little band acted as an escort. The party floated down the Ohio River, a distance of hundreds of miles, nearly all the way through an unbroken forest and past wild lands with no white inhabitants. They reached the falls of the Ohio, where Clark left the settlers, thereby laying the foundations of the present city of Louisville. l64 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. The little army took the boats again and floated farther down the Ohio. Landing opposite the mouth of the Ten- nessee River, they concealed their boats in a small creek. Wishing to surprise the fort, Clark rested but a single night, and then struck out rapidly across the hills toward Kaskaskia. CLARK WATCHING HIS ARMY FLOAT DOWN THE OHIO. He arrived near the fort on the evening of the Fourth of July (1778), and immediately made preparation for the attack. Dividing his force into two divisions, he spread one out around the town and led the other directly to the walls of the fort. Capture of Kaskaskia. The surprise was complete. Within, a dance was in progress, and even the sentinels had left their posts. Clark placed his men at the entrance ; then he quietly entered a rear gate and the dance-hall itself. There he stood, silently leaning against a doorpost, watching the dancers. GEORGE ROGERS CLARK. 165 Most of the Indians who usually idled around the fort were at the time on a hunting expedition, but one of them had not gone; he lay upon the floor near the entrance. No one else noticed the newcomer ; but the Indian gazed earnestly at him, and then sprang to his feet with a war whoop. The dance ceased; all was confusion. But Clark quietly told them to continue. He added, however: " You are now dancing under Virginia, and not under Great Britain." The men then burst in; the commandant, Rocheblave, was seized; and Kaskaskia changed hands without bloodshed. The people were mainly French who hated the English, and were not unwilling to take the oath of allegiance to the United States. The French priest at Kaskaskia went to Vincennes to per- suade the French people there to yield voluntarily to the United States. In this he was successful; the Stars and Stripes were hoisted, and the people met in the church and swore allegiance to the new Republic. Governor Hamilton, the English officer in command at Detroit, led out a large force and retook Vincennes without opposition. He had five hun- dred men with him, while Clark had but one hundred at this time at Kaskaskia. The latter did not dare make an attack, and winter found them both still waiting for the next move. The March to Vincennes. Little by little, however, Hamil- ton's force grew smaller, until at the end of January (1779) Clark learned that the British commander had but eighty men at the fort. He decided upon an immediate attack. Early in February Clark set out from Kaskaskia with one hundred and seventy men. The distance to Vincennes was over two hundred miles, across a country covered with water. The ice in the rivers had melted and freshets had overflowed the land. The men, with little food, suffering severely from hunger, 1 06 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. were obliged to wade for miles through water breast deep, with floating ice all around them. That was a terrible march. The siifferings of the men cannot be told. After sixteen days of such traveling, the little army reached Vincennes, surprised the town, and laid siege to the fort. The next day Hamilton and the garrison surrendered. The Conquest of the Northwest Territory. Thus Colonel Clark, with a few men, by his own bravery, his strong personal character, and his great mili- clark's line of march. tary skill, in spite of untold obstacles and terrible suffer- ings, conquered the entire Northwest Territory. He obtained possession of all the important forts and settle- ments, and gave to the United States complete pos- session of the Ohio River and the eastern bank of the Missis- sippi as far south as the Florida boundary. When the treaty of peace was made with England (1783), the United States, after much discussion, finally secured this Western region, largely on the ground that Clark had conquered the territory and held military possession of it at the time the treaty was made. Clark captured the country for Virginia and imder the direction of the Virginia government. The assembly of that State thanked him and his officers and men '" for their extraordinary resolution and perseverance, and for the im- portant services which they had rendered their country." Afterward Virginia granted two hundred acres of land to each of the soldiers GEORGE ROGERS CLARK. 167 Give an account of how Clark entered Kentucky. Describe a frontier palisade. Tell the story of an Indian alarm. State the sitiiation in the Western region at the beginning of the Revolution. Tell the story of Clark's journey to Virginia; of his voyage down the Ohio; of his capture of Kaskaskia; of his march to Vincennes. In what was Clark like Washington? Why was a light not per- mitted nor sound allowed, when the settlers were hastening to the fort ? Do you know of any Western fort that is now a city ? Why was possession of the Western region " necessary to the success of the United States "? Has it been of any advantage other than a military one? Was an escort needed by families who were moving west down the Ohio River? Why were the French settlers at Kaskaskia and Vincennes ready to take the oath of allegiance to the United States? PIONEER FAMILIES PUSHING INTO THE NORTHWESX ^^TH^T' ■HAMILTON CHAPTER XXII Alexander H amilton 1757-1804 Patriots Meet in New York. Less than a month after Samuel Adams had locked the doors of the court room at Salem and had put the key in his pocket, a meeting of patriots was called in New York City (July, 1774). This meeting was held in the open air and was attended by crowds of citizens. The speak- ers were quiet and without enthusiasm; the speeches did not arouse the people ; the meeting was proving a failure. Near the platform a young student was standing. He had been in the colonies two years only, but he had become a most earnest patriot. He felt that the people would never be brought to oppose English oppression by any such half- hearted remarks. He thought that many things that ought to be said had not been said. Quickly he pushed his way through and climbed upon the platform. When there was a suitable pause, the youth stepped to the front without being announced or introduced. For a moment the boy stood hesitating, as the throng stared, surprised at his boldness. He was but seventeen years old, and looked younger. In another moment a laugh would have ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 169 followed, or perhaps cries to come down and not interrupt his elders. But the boy's embarrassment was over and he began to speak. Hamilton's Speech. He was a bom orator, and in a few minutes his thoughts came faster than he could utter them. The crowd listened with close attention as he gave clear and sound reasons for resisting the king. A murmur ran through the audience: "Hear the collegian! Hear the collegian!" The meeting was no longer a failure ; the people of New York were fired with patriotic enthusiasm and were ready to join Virginia and Massachusetts under the leadership of Patrick Henry and Samuel Adams. Who was the seven teen -year-old boy? His name was Alexander Hamilton, and this was the first public step in a life full of service for his adopted country. During the next two years Hamilton was busy in the cause of the colonists. He wrote pamphlets replying to the leading Tories of New York. He took part in public meetings and spent much time in studying military affairs. When the British army left Boston and came to New York, Hamilton was appointed com- mander of a new artillery com.pany, though still less than twenty years of age. Controls a Mob. One incident that happened during the interval between Hamilton's first public speech and the arrival of the British army in New" York illustrates a remarkable trait of his character. He was but a boy, and filled with all a boy's rashness and daring. Yet he had the cool mind of a much older man, and more than once was able to prevent the mobs in New York from committing violence. The British ship-of-war Asia at one time opened fire upon the town. At once all was commotion and excitement. The " Liberty Boys " began to threaten injury to every Tory in the city. 170 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Among the most prominent of these Tories was Dr. Cooper, the president of King's College. The mob rushed to his house. On the steps they found Hamilton ahead of them, determined to prevent or delay their entrance. He at once began to speak, urging them to show reason and not to commit any rash act. Just at this point President Cooper called out to the crowd from an upper window, advising them not to be guided by such a madman as Hamil- ton. Then he fled by a rear entrance. Hamilton had, perhaps, saved the old man's life, while the worthy president supposed that his young stu- dent was urging the people to attack him. It was a fine act in the boy thus to risk his life and his influence " in behalf of law, order, and mercy." Aide to Washington. Five years passed before the surren- der of Comwallis. Much of this timie young Hamilton was an aide on the staff of General Washington, and met many leaders of the day. His principal employment was to answer the many letters which the general received; but he was present at all the great battles, and always acted with courage and bravery. In the siege of Yorktown, Hamilton led a brilliant charge against the enemy, attacked them with great vigor, and carried everything before him. HAMILTON LEADING THE CHARGE AT YORKTOWN. ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 171 rhtj Federal Convention. Hamilton was much more than a mere orator or a gallant soldier. He was an earnest student of all matters connected with the government. Soon after the war was over he began to see that the States must be imited more closely. He was certain that, though they had kept together during the war because of their common danger, they would quarrel now that peace had come. So, together with George Washington, James Madison, and other statesmen, he wrote and worked for a convention to form a more perfect union. Four years after the peace of 1783, the Federal Convention met in Philadelphia. For four months the delegates from all the States except Rhode Island worked in secret, imtil they had prepared the Constitution of the United States. Before this could go into operation it must be accepted by at least nine of the States. As the proposed Constitution was very different from the form of government tmder which the country had been governed for several years, and since it took many powers from the several States and gave them to the central government, there were many people who did not like it and who tried to have it defeated. New York Adopts the Constitution. For many months the contest for and against the new Constitution continued in the different States. One by one they accepted it, until finally the necessary nine had agreed to it. New York still held back. It was very important that this State should vote in favor of the Constitution, for, if she refused, New England would be cut off from the other States. The New York convention met with forty-six members opposed to the Constitution and nineteen in its favor. Day after day discussion followed discussion, and Hamilton was on his feet continually, answering objections and giving arguments. Finally the convention voted, and three more votes were given for the Constitution than against it. 172 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Hamilton had won, and New York had become the tenth State in the new Union. The First Presidential Election. Now the new government must be begun and presidential electors chosen in the different States. There was but one man thought of for President, — the general who had so skillfully carried the army through the Revolution and had then quietly retired to his home at Mount Vernon. He was truly " first in war, first in peace, and first Tfpj^m Washington's journey to his inauguration. Every vote was cast for John Adams, of Massachu- in the hearts of his coimtrymen.' George Washington for President, setts, was elected Vice-President. When Congress had counted the electoral votes, messengers were sent to notify Washington and Adams. The President- elect left Moimt Vernon and traveled in his carriage to New York City. Everywhere he was enthusiastically welcomed by the people, who rode by his carriage as he came into and left the towns; who gave him public dinners; who scattered flowers in his path; who built triumphal arches under which ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 173 he must go. From the New Jersey shore he was rowed to the city by thirteen oarsmen, in a handsomely decorated barge, and was saluted by the firing of thirteen guns. The First Inauguration. On the 30th of April, 1789, Wash- ington was inaugurated President at Federal Hall on Wall Street. He passed through the troops into the hall, where Congress awaited him. When the Vice-President announced FEDERAL HALL, NEW YORK, WHERE WASHINGTON WAS INAUGURATED PRESIDENT. that everything was ready for the oath of office to be taken, the President-elect went to the balcony of the building. This overlooked the street, which was densely packed with citizens who waited in respectful silence. Washington solemnly took the oath to " preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States," and with closed eyes whispered : "So help me, God!" Then the air was rent by the joyous cry of the people: 174 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. " God bless our Washington! Long live our beloved Wash- ington ! ' ' The minister from France afterward wrote: " Tears of joy were seen to flow in the hall of the Senate, at church, and even in the streets, and no sovereign ever reigned more com- pletely in the hearts of his subjects than Washington in the hearts of his fellow-citizens." The First Cabinet. After the inauguration the new President chose his Cabinet, — men who were to advise him and to help him carry on the government. The two leading officers were the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury. Washington appointed Thomas Jefferson to the first position ; of him we will read in another chapter. He chose Alexander Hamilton to have charge of the treasury. Here the great mental powers of the young man showed themselves. The government of the United States had been tmable to pay its debts for more than a dozen years. It had borrowed money and could not pay the interest ; it still owed the soldiers who had fought for it in the Revolution. Its credit was gone ; by this we mean that it had little or no money and no one would lend it any. Hamilton's Great Work. It was Hamilton's task to give the government a new credit; he must provide ways by which money could be obtained; he must make it certain to every- body that the United States could and would pay all its debts. All this Alexander Hamilton, as Secretary of the Treasury, did. He thus performed a service for his country which may be con- sidered as important as is the service of a great general in carry- ing on a war. Had the United States not been able to pay its debts, it would have failed just as surely as if it had not obtained its independence by the War of the Revolution. ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 175 Hamilton remained in the Cabinet of the first President imtil this great work was done. Then he resigned, and prac- ticed law until he died at the early age of forty-seven. Meanwhile Washington was unanimously chosen President for a second time, but he declined a third term. When he left the presidential chair he retired from public life, and spent his last years at his home at Mount Vernon. Here he died, after having served his country faithfully all his life, and after having been honored by his country with every honor which it could give him. Describe the meeting in New York; the steps taken by Hamilton before the Revolution began; his work during the Revolution; his part in obtaining the adoption of the new Constitution; his service as Secretary of the Treasury. Tell the story of Washington's journey and inauguration. How did Hamilton prevent the meeting in New York from being a failure? What did he have that the other speakers lacked? How did Hamilton's position on the stafif of General Washington aid him in his later life? What caused the great change in the voting in the New York Convention? Why did Washington travel from Mount Vernon to New York in his own carriage? How else could he have traveled? Why were there thirteen oarsmen and thirteen guns? Is credit any less necessary to a nation than to a business man ? THE OLD CONTINENTAL MONEV CHAPTER XXIII Thomas Jefferson 1743-1826 Jefferson at Williamsburg. A few months after General Wolfe's victory at Quebec (1759), a seventeen-year-old boy, who was destined to play a prominent part in the history of the United States, left his home in Central Virginia and went down to Williamsburg, the capital of the colony. The youth be- longed to one of the best families of the coimtry, and had friends and relatives almost from one end of the colony to the other. Yet young Thomas Jefferson had never before seen a town, nor even a village of twenty houses. To him, Williamsburg, with its two hundred houses and its thousand inhabitants, seemed almost as large as London itself ; to him, the splendor and elegance of the first families of Virginia, as they lived their gay life when the colonial legislature was in session, were hardly less brilliant than the pomp and pageantry surroimding the king of England at the Court of St. James. This yoimg man had come to the capital to attend Wilham and Mary College, next to Harvard the oldest college in all the colonies. He was fond of study and spent more hours over his books than most of the students did; yet he never failed f,6 THOMAS JEFFERSON. 177 to take needed exercise, being especially skilled in horseback riding. While at Williamsburg he became acquainted with nearly all of the leading men in Virginia, and thus obtained an education that does not come from books. Patrick Henry's Speech. Five years after Jefferson first entered WilHamsburg he was still at the capital, studying law. One of his earHest friends, Patrick Henry by name, a man a few years older than he, a new mem- ber of the House of Burgesses, was visiting yoimg Jefferson. During this visit the news of the passing of the Stamp Act reached the town, and this action of Parliament was thoroughly discussed in the student's room. One day Jefferson learned that Henry proposed to make a speech in the House, urging resistance to the Stamp Act. 'Vl^hen the day came he stood in the rear of the hall, listening to the glowing words of Henry's famous speech, ^ ,. . , T rr PATRICK HENRY IN HIS GREAT SPEECH Let US listen with Jefferson against the stamp act. for a moment. Let us imag- ine the feelings of the patriotic youth as he hears his friend, in the midst of his enthusiasm, say: " Caesar had his Brutus, Charles I his Cromwell, and George HI " — and here he paused. What would be the end of the sentence? Did Henry propose some harm to the king? Here and there in the hall was heard the cry, " Treason! 1'reason ! ' ' and it would have been treason had Henry finished 1 78 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. as they expected. But no! after the pause came the words, " George III may profit by their example." Henry was right. Had George IH been wiser, had he read history aright, and had he profited by former examples, he might have saved the colonies to England. He did not, and he lost them. But here was Thomas Jefferson, drinking in every word and profiting by it. From this hall he went to take his share in the coming conflict. A few years of quiet, in which the young man married and built his charming home at Monticello, and the struggle broke out. Jefferson prepared the instructions for Virginia's delegates to the First Continental Congress. In the Continental Congress. He was himself a member of the Second Congress. Here, in June (1776 ), a committee was chosen by ballot to draw up a Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson headed the list, and with him were John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, and Robert R. Livingston of New York. When the committee met they urged Jefferson to prepare the draft; he consented, and, with a few changes of words, the immortal Declaration of Independence was adopted as Jefferson wrote it. For this he has rightly been called the " Framer of the Declaration." Gov€rnor of Virginia. From this Congress Jefferson re- turned to the Virginia House of Burgesses, and three years later succeeded Patrick Henry as governor of the State. This position he filled while the British armies were active in the South, and he was still governor of Virginia when Comwallis surrendered at Yorktown. After a few years as minister to France, succeeding Franklin, Jefferson became Secretary of Foreign Affairs, which position he held until after Washington was reelected President. Then he retired for a few years of rest at his home in Virginia. THOMAS JEFFERSON. I79 When Washington declined a third term as President, the people of the United States were not agreed as to his succes- sor. There were two parties, Federalists and Antifederalists or Democratic-Republicans; the former selected the Vice-Presi- dent, John Adams, as their candidate for President, while the other party was in favor of Jefferson. Adams was elected. Four years later another election took place. Adams was defeated and Jefferson was chosen President. President of the United States. Then for eight years (1801- 1809), Thomas Jefferson was at the head of the nation, at a time when there was constant danger of war with England or France. The war did not come, however, imtil three years after Jefferson had left the White House. Among the many great acts during these eight years, none was more important than that by which the territory of the United States was doubled. When the treaty of peace with England was signed in 1783, the United States had for its western boimdary the Mississippi River. Spain owned the western bank of this great river throughout its whole extent, and also both banks near its mouth. Contrary to treaty, Spain closed New Orleans as a port of deposit for our citizens. This was a serious injury to the new States and territories bordering on the Mississippi River. The Attempt to Buy New Orleans. But just as Jefferson became President, Spain sold to France not only the island of New Orleans, but also the great province of Louisiana, from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. Jefferson now determined, if it were possible, to buy New Orleans, and Congress voted two million dollars for the pur- pose. Robert R. Livingston, our minister to France, was directed to try to purchase the island from Napoleon, and James Monroe was sent to France to assist him. l8o FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. While Monroe is making his long and tedious voyage across the Atlantic, let us see what is going on at Paris. When Liv- ingston received by letter his instructions from President Jefferson to purchase the island of New Orleans, he at once approached Talleyrand, the French secretary of foreign affairs. But Talleyrand would not discuss the question, and turned the conversation into another channel. Again and again I>iving- ston pressed the subject, but without success. Meantime difficulties had arisen between France and Eng- land. Napoleon, who was now at the head of the French Government, saw that war with Great Britain was sme to come. He feared that the English navy would capture New Orleans and take possession of the whole province of Louisi- ana. Then the thought came to him. Why should he not sell that whole province to the United States ? If war was com- ing he needed money, and, if the sale could be made, the price that the United States would pay for the province would greatly help his treasury. Napoleon's Plan. When Napoleon had thought out this plan, he called to him two members of his cabinet to discuss the question. This was on Easter Day, 1803. To these two ministers he outlined his plan and asked their opinion. Ber- thier, the secretary of war, was the first to speak. He opposed the scheme with great zeal. The province was a valuable one and long ago it had belonged to France. They had now just regained possession of it. It would be cowardly to sell it for fear the British would capture it. After he had made his argument in opposition to the plan, Marbois, the secretary of the tre?-sury, replied, favoring Napoleon's proposition. Now think of these three men quietly discussing this sub- ject all the evening, until late at night. The next morning, early, Napoleon had decided the question and sent for Marbois. THOMAS JEFFERSON. i8i He said to him : " The time for inaction has passed. I renotince Louisiana. It is not only New Orleans that I will cede, it is the whole colony, without any reservation ; but I renounce it with the greatest regret. I direct you to negotiate this affair; have an interview this very day with Mr, Livingston." Marbois Visits Livingston. That Monday evening Living- ston wrote a letter to President Jefferson, and in it he said ; '* While I was at dinner to- day I looked out of the win- dow and saw the secretary of the treasury coming up the avenue. He had never before called upon me un- announced. As soon as I was at liberty I received him in the drawing-room, and we talked of this and that. When he had gone I was quite as much at a loss to know what he had come for as when he came. During our conversation, however, I mentioned the subject of New Orleans, and, after reflecting a moment, he asked me why we didn't propose to buy the whole province. I replied: ' We do not want it. We have no money to pay for it. We have no authority to buy it, the Constitution not giving any authority to the general govern- ment to increase our territory.' " But the next day Marbois and Livingston had another inter- view upon the subject. It soon became apparent to Liv- ingston that Napoleon would be willing to sell the whole province, and on the arrival of Mr. Monroe our two ministers, after carefuUy considering the whole question, were so im- NAPOLEON DECIDES TO SELL LOUISIANA. I»2 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. pressed with the great advantage which would come to our country from controhing this vast area, that they determined — although they had no authority to make such a treaty — to assume the responsibility. Louisiana Ceded to the United States. And so they con- cluded a treaty with France by which that country ceded to the United States the entire province of Louisiana, embracing the w^hole country from the Gulf of Mexico on the south to the British possessions on the north, and from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. This more than doubled the territory of the United States. When Napoleon signed the treaty, as he laid down the pen after affix- ing his name to the doc- ument, he said, " This accession of territory forever strengthens the power of the United States, and I have just given to England a maritime rival that will sooner or later humble her pride." " A Noble Work." Marbois signed the treaty ; then Liv- ingston and Monroe. When Mr. Monroe had written his name, he arose from, the chair, turned to Mr. Livingston with manifest emotion, and the two shook hands. Then Livingston said : "You and I have lived long and done many things for LIVINGSTON AND MONROE CONGRATULATING EACH OTHER ON THE PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA. THOMAS JEFFERSON. 183 HOW THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE ENLARGED OUR COUNTRY, 184 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. which our country will remember us with gratitude, but when we have gone from this world that which we have done to-day will stand out as the noblest work of our lives. The treaty which we have just signed has not been obtained by art or dictated by force. It is equally advantageous to the two countries and it will change vast solitudes into flourishing districts. From this day the United States takes its place among the powers of the first rank." We paid for this extensive territory $15,000,000. When the treaty became known to the American people they were divided in sentiment concerning its wisdom, but it was signed by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and, as Livingston said to Monroe, from that day the United States has ranked among the first nations of the earth, Jefferson's first term as President was a great success. While he did not plan the purchase of Louisiana, yet it was consummated by him during this administration. He there- fore received the credit for so important an event. During all these years Jefferson was the leader of the political party known as the Democratic-Republican party. The times were stormy, and Jefferson's career was not without great opposition from the Federalists. He refused a third election, and James Madison became his successor. Death of Adams and Jefferson. It is a little remarkable that he and John Adams, the two immediate successors of Washing- ton in the Presidency, should both have died on the same day, and that day the Fourth of July, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the American Independence. Jefferson died at Monticello about one o'clock in the afternoon. Adams died at Quincy only a few hours later. Just before his death he said: " Thomas Jefferson still survives." THOMAS JEFFERSON. i8S Give an account of Jefferson's first experience at Williamsburg. Tell the story of Patrick Henry's famous speech in the House of Burgesses. Give an account of the framing of the Declaration of Independence. State the reasons for sending James Monroe to France. Explain Napoleon's desire to sell Louisiana to the United States. Describe the purchase of that great province. From what you have learned concerning the Revolutionary War, which of the colonies do you think did the most toward American Independence? Which three men would you name as the most promi- nent orators who exerted the greatest influence upon the American people in favor of independence ? Why do you think Jefferson refused a third term as President? Was the purchase of Louisiana a benefit to the United States? What advantages can you mention coming from this great increase of territory? Who deserves the most credit for the purchase of Louisiana? LADx AND GENTLEMAN OF THE BEGINNING OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY A modern ' ocean greyhound ' — made possible by Fulton's invention and energy. A modern iron clad. Before Fulton s time wmd was the war- ship s only motive power. CHAPTER XXIV Robert Fulton 1765-1815 Modem Steamboats. What a wonderful invention was the American steamboat! Look at it to-day! The ferryboats that are constantly crossing the Hudson and the East River at New York, — what could we do without them? Think what it would mean if we had no coast-line steamers from New York to Norfolk, to Savannah, to New Orleans; no elegant floating palaces plying up and down our great rivers, or be- tween Buffalo and Duluth, or between New York and Fall River; no ocean liners, greyhoimds of the sea, running with perfect regularity between this coimtry and the ports of Europe; no steamers running with equal regularity between San Francisco and the ports of China, Japan, the Philippines, and elsewhere. Passenger steamers and freight steamers are to-day doing a very large part of our carrying from one port to another in 186 ROBERT FULTON. 187 our own country, and from one nation to another across the ocean. The invention of the steamboat was a splendid triumph of genius. Like most other inventions, it was not entirely due to any one man. Many early attempts to use steam power for propelling ves- sels upon the water were made. The First Steamboats. James Rumsey, of Mary- land (in 1 786 ), built a boat which was moved upon the Potomac River by steam at the rate of four miles an hour. In this boat the power was applied by forcing out at the stem a stream of water, which pushed the boat forward, the water having been taken in at the bow. Meanwhile John Fitch, of Connecticut, experimented with his steamboat on the Dela- ware River. His first boat was propelled by paddles moved by steam power, at a speed of three miles an hour; this was afterward increased to eight miles. Four years later. Captain Samuel Morey, of New Hamp- shire, built a small beat which he navigated upon the upper Connecticut River by steam power furnished by an engine of his own make. He continued his experiments for many years; at one time we find him running his little steam- boat upon the Delaware River, and again building another FITCH S STEAMBOAT. l88 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. boat in New York, in which he made the passage from that city to Hartford. For some years, at the beginning of the century, John Stevens, of New York, was engaged in experimenting with the steamboat. All these experiments, while not entirely suc- cessful, yet gave real assistance to the in- ventors who followed them. The first man in this country to build a steamboat which succeeded in every way was Robert Ful- ton. Robert Fulton. Rob- ert Fulton was a native of Pennsyl- vania. Early in his life he showed a taste for drawing and paint- ing. At the same time, even from his childhood, he was greatly interested in machinery, and particularly in new inventions. When he was twenty-one years of age Fulton went to London, carrying letters of intro- duction to the famous painter, Benjamin West, also a native of Pennsylvania. West received him into his family, and Fulton studied painting imder his instruction, for several years. While in England, Fulton became interested in improving canals, and this turned his attention toward the use of steam in propelling boats. Afterward, we find him a member of the AN EARLY SIDE-WHEEL STEAMBOAT. ROBERT FULTON. I 89 family of Joel Barlow, an American poet, in Paris. Here he made experiments with a boat to be used in torpedo warfare. Failure. Later still, he took up again the subject of steam navigation. At this time he was encouraged by Robert R. Livingston, our minister to the French court, who had already experimented in America. Livingston furnished the money with which Fulton built a small boat near Paris. When he had run his boat a few times, Fulton sought to bring it to th3 attention of the French government. He succeeded in awakening the interest of the great Napoleon. He was directed to give a public exhibition of the boat in the presence of a committee of learned men. For many days Fulton kept steadily at work, seeking to make every part as perfect as possible. The day before the trial the little steamboat was ready. That night Fulton foimd it difficult to sleep, so much depended on the morrow. To- ward morning, when he had fallen into a doze, he was awakened by a knock at the door and the message that his boat was at the bottom of the river. The iron machinery had broken through the hull, and both boat and engine had sunk. Perhaps this failure was a blessing in disguise. The boat was probably too small to make a successful trip. The next time he would have a larger vessel. He determined to have a steamboat built in America, and he fully believed it would bring success. Success. Livingston agreed to pay the bills, and, acting under his advice, Fulton drew a plan for an engine to be built at Birmingham, England. He now crossed the Atlantic and at New York directed the building of the first really successful steamboat in America. It was completed, the great engine was properly placed within it, and on the eleventh day of August, 1807, it left the dock at New York City and steamed up the Hudson River. 1 9© FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. The trip to Albany, a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles, was made upon this first voyage in thirty-two hours. The steamboat was named the Clermont, as a compli- ment to Livingston, that being the name of his country seat on the Hudson. What an interesting sight it must have been to see this steamboat move slowly away from the pier at New York on that first memorable trip! Everybody had said it would not THE FIRST TRIP OF FULTON S CLERMONT UP THE HUDSON RIVhR. move; the scheme was impossible; machinery would never carry such a heavy boat through the water. They had laughed at Fulton; they had called him insane. It was perfectly clear to everybody that the boat would not move; yet it did move. Then they said it would not go far — it would soon stop ; but on it went, at the rate of about five miles an hour, over the whole distance, imtil it reached Albany. Its return trip was equally successful, and through the summer and fall it continued to make regular trips back and forth between New York and Albany. ROBERT FULTON. I9I The American steamboat was invented, and from that suc- cessful attempt prodigious results have been achieved. Tell something about Rumsey's boat; Fitch's boat; Morey's boats; Stevens's boat. Tell the story of Robert Fulton: as an artist; as an inventor of other things besides steamboats. Give an account of Fulton's disappointment at Paris. Tell the story of the Clermont. What advantages has a steamboat over a sailing vessel? How did Fulton's skill in drawing aid him when he gave directions for the building of his boats and engines? Do you know what a torpedo is — that is, one that is used in war? Why did Fulton wish the French government to know about his steamboat? Did Fulton have any ad- vantages or aids that Rumsey and the other early experimenters . did not have? STATUE OP ROBERT FULTON IN THE CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON CHAPTER XXV Stephen Decatur 1779-1820 The War with TripoH. During the first term that Thomas Jefferson was President, the United States was engaged in a naval war with TripoH. This small nation, on the southern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, .demanded that the United States should pay her a large sum of money ; if we would not, Tripoli proposed to capture our merchant vessels wherever she could find them. The United States refused to pay this tribute, and for four years our navy was emploved in fighting these pirates. When peace was made, the United States had won for her navy a place among the navies of the world. This naval war gave training to many sailors who, a few years later, were required to meet the navy of Great Britain, then called " The Mistress of the Seas." Many heroic en- counters took place in the war with Tripoli, which showed the bravery of the sailors of the yoimg nation now consisting of seventeen States. Among these incidents was one which caused the Congress of the United States to present a sword to the yotmg lieuten- ant, its hero. STEPHEN DECATUR. I 93 The " Philadelphia." One of the largest and best of the American men-of-war, the Philadelphia, had been accidentally run agroimd in the very harbor of Tripoli. The sailors had been compelled to abandon it, and in a short time the people of Tripoli had taken possession. This was a great loss to the American fleet; a double loss, for it meant one less vessel for them and one more vessel for the enemy. The abandoned ship was directly in range of the guns of the forts and war vessels of Tripoli. To try to recapture it would have been unwise; many lives would have been lost in an attempt that doubtless would have proved a failure. However, the daring lieutenant, one dark night, took the Intrepid and sailed slowly into the harbor. This small vessel had been captured from the enemy and still had the appearance of being one of the Tripolitan boats. The Intrepid was brought directly to the side of the Philadel- phia, and the lieutenant and his men leaped aboard. The Tripolitan crew fled in their boats to the shore ; the American seamen set fire to the Philadelphia. Though the guns from the forts opened on them at once, yet the Intrepid sailed out of the harbor without losing a man. Lieutenant Stephen Decatur thus won for himself a place among the great American heroes. Stephen Decatur. Decatur was bom in Maryland during the Revolutionary War. His father before him was an officer in the American navy, and Stephen took his first voyage with him when he was but eight years of age. Before he was twenty he was a midshipman on board the United States. Young Decatur labored hard to make himself master of his profession, and he soon became an excellent sailor and a good officer. When but twenty-five years of age, because of his exploit at Tripoli, he was made a commodore in the American navy. 194 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. One day, as his ship was sailing in the open sea, the cry suddenly rang out, "Man overboard!" Sailors sprang to launch the boats, but Decatur instantly sprang into the sea and in a few moments succeeded in reaching the drowning man. He held hirn above the waves until the boats reached the spot, and both men were pulled aboard. A Battle at Sea. When the war with Great Britain, called the War of 1812, broke out. Commodore Decatur was in command of the frigate United States. Soon after putting out to sea, Decatur fell in with the British frigate Macedonian, commanded by Captain Carden. The two vessels cleared their decks for action. Just before the battle commenced, little Jack Creamer, a lad of ten years, who had been allowed to make the cruise, though not old enough to be enlisted as one of the crew, started forward toward Decatur, touched his hat, and said to him: " Commodore, will you please to have my name put down on the muster roll? " " Why, my lad? " replied the captain, surprised at the cour- age and confidence the little fellow manifested. " So that I can draw my share of the prize-money, sir." Decatur gave the order that he should be enrolled, and Jack returned to the gun of which he was powder boy. Then the carnage began. The gims of the United States were fired with such rapidity that the whole ship seemed to be one mass of flame and smoke from stem to stem. A shot soon carried away the mizzenmast of the Macedonian. One of the gunners exclaimed: " Ay, ay. Jack, we have made a brig of her." (You must remember that a ship has three masts, all square-rigged, while a brig has two; one of the ship's masts having been shot away, of course but two re- mained, and the gunner called it, therefore, a brig.) Decatur, who was standing by, immediately replied, " Take good aim, STEPHEN DECATUR. 195 my lad, at the mainmast, and she will soon be a sloop." (A sloop has but one mast. ) Soon her fore and main topmasts went over the side, and her bowsprit, foreyard, and both remaining masts were all badly crippled. THE " UNITED STATES " CAPTURING THE BRITISH " MACEDONIAN. Victory. A gtinner saw his comrade desperately wounded at his side, and exclaimed to him: " Ah, my good fellow, I must attend to the enemy a few minutes longer; then I will look out for you. His colors must soon come down." " Let me live till I hear that," replied the wounded man, '* and I shall 196 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. want care from nobody." In seventeen minutes more the Macedonian struck her colors, a complete wreck. Soon after the action was ended, Decatur sent for Jack Creamer and said: " Well, Jack, we have taken her, and your share of the prize, if we get her safe into port, will probably be two hundred dollars. What will you do with it? " " I will send half of it to my mother, sir, and the other half shall pay for my schooling." " That is noble! " exclaimed Decatur. The commodore now received Captain Carden on board the United States. That officer extended his sword to the victorious Decatur, but the brave commodore said to him, " Sir, I cannot receive the sword of a man who has so bravely defended his ship." In a private letter to his wife the commodore wrote : ' ' One half of the satisfaction arising from this victory is destroyed in seeing the mortification of poor Carden, who deserved success as much as we did who had the good fortune to obtain it. I do all I can to console him." The Horrors of War. But what a terrible thing such a naval battle is ! While on the United States only seven were killed and five others wounded, on the Macedonian, out of a crew of three himdred, more than one third were killed or woimded. One of the officers who was sent by Commodore Decatur on board the Macedonian after the surrender, described the horrible scenes that he witnessed in the following words: " Fragments of the dead were distributed in every direction; the decks covered with blood; one continued agonizing yell of the unhappy wounded; a scene so horrible of my fellow- creatures I assure you deprived me very much of the pleasure of victory." STEPHEN DECATUR. 197 THE FAMOUS UNITED STATES VESSEL " CONSTITUTION " (OLD IRONSIDES). J'Vom photogravure of painting by Marshall Johnson, pubUshed by A. W. Elson & Co.. BoBton 198 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Only a few years ago we saw in the war with Spain how, by the vast improvements which have been made in warHke imple- ments, the destruction of life to-day is immensely greater than at that period. It is to be hoped that the time is near when the leading nations of the world will agree to settle their dis- putes peacefully and make war impossible. Other Victories. The battle between the United States and the Macedonian was but one in a long series of victories for our navy, and Commodore Decatur was only one among many distinguished naval commanders who brought the British government to show greater respect for our republic than she ever had done before. In the first naval battle of the war, Captain Isaac Hull, with the frigate Constitution (Old Ironsides, as it has been called), defeated the British Guerriere. The Essex, under the com- mand of Captain Porter, won many victories and made a re- markable voyage on the Pacific Ocean. The United States frigate Chesapeake yielded to the British Shannon only after the death of Captain Lawrence, who had exclaimed, when mortally wounded, " Don't give up the ship ! " Our navy was successful not only on the ocean, but on the lakes as well. Captain Oliver Hazard Perry built a little fleet on the shores of Lake Erie, and after a fight with the British fleet announced his victory in these words: " We have met the enemy and they are ours: two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop," Perry's victory ended the war in the Northwest, and Captain Macdonough's victory on Lake Champlain was the last contest along the northern boimdary. In December, 18 14, the treaty of Ghent was signed, and the last war between the United States and Great Britain came to an end. Mediterranean Pirates. This war with Great Britain en- STEPHEN DECATUR. 199 200 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. couraged Algiers and the Barbary States to make war again upon our vessels in the Mediterranean. Commodore Decatur was sent in 1815 with a fleet to demand satisfaction. The frightened Algerines promptly signed a treaty and promised to pay for the ships which they had captured and to stop their privateering. Decatur sailed away to Tripoli and Tunis, and those powers agreed to the same terms. Since this expedition of Commodore Decatur to the Barbary States, we have had no further trouble from those pirates. The city of Baltimore toasted Decatur with these words: '* Renowned for his action; beloved for his virtues." He received a sword from Congress for burning the Philadelphia; another for the attacks on Tripoli ; a medal for the capture of the Macedonian; from the city of New York, a box containing the freedom of the city ; the medal of the Order of Cincinnati ; a sword from Pennsylvania., another from Philadelphia, and a third from Virginia; and both the cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia sent him services of plate for closing the Alge- rine war. The American people are not ungrateful. Explain the cause of the war with Tripoli. Tell the story of the burning of the Philadelphia; of the rescue of the " man overboard " ; of the boy, Jack Creamer. Describe Decatur's early life; the battle with the Macedonian; the conquest of the Barbary States. Give accounts of some of the naval commanders in the War of 181 2. Why do we call Tripolitans pirates? Why was it better to burn the P/zz/acft'/^/zza than to capture it? What is a midshipman? Which required the more bravery, to burn the Philadelphia or to rescue the drowning man? Why did Jack Creamer suppose that there would be prize-money that he might share? Why did Decatur say that Jack's proposed use of his money was " noble "? What effect did the naval War of 181 2 have upon Great Britain? CHAPTER XXVI Andrew Jackson I 767-1 845 A Young Rebel. In the Revolutionary War, after the sur- render of General Lincoln at Charleston, the whole of South Carolina was overrun by the British army. Among those captured on one of these raids was a small boy, thirteen years old. He was carried prisoner to Camden, and nearly starved. While in Camden a British officer, with a very imperious tone, ordered the boy to clean his boots, which were covered with mud. " Here, boy! You young rebel, what are you doing there? Take these boots and clean them, and be quick about it, too! " The boy looked up at him and said : " Sir, I won't do it. I am a prisoner of war and expect proper treatment from you, sir," The enraged officer drew his sword and aimed a blow at the boy's head, which would doubtless have killed him on the spot had he not thrown up his left arm to protect himself. As it was, he received a severe cut on the arm, the mark of which he carried to the day of his death. Hard Times. His brother, for a similar offense, received a deep cut upon the head, from the effect of which he died a few days later. Some weeks afterward, his mother, worn out by 202 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. grief, anxiety, and need, yielded up her life. His father had died years before. He was thus left an orphan with no relatives, no human being in the wide world with whom he could claim a near relationship. He was confined to his bed by sickness and the sufferings he had undergone while a prisoner in the hands of the British, and then, to cap the climax, he took the smallpox, which wellnigh ended his sorrows and his life. But from all these troubles, trials, and afflic- tions he rallied, and be- came one of the most notable leaders in mili- tary and political affairs that this country has ever produced. lliis boy, first brought to our attention in the Southern campaign of the American Revolution, af- terward became famous in the war with the Creek Indians, in the War of 1812 with England, in the Seminole War in Florida, and was twice elected President of the United States. He held this high ofhce for eight years, at a time of great party strife, when measures of the utmost importance were before the country. This boy was Andrew Jackson. Jackson's Boyhood. Two years before he was bom, his THE BRITISH OFFICER ORDERING YOUNG JACKSON TO CLEAN HIS BOOTS. ANDREW JACKSON. 203 father and mother had come to this country from the north of Ireland and had settled near the boundary line between North and South Carolina. Early obliged to earn his own living, Andrew's opportunities to attend school were very limited. He learned to read, to write after a fashion, and to figure a little. In all his life he was never able to write good English. ' As we have seen, his career as a fighter began early. He was a firm patriot. He never liked the British, and after that blow from the officer's sword his hatred of the govern- ment of England was always kept alive and burning brightly. What sort of youth must we suppose Andrew Jackson was up to this time? He was strong, he had health, he was active, but he had no great ambition to rise. He was de- scribed as rollicking, noisy, and mischievous. But his boy- ish pranks were soon laid aside for the great deeds he wished to perform. A Busy Lawyer. When just of age, Andrew moved into the territory of Tennessee. He had previously studied law, and in this new country he soon had plenty of business. The rough settlers of the frontier usually prefer to settle their disputes with their fists, or with knives or firearms. They are too hasty to be willing to wait for the slow decisions of courts of justice. But when life becomes a little quieter in such regions, the pioneers are more willing that their disputes should be settled in accordance with the law. Then the lawyer, if he is popular among the rude frontiersmen, finds his hands full; Andrew Jackson was popular. Tennessee was admitted into the Union as a State. Jackson was elected to Congress, first as a representative and then as a senator. Soon he was appointed judge of the Supreme Court of Tennessee. After six years as judge he resigned in order to attend to his private business. He had fallen into debt, but 204 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. after a time he paid all that he owed. He had a clear head for business, and he successfully managed his large plantation. At the same time he became noted for his fair and honorable dealings with all men. " Old Hickory." After the war with England broke out (1812), Jackson was ordered to Natchez with two thousand men. He went South in high spirits, intending to plant the flag upon the ramparts at Mobile, Pensacola, and St. Augus- tine ; for he had long desired that Florida should be a part of the United States. But soon after his arrival at Natchez he was ordered to disband his troops. Jackson was angry at this order, because it prevented his attacking Florida. He also felt that it was wrong, because it left the soldiers at Natchez; this town was many miles from their starting-point, and the men had no money to carry them home. He refused to obey the order and marched the troops back in a body. During this march he became the idol of his men, and his determined will and strength of character brought to him the nickname of ' ' Old Hickory. ' ' From this time onward through his whole life his friends and admirers called him by that name, and gloried in it. War with Creek Indians. While the war was going on, the western Indians arose in their might, determined to drive back all the white men who had crossed the mountains. The Creek Indians, one thousand strong, captured Fort Mims in Alabama, and massacred more than five himdred men, women, and children. Jackson now took the field again, at the head of twenty- five hundred men. His difficulties and dangers were great. Provisions were lacking; in that new country it was difficult to hold privates to strict military obedience, and quarrels ANDREW JACKSON. 205 between the generals prevented the necessary united action. Jackson, however, here showed that he had great abihty as a general; he was always alert and watchful; he never lacked patience; and he proved that he knew how to lead men and obtain from them faithful obedience. He soon gained a decisive victory over the Indians in a great battle at Horse-Shoe Bend on the Tallapoosa River, and the strength of the Creek Nation was broken. This campaign of Jackson's marks the downfall of Indian power in that section of the country. It also had a decided effect upon our war with Great Britain, since up to this time the English had received much assistance from the Indians. Jackson was now made major-general in the regular army. The Battle of New Orleans. At Mobile and Pensacola he defeated the British and drove them entirely out of Florida. They determined to capture New Orleans, in order to make a permanent conquest of the whole lower Mississippi Valley. Jackson consequently brought his entire force to New Orleans, and soon fought one of the most notable battles of the whole war. Sir Edward Pakenham, in command of the British forces, tried to overwhelm Jackson and his army by a direct attack. In less than an hour the British were in fuU retreat, leaving twenty-six hundred men killed and wounded on the field, while the American loss was only twenty-one killed and wounded. Seldom, if ever, in the history' of the world has a, land battle been fought where one side lost so many and the other side so few in proportion. It was the most complete defeat the British army had ever experienced. Our other land battles in this war had not been ^-ery favorable to us, but this great victory fully restored the reputation of the American armies. 2o6 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Jackson's Popularity. Up to this time General Jackson had not been widely and popularly known throughout the whole country. Many asked the questions, " Who is this great man? To what State does he belong? " From this time until the day of his death he occupied the most prominent place in the popular mind. During THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS. Monroe's second term as President of the United States (1821-1825,) Jackson began to be talked of for President, When he first heard of the suggestion he was thunder- struck. He knew himself to be a rough, imeducated, mili- tary man, with little knowledge of state affairs. At first he ridiculed the idea. ANDREW JACKSON. 207 " Do you suppose," said he, " that I am such a fool as to think myself fit to be President of the United States? No, sir! I know what I am fit for. I can command a body of men in a rough way, but I am not fit to be President." Jackson really had less personal ambition than many men, but he was very popular, and without doubt flattery went far in influencing him to accept the nomination. But he was defeated and John Quincy Adams was elected President. Elected President. From this time onward Jackson devoted himself to politics; and in the next campaign he was elected TRAVELING BY CANAL BOAT IN JACKSON S TIME. President by a large majority, and John C. Calhoun was made Vice-President. So great was Jackson's popularity that he was reelected to the presidency. Nevertheless, during both his terms (1829- 1837 ) he had a stormy time. Nullification in South Carolina. Among the many important events during his presidency was the trouble with South Carolina. Then, as now, people were divided in their opraions concerning the tariff. The politicians of South Carolina did not like a tariff bill which the Congress of the United States had passed. Therefore a convention was held in that State which 2o8 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. voted that the tariff law should be " null and void " in South Carolina. By this was meant that they would not allow the United States government to collect the import taxes upon goods entering that State. This act was called nullification. It really declared that the laws of the United States could not be enforced in South Carolina unless that State was willing. It made the power of the State greater than that of the United States. Jackson immediately sent Lieutenant Farragut with a naval force to Charleston Harbor, and ordered General Scott THE EARLY RAILWAY TRAIN. to have troops in readiness to enter South Carolina if neces- sary, Jackson believed that a State had no right to " nullify " a law of the United States, and that such action was contrary to the Constitution and, if permitted to become a precedent, would finally destroy the nation. Clay's Compromise. A bill to modify the tariff, sometimes called the " Clay Compromise Tariff Bill," passed Congress and was accepted by the nullifiers, and South Carolina remained in the Union. Thirty years afterward South Carolina went a little further and declared her right to withdraw altogether from the Union. That last act was followed by a four years' ANDREW JACKSON. 209 war (the Civil War), which finally determined the question; now the power of the separate States is acknowledged by everybody to be subordinate to the national power. Changes in American Life. The two terms during which Jackson was President form a remarkable period in the history of the country. Besides the great political events of these years, important changes in daily life were taking place. Steam railroads were begun, anthracite coal was brought into use, friction matches were invented, and the reaping machine was patented. At the end of this time Jackson retired to private life, much more popular even than when he became President. He spent the remaining eight years of his life on his plantation, " The Hermitage," near Nashville, Tennessee. Jackson died at the age of seventy-eight, after having held more power than any other American had ever possessed, and after having succeeded in every great undertaking which he attempted. The name of Andrew Jackson is to-day classed with those of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson, in the hearts of the American people. Give an account of the boy, Andrew Jackson, as a patriotic prisoner of war. Tell the story of Jackson's education; of his early character; of his campaigns against Florida, against the Creeks, against the British. Give an account of Jackson: as a candidate for the presidency; as President. Had the British officer a right to order Andrew to black his boots? Can you understand why Jackson was popular with the pioneers of Ten- nessee? Could not Judge Jackson have properly attended to his pri- vate business and still remained a judge? Why was Jackson called " Old Hickory "? Why was the obedience of privates harder to obtain in the new country than in longer-settled regions? CHAPTER XXVII Calhoun — Clay — Webster 1782-1850 1777-1852 1782-1852 National Problems. For twenty years after Washington became President, the development of this country was slow. From 1 810 to the middle of the century its growth was far more rapid. During these years great questions were argued in Congress. At one time it was the tariff; at another, the National Bank; now it would be the question of internal improvement at the national expense; then would appear important questions relating to the development of our Western territory, or the annexation of Texas, or the war with Mexico. During this time, also, slavery became one of the most important questions before the national government. At the beginning of our history as a nation, thirteen colo- nies, separate from each other, had joined together to secure by their united efforts their independence from Great Britain. Their union, however, was weak, and jealousy existed between the Northern and the Southern States, and between the larger CALHOUN CLAY WEBSTER. 2 T I and the smaller States. When the Constitution was framed it largely increased the national power, but the people were afraid of any strong, centralized authority over them, which might sometime take away the power and independence of the individual States. Political Parties. Hence arose two parties in the nation. One party favored a strong, central, national government ; the other party was called " the State Rights party," and its extreme advocates held that each State was superior to the nation, that a State could " nullify " or repudiate acts of Congress, or, in an extreme case, could legally withdraw from the Union. The National party, on the other hand, scouted the idea that a part was greater than a whole, that the nation was only a league of States, and it held that the United States of America was a nation, made up by a union of all the States for national purposes; that self-preservation is the first law of nations as well as of individuals, and that no one State could override in any way the national government. Three Statesmen. During this whole period of forty years, three men, whose ancestors came from three foreign countries, and who themselves represented three diverse sections of this country, the Northeast, the Southeast, and the Central West, were the leaders in the discussion of all these important questions at Washington. The life of John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, covered the period from 1782 to 1850. He was of Irish descent. Henry Clay was bom five years earlier and died two years later. He was of English parentage, and. throughout most of his life he represented Kentucky in Congress. Daniel Webster was bom the same year as Calhoim, and died in the same year with Clay. He was of Scotch extraction. 212 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. John C. Calhoun. When Calhoun first entered Congress we were on the eve of a war with Great Britain. From that time he took a foremost place in the discussion of the questions which continued to agitate the country. In his earlier years he favored the National Bank, a protective tariff, and a system of national roads and canals. He was not always consistent, but he explained his course by saying that remedies proper for one condition of things might be improper for other conditions. Quarrels with Jackson. During Jackson's administration Calhoun quarreled with the President and soon appeared as the champion of State rights, that is, State supremacy over the nation, and defended the principle of nullification. This means that he held that a State had a constitutional right to nullify and make void an act of Congress, so far as that State was concerned, whenever it was believed to be con- trary to the Constitution of the United States. A convention of delegates in South Carolina in the year 1832 passed an ordi- nance nullifying the tariff laws. A tariff law, it should be explained, is an act of Congress imposing a tax on merchandise imported into our country. This tariff may be designed only to raise a revenue for the government, or it may be intended to protect American in- dustries. In the former case it is a " revenue tariff," in the latter case it is called a " protective tariff." South Carolina's attempt to nullify the national tariff law caused great excitement. At a public dinner on Jefferson's birthday, after several regular toasts had been given favoring nullification, Jackson suddenly arose with a volunteer toast: " Our Federal Union, it must be preserved." Calhoun immediately replied with a toast and a speech in behalf of " Liberty, dearer than the CALHOUN CLAY WEBSTER. 213 Union." But President Jackson took strong ground against the nullifiers. Influence of Calhoun. Calhoun was Vice-President. He resigned that office, and was immediately elected to the Senate by his State. On the floor of the Senate he defended his State and its policy, but the President threatened to hang the nulli- fiers " as high as Haman " if they did not recede from their position. Congress finally passed a new tariff act more favorable to the South, and South Carolina withdrew its opposition to the collection of the tariff duties in the ports of that State. That ended the controversy for that time, but for years before and after this date, Calhoun persistently taught the people of the South that the Union was merely a compact between the States, which could be broken at pleasure by any one of them. Hence, it came to pass that this doctrine, which was called the " Right of Secession," continually gained adherents in the South. In the North, the right of secession and the right to nullify a law of Congress fotmd very few adherents, while, as the years passed by, the people of the Southern States came more and more generally to believe in that doctrine. Mr. Calhoim's active life for about forty years was passed in the national House of Representatives, in the United States Senate, as a member of the President's Cabinet, and as Vice-President of the United States. Henry Clay. Henry Clay, the second of this great trio of statesmen, was bom in Virginia, was early left an orphan, and was obliged to earn his own living from the age of fourteen years. He had no opportionity for a collegiate education, but studied law, and was admitted to the bar at the early age of twenty. He then removed to Lexington, Kentucky, and from 214 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. that time onward for nearly half a century till his death he was the idol of his adopted State, his lifelong home. His political career began before he was twenty-one. He was appointed to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate before he had reached thirty years,* and at the expiration of his term the people of Kentucky sent him to the House of Representatives, of which he was immediately elected speaker. His Brilliant Career. Clay's public life, like that of Calhoun, covered a period of more than forty years, and throughout its whole extent his career was brilliant in the extreme. He served his coimtry as representative, as senator, and as Secre- tary of State under President John Quincy Adams. After his service in the Cabinet was ended, he again entered the Senate, of which he remained a member most of the time until his death. He was reelected senator in 1851, took his seat in December of that year, but, owing to failing health, he appeared in the Senate only once during the winter. He died June 29, 1852, and was buried in the cemetery at Lexing- ton, where a monument, consisting of a tall cylindrical column surmounted by a statue, stands over his tomb. • A Great Orator. Clay was one of the greatest orators of his day. But it is said that he could never quote poetry. The story is told that on one occasion, when he was to deliver an address at a barbecue, he determined to overcome this inability. He had committed to memory that famous passage from Sir Walter Scott: " Breathes there the man with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, This is my own, my native land! Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned As home his footsteps he hath turned From wandering on a foreign strand? * A violation of the Constitution, iinnoticed at the time. CALHOUN CLAY WEBSTER. 215 If such there breathe, go, mark him well; For him no minstrel raptures swell ; High though his titles, proud his name, Boundless his wealth as wish can claim; Despite those titles, power, and pelf, The wretch, concentred all in self. Living, shall forfeit fair renown. And, doubly dying, shall go down To the vile dust, from whence he sprung, Unwept, unhonour'd, and unsung." This was to be the opening of his speech. He therefore began : ' ' Mr. President and fellow-citizens : ' Breathes there the man with soul so dead,' — " but he could not recall the next line. He therefore began again : " Mr. President and fellow-citizens : ' Breathes there the man with soul so dead,' — • " but the next line was as obdurate as before. It would not show itself. He repeated for the third time, and still the second line would not come to his memory. He therefore was obHged to omit the poetry and go on with what he had planned should follow it. The Missouri Compromise. Calhoun belonged to the Demo- cratic party. Clay, after the formation of the Whig party, was a firm adherent to its principles. Clay figured prominently in many great questions which came before Congress during that long period when he was a member either of one house or the other. He took an im- portant part in the national legislation connected with the admission of the State of Missouri, 1819-21. The action of 210 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Congress at that time created the first great poHtical excite- ment over slavery throughout the country. After long and bitter discussion of the whole subject, Mr. Clay moved that it be referred to a special committee. This motion prevailed and he was appointed chairman of that committee. There was a joint committee of Senate and House, and this com- mittee reported to the two houses a resolution admitting ]\Iis- souri as a slave State and Maine as a free State, with a provision forever prohibiting slavery north of 36° 30', in all the rest of that territory which we had purchased of France, called the Province of Louisiana. This was called the " Missouri Compromise," and was largely brought about by the influence of Henry Clay. His efforts in this matter gave him the name of " The Great Pacificator." Clay was the Whig candidate for President in .1844, but was defeated on account of his position upon the question of the annexation of Texas. At the close of the Mexican War, Clay strongly opposed acquiring from Mexico any additional territory. The Compromise of 1850. In 1850, when California asked to be admitted as a State with a constitution which prohibited slavery, and the question arose whether slavery should be admitted into New Mexico and Utah or excluded therefrom, great excitement was created both in Congress and among the people. Leading men of the South threatened a dissolution of the Union. It was a critical period, and at this time Clay again introduced into the Senate a new scheme of compromise. This included the admission of California as a free State; territorial governments for New Mexico and Utah, without any restriction as to slavery; a settlement of the boimdary line between Texas and New Mexico, nearly as it stands to-day; an indemnity of ten million dollars to be paid to Texas for her CALHOUN CLAY WEBSTER. 21 7 claims to this part of New Mexico; the prohibition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia, but not the abolition of slavery itself in this District; and finally a more stringent fugitive slave law. This was the famous Clay Compromise of 1850. It proved satisfactory neither to the North nor to the South, and at the end of another ten years the drift of events brought the final collision between the slave vStates and the national government. Daniel Webster. The third of this illustrious trio is Daniel Webster. His father was one of the first pioneer settlers in central New Hampshire. By the strictest economy and with great sacrifices he succeeded in giving his son Daniel a collegiate education at Dartmouth. It is related that after Webster graduated from college, and when his father was judge, the father wished Daniel to become clerk of the court. It was a position he could have if he desired it. The father made known his desire to Daniel, but the young man did not respond. In the evening the elder Webster laid out the whole matter before his son, emphasizing the advantages that would accrue from the posi- tion, and finally waited for an answer. After a brief silence, the story goes, Daniel said to his father: " Father, I think I will not accept this position. I propose to make the laws, not to record them." " Well! well!" replied the old man, " your mother always said that you would make something or nothing, and I guess she was about right." Political Life. Webster taught school, studied law, was admit- ted to the bar, and was sent to Congress from New Hampshire. He then moved to Boston, and for most of the time during thirty years he represented Massachusetts at Washington either in the House or the Senate. He was Secretary of State iinder 2l8 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Harrison and Tyler, and while in this jjosition he negotiated with Great Britain a very important treaty, fixing the bound- aries between the United States and the British posses- sions from the coast on the east of Maine through the Great Lakes and westward to the summit of the Rocky Moim tains. This is known as the Webster-Ashbur- ton Treaty. Before South Carolina had undertaken to nullify the tariff laws, Webster had taken a strong posi- tion against sectionalism and in favor of the Union. In 1830, Robert Y. Hayne, a senator from South Carolina, strenu- ously opposed the system of protective tariffs, as- serting that it was uncon- stitutional. The Hayne-Webster Debate. This led to a great debate between Hayne and Webster, probably the most famous discussion that ever took place upon the floor of the United States Senate. Hayne strongly opposed the existing tariff law and insisted upon the suprem- acy of the States, holding that each State had the right to nullify any act of Congress that it considered unconstitu- tional. WEBSTER REPLYING TO HAYNE IN THE SENATE. CALHOUN — CLAY — WEBSTER. 219 Hayne was a brilliant orator, and his attack upon New England was extremely severe. Mr. Webster replied in a speech which occupied two days. This speech was considered a strong argument against the right of nullification, against State sovereignty, and in favor of the Union. Among the closing sentences of this famous speech are the following: " When my eyes shall be turned to behold for the last time the sun in heaven, may I not see him shining on the broken and dishonored fragments of a once glorious Union; on States dissevered, discordant, belligerent; on a land rent with civil feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal blood. . . . But may I see our flag with not a stripe erased or polluted, nor a single star obscured; . . . but ever3rwhere, spread all over in characters of living light, blazing on all its ample folds as they float over the sea and over the land, and in every wind under the whole heavens, that sentiment, dear to every true American heart — Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and insep- arable ! ' ' The effect of this speech upon the destiny of our country has been very great. It was a masterly performance, and perhaps showed greater power in the speaker than any other address which he ever made. President Jackson had soon to contend with nullification as a fact, and, although the main question was not settled, the collision between the State and the Federal governments was postponed. The Dartmouth College Case. In addition to the great speeches made by Mr. Webster in Congress, he delivered many famous addresses elsewhere. His plea in the Dartmouth College case before the Supreme Court of the United States, as early as 1818, had stamped him as a great constitutional lawyer. A clause in the United States Constitution says that no State shall pass any law impairing the obligation of contracts. The 220 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. charter of Dartmouth College, Webster argued, was in the nature of a contract, and the legislature of the State could not set aside that contract. This was Webster's argument. The United States Supreme Court decided that the action of the State legislature, which had reorganized the college and brought into existence a new board of trustees, was in the nature of impairing the obligation of a contract, and therefore was unconstitutional. The court therefore set aside that action, reaffirmed the old charter, and reinstated the old board of trustees. The effect of this decision about Dartmouth College went far toward limiting the idea of State sovereignty and magni- fying the jurisdiction of the Federal Supreme Court in the eyes of the people of the whole country. Webster as an Orator. Mr. Webster's two orations at Bimker Hill — the first, June 17, 1825, at the laying of the comer stone of the monument, and the second, June 17, 1843, at the dedication of the monument — are masterly efforts, and they alone would have placed their author in the front rank of modem oratv")rs. Another famous oration of Mr. Webster's was delivered at Plymouth, December 22, 1820, the two hundredth anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims. It was an impres- sive celebration and the wonderful speech was equal to the occasion. Work of the Three Statesmen. Mr. Calhoim was a great statesman, who in his day advocated and represented the South Carolina doctrine of nullification and secession. Mr. Clay ranked equally high as a statesman and legislator, and his influence was that of a compromiser; by his compromises he was able to put off to a future day the conflict which, after all, was inevitable, and which came in the Civil War of 1861-615. Mr. Webster was the Unionist, and his influence was great in CALHOUN — CLAY — WEBSTER. 221 making the people of the nation revere the Constitution and idoHze the Union. The Civil War swept away Calhoun's doctrine, and estab- lished the fact that the United States is a nation and not a league of States. The influence of Mr. Clay was great at the time his gigantic efforts were made, but their effect was only to postpone the evil day. The conflict between the two doc- trines of national supremacy and State sovereignty had to come. Mr. Webster threw his influence in favor of the Union as the greatest good, the only sure preserver of the liberties, and promoter of the progress of the people of this republic. The Union has been preserved, the national power has been strengthened, and the nation to-day is more prosperous, and perhaps has less difficulties threatening its future than during the active period of these three great statesmen. Describe Clay's Missouri Compromise; his Compromise of 1850. Give an account of the speeches of Hayne and Webster. Tell the story of Calhoun and Nullification. Describe the Dartmouth College Case. Write accounts of John C. Calhoun, Henry Clay, and- Daniel Web- ster. Give the facts as in this chapter, writing of each man separately. We read in this chapter of three sections of the country; which section did each of these three men represent? In what way would the Missouri Compromise please the upholders of slavery? How would it please the opponents of slavery? In what way did the decision in the Dartmouth College Case influence public opinion concerning " State Supremacy "? Have we any great orators to-day? Samuel Houston 1793-1863 Free and Slave States. When the treaty of peace was signed with Great Britain in 1783, the number of States in the Union was thirteen. When Andrew Jackson was President, fifty years later, the number had increased to twenty-four. The new States had been admitted one by one: Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Maine, and Missouri. Twelve of these twenty-four States were free, and in twelve negro slavery was permitted. The free States formed the northern portion of the country, and the slave States the southern. The botindary between them was Mason and Dixon's line (between Pennsylvania and Maryland ) and the Ohio River. West of the Mississippi River Missouri alone allowed slavery; but it was forbidden west and north of that State. If we look at a map of the United States as it was then we shall find that the free States had a large region north and west of them into which their people could move and form more States. On "the other hand, the slave States had but SAMUEL HOUSTON. 223 little western territory between them and the Spanish country or Mexico. The people in the South, if they moved west, must go across the border into Texas, the nearest of the Mexican provinces. This they did in great numbers, until the popu- lation in Texas was more than half made up of people from the United States. Samuel Houston. Among these settlers was Samuel Hous- ton. He was nearly forty years of age when he moved into Texas, intending to find some means by which he could bring that province into the United States. He was a na- tive of Virginia, but in early boyhood had gone to Tennes- see. Before he was of age he entered the army, and quickly rose, through the various grades, from the rank of private to that of lieutenant. Leaving the army, young Houston studied law, entered politics, was sent to Congress, and was chosen governor of Tennessee. Texan Independence. Houston had not been long in Texas before he began to make himself known. The new settlers turned to him at once as the man best fitted to lead them. He was elected general of the Texan army and soon urged the calling of a convention, which, when it met, issued a declara- tion of independence. Mexico was no more willing to lose Texas than England LONE STAR OF TEXAS. 224 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. had been willing to permit the United States to be free and independent. Accordingly she began preparations to compel Texas to remain a Mexican province. A strong Mexican army imder General Santa Anna in- vaded Texas. The first important battle was an assault on the Alamo, a fort at San Antonio, Here a small body of Texan soldiers was attacked by a force of ten times their number. The siege lasted for nearly a month, until the Texans were all killed but six. Among the killed were David Crockett and General Bowie, who invented the " bowie- knife." The six who finally surrendered were killed by the Mexicans. "Remember the Alamo!" became the war-cry of the Texans in their struggle for independence. Finally, Houston fought a battle with Santa Anna and defeated him. In this engagement the Texan army num- bered less than half the Mexican force, but within an hour the Mexicans were totally routed, losing six himdred and thirty killed and seven himdred and thirty prisoners, including General Santa Anna himself. Annexation. The independence of Texas was now certain, though it was not acknowledged by Mexico. A government was established and Houston was elected president. The Republic of Texas ("The Lone Star Republic") at once sought admission into the Union. This was strongly opposed in the Congress of the United States. Finally, after waiting eight years, an act was passed annexing Texas ( 1 845 ) . Thus Texas became the twenty-eighth member of the Union, — Arkansas, Michigan, and Florida having been pre- viously admitted. Now there were fifteen slave and thirteen free States, but Texas was the last to be admitted with a pro- vision permitting slavery. SAMUEL HOUSTON. 225 War with Mexico. A dispute arose about the botindar^- between Texas and Mexico. A large force of the United States army, under General Zachary Taylor, entered the disputed territory and was soon met by a Mexican army, which had also crossed the boundary. A fight took place, and a war, called the War with Mexico, followed. General Taylor ^^ GENERAL SCOTT BEFORE THE CITY OP MEXICO. won several victories in northern Mexico, and a year later General Winfield Scott captured the City of Mexico. A treaty of peace between the two countries was made (1848), by which Mexico yielded the boundary which Texas claimed ; and by this treaty also the United States purchased the region north of the present Mexico, between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. This territory was called California and New Mexico. Out of it three States and two 226 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Territories have since been made, besides parts of other States. By the addition of Texas and the Mexican cession, a territory larger than that of the original thirteen States was added to the country. California. Now we had a new Western region from which States could be made, but no slave State was ever after this admitted to the Union. The first part of this new country to ask for admission was California, which framed a constitution prohibit- ing slavery. This was but two years after the Mexican treaty ; then the province of Califor- nia had a very small population. California's remarka- ble growth was due to the discovery of some- thing which almost everybody desires. Co- lumbus sought for it when he made his first voyage ; Cabot thought of it when he sailed across the ocean; De Soto and thousands of other Spaniards made great exertions to find it; John Smith explored the interior of Virginia, seeking it. At last, when California had been bought by the United States, it was found in great quantities. Discovery of Gold. Captain Sutter, a Swiss immigrant, had obtained land in the Mexican province of California, and had built a fort where the city of Sacramento now stands. He needed lumber for his new plantation, and therefore sent one of his men, named Marshall, to build a saw-mill a few miles up SEARCHING FOR GOLD IN CALIFORNIA. SAMUEL HOUSTON. 227 the American River. Marshall built a dam across the river, and a trench to carry the water from the mill back into the river. He noticed one day that there were shining specks lying at the bottom of the trench. He began to think that they might be gold. Saying nothing about what he had found, Marshall took the first opportunity to go down to Sutter's fort and have a talk with him. The two men began to examine the shining lumps. They found them to be heavy — so is gold. They were pounded into thin sheets — gold can be hammered. Acid would not eat them — it will eat almost everything but gold. The men decided that the lumps were gold and that they would say nothing about it. " Forty-niners." But the great secret could not be kept. The news flew. Everybody seemed to become crazy for gold. Business was neglected ; and all California rushed for the gold- fields. Then the news crossed the mountains and the whole coimtry was excited. From all the States, especially those of the North, men hastened to the " El Dorado." Some went by ship around South America ; but this was too long a route for many. Others went by water to the Isthmus of Panama and, crossing this, again took sail; but many died of sickness caused by the malaria of the Isthmus. The majority of the fortune-hunters, however, tried the overland route across the plams and over the mountains in emigrant trains. This was a terrible trip ; many perished and more turned back discouraged. This was in the year 1849, and consequently these pioneers have been called " Forty-niners." The gold was there, however, and vast quantities were ob- tained, though at great expense of money and life. Silver was also found in large deposits. 228 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. But after all, though the precious metals are still mined in California, we can see to-day that neither gold nor silver makes the Pacific Coast so valuable as do her great agricultural products. Grain and fruit are worth more to human beings than all the gold and jewels in the world. California a Free State. California was admitted as a free State, because the greater part of her people were opposed, to slavery. The hopes of the leaders in the slave States were vain. Ten years later the South voted to withdraw from the Union and form a nation entirely composed of slave States. Among them was Texas. Houston was then governor. This maker of a State, who had spent much of his life in the effort to bring Texas into the United States, could not bear to have his beloved land leave the Union. He refused to secede, and was deprived of his office as governor. He never again entered public life, though he finally accepted the movement, being unwilling to oppose the people of his section. A year or two later he died, still disappointed because his State had left the Union, When the Civil War ended, all the seceding States were readmitted, and no State is to-day more loyal to the Union than Texas, the largest of all the States. Give an account of the growth of the country. Tell the story of Houston, as a United States soldier; as a poli- tician; as a Texan. Describe the War for Texan Independence; the War with Mexico. Give accounts of Marshalls discovery ; of the" Forty-niners." State what Houston thought of the secession of Texas. Why did the slavery leaders desire more Southwestern territory? Why did the Texans cry, " Remember the Alamo "? Why was there opposition to the annexation of Texas ? Was it made by the Northern or the Southern members of Congress, do you think? What was the cause of the war with Mexico? Why did California choose a free con- stitution? M'^hy do people desire gold t» much? rP^ }^T\ 1^ !r\\ i \ OUR country's growth from 1845 TO 1848, »a9 CHAPTER XXIX Marcus Whitman 1802-1847 Our Claims to Oregon. When we bought CaHfomia from Mexico we added more than one thousand miles of seacoast on the Pacific, but we already had six hundred miles of coast farther north. That country was called Oregon, and this is the way we obtained possession of it. Long before the year 1800, Captain Gray, of Boston, dis- covered the mouth of a great river, and sailed his vessel over the bar at its entrance and fifty or sixty miles up the river. Here he landed, traded with the natives, and obtained fresh water for his vessel. He took possession of the country in the name of the United States, and named the river after his ship, the Columbia. Some years later, an expedition was sent out by President Jefferson to explore the country, under command of Captains Lewis and Clark. They crossed the Rocky Mountains and went down the Columbia River to its mouth, where they passed the winter, and returned the next summer. This ex- ploring expedition gave us another claim to the coimtry. Afterward, a permanent settlement was made at Astoria, near the mouth of the Columbia River. This settlement was MARCUS WHITMAN. 231 j ^-v M CA N T A N A "~^ j°'*'>^^ ^zs^i\n I 7° " £G0«, A ^ ^- )^""""~T"-~- r-iT'—T'- 'i THE OLD " OREGON COUNTRY." made by John Jacob Astor for the purpose of carrying on the fur trade with Indians of that section. President Monroe purchased Florida from Spain, and in the treaty of purchase the boundary between the United States and the Spanish provinces was defined. Between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, the line ran along latitude 42°. South of that line were the Spanish prov- inces, and to the country north of that line Spain yielded to us her claims. England, however, had laid claim to this territory and hence a dispute arose between us and the British government as to which should have the Oregon coimtry. Time passed on, and that question was not decided for many years. Missionaries to the Indians. Finally, American missionaries were sent out to the Oregon country to teach the Indians the Christian religion. Following in the train of the missionaries were many settlers. A British company bought the fur busi- ness which had been established at Astoria, so that many Canadians and other subjects of Great Britain also settled in that region. Among the American missionaries to the Indians was Dr. Marcus Whitman, a native of the State of New York, not a clergyman but a physician. With Whitman and his wife went Rev. Mr. Spaulding and his wife. Mrs. Whitman and Mrs. Spaulding were the first white women to cross the Rocky Mountains. After living there six years, Whitman became satisfied that 232 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. the English people in the fur trade were laying plans to secure that territory for Great Britain and themselves. He therefore made a most perilous journey on horseback from Oregon to the city of Washington and told the President, his Cabinet, and members of Congress what a valuable country Oregon was, and urged our government not to consent to part with it. Then, in the spring following, he returned to Oregon with a large company of emigrants, who settled in the valley of the Columbia. Others followed in large numbers, so that the Americans had a majority of the people in that region. " The Ride for Oregon." This " ride for Oregon " by Dr. Whitman was a most remarkable one, and has become famous. He consulted with his brother missionaries at a meeting held at his station on the Walla Walla River, in the present State of Washington. They agreed that he should go East, and gave him letters to carry. Five days later he started on his long and dangerous journey with but a single companion. In eleven days he reached Fort Hall, in southeastern Idaho, having covered a distance of four hundred miles. After resting a day or two and taking a guide, he pushed forward, not directly east through the South Pass, because in that section the snows were very deep and two tribes of Indians were at war with each other. He therefore followed an old Spanish trail, southeasterly through the comer of Utah, across Wyoming and Colorado to Santa Fe, New Mexico. This route added about a thousand miles to the length of the journey. Throughout this section his sufferings were severe. It required a very brave man with great endurance to perform such a trip at that early day through that barren country, on horseback, in the dead of winter. He must cross wide and MARCUS WHITMAN. 233 deep rivers, in some cases by fording and sometimes by swimming, while his path lay over almost impassable moim- tains, hardly yet ever traversed by man. At the Grand River. When they reached the Grand River they found it about a hundred and fifty or two hundred yards wide, frozen over about one third the way across, on each side, and in the center a rapid, angry stream of deep water. The guide told them that it would be very dangerous to cross there. But Dr. Whitman was not the man to be stopped by any- thing short of an impossibility. He rode out on the ice to its edge, and, although the weath- er was intensely cold, he called upon his companions to push off his horse into the stream. They did so, and down they went, completely under the water, horse and rider, but soon came up, and, after buffeting the rapid, foaming current, reached the ice on the opposite shore, a long way down the stream. Whitman leaped from his horse upon the ice and soon had the noble animal by his side. The other men forced in the pack animals, followed his example, and were soon drying their frozen clothing by a comfortable fire. A Fire under Difficulties. At another time, near the head- waters of the Arkansas River, after traveling all day in a terrible storm, they reached a small river for camp. Not a stick of wood was anywhere to be had except on the other side of " THE RIDE FOR OREGON." 234 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. the stream, which was covered with ice too thin to support a man erect. The storm cleared away, and the night bid fair to be intensely cold ; besides, they must have fires to prepare their food. The doctor took his ax in one hand and a willow stick in the other, laid himself upon the thin ice, and, spreading his legs and arms, worked himself over on his breast, boy fashion, cut his wood, slid it over, and returned in the same way. Frozen, almost starved, thoroughly worn out, he rested several days at Fort Taos and then at Santa Fe in New Mexico. He had now really got around the moimtains, and, changing his course to the northeast, pushed forward to Fort Bent, on the Arkansas River. It was late in January, but here he over- took a company of mountaineers and traveled with them to St. Louis. Whitman in Washington. From there he pushed on to Washington, which place he reached the 3d of March, 1843. John Tyler was President and Daniel Webster was Secretary of State. He told them what a valuable cotmtry the Oregon region was. The doctor also had interviews with senators and members of the House of Representatives, and then hastened to Boston. The Emigrants. From Boston he hurried westward and met the emigrants, who had gathered in large numbers near West- port, Missouri. As soon as the grass was sufficiently grown, one party started. A week later the second section moved, the third a week later still, and the fourth division ten days after that. These four bands, during the summer, successfully crossed the great western plains, pushed up the valley of the Platte River, the North Platte, and the Sweetwater, through the South Pass and so on past Fort Hall, Boise City, and over the Blue Moimtains to the Columbia. This great company MARCUS WHITMAN. 235 numbered more than eight hundred men, women, and children, with two htmdred emigrant wagons, and fifteen himdred head of cattle. On reaching Oregon they spread themselves out principally in the valley of the Willamette River. Just as the war with Mexico was begun (1846), we made a treaty with Great Britain by which she relin- quished to us her claims south of latitude 49°, and we yielded to her the whole region north of that line. Indian Massacre. It is painful to be obliged to add that Dr. Whitman, his wife, and eleven others were mas- sacred by the Indians (in 1847 )> 3-t his station on the Walla Walla River. Whit- man was a man of great en- durance, courageous beyond measure, with a noble soul, filled with the loftiest pa- triotism. The American people should cherish and honor the memory of Marcus Whitman as one of our great- est and most heroic patriots. Oregon To-day. For fifty years that great section has been rapidly filling up with industrious and enterprising citizens from the older States, until now it contains more than a million inhabitants and has become noted for its rich soil and healthful climate, which make it one of the finest regions in the whole THE WESTERN SETTLER S FIRST HOME. 236 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. country. It raises great quantities of wheat, rye, potatoes, and hay, has valuable minerals, and is capable of supplying the world with the best of lumber, of which it has an exhaustless quantity. Thus we see how, largely through the patriotism, intre- pidity, and energy of one man, it has happened that three States — Washington, Oregon, and Idaho — were added to our Union, three stars to our flag, and six members to the Ameri- can Senate. Explain each of the claims that the United States had to Oregon. State the reasons for Whitman's eastward journey. Give some account of that journey. Give an account of the return trip. State what the journey did for the United States. Who discovered Oregon? Who explored Oregon? Who first set- tled Oregon? Who yielded to the United States her claims to Oregon? Who finally signed a treaty by which the United States fully received Oregon? Whitman went to Washington to tell the President how valuable Oregon was; why did not the President know this? CHAPTER XXX ,./.., ,._ Samuel F. B. Morse '/y>'^\ SAMUEL F B MORSE [ I79I-I872 Samuel F. B. Morse. Few inventions have proved of greater use or made greater changes in the Hfe of man than the inven- tion of the magnetic telegraph. It was almost wholly due to the genius and skill of Professor Samuel F. B. Morse. He not only invented the instrument, but also planned all the details and put it into practical operation. Professor Morse was the son of the distinguished geographer, Rev. Jedediah Morse, D.D., of Charlestown, Massachusetts. Like the inventor of the steamboat, he became a portrait painter. Like Fulton also, he went to England to study his profession. He worked with the famous Washington Allston. A Conversation with George III. While there, one day Allston took Morse to the studio of Fulton's friend, the great painter, Benjamin West. Morse was examining a portrait of King George IH, when West said, " That is a portrait of the king." " So I observe," replied Morse; " did he sit here for it? " " Yes, " said the painter; " and let me tell you a Httle incident. One day, while he was sitting for me, a box was 238 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. handed to him, which contained the American Declaration of Independence." " And what did the king say? " asked Morse. " What he said," repHed West, " was creditable to his heart. When he saw what the document was, knowing that. I was an American, he looked up at me and said, ' Well, if the Americans can be happier imder their own government than -under mine, I am happy.' " A Suggestion. Morse a few years later was crossing the Atlantic in a packet ship, when, in the early part of the voyage, at the dinner table frequent discussions arose in regard to electro-magnetism. Dr. Jackson, of Boston, spoke one day of the length of wire in the coil of a magnet. Some one asked the question whether the passage of electricity through the wire was hindered by its length. Jackson replied that it was not. He said that electricity passed instantaneously over any known length of wire. At this point Professor Morse made this remark: " If the presence of electricity can be made visible in any part of the circuit, I see no reason why intelligence may not be trans- mitted instantaneously by electricity." The conversation between others went on, but that one new idea had taken full possession of Professor Morse's whole being. He reviewed in his mind the experiments of his boy- hood, his college studies in electricity, his frequent talks with Professor Dana and Professor Renwick. He withdrew from the table and went on deck. The idea followed him through the whole journey. The Telegraph. Professor Morse was already an inventor. He had secured many patents in the United States. He was a man of industry, patience, and faith. He was forty years of age. The magnetic telegraph he must invent. SAMUEL F. B. MORSE. 239 " If it will go ten miles without stopping," he said, " I can make it go arotmd the globe." He made the magnet. He fashioned the armature. He applied the lever. He attached the wires to the battery. By- making the electricity flow and then by stopping it, the arma- ture was drawn up and dropped. The instrument was made. Success attended its working. He next set himself to invent an alphabet, consisting of long and short marks. That alphabet is now in almost uni- versal use with the telegraph the world over. The invention was complete, but many years must pass before it could be put into successful operation. Morse con- tinued his studies of the subject, constantly experimenting, until he had spent all his money and was really penniless. It was the old story of genius contending with poverty. At one time he had a little room in a down-town building in the city of New York, owned by his brothers, where he lived and worked and ate and slept. On one side of the room was his turning lathe and bench, and on the other side a little cot. He lived on crackers and the simplest food, which, with the tea prepared by himself, sustained his life, while he toiled night and day to perfect the instrument which he had invented. Congress Makes an Appropriation. Finally the decisive day came. It was the third day of March, 1843. (This was the very day that Whitman reached Washington. ) At midnight Congress would adjourn. A bill was before the Senate for an appropriation of $30,000 to put in operation a telegraph line between Washington and Baltimore, a distance of forty miles. The bill had passed the House. It was now near midnight. Morse was still waiting in the Senate Chamber. His friends told him it was impossible for the bill to be reached. Morse 240 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. himself said afterward: " This was the turning point in the history of the telegraph. My personal funds were reduced to the fraction of a dollar, and, had the passage of the bill failed from any cause, there would have been little prospect of another attempt on my part to introduce to the world my new invention." His friends assured him that it was useless to remain in the Senate Chamber. The bill could not possibly be reached. He left the Capi- tol and retired to his room at the hotel, wellnigh broken- hearted. As he came down to break- fast the next morning, Miss Annie G. Ellsworth, daughter of his friend, the commis- sioner of patents, met him with a smile upon her face and exclaimed, "I have come to congratulate you. Professor Morse." "For what?" said Morse; " you had better com- miserate me." " Oh, no," she replied; " congratulate you." " For what, pray?" " On the passage of your bill. My father told me that in the last moment of the session the bill was passed without debate or division." Morse promised her that she should dictate the first message to be sent over the first line of telegraph that was opened. The First Message. When the line was completed and everything was ready, Professor Morse sent a note to Miss MORSE S FIRST NEWS OF HIS SUCCESS. SAMUEL F. B. MORSE. 24I Ellsworth, saying: " Everything is ready, and I am prepared to fulfill my promise that you should dictate the first dispatch over the wires." An answer was immediately returned, and the words which it contained — " What hath God wrought "— were the first words ever sent by electric telegraph from one city to another. Professor Morse afterward said of this mes- sage, " It baptized the American telegraph with the name of its author." Morse was at Washington; his friend, Mr. Alfred Vail, at Baltimore. Morse caused the instrument to tick out the words as given above. Vail received the message and repeated it back again. Then Morse over the wire said, " Stop a few minutes." Vail replied, " Yes." " Have you any news?" " No." " Mr. Seaton's respects to you." "My respects to him." "What is your time?" " Nine o'clock, twenty -eight minutes." " What weather have vou?" "Cloudy." "Separate your words more." "Oil your clockwork." Its Value Demonstrated. The first message was sent May 24, 1844. Two days afterward the National Democratic Con- vention assembled in Baltimore to nominate candidates for President and Vice-President. The convention nominated James K. Polk for President. It then nominated Silas Wright for Vice-President. Mr. Wright was at that time in the Senate. His nomina- tion was telegraphed at once by Mr. Vail at Baltimore to Professor Morse in the old Senate Chamber in the Capitol at Washington. In a few moments the convention was sur- prised by receiving a message from Mr. Wright, in which he declined the nomination. The president of the convention read the dispatch, but it was not believed. The friends of 242 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Mr. Wright said it was a trick by his enemies to make them nominate some one else. The convention adjourned, after choosing a committee to go to Washington and get Mr. Wright's answer in person. The committee returned the next morning and reported that the telegraph had brought the answer correctly from Mr. Wright. A Successful Advertisement. No better advertisement of the invention could possibly have been planned. Here were leading men from every State in the Union. They were thoroughly convinced of the usefulness of the telegraph. On their return to their homes they all talked about it, so that the fact of the successful operation of the electric tele- graph was thoroughly understood at once all over the United States. A Great Success. So the American electro-magnetic tele- graph was perfected and put into successful operation. Its use has rapidly increased, until to-day there is a telegraph station in almost every hamlet of the whole coiintry, and indeed in the civilized world. In the United States alone we have more than a million miles of telegraphic wire in operation, with about twenty-five thou- sand offices, sending annually nearly one hundred million mes- sages and receiving for the same more than thirty million dollars. Besides these telegraph lines upon the land, the world is now well supplied with ocean cables, with the wires laid at the bottom of the sea. Within forty years past these cables have increased, until we have now in the world something over one hundred thousand miles of cable lines under water. The Ocean Cable. The history of the ocean telegraph would be of great interest if we had time to consider it. Through the efforts of Mr. Cyrus W. Field and others, the first cable across the Atlantic was laid (in 1858), and within the next two SAMUEL F. B. MORSE. 243 Then the weeks about four hundred messages were sent signals became unintelHgible. In 1866 the second Atlantic cable was successfully laid. The wire for this cable was twenty-three hundred miles in length and weighed more than four thousand tons. It was carried upon the steamship Great Eastern. But the story of LAYING AN OCliAN CABLE. ocean telegraph cables is too long to be told here. You must find these accotmts in other books, and it is hoped that you will read them with more interest because of the story which has now been given you. A few years ago an incident was recorded that shows something of the greatness of the telegraph. In Jtme, 1897, a great celebration took place in London, in honor of the sixty years that Queen Victoria had 244 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. been upon the British throne. The Queen rode in a procession through streets packed with milHons of people. Just as she left the palace she pressed an electric button. Instantly this message was sent to her colonies all over the world : " From my heart I thank my beloved people. May God bless them. Victoria, R. I." To forty different points in her empire sped the electric message. In sixteen minutes a reply came from Ottawa in Canada; then one by one the answers came in from more remote provinces; until, before the Queen reached London Bridge, the Cape of Good Hope, the Gold Coast of Africa, and the great continent of Australia had sent responses to her message. We should pay great honor to Professor Morse and Cyrus W. Field for their heroic efforts and the perseverance by which they have given to the world the American telegraph and the ocean cables. Give the circumstances which turned Morse's thoughts to the in- vention of the telegraph. Give an account of the difficulties which Morse met; of the bill in the United States Senate. Tell the story of the first message; of the political convention. Give an account of the ocean cable. Tell the story about the Queen's message. What did the painter West mean by stating that what George III said " was creditable to his heart "? Professor Morse, at the dinner- table, used the words " be made visible "; why did he not say " be seen"? Why did Morse need an alphabet? Why are most inventors poor? Why do telegraph wires most often run by the side of the rail- roads? What did the Queen mean when she wrote her name " Vic- toria, R. I." ? CHAPTER XXXI Abraham Lincoln I 809- I 865 The Great West. It is related that Horace Greeley once advised a friend: " Go West, young man, go West, and grow up with the country." By this remark he meant that there were then more oppor- tunities for a young man to rise in the world, to make a name for himself, in the West, than if he stayed in the more thickly settled portions of the East. The history of the United States gives ^us the stories of many yoimg men who have shown that, in their cases at least, Greeley's advice was good. The West has gradually moved farther and farther west, as the Eastern country has become more and more closely settled. A hundred years ago the New West was just over the Alleghany Mountains; now even the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Coast are almost too old to be called the New West. The Lincolns. The first western movement of our American people was, of course, across the Atlantic Ocean to these shores, and among the earliest Puritan emigrants was one Samuel Lin- coln, who settled in the new country about Boston. Samuel Lincoln's grandson, Mordecai, moved west to «4S 246 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. THE CABIN WHERE LINCOLN WAS BORN. New Jersey, and thence to Pennsylvania when that colony was young. Mordecai Lincoln's son John continued the western journey — southwest, it was — and made a home in western Virginia. John Lincoln's son Abraham was one of the early pioneers in the territory of Kentucky, where he was killed by the Indians. One of his sons, Thomas Lincoln, continued the migration after the birth of his son Abraham, and moved northwest into Indiana, and finally into Illinois. In this State Abraham Lincoln, who was des- tined to be one of the greatest of our Presi- dents, spent his manhood. Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was bom in Kentucky early in the nineteenth century. His father, who had lived all his boyhood in that new region and had met with many of the trials and hardships of rude frontier life, was very poor and had almost no school education. His mother, whose family also had come to Kentucky many years before, had no prop- erty, but she had received more schooling than her husband had. Their home was the ordinary one of a poor Western settler, a log cabin of one room. It had one door and a great log chimney outside of the house. To such a rude, imcomfortable life was Abraham Lincoln bom. The boy could have had but little remembrance of his Kentucky life, for he was still young when his father moved into Indiana. After the arrival of the family, the new house was built in the midst of a dense forest. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 247 Pioneer Life. Even the seven-year-old boy Abraham used an ax to aid in making a clearing. The cabin was ruder than the home which they had left in Kentucky. It contained no furniture except of home make; its chairs were boards into which logs were fitted ; its bedsteads were made of two upright posts with cross poles running from these and inserted into the walls of the cabin. The boy's bed was of dry leaves in the loft. Plenty of food could be easily obtained, but it was mainly that of camp life. Game and fish they had in great abun- dance, but com and wheat were scarce. Potatoes were almost the only vegetable raised. Food was cooked in a very simple and rude manner; the new settlers had few cook- ing-vessels, and grocery stores were far away. Soap and candles were always made at home, and clothing was never purchased. All cotton clothes had to be made from the raw material; the cotton must be raised, picked, spun, and woven by the women of the home. Often deer- skin trousers, coonskin caps, and home-made moccasins formed part of the boy's attire. Young Abraham grew up a strong boy; he continued to wield the ax; he entered into all the work on the farm. He plowed the ground, he harrowed the soil, he mowed the grain, he threshed the wheat, he carried the grist to mill. He hired out to the neighbors to do anything that was needed, the pay going to his father. Not until he was eighteen did he earn any money for himself. Lincoln's First Dollar. " After much persuasion," as President Lincoln later told the story, " I had got the consent of my mother and had constructed a flatboat. A steamer was going down the river. We had, you know, no wharves on the Western streams, and the custom was, if passengers were at any of the landings, they were to go out in a boat, the steamer 24^ FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. stopping and taking them on board. I was on my new boat when two men with trunks came down to the shore, and, look- ing at the different boats, singled out mine and asked : " ' Who owns this boat? ' " I answered modestly, ' I do.' " ' Will you take us and our trunks out to the steamer? ' " ' Certainly,' said I. I was very glad to have the chance of earning something and supposed that each of them would give me a couple of bits. The trunks were put in my boat, the passengers seated themselves upon them, and I sculled them out to the steamer. They got on board, and I lifted the trunks and put them on the deck. The steamer was about to put on steam again, when I called out: " ' You have forgotten to pay me.' " Each of them took from his pocket a silver half-dollar and threw it on the bottom of the boat. I could scarcely believe my eyes as I picked up the money. I could scarcely credit that I, the poor boy, had earned a dollar in less than a day; that by honest work I had earned a dollar. I was a more hopeful and thoughtful boy from that time." His Struggles for an Education. During all his boyhood Abraham strove for an education. He obtained little from schools, for he was not able to go to school more than a year in all. But he did read ; he read everything that he could obtain. He not only read the books, but came to know them through and through. Very few books belonged to the family, but Abraham borrowed from his neighbors. One of these books, Weems's " Life of Washington," tmforttmately got wet and soiled. It required three days' labor to make good the loss, but after that the injured book belonged to the studious boy. Lincoln once said that he had " read through every book he had ever heard of in that country for a circuit of fifty ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 249 miles." He would read and cipher after his day's work was done; he would often be found stretched out on the floor, reading by the light of the fire; he found time for reading when plowing, as his horse must be allowed to rest at the end of the furrows. Every newspaper that came to the village somehow foimd its way into his hand. YOUNG LINCOLN STUDYING BY FIRELIGHT. Early Manhood. Time passed on and Abraham grew to manhood. His father moved to Illinois, carrying his goods and those of two other families in a wagon drawn by four oxen. Abraham drove the team and took the opportunity to do a little trading business of his own. Before leaving Indiana he spent all his money, about thirty dollars, for notions, — pins, 250 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. needles, thread, buttons, knives, forks, and other needful household articles. These he peddled at the houses along the road, selling them all before he reached the end of his journey, and doubling his money by the little business operation. Wishing to be more among people, young Lincoln became a clerk in a store. Here his natural talent for speechmaking was much used, until one day he had an open debate with a candidate for office, and was congratulated by his opponent for his clever speech. This roused the young man's ambi- tion still further, and he began, as he said, to study " sub- jects." By the advice of the schoolmaster of the place he sought a grammar. Hearing of a copy six miles away, he walked to the place and borrowed it. After that he spent many evenings at a cooper's shop, studying by the light of the fire of shavings. He recited from the book, he obtained help from the schoolmaster, and finally he said, " If that is what they call a science, I think I'll go another." Runs for the Legislature. Lincoln was very popular among his neighbors, and though but a poor, unschooled cotintry boy, he ran for the State Legislature from his county when but twenty-three years of age. The Black Hawk Indian War broke out just at this time, and Lincoln served through the war as a captain. When he returned, it lacked but a few days of election. Lincoln was defeated, as the county gave a majority for the candidate of the other party; in his own neighborhood, however, where he was best known, he received two hundred and seventy-seven votes out of two hundred and ninety cast for representative. Studies Law. Lincoln next bought a store, which he kept for a few years ; he became postmaster ; he learned surveying and was appointed deputy surveyor of the coimty. While in ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 25I his store he bought a barrel of odds and ends of a man who was moving farther west, and who wished to make his load a little lighter. In this barrel Lincoln found a set of law books, called Blackstone's " Commentaries." " I began to read these famous works," said he afterward, " and I had plenty of time. The more I read, the more intensely interested I became, I read them until I devoured them." Lincoln was now started on the road to be a lawyer. Eleven years after Lincoln's defeat for the Legislature he was again a candidate, was elected, and then served as a rep- resentative for eight years. While in the Assembly he com- pleted the study of law and was admitted to the bar. Declining another reelection, Lincoln devoted himself to the practice of law until he was sent to the House of Repre- sentatives at Washington for two years. Returning to Illinois, he became a leader in the new Republican party, which was formed to oppose the further extension of slavery. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates. Lincoln was little known outside of his State until he became a candidate for the United States Senate. His Democratic opponent was Stephen A. Douglas, and these two men spoke daily from the same platforms ; they kept up a long debate, day after day, as they traveled over the State. Douglas desired to quiet the rising quarrel over the slavery question by leaving all discussion of it to the individual States and Territories. Lincoln hated slavery, and believed that it must not spread into any more States. He stated his idea in this way: " A house divided against itself cannot stand, I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free," Douglas, however, was chosen senator; but, two years 252 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. later (i860), Lincoln was elected President of the United States. Slavery. For many years the people of the North, where there were no slaves, and the people of the South, who held slaves, had become more and more alienated from each other. The people of the North had very generally come to believe in a strong national government. The people of the South were in favor of " State rights," making the separate States superior to the Union. The people of the North thought that slavery was wrong; the people of the South had become more and more attached to their " peculiar institution," as slave-holding was called. Many people in the North felt strongly that slavery should be restricted to the States where it then ex- isted. The people of the South, on the contrary, held that the entire Western territory should be open to them and their slaves. Lincoln was elected President by the Republican party, which had declared against any further extension of slavery. For ten years the number of free States had been greater than that of slave States, and the slavery leaders saw that they could not obtain what they sought. The Southern States Secede. They, therefore, now deter- mined to withdraw their States from the Union and set up a government of their own. Lincoln was inaugurated President March 4, 1861, but before that date seven States had seceded FORT SUMTER. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 253 and formed a new government called the " Confederate States of America." This government was begim at Montgomery, Alabama; but, when four more States had joined them, Richmond, Virginia, was made the capital of the Confederacy. Fort Sumter. In April a Confederate force opened fire upon Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor, which was held by United States troops. The next day Major Anderson and his small force surrendered. War was thus commenced. At the North the excitement was in- tense. At the South the enthusi- asm was equally great. President Lincoln called for seventy-five thousand volunteer soldiers. Jef- ferson Davis, president of the Confederate States, issued his proc- lamation for troops. The Civil War followed: a war to determine whether the United States should be supreme and indivisible, or whether each State might be superior to the Union and at liberty to withdraw from it. Civil War. A terrible strife had begun ; a civil war — the worst form of war in w^hich men can engage; a war in which the soldiers facing each other belong to one and the same country; a war in which friends fight against friends, and often brothers against brothers. We will not here follow the course of events in this war. They will be treated in following chapters. Is it possible for us to form any adequate idea of the burden which Abraham Lincoln carried through those four long years ? JEFFERSON DAVIS, PRESIDENT OF THE CONFEDERACY. 254 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Lincoln's Statesmanship. What broad statesmanship was required ; what clear vision was needed ; what accurate judg- ment ; what even temper ; what tender feelings of mercy ; what love for his fellow-men, for all humanity; what respect and deference to the conflicting views of the great statesmen and business men of the country; what tact, what skill, what readiness in emergencies ; what clear insight ; what breadth of outlook. Indeed, it is impossible to appreciate the various requirements necessary in the leader of a great people, the executive of a great nation, the commander-in-chief of the armies which included a million of men and more, in carrying forward to a successful conclusion a war of more gigantic proportions than the modem world has elsewhere seen. But Lincoln was equal to this task. " With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right," the man of a sad face performed his great task with nobleness of purpose, with singleness of heart, and with complete success. Gettysburg Speech. A few months after the battle of Gettysburg, President Lincoln made a short speech at the dedication of the national cemetery at that place. He closed this famous address with this sentence, which is well worthy to be studied by every boy and girl, by every man and woman, in the country: "It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task re- maining before us — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." When the war ended, " government by the people " was firmly established; " a new birth of freedom" had come to the United States. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 255 Castelar's Tribute. At the murder of Lincoln the whole world mourned. Tributes were everywhere paid to his great worth. Among them were the burning words uttered in the Spanish Cortes by that great statesman, Emilio Castelar. The closing paragraph of his speech reads as follows: " I have often contem- plated and described Abra- ham Lincoln's life. Bom in a cabin in Kentucky, of par- ents who could hardly read, bom a new Moses in the soli- tude of the desert where are forged great and obstinate thoughts, monotonous like the desert, and like the des- ert, sublime ; growing up among those primeval forests, which with their fragrance send a cloud of incense, and with their murmurs a cloud of prayers to heaven; boat- man at eight years, on the impetuous current of the Ohio; and at seventeen, on the vast and tranquil waters of the Mississippi, ... he was raised by the nation to the presidency of the Republic. " The wood-cutter, the boatman, the son of the great West, the descendant of Quakers, humblest of the humble before his conscience, greatest of the great in history, ascends the STATUE OF LINCOLN FREEING THE SLAVE. 256 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Capitol, strong and serene with his conscience and his thought: before him a veteran army, hostile Europe behind him, England favoring the South, France encouraging reaction in Mexico, in his hands the riven cotmtry ; he arms two millions of men, gathers a half -million horses, sends his artillery twelve hundred miles in a week, from the banks of the Potomac to the shores of the Tennessee, fights more than six hundred battles, renews before Richmond the deeds of Alexander and of Caesar ; and, after having emancipated three million slaves, that nothing might be wanting, he dies in the moment of victory, like Christ, like Socrates, like all redeemers, at the foot of his work. His work! sublime achievement, over which humanity shall etemaUy shed its tears, and God bestow His benediction." Describe the route by which the Lincoln family gradually moved fro'm England to Illinois. Give an account of young Lincoln's homes and his work as a boy. Tell his story about the first money that he earned for himself. State how Abraham educated himself. Give some account of Lincoln's public life. State what separated the North from the South. Is Greeley's advice good to-day? Why did Abraham grow up " a strong boy "? What did he intend to do with his flatboat? Why did he have so little schooling? Do you suppose he obtained as much from his few books as you do from your many? What two " subjects '' did Abraham teach himself? How was the United States a " house divided against itself"? Why did the Southern States leave the Union? Why was Northern excitement and Southern enthusiasm so great after the firing upon Fort Sumter? Robert E. Lee 1807-1870 The Confederate States of America. After Mr. Lincoln was elected President, and before his inauguration, seven States in the extreme South, as we have already seen, seceded and formed a new government, called the " Confederate States of America." Later, four more States seceded and joined this Confederacy. Eleven States, therefore, all located in the South, all being slave States, had undertaken to withdraw from the Union and set up a government of their own. The capture of Fort Sumter, a national fort, by South Carolina troops was the act which began the war and occasioned the forming of two great armies, — the army of the Republic to maintain the unity of the nation, to preserve the Union, and the army of the Confed- eracy to uphold the new government in the South. Union Generals. Then four years of war, embracing great military movements, added many names to the world's list of distinguished soldiers. As the war progressed one man after another came to the front, until before the close of the contest the Union army had developed such men as General U. S. Grant, who finally received the surrender of General Lee and 258 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. BUTT ERNUT OR V'ELUOVA/ISH BRO\A/N put an end to the war; General William T. Sherman, who plowed such a mighty furrow from Atlanta to the sea, through the middle of the Confederacy; General Phil. H. Sheridan, the hero of Winchester; General George B. Mc- Clellan, who fought the battles of the Peninsula ; General A E. Bumside, the popular com- mander of the Army of the Potomac, who was defeated at Fredericksburg; " Fighting Joe Hooker," who lost at Chancellorsville ; General George G. Meade, who won the decisive battle of Gettys- burg; Generals George H, Thomas and W. S. Rosecrans, of Chickamauga fame; Gen- eral Winfield S. Hancock; General John A. Logan, and many other generals whose names are worthy to be added to this list. Confederate Commanders. The Confederate army, too, brought out no less military genius and ability in their principal commanders. Many of the officers in the regular army who had been educated in the Military Academy at West Point were from the South and sided with the States to which they belonged. As early as August, 1861, the Confederate Congress created five full generals of the Confederate army. These were Samuel Cooper, Albert Sydney Johnston, Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, and P. G. T. Beauregard. Besides these distinguished officers on the Confederate side, M I 1.1x1 A REGULAR. CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS. ROBERT E. LEE. 259 t NNSYLVAIMIA were General Edmund Kirby Smith, who had command beyond the Mississippi River; General James Longstreet, one of Lee's ablest assistants; General T. J. (" Stonewall " ) Jack- son, a conscientious, able, bold leader; General J. E. B. Stuart, of cavalry fame; General A. P. Hill, General Leonidas Polk, and many others who were justly celebrated as mili- tary leaders. Robert E. Lee. Before one year of the war had passed General Lee was ordered to Richmond and assigned to duty ' ' under the direction of the president, charged with the conduct of military operations in the armies of the Confederacy." General Lee for more than three years led the armies of the South in that terrible war, and was without doubt the greatest general of the Southern army, and one of the greatest ever produced in America. He was the son of that famous hero of the Revolution, General Henry Lee, known everywhere as " Light-horse Harry." He was educated at the Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated almost at the head of his class at the age of twenty- two. He served in the Mexican War and subsequently was in command of the Academy at West Point. MAP OF EASTERN AND VICINITY. 26o FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. The " Monitor " and the " Merrimac." In the middle of the first summer of the war came the battle of Bull Run, where the Confederates were victorious. In March, 1862, the Union ironclad Monitor fought the Confederate ironclad Merrimac. Both vessels were novelties, and excited great fear and wonder. The Merrimac, sheathed in iron armor, steamed up to the Union wooden war-vessels in Hampton Roads and began to destroy them. It sunk one and ran another aground and burned it. The next morning, as the Merrimac again started out of Norfolk harbor to finish her task, there suddenly appeared the new Monitor, which the soldiers said looked like " a cheese-box on a raft." It drove off the Confederate ironclad and gave a decisive turn to the naval operations of the war, and, indeed, began a change in all naval warfare through- out the world. Peninsular Campaign. During the spring and summer following this naval battle, came the fiercely fought Penin- sular Campaign. Mc- Clellan commanded the Union forces, and Lee the Confederate army. Lee was repulsed at Malvern Hill and McClellan swung his army safely over to the James River. But Lee so ably GENERAL LEE AND GENERAL JACKSON S COUNCIL OF WAR AT CHANCELLORSVILLE. ROBERT E. LEE. 261 Opposed his adversary that the Union army could not success- fully operate against Richmond from that point and was finally withdrawn from the Peninsula, to the joy of the South and the disgust of the North. Time would fail to tell of Pope's campaign, where Lee was victorious; of South Mountain and Antietam, where he was defeated, all in the summer of 1862; of how, in Decem- ber, he inflicted terrible disaster upon Bumside at Fredericks- burg, and in the next May upon General Hooker at Chancel- lors ville, which was perhaps the most severe defeat the Union forces experienced. Lee Invades the North. After this, Lee determined to invade the North. In June, 1863, he pushed his army of about eighty thousand men across Maryland and into Pennsylvania. This was a bold proceeding. Lee was obliged to leave his base of supplies and invade the enemy's country. His design evidently was to capture Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, and then move on Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Washington. The Union army, still under General Hooker, also started across Maryland, keeping between the Confederate army and the capital. Hooker resigned his command during the march, and General Meade was immediately appointed to take his place. Lee crossed into Pennsylvania and marched his army through the hill-country eastward toward the town of Get- tysburg The advance of the Union army met Lee's forces on the lot of July, just outside of this town. On the first three days of July occurred the great battle of Gettysburg. Gettysburg. The first day's fight was really only a reconnois- sance, and the Confederates had the advantage. During the next two days the Union forces occupied the ground from Culp's Hill past the cemetery, along the line of Cemetery Ridge to Round Top. This formed a line of battle shaped like a 262 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. ROBERT E, LEE. 263 fish-hook, the crooked end being at Gulp's Hill and the long end of the hook at Round Top. Lee made three attempts to break the Union lines: first, on the right of that line at Gulp's Hill; again, on its left near Roimd Top; and, finally, on the third day, near its center, where Pickett's charge met its bloody re- pulse. Each time he was unsuc- cessful, and finally was obliged to withdraw his forces and retreat across the Potomac. Lee as a Citizen. The remain- der of the war will be considered in the next chapter. It only remains for us here to note the life of Lee after the war was closed. He at once withdrew from public affairs, not in moody gloom or with vexed spirit; but like a great man acting under a firm conviction of duty, he betook himself to the work of a private citizen. He accepted the results of the war, and used all his influence to restore friendly relations between the two sections. He was made president of Washington Gollege in Virginia, afterward re-named Washington and Lee University, and there he passed the remainder of his life, holding the greatest respect and love of all, in his faithful and successful work of educating yoimg men. He died on the 12th of October, 1870, in his sixty-fourth year. CONFEDERATE FLAGS. 264 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Tell what you can of the life of General Lee previous to the Civil War. Give some account of McClellan's Peninsular Campaign. Describe the battle of Gettysburg. Why did the capture of Fort Sumter begin the war? What pre- vious war-experience had some of the generals of the Civil War had? Why was the Monitor called a " cheese-box on a raft "? Why did Lee attempt to invade the North? Do you think it was a wise plan? Give your reasons. What did Lee do after the war? THE STATUE OF LEE AT RICHMOND. ULYSSES S SRANT | V-^ CHAPTER XXXni Ulysses S. Grant 1822-1885 Grant's Early Manhood. The Civil War brought to the front on both sides many great men, who only needed an opportunity to show to the world the strength of their minds or the bril- liancy of their talents. General Grant is a conspicuous ex- ample. A man's surroundings and opportunities have much to do with the reputation which he is enabled to make. When the war broke out, Grant was in the full strength of his manhood, being then thirty -nine years old. He was a native of Ohio, and his father was a farmer and a tanner. He had the good fortune, therefore, to be brought up on a farm, which is the best place in the world for a boy. He graduated ^t West Point MiHtary Academy when he was twenty-one years of age. Previous to the Civil War, Grant's career was varied. In the Mexican War he commanded a company, served as quar- termaster, as adjutant of the regiment, and under General Scott performed a variety of daring services. In 1853 he was made captain, and the next year resigned his command, and with his family settled on a small farm at St. Louis. One 26s 266 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. year before the war began he removed to Illinois and acted as clerk in his father's store, where he sold hardware and leather. Captures Fort Donelson. As soon as he heard that Fort Sumter had been captured he LIGHT AND DARK BLUE ^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^ g^^^^ f^^. ^-^^ Union, and at once raised a company of volunteers, drilled them, and took them to Springfield, the capital of the State. He was appointed colonel of an Illinois regi- ment and entered the field of active service in Missouri. In August he was made brigadier- general, and in September he seized Paducah, in Kentucky, and fortified it. Early the next year, 1862, he captured Fort Henry, and besieged Fort Donelson. General Buck- ner, who was then in com- mand of the fort, sent a flag of truce asking what terms Grant would give if he would surrender. Grant immediately returned this brief and historic reply : " No terms except an unconditional and immediate sur- render can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works." Buckner surrendered with fifteen thousand men, and the Confederate line of defense was broken. After a little, the Confederates fell back to Corinth, where in April Grant fought CAVALRY I N F A NT RY FEDERAL SOLDIERS. ULYSSES S. GRANT. 267 the great battle of Shiloh. The Confederates retreated, and the Union army held the coiintry from Memphis to Chatta- nooga. Vicksburg. Then came the siege of Vicksburg, where Grant showed great generalship. Finally, on the Fourth of July, 1863, General Pemberton surrendered Vicksburg to Grant, with his entire force of more than thirty thousand troops, sixty thousand muskets, and a large amount of military stores. The surrender of Vicksburg and the repulse of Lee at Gettys- burg, coming as they did at the same time, may be considered the turning-point of the war. Grant was now made a major- general and received from Congress a gold medal. Grant had clearly proved his superior ability as a general, and in March, 1864, he was made lieutenant-general and given command of all the armies of the Union. He now undertook to march his army through the Wilderness toward Richmond. The Wilderness. What a terrible campaign that was! In a single month the two armies lost perhaps ten thousand killed, fifty thousand wounded, and ten thousand missing. Grant transferred his army to the James River and from that time until the following spring, for nearly a year, the contest was desperate. At length, in April, 1865, Lee and his forces left Richmond, and Grant's army entered the Confederate capital. Lee now attempted a forced march toward the South, but, being hemmed in by Grant's army and Sheridan's cavalry, he surrendered his army (April 9, 1865), at Appomat- tox Court House. Grant made generous terms for the sur- render and furnished the defeated army with a large amount of rations and supplies. The End of the War. Meantime General Sherman had made his famous march through Georgia. General Johnston yielded 208 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. %-'^^^% GRANT IN THE CAMPAIGN OF THE WILDERNESS. to Sherman, and General Kirby Smith surrendered his forces west of the Mississippi River. The war was ended. The President issued a proclamation of amnesty, and Lee applied b}^ letter, asking to be included in this amnesty. Grant had shown his noble nature by the very liberal terms which he had given to Lee's army at the surrender. He had allowed them to retain their horses, side-arms, and baggage, and had simply taken from them a promise that they would ULYSSES S. GRANT. 269 no longer contend against the United States government. Grant indorsed Lee's letter applying for amnesty, as follows : " Respectfully forwarded, through the Secretary of War, to the President, with the earnest recommendation that the appli- cation of General Robert E. Lee for amnesty and pardon be granted him." Results. Now that the war was over, let us see what were its results. We must remember that the Southern States withdrew from the Union, formed a Confederacy of their own, and attacked Fort Sumter. The United States government refused to recognize this separation, and considered the armed attack as a rebellion to be put down by arms. President Lincoln called fc>r volunteers to enforce the laws of the Union in those States. When the war ended in the victory of the United States, the theory of secession was overthrown ; henceforth the United States is a Nation, one and indivisible. Slavery Abolished. Although the war was fought for the preservation of the Union, another result followed from it. President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, in the midst of the war, declaring the slaves in those States that were still in arms against the Union to be free. It was then clear that if the United States was victorious, slavery would be abolished throughout the nation. Soon after the end of the war an amendment to the national Constitution was adopted, forever forbidding slavery in any part of the United States. Lincoln was right when he said, long before: " This government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free." It is now all free. GENERAL SHERMAN. 270 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. These results came from the war ; but at what terrible cost! We cannot tell of the great numbers that were killed; of the greater numbers that were wounded; of the suffering and sorrow in thousands of homes. We cannot tell of the enormous expense; the hea\y taxes, both then and now, for we still spend vast sums in pensions to our soldiers, and to CIVIL \VA.R 1861 ie«9 toyal Sieici ini) Ten 5oulheni Conffderac/ pay the iaterest on the debt which grew out of the war. We cannot tell of the fearful injury to the States which seceded, for they bore the full brunt of the war and it left them in poverty. National Growth. Nearly half a century has passed since the surrender at Appomattox. The wounds of the great war have now well healed. The United States has had a prosperous history. North, East, West, and South have grown with wonderful rapidity. ULYSSES S. GRANT, 27 1 Not the least remarkable has been the history of the South- ern States. They have risen from their defeat. They lost their all, but they began again and have regained prosperity. The United States government treated the vanquished with great mildness. No one was put to death at the end of the war, but few were imprisoned, and most of those only for a brief time; all were pardoned, and their former rights were restored to them, at least if they so desired. The Southern States are to-day as loyal to the government as the Northern; their response to the call of the President of the United States to assist in freeing Cuba was quick and enthusiastic. The United States is now a united country. All honor has been given to the heroes of the Civil War. First and foremost, the country loves the memory of Abraham Lincoln, " Our Martyred President," who, but a few days after the surrender, died from the shot of an assassin. Grant's Last Years. General Grant received the highest honors that our country has ever given to any man. He was the first, after Washington, to be made general of the United States Army. He was twice elected President. He made a tour around the world as a private citizen, and he was every- where received as one of the great men of the world. He was honored by kings and emperors, by the Czar and the Mikado, by queens and presidents. Yet, when he returned to the United States, he had not been made proud by his honors; he remained what he had always been, a modest, humble, quiet, plain American citi- zen. After a long illness, during which the entire country read with bated breath, day by day, the news from his bed- side, General Ulysses S. Grant died, at Mount McGregor, New York, July 23, 1885. 272 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Twelve years after his death, when his magnificent tomb in New York was completed, the whole nation took part in the ceremonies of laying his body in its final resting-place. Tell the story of Grant as a boy and a young man ; at the opening of the war; at Fort Donelson; at Vicksburg; in Virginia; on his tour around the world. State the results of the war. Describe the present condition of the country. Why is a farm " the best place in the world for a boy "? How long did it take Grant to get to Richmond? How long did the Civil War last? Name ten generals mentioned in this and the preceding chapter; state on which- side each fought. What is a " proclamation of am- nesty "? What do you think was the best point in Grant's character? CHAPTER XXXIV David G. Farragut 1801-1870 A Young Sailor. Love for a life at sea seems to run in some families; like father, like son. Many of our distinguished naval commanderb were sons of naval officers. Admiral Farragut was not an exception to this rule. His father was George Farragut, who took part in the Revolutionary War and was a friend and companion of General Jackson. At one time Admiral Farragut told this story about his boyhood : " When I was ten years of age I was with my father on board a man-of-war. I had some qualities that I thought made a man of me. I could swear like an old salt, could drink as stiff a glass of grog as if I had doubled Cape Horn, and could smoke like a locomotive. I was great at cards, and fond of gaming in every shape. At the close of dinner one day my father turned everybody out of the cabin, locked the door, and said to me : " •79 274 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. The Turning Point. " ' David, what do you mean to be?' ' I mean to follow the sea.' ' Follow the sea! yes, to be a poor, miserable, dnmken sailor before the mast, be kicked and cuffed about the world, and die in some fever hospital in a foreign clime.' ' No,' said I; ' I'll tread the quarter-deck, and command as you do.' ' No, David; no boy ever trod the quarter-deck with such principles as you have, and such habits as you exhibit. [ZX^"^ You'll have to change your whole course of life if you ever become a man.' " My father left me and went on deck, j was stunned by the re- buke, and overwhelmed with mortification. 'A poor, miserable, drunk- en sailor before the mast! be kicked and cuffed about the world, That's my fate, is it? I'll I will never utter yOUNG FARRAGUT S LESSON FROM HIS FATHER and die in some fever hospital ! ' change my life, and change it at once. another oath ; I will never drink another drop of intoxicating liquor; I will never gamble. I have kept these three vows to this hour. Shortly afterward I became a Christian. That act was the turning point in my destiny." In Command of a Fleet. In December, 1861, Farragut was summoned to Washington. Soon after, he wrote a hurried note to his wife: " Keep your lips closed and bum my letters, for perfect silence is to be observed — the first injunction of the Secretary. I am to have a flag in the Gulf, and the rest DAVID G. FARRAGUT. 275 depends upon myself. Keep calm and silent. I shall sail in three weeks." The expedition consisted of twenty-one vessels. It sailed away from Hampton Roads early in February, 1862. Its design was to capture the city of New Orleans. The Capture of New Orleans. General Butler at the same time sailed for Ship Island with fifteen thousand troops Farragut sent a boat up the river one dark night to cut the chains which the Confederates had put across the river, and make an opening for the fleet to pass through. At two o'clock in the morning of April 23, the fleet of thirteen vessels moved up the river. They succeeded in pass- ing the forts after a most desperate battle. They destroyed the Confederate fleet, and, ^""^ two davs after New farragut's mortar boats shelling the ^ , ' , FORTS BELOW NEW ORLEANS. Orleans surrendered. Then General Butler took command of the city, and Farragut with his fleet sailed up the Mississippi until it met the Missis- sippi gunboat fleet from Memphis. This capture of New Orleans was a brilliant victory. A Master of Details. Perhaps no commander was ever so completely master of every detail as Farragut, unless it was his young lieutenant, George Dewey, whom he particularly com- 276 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. mended, and who, at Manila, thirty-six years after, showed the same quaH ties. He could have taken the place, and per- formed the duties, of any man in the fleet. Farragut's flagship, the Hartford, during her nineteen months of service had been struck by shot and shell two hun- dred and forty times. On his return home for refitting his ship, Farragut was received with great honor, and the Union League Club of New York presented him with a beautiful sword, with gold and silver scabbard, the hilt set in brilliants. Battle of Mobile Bay. Early in 1864 Farragut was again sent to the Gulf to attack the defenses of Mobile. The object, particularly, was to stop the blockade rimners, which were constantly going in and out through Mobile Bay. Farragut issued general orders containing the most minute instructions fully adapted to the case in every instance. He had seven sloops of war, four ironclad monitors, and six steamers to keep up a flank fire upon the forts, and now, on the 5th of August, 1864, before daylight everybody in the fleet was astir, and at 5.30 the signal was given to advance. Then came a terrible cannonade. The fleet shelled the forts; the forts shelled the fleet. The smoke was intense. In order to see over it, Commo- dore Farragut placed himself in the rigging. As the smoke increased he went up higher and higher. Captain Drayton, to prevent his falling to the deck in case he should be wounded, sent up a quartermaster with a rope, which was made fast to the shrouds, passing around the admiral's body. The fleet sailed three miles up the bay, when a Confederate ram attacked the fleet with tremendous energy. Then ensued a singular but desperate contest. The ram surren- dered. A few days later all the forts capitulated. The First American Admiral. Farragut's health was now DAVID G. FARRAGUT. 277 ' ■■^ "• 1^ IMS^' 'i 1 X . 7^7'' "iJii^B \ L \ jE|||I 1- . \ v!\ / m M li LmI»» ^HmI^^^^B ■ \ W\ \:^J VfL \^^^ i ki mm H^rw^ ! t % 1 V- '3^ >«rltt^'^5i'V & % M FARRAGUT LASHED TO THE RIGGING IN THE BATTLE OF MOBILE BAY. failing and he was ordered home. The people of New York presented him a purse of $50,000. He was made vice-admiral, and a year or two later Congress created the grade of admiral, a grade unknown before in the United States navy, and the rank was given to Farragut. After the war, Farragut made a long cruise in European waters, visiting the principal capitals of Europe. He was 278 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. everywhere received with the greatest honors. One of the most interesting incidents of the cruise was a visit to the island of Minorca, one of the Balearic Islands, belonging to Spain, situated in the Mediterranean. This was the home of Farragut's ancestors, and the whole population of the island turned out to welcome him. His Ancestors. These ancestors of our admiral had among them many eminent personages. One of them, Don Pedro Farragut, served under James I, King of Aragon, in the war in which the Moors were expelled from Majorca and Valencia, in the thirteenth century. From that time on there were in the family many persons of distinction ; for instance, a theologian, an historian, a bishop, an honored soldier in the seventeenth century, and several magistrates of the kingdom of Majorca. The admiral's father, George Farragut, was bom in Minorca in 1755. He came to the United States when he was twenty-one years of age, and, as we have already noted, took part in the American Revolution, in the Indian campaigns, and in the war with England in 181 2. Thus it is evident that Admiral Farragut inherited his sterling qualities from a notable ancestry. AVhen the war was over, the Union Club of Boston gave a dinner to the admiral, at which Oliver Wendell Holmes read one of his happiest poems, a few lines of which may be quoted here : " Our stout old commodores, Hull, Bainbridge, Porter — where are they? The answering billows roll Still bright in memory's sunset ray. God rest each gallant soul! A brighter name must dim their light With more than noontide ray — The Viking of the River Fight, The Conqueror of the Bay. DAVID G. FARRAGUT, 279 I give the name that fits him best, Ay, better than his own, The Sea-king of the sovereign West, Who made his mast a throne." Farragut. died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in August, /870, in the seventieth year of his age. Tell Farragut's story about his boyhood. Give accounts of the capture of New Orleans; of the great naval battle near Mobile. Describe Farragut's speech at Norfolk. Decatur, Porter, and Farragut were all sons of naval officers; did that fact aid them in their life work? Did Farragut's father know with certainty what would be his son's life if he did not change? Why did Farragut write to his wife to keep "perfect silence"? What were " blockade runners "? AVas Farragut safe in his high position on the mast? Whom did Holmes call the " A^iking of the River Fight," the " Conqueror of the Bay," the " Sea-king of the sovereign West, who made his mast a throne " ? Explain the reason for each expression, if possible. CHAPTER XXXV Horace Mann 1796-1859 School Days. Near the close of the eighteenth century, on a farm in FrankHn, Massachusetts, Horace Mann was bom. He was a thoughtful and studious boy. From the age of ten until he was twenty he had not more than six weeks' schooling in any one year. The teachers in these schools he afterward described as " very good people, but very poor teachers." His school-books he earned by braiding straw. When he was twenty years old, he came under the influence of a schoolmaster who was a real scholar, a genius who could appreciate rare mental power when he foimd it in his pupils. This traveling pedagogue encouraged yoting Horace to prepare for college and obtain a liberal education. His pupil entered into the plan with an intense zeal, so that in a few months he was admitted to advanced standing in Brown University. He was graduated from college in 1819, and on commencement day he delivered an oration upon " The Progressive Character of the Human Race." He taught Latin and Greek at his alma mater, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1823. Secretary of Board of Education. He was a member of the HORACE MANN. 281 House of Representatives in Massachusetts from 1827 to 1833, and served in the State Senate for the next four years. Through his personal exertions Massachusetts estabHshed a Board of Education, and Mr. Mann was at once put at its head as secretary. During his long service, in addition to his other duties, he wrote the annual reports of the board to the people of the State. These reports discussed in a forcible manner many new questions of education, and they had a great influence in elevating the standard of public sentiment and of school instruction, not only in the State of Massachu- setts, but throughout the whole country. He made a tour in Europe, especially noting all the good features of the schools in Germany, and then gave the result of his observations to his countrymen. The earnestness of purpose and tremendous industry which he threw into his work could not fail to produce great results. In speaking of his service at a later period, he said: " I labored in this cause an average of not less than fifteen hours a day, and from the beginning to the end of this period (eleven years) I never took a single day for relaxation, and month after month together passed without my with- drawing a single evening to call upon a friend." It was his desire for better schools in America that made him work like this. The American Public School. While secretary of the Massa- chusetts Board of Education, he brought to pass a complete revolution of public sentiment regarding popular education. It was Horace Mann who, by advocating new methods and new plans — at first almost alone and unaided — started the great movement in public -school education in this coimtry which has continued to the present day. There are many things which we call American, in distinction from others 2«2 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY, called European. Nothing, however, is more strikingly American than our system of public education. The New England settlers very early began to establish schools. Education was dear to their hearts. In 1639 the plantation at Dorchester established a school to be supported by taxation. This was the beginning of the American system AN OLD-TIME COUNTRY SCHOOLROOM. of public schools. " The property of the State should be taxed to educate the children of the State." To-day this principle is applied in every State and every Territory of the Union. On it depends, in large measure, the strength of our republican institutions. Old-time Schools. In the early days, as might be supposed, the schools were very crude. Most of the people were spread over the cotintry upon farms. The towns were divided into HORACE MANN, 283 school districts, and, after a time, each district managed its own school affairs. The schoolhouses were small, of but one room, and generally located at " the forks of the roads." They might be twenty or twenty-five feet square, with a long desk on each of three sides and a bench of white-oak or hard-pine plank in front of it. Upon the fourth side was a huge fireplace, with a stone chimney. Wood was plenty, and sometimes the " backlog," the " forestick," and the pile of wood between them would measure nearly a quarter of a cord. As the districts became better settled, more benches were added, and, at last, stoves were used instead of fireplaces. Here the " master " kept the school from six to twelve weeks in the winter, and the " mistress " an equal length of time in the summer. Queer reading lessons and queer ways of spelling they had in those days. Webster's " Blue-back " Spelling Book was in general use at the beginning of the last century. It had reading as well as spelling lessons, one of the former being a quaint story of the old man wdio foimd a rude boy in his apple tree. A Spelling Lesson. They had curious ways of conducting a spelling-lesson. The word "able" would be spelled thus: " A-by-self, a; b-l-e, ble — able." " Aaron " would be spelled in this way: " Great A, little a; r-o-n, ron — Aaron." Great attention was given in the spelling to the pronunciation of the syllables, and sometimes a little extra explanation would be thrown in. In some places the word " abomination " would be spelled after this fashion: "A, there's your a; bo-m, bom, there's your bom, there's your abom; i-n, in, there's your in, there's your bomin, there's yoiir abomin; a, there's your a, there's your ina, there's your bomina, there's your abomina; t-i-o-n. 284 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. tion, there's your tion, there's your ation, there's your ina- tion, there's your bomination, there's your abomination," Spelling School. In those days the spelHng school was a great institution. It was, for the whole neighborhood, equal to a theatrical play. Great fun the young people had. Some- times a school district would be pitted against the next school district, and, as the master " put out " the words, the contest wotdd consist in a severe trial to see which district would be " floored " first. The spellers from one district would be ranged along one side of the room, and those from the other district along the other side. The first word would be given to the first speller on one side, the next word to the first speller on the other side, then to the second speller, and so on. If one missed a word, he must immediately take his seat. Rapidly the ranks would be thinned, and by and by the contest would be carried on perhaps between two spellers, one on each side. Then, as one missed and the other was victorious, a mighty shout would rise up. Many would spend a great amotint of time during the weeks preceding the THE RIDE HOME AFTER " SPELLING SCHOOL. HORACE MANN. 285 contest at the spelling school in preparing themselves for the ordeal. At the spelling school, " pieces " would be spoken also, and after the school was over would come games, and if the sleigh- ing was good, an extended sleigh-ride, on the principle that the longest way around was the nearest way home. Discipline. In those old times everybody had ver^'- positive ideas upon the question of " school discipline." A woman might keep school in the summer, when only the younger scholars went to school; but in the winter it was understood that all the big boys in the neighborhood would attend school, and therefore the committee must find a man that would be un- questionably the master. He must be able to prevent the big boys from defying his authority, throwing him out of the window, pitching him into a snowbank, or riding him on a rail. All of these shameful performances have been known to be executed in the early days in some of the New England school districts. Under such conditions, of course, there would occasionally he foimd a tyrannical schoolmaster, one who would make habitual use of the " ferule," who would keep some stout hick- ory sticks on hand prepared for an emergency, who would sometimes bump the heads of two boys together, who would lift up little girls by their ears imtil they bled. Compared with these coarse and brutal ways on the part of both the boys and the master, the delightful relations of our modem school- rooms seem to belong to a different world. The Three R's. The studies pursued in the schools of those early days consisted mainly of the three R's — " Readin', 'Ritin', and 'Rithmetic." The writing book was usually made of six sheets of foolscap paper with a brown-paper cover sewed on, and the copies were set by the master or mistress, at the top of the page. The writing was done with a quill pen, and the 286 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. experienced teacher always took great pride in his ability to make and mend pens. A sharp penknife was needed. The new quill must be scraped on the outside to remove the thin film, a sort of cuticle which enveloped the quill proper. One dexterous stroke cut off what was to become the under side of the pen. A single motion of the knife made the slit. Two quick strokes removed the two upper comers, leaving the point. Then came the most delicate part of this mechanical process. The point of the pen was placed upon the thumb nail of the left hand. The knife was deftly guided so as to cut off the extreme end of the pen directly across the slit, leaving a smooth end, not too blunt so as to make too large a mark, and not too fine so as to scratch. The pen was then ready for use. All this is now long past. The old method of teaching, the old system of discipline, the old schoolhouse, and the course of study which included only the three R's, have all given place to modem and im- proved methods. Modern Methods. Graded schools ; houses properly lighted, heated, and ventilated : and refined; true methods of presenting the subjects to be studied; manual training and physical training — these all are parts of the modem system. Teachers are now selected, not because of their physical ability to " keep school," but because they have been trained A MASTER MENDING A QUILL PEN. courses of study enriched HORACE MANN. 287 to teach, have been carefully taught how to present the sub- jects properly to the child's mind; these are the teachers of to-day. Colleges. Our school system, however, did not begin at the bottom and work upward, but it began at the top and reached downward. Harvard College, in Massachusetts, was founded in 1636; William and Mary College, in Virginia, in 1693; Yale College, in Connecticut, in 1700; and by the middle of the eighteenth century, three others had been started, — King's College, now Columbia University, in New York ; the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, in New Jersey; and the University of Pennsylvania. Preparatory Schools. The colleges required preparatory schools. The Boston Latin School was begun in 1635, and other preparatory schools followed from necessity. About a hundred years ago private academies were established in large numbers to prepare young men for college and for business life. During the first half of the nineteenth century these academies played a very important part in the history of education. But about the middle of that century Massachusetts by law made public high schools compulsory in all her larger towns. These high schools soon spread into all the States; they have dis- placed many of the private academies, and have brought " secondary education," as it is called, within the reach of all the people. Since the middle of the nineteenth century, vast sums of money have been given for the endowment of colleges throughout the United States. Probably in no part of the world or in any preceding age have such large sums of money been given for educational purposes as have been contributed by individuals and voted by the people within the last fifty years to endow institutions of learning in our country., 258 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Education of Women. In another direction a marked improvement has been made — namely, in the education of women. Before this country gained her independence but little attention had been given to the education of girls. They were taught at home to cook, to sew, to embroider, but their school privileges were very meager. Progress in the education of young women was slow indeed, until within quite recent years. But for half a century our people have been awake to the duty of giving to girls the same opportunities for education which boys enjoy. It has been demonstrated that women learn the arts, sci- ences, and literature as easily, as rapidly, and as thoroughly as men do. Many colleges have been established for women, and they are all full to overflowing. Most of the older as well as the newer universities have opened their doors to women on equal terms with men. Young women are now in large numbers taking post-graduate courses and becoming proficient in various and diverse lines of study. Technical Schools. We have special schools for nearly every pursuit requiring great skill. Normal schools educate our teachers. Technical schools educate our mechanics, bridge- builders, civil, mechanical, electrical, and mining engineers, and architects. There are schools for manual training and physical training; schools for the blind, the deaf, and those otherwise defective; schools in the prisons, night schools, and summer schools, and, indeed, schools of all sorts and for all purposes. In England, Germany, and France the imiversities have their special excellences. But the American system of edu- cation, including public schools. State universities, colleges, technical schools, and others, all combine to furnish the edu- cation which is best adapted to the people of America. We have made rapid advance in science, in the arts, in the com- HORACE MANN. 289 290 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. forts of life, in our industrial pursuits, and especially in our marvelous inventions and manufactures; but probably our educational system shows the most wonderful achievements of all. The progress of our schools and our teaching has been so rapid, so varied, so universal, and so dear to the hearts of all the people, that it stands out as the most remark- able and characteristic thing in America. American Authors. With the enthusiasm for education in the schoolroom, the love of books has grown among the people, and our country has produced many able writers. Once, long ago, Sydney Smith, a sharp-tongued English critic, asked contemptuously, " Who reads an American book ? " Now the whole reading world reads American books. Begin- ning with Washington Irving, who wrote so charmingly about Spain and old New York, and gave us " Rip Van Winkle," we have had a splendid company of such historians as Bancroft, Prescott, Parkman, Motley, and MacMaster; of such poets as Bryant, Longfellow, Holmes, Whittier, Lowell, Emerson, Poe, Lanier, Whitman; such story-tellers as Cooper, Haw- thorne, Cable, James, Howells, Mrs. Stowe, Mrs. Phelps Ward, Mrs. Hodgson Burnett, Crawford, and Davis; and such humorous writers as " Artemus Ward," " Mark Twain," and the narrator of ' ' Uncle Remus ' ' ; besides scores of other authors who are scarcely less eminent. Public Libraries. Americans love to read. We have a public library system immatched in the world. Nearly every city has its great library, and as fast as tow^ns grow in culture they put up a public library building, where books are free to all the citizens. The Boston Library is one of the wonders of our country. The Congressional Library in Washington is the most sumptuous house for books in the world. Simple, but of vast influence, are the book clubs and the traveling libraries HORACE MANN. 29I which now extend the privilege of literature to the humblest villages. Local bands for reading and study, like the Chautau- qua circles and the countless women's clubs, carry the impulse of education farther and farther. But this universal impulse is due to the American public school. Here is the origin of the spirit of enlightenment and liberty and justice. The schools have made our country what it is and the children now in them are to make America what it shall be. Lessons in Patriotism. During our war with Spain htmdreds of thousands of the young men of our republic eagerly re- sponded to the President's call for volunteers. No one can tell how many of them received their first warm impulse of devotion to coimtry and flag from seeing the Stars and Stripes floating daily above the schoolhouse. Certainly the enthusiasm which swept across the continent as soon as the nation needed defenders was wonderful, and the intense love which was everywhere shown for the flag proved that somebody had been teaching patriotism. We admire our patriot statesmen and our patriot soldiers. Just as admirable is the patriot school-teacher, who is putting heart and soul into the training of future citizens, and who leads their voices as they say, " I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the Republic for which it stands — one Nation, indi- visible, with liberty and justice for all." Tell the story of Horace Mann: as a boy; as a young man; as an educator. Explain the meaning of " American system of public education." Describe the early schoolhouse. Give an account of a spelling school. Contrast the early schools with our modern schools. What is a " liberal education "? What is meant by " supported by taxation "? What are " forks of the roads "? Why did the big boys go to school in the winter only? What is " secondary education "? What is the influence of the flag over the schoolhouse ? CHAPTER XXXVI Clara Barton 1830— Schools for Girls. Our country has gained a high rank among the nations of the earth in many directions. Among them all we should not forget the great advantages it has given to women, and the famous exploits which have here been per- formed by women. America is celebrated throughout the world for its multitude of women v/ho have distinguished themselves. In literature, for one thing, the American woman has occupied a very high place. In former times, women never had, in any country, equal literary advantages with men. Fifty years ago it was very rare, even in our own country, that one could find a woman who had received a college education. In the city of Boston, even the schools which we now know as grammar schools were open only to boys until long after the war of the Revolution. In some towns, when Washington was President, the boys were sent home from school an hour earlier than the time for closing, both forenoon and afternoon, and then the CLARA BARTON. 293 girls came in ; or, in other cases, the girls came for an hour in the morning before the boys, and on Thursday afternoon, when the boys had a holiday. Even this concession to the education of girls occurred only during the summer months. Sometimes the reason which people gave why girls could not en- joy equal schooling with the boys was on account ' ' of the female health." Great changes have taken place since those days. Higher Education for Girls. In the early part of the last cen- tury Mrs. Emma Willard gave a superior education to women in her seminary at Troy, New York. Miss Catherine Beecher educated many in her seminary at Hartford, Connecticut. A college course was opened to women at Oberlin, Ohio, as early as 1833. Three years later, Mary Lyon began her great work of educating girls in the Mount Holyoke Seminary, Massa- chusetts. To-day we meet in many communities almost as many yoimg women who have been educated at college as young men. " Uncle Tom's Cabin." Now let us see what some of these women have done. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote that wonder- ful story, " Uncle Tom's Cabin," which stirred the hearts of the whole world as to the evil of slavery. It was not the work of leisure hours. Many of its pages were written beside the kitchen fire, while the author was attending to the family cooking. When the book was published it created the widest excitement, both North and South. Everybody read it who read books at all. The very next year it was translated into ten different languages. No other work of fiction in the English language was ever so widely sold. In a similar way Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson aroused the nation in behalf of the Indians by her story of " Ramona," which has been called " one of the most artistic creations of American literature." 294 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Distinguished Women. But the time would fail to tell what our distinguished American women have done in literature. Louisa M. Alcott, Mary N. Murfree, who calls herself " Charles Egbert Craddock," Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward, Kate Douglas Wiggin, Ruth McEnery Stuart, Sarah Ome Jewett, Alice and Phoebe Gary, Lucy Larcom, Louise Chandler Moul- ton, Edna Dean Proctor, Margaret Preston, Harriet Prescott Spofford, Margaret Deland, Mary Johnston, Edith Wharton, and Ellen Glasgow are some of our brilliant authors. But there are so many of them that their names cannot be called. Let all honor be given to these wonderful women who have achieved such great success in the field of literature. Of one of them Whittier wrote : " O white soul! from that far-off shore Float some sweet song the waters o'er. Our faith confirm, oiir fears dispel, With the old voice we loved so well! " But not alone in literature has woman's great talent and pure character made a place in American history. On the platform, in music, with the brush and the chisel in the artist's studio, in associated charities, and in the home, woman has won her way, earned her laurels and achieved distinguished success. Dorothea L. Dix. But it is in the field of philanthropy that we find among American women the most brilliant examples of sacrifice. Women have always been saying : " Give me, dear Lord, some work to do, Some field to plough, some harvest rich to reap; Some mission to fulfil both grand and true — To feed Thy sheep." CLARA BARTON. 295 In doing for others, woman has everywhere shown special talent and achieved worthy success. Miss Dorothea L. Dix spent twenty years in studying the condition of paupers, Itmatics, and prisoners in this country. She visited every State in the Union east of the Rocky Moun- tains, examining prisons, poorhouses, and limatic asylums, trying to persuade the lawmakers and rich men to relieve the poor and needy ones. During our late Civil War she devoted four years to nursing wounded soldiers and improving hospital arrangements in connection with the army. Frances E. Willard. One day, in the year 1898, the telegraph flashed the news to all parts of the American continent, and the ocean cable told to the nations of the Old World that Frances E. Willard was dead. That telegram carried grief to the hearts of millions. It is seldom that the death of one person brings sorrow to so many souls as in this case of Miss Willard. What had she done? Why was it that she was so greatly beloved, the world over? It was her philanthropic spirit ; her labors for the good of the race ; her great deeds ; her devotion in particular to the cause of temperance. Early in life she was a professor in college, and was earnest in her work; but she left that profession, and for a quarter of a century engaged, heart and soul, in the work of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, of which for nearly twenty years she was the president. As a speaker, as a writer, as a leader, Miss Willard gained rare credit. But, after all, it was more her character, her unselfishness, her devotion to a great cause, which won the love and admiration of the world. Clara Barton. We must hasten to speak of that dis- tinguished person whose name stands at the head of this chapter. Everybody has heard of Clara Barton. What Florence Nightingale was to the Old World, Clara Barton has 296 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. been to the New, Indeed, she has not been confined to the New World, for she has done the same work in France and in far-away Turkey, and then devoted her ceaseless activities to the relief of the starving Cubans and to the wounded and sick American soldiers in Cuba. We have chosen her name as a representative woman. Let us see what a marvelous amount of work has been crowded into this one life. She was bom in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in 1830, She early learned to earn her own bread. She was a thorough housekeeper, and as clerk and bookkeeper for her brother she learned the rules of business. Educated in the public schools, she became a school-teacher when very young. She was employed in the Patent Office at Washington for three years, but in 1857 she lost her place because she was suspected of holding anti-slavery sen- timents. Her Work in the Civil War. When the Civil War broke out she heard the same call to which Miss Dix responded. She went to Washington. The troops gathered rapidly and soon the hospitals were filled. The work which she assigned to herself was the care of the sick, visiting them daily, carrying to them reading matter, comforting them with delicacies, writing letters to their friends. Soon her work became known and her fame rapidly spread abroad. For a time she remained at Washington, with no authority, with no rank, with no pay, and subject to the orders of no one. Then she followed the army to the battlefield. She was at Fairfax Station after the second battle of Bull Rim; she was at Antietam, at Fredericksburg. She organ- ized a bureau of records of missing men in the army. The object of this bureau was to gather information concerning the missing and to commimicate it to their friends. She was CLARA BARTON. 297 thus able to comfort thousands of families, having traced the fate of more than thirty thousand men. In this work for the soldiers she expended her whole fortune of $10,000. Then Congress voted her $15,000 to reimburse her for her expenditures and to help her carry on her bureau, which had proved of great service. In Europe. After the war was over she went to Europe for her health. When the Franco-German War be- gan in 1870, she joined the Red Cross Society and helped to organize and reor- ganize the German hospital service. The story is told that after the surrender of Strasburg there were twenty thousand people homeless and himgry, and Miss Bar- ton, at her own expense, provided material for thirty thousand garments to be made by women, who were thus able to earn their own food. The Red Cross Society. Three years after this war she returned to America and began a movement looking to the recognition of the Red Cross Society by our national government. She gained this recognition from our government in 1881, and became presi- dent of the American Association of the Red Cross. The con- stitution of this society says that its object is" to organize a A RED CROSS NURSE ON THE BATTLE- FIELD. 298 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. system of national relief, and apply the same in mitigating suf- fering caused by war, pestilence, famine, and by calamities." One article in the constitution of the American society reads as follows : " That our society shall have for one of its objects to aid the suffering in times of great national calamities — such THE JOHNSTOWN FLOOD, AN OCCASION FOR RED CROSS RELIEF. as floods, cyclones, great fires, pestilence, earthquakes, local famines, etc." Among the occasions of calamity when the services of the Red Cross have been called into requisition were the frightful forest fires which took place in Michigan and other sections of the great Northwest; the floods of 1882- '84 in the Ohio and Mississippi rivers; several droughts in different sections ; the Charleston earthquake ; the Johnstown disaster; and the San Francisco fire. The Johnstown Flood. The Johnstown disaster was almost the entire blotting out of the town by a flood. Houses were swept away, and the loss of life was great. The flood was CLARA BARTON. 299 occasioned by the breaking away of a dam upon the Little Conemaugh River, nine miles above the town, during a heavy rainfall. The waters swept down through the valley in one great wave, carrying utter destruction to the fated city. The calamity awoke sympathy all over the coimtry, and a fund was raised for the relief of the sufferers. Much of this fund was put into the hands of the Red Cross Society. The city was soon rebuilt, however, and is to-day much more prosperous and has a larger population than before this disaster. In Turkey. A few years ago occurred a cruel uprising of Mohammedans against the Christians of Asiatic Turkey. There were terrible massacres and immense suffering ensued, especially to the people who had been driven away from their homes. Clara Barton undertook to carry relief to the sur- vivors, and, taking her life in her hand, she penetrated into that wild country and, like a good angel, carried bread, cloth- ing, and cheer to thousands of sufferers. In Cuba. Now came the civil war in Cuba, when the Cubans rose in opposition to the Spanish government. That govern- ment adopted severe and cruel measures against the people of the unhappy island. Peaceful citizens, not connected with the army on either side, were forced by the Spanish soldiers to leave their homes, their farms, and their other industries, and to stay like prisoners within fortified towns. There they had no means of livelihood, and actual starvation soon began to carry them off by thousands. To their relief went Clara Barton, with supplies from the benevolent people of the United States, ministering to their necessities, saving life, feeding the himgry, clothing the naked, conveying solace and cheer to those in the sharpest distress. There she remained till after the American battleship Maine was blown up in Havana Harbor and the Spaniards 300 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. CLARA BARTON. 301 grew so bitter toward all Americans that she could not longer continue her labors. Our government advised United States citizens to leave Cuba, for war between our country and Spain was likely to begin at any hour, and it would not be safe for Americans to stay. In the Spanish War. Soon after her arrival in Washington our government declared war against Spain for the inhuman f.reatment to which the Cubans were being subjected. Then, THE " MAINE " AFTER THE EXPLOSION. while our warships were sweeping out to sea and while our soldiers were volunteering to fight the Spanish, Clara Barton began to organize a gigantic enterprise by which, under the Red Cross banner, our sick and wounded soldiers and sailors might be tenderly cared for, and also the poor, suffering, starv- ing people of Cuba might receive the relief which had been interrupted. Thousands of brave and good women wanted to enlist Tinder her in this service, but only those who had some prepa-. 302 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. ration in trained nursing could be accepted. The govern ment had previously recognized the Red Cross Society, and now gave it every facility for carrying on its noble work and beautiful service for the sufferers in the war Miss Barton secured from the Red Cross societies in various parts of our country great quantities of supplies — food, medicines, comforts, and delicacies — for the sick and suffer- ing, and soon again embarked for the seat of war. When the United States forces took Santiago de Cuba, Clara Barton and her faithful assistants were at the front, caring for the wounded and dying, even when the shot and shell were drop- ping all around them. Indeed, our generals thought it was not a fit place for women, there in the thick of the fight, and tried to persuade them to go to the rear; but they absolutely refused to go, and went on with their good work without flinching or apparently minding the danger at all. A Minister of Mercy. Thus this " minister of mercy " braved every danger, and with force of will and kindness of heart relieved to the utmost the horrors of war, comforting the smitten, writing letters for them to their friends at home, and by every possible means mitigating the sufferings of the neglected, the sick, the wounded, and the dying. At the beginning of the Spanish War our government stated distinctly that we had no intention of annexing Cuba, but only of aiding her to secure her independence. Cuba is to-day an independent country. However, as a result of this war the United States gained possession of the Philippine Islands, of Porto Rico, and of several smaller islands. Miss Barton's thrilling career from the beginning to the present time was that of an angel on earth. She has opened a way by which multitudes of others, great-hearted like herself, can now imitate her in effectively and wisely carrying out the C1.ARA BARTON. 303 Golden Rule — giving water to the thirsty and food to the hungry, weeping with those that weep, helping those in dis- tress, comforting the sorrowing, while remembering the Saviour's injunction: "Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it unto me." She died in Washington, April 12, 1912, at the age of eighty-two. What a beautiful life was that of Clara Barton — ^ active, earnest, vigorous, diligent! Soldiers are exempt from war at forty-five years of age; Miss Barton did not exempt herself at three score and ten. But there are many noble women in America, busy in va- rious directions, in literature, in education, in medicine, in religious work, in science, in journalism; women distinguished as reformers, as philanthropists, on the platform; women successful in music and art; in associated charities; but especially and everywhere women effective and great in the home. The women of America have fully kept pace with the men in the making of our history and in making it noble. Describe the education which girls received a hundred years ago. Give an account of women's woi-k in literature. Tell the story of Dorothea Dix. Give an account of the life of Frances E. Willard. Describe the work of Clara Barton during the Civil War; in the Franco-German War; in Armenia; in Cuba. Explain the purposes of the Red Cross Society. What made Florence Nightingale famous the world over? Do you think the work of Frances Willard more important than that of Clara Barton? Why? Why not? What do you think of the great work done by Miss Barton? " Resolved: That a philan- thropist like Miss Barton can do more good in the world than a mil- lionaire." Would you take the affirmative or the negative of this question? Give briefly the arguments you would present in support of your opinion. Thomas A. Edison 1847— The Growth of the United States. There is an old saying that a nation is happiest if it has no history. In this the word " history " means wars and disturbances and conflicts. The idea is that when a country is quietly attending to its business, and is not troubled by anything unusual or remarkable, then it is most prosperous and its people most happy. Such was the history of the United States from the end of the Civil -War to the short, sharp war of 1898. To tell the story of our country during that long period is to give an account of quiet but rapid growth ; of important and tiniversal improvements in the condition of the people. The country has grown in size, in population, in the number of the States and in the amount and character of its business. The condition of the people has been bettered by the increase of comforts in the homes, in the shops and offices, and in travel. A like history has never before been known. In 1865 the area of the United States was a little over three million square miles. Soon after the Civil War we bought of Russia the great territory of Alaska, which added six hun- 304 THOMAS A. EDISON. 305 dred thousand square miles more. At first this new region was thought to be almost worthless, but the trade in seal skins has proved large enough to pay for the country. Be- sides, Alaska abounds in lumber, and its fisheries are valuable. Recent discoveries of gold drew great numbers of people to these cold regions of the north. Immigration. The population of the Jnited States has doubled since the Civil War. This has been a remarkable growth, and it is due some- what to the large number of people who have come to this country since the close of that war. About one sixth of all the people in the United States to-day were born in foreign coun- tries. These immigrants have come from Great Britain and Ireland, from Ger- many, from Norway and Sweden, from Russia, from Spain and Portugal, from Italy and Austria, from China and Japan. They have come from near and from far; from all the civilized countries of the world and from many of those not civilized. They have come because they believed that life in the United States was easier and happier than in their home countries. They have come in great numbers and they have been cordially welcomed, for the most part. GOLD HUNTERS IN ALASKA. 306 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. The States. When the Civil War was over, there were thirty-six States members of the Union, Twenty-six of these were east of the Mississippi River, having the same names and bounds as to-day. The great river was bordered on its west side by a row of five States, extending from Canada to the Gulf. Two States, Texas and Kansas, reached out farther iArestward, and then barren plain and mountain of almost endless extent must be crossed to reach the three Pacific States. Now the thirty-six States have become forty-eight. The Dakotas, Montana, Idaho, and Washington form the northern tier of States; Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and Oklahoma make the central line of communi- cation between the center of the country and the Pacific Coast. Arizona and New Mexico, which until recently were territories, have lately been admitted to the Union, thus making our great nation a solid body of States from ocean to ocean. New Territory. The year 1898 marked another expanse in our national area. The islands of Hawaii were annexed at their own request. Porto Rico and the Philippines were the prizes of war. Suddenly, from a nation confined to a con- tinent, we have swept forth, south and west, and made territorial colonies of some of the richest islands of the seas. Prosperity. When we stop to consider the growth of this country in business lines we find an interesting story that would take volumes to tell. In agriculture the change is remarkable. Grain is almost raised by machinery. In place of horse- plows and hand rakes and scythes, the steam plow, sowers, reapers, and binders have come. Work is done by wholesale. In commerce, great steamers have obtained the business of the world. In manufactures, new and greatly improved THOMAS A. EDISON. 307 machinery produces cheaper and better products. In mining, iron, copper gold, silver, and other ores have been obtained in great quantities and with increasing ease and cheapness. In nearly all kinds of business the last thirty years have entirely changed processes and results. The Results of Inventions. To what is this growth of the United States in comfort and prosperity due? Much of it is the result of invention. Perhaps in no other respect has the American mind more easily shown itself superior to that of other countries than in its inventive genius. We have read of Fulton and his steamboat. Just as interesting is the account of Eli Whitney and the cotton-gin. The story of Samuel Slater and the introduction of cotton manufacturing into this country would interest any one. The steam locomotive was an English invention which America at once adopted. Our improved day coaches, sleep- ing-cars, and dining-cars are due to American ingenuity. The valuable air-brake was invented by an American. Our own Morse devised the electric telegraph. Edison as a Newsboy. One of the greatest of American inventors is Thomas A. Edison. Though born in Ohio, young Edison spent much of his boyhood in the State of Michigan. At an early age he was thrown upon his own resources, and for some time he earned his living as a newsboy on the railroad train running between Detroit and Port Huron. While in this employment the fifteen-year-old lad gave an illustration of shrewdness that indicated the coming man. One of the great battles of the Civil War had just been fought, and the Detroit evening papers were filled with its details. Young Edison had the news of the battle telegraphed to the various villages along the line of the railroad and posted in conspicuous places upon bulletin boards. 3o8 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY, Then he obtained a thousand copies of the paper and took the evening train as usual for Port Huron. At the first station, where he usually had two customers, he quickly sold forty papers. At another station he found a crowd waiting, eagerly demanding the papers, and gladly paying ten cents, or double the usual price, for a copy. Each station platform was packed, as the train arrived, with a throng seeking an account of the battle. When he reached the end of his route and was walking the mile between the depot and the village, he was met by a crowd of people coming to meet him. All wanted papers; all were afraid that he would not bring enough, and, therefore, all came to get a paper as early as pos- sible. He had no difficulty in selling all he had at twenty-five cents a copy. His Heroism. Most of Edison's in- ventive work has been connected with electricity. It was an act of bravery on the part of the newsboy that gave him his first insight into telegraphy and started him on his famous career. At one of the stations where his train made a long stop, the little child of the station-master was playing on the platform. The child left the platform and sat down on the track to play in the sand. A freight car was rapidly coming down the rails when Edison saw the child's danger and sprang to the rescue. The time was short, but the lad was agile and the child was saved, though the car just grazed young Edison as it passed. YOUNG EDISON SELLING PAPERS AT 25 CENTS A COPY. THOMAS A. EDISON. 309 Learns Telegraphy. The father desired to reward the hero, and offered to teach him how to telegraph, promising that in three months he should be ready for a good position. Edison quickly assented, and for ten days appeared promptly for the lesson. Then he was missed for a few days, and when he again appeared he brought with him a small set of telegraph instru- ments which he had himself made. Long before the three months were finished Edison had learned the work. He obtained a position as telegraph oper- ator, though still but fifteen years of age, at a salary of twenty- five dollars a month. His work was so satisfactory that he soon obtained better positions, and before he was eighteen his salary had become five times as large as at first. During these years Edison worked hard, and never lost an opportunity to improve himself. While regularly attending to his night work at the office, he found time to devote to other matters. First, he read. He used the public library; he spent his surplus wages on books. One day he purchased an entire set of Faraday's works on electricity, brought them home at three o'clock in the morning, and breakfast- time found him still reading them. His Experiments. Besides, he continued his experiments, rigging up laboratories in every place where he was at work — a plan which he had begun while a newsboy, making use of one of the old cars. Another day, while Edison was having a vacation, which he was spending at home, he went down by the side of the river. This he found to be a raging current, filled with huge cakes of ice, which were causing great destruction wherever they were throw^n. There was no possible means of com- munication across the river between Port Huron and Samia; even the wires under the river would not cany messages. 3IO FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. A sudden thought sent Edison to a near-by locomotive, and in a moment long and short toots were sounding out the telegraphic signals, " Hello, Sarnia; Sarnia, do you get what I say?" With eager expectation the people listened for a reply. Again Edison sent out the words from the shrill whistle of the locomotive. After a time came a response from an engine across the river. In this peculiar way messages were sent between the towns until the flood went down and the cable was repaired. His Skill Tested. When Edison was twenty-one he secured a position in a telegraph office in Boston. Here he was at once compelled to show the material of which he was made. He was set to work to receive a long message from New York. At the other end of the line was the most rapid sender of the office. The Boston boys ex- pected to show this " young chap from the Woolly West," as they at first called him, that he knew but little about telegraphy. The message began slowly, but soon it came with greater and greater rapidity. Yet the young man had no trouble. After a time the words were coming about as fast as any operator could write them down. Edison glanced up and saw that every man in the room was standing behind him. He knew then that they were testing him. He kept on writing the message in a clear EDISON TESTED BY THE NEW YORK OPERATOR. THOMAS A. EDISON. 3II hand, though he occasionally stopped a moment to sharpen a pencil. The New York operator, surprised at the ease with which his message was being taken, began to slur his words — to have too small spaces between them. But Edison was used to that also, and calmly continued writing. At last, when he had shown every one that he most cer- tainly did understand telegraphy, he stopped and ticked a message to New York, asking why the operator did not work a little faster. Edison's position in the Boston office was never questioned afterward. The Stock-printer. But Edison had no intention of remain- ing a telegraph operator all his life. He kept on with his studies and experiments. One of these brought him good fortune. He made a stock-printer • — a machine used in stock exchanges for recording the price of stocks. When he went to New York, having finished his engagement in Boston, he was wandering through the city and happened into the Stock Exchange. It was the famous ' ' Black Friday, ' ' which brought business ruin to many thousands. Everything was in the greatest confusion, and every one was more than ever depend- ent on the printed stock-lists. Just at this minute the stock-quotation printer broke down. The managers were almost crazed. They had no idea what was the trouble. Edison glanced at the machine, saw the trouble, and told the managers. The printer was repaired and began to work at once. Edison was the hero of the hour, and the next day was given charge of the machine at a salary nearly three times as large as he had ever received. He now began to be known to the world. " The Wizard of Menlo Park." His life from that time until the present is somewhat known to everybody. His first manufacturing establishment was at Newark, New Jersey. 312 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. Three years later he removed to Menlo Park, about twenty-five miles from New York City. His works here and the wonderful inventions that came from this factory brought to Edison the title of " The Wizard of Menlo Park." After ten years he moved again, and his establishment at Orange, New Jersey, is almost one of the wonders of the world. His Inventions. It would take a large book to describe the inventions that have been the result of Edison's work. A few of the best known only may be mentioned. He experimented with the telegraph, and step by step perfected the duplex, the quadruplex, and sextuplex systems of telegraphing. By the first a message can be sent each way over a single wire at the same time; by the second, two messages, and by the third, three messages, each way, at once. In other words, under the sextuplex system, one wire will do the work of six wires under former conditions. Edison invented the transmitter which is universally used to-day in connection with the Bell telephone ; the microphone, for magnifying sound, so that a very low sound can be plainly heard at some distance; the megaphone, for long-distance speaking; the phonograph, for recording sound and repeating it ; the mimeograph, for making many copies from one writing ; the kinetoscope, for reproducing views of bodies in action ; the phonokinetoscope, adding sound to sight, so that one may see and hear a play or an opera which has previously taken place, — these are some of Edison's inventions. " The Wizard " is also noted for being the first to send telegraphic messages from moving trains; for making one of the earUest electric railroads; for perfecting the incandescent electric light. A Persistent Search. Something of Edison's persistency is shown in this connection. At first he used a platinum wire in THOMAS A. EDISON. 313 the little electric lamp. He wanted something better. He wanted some form of bamboo or other vegetable fiber. He sent a man to explore China and Japan for bamboo. He sent another, who traveled twenty-three hundred miles up the Amazon River and finally reached the Pacific Ocean, searching for bamboo. He sent a third to Ceylon to spend years in a similar search. Eighty varieties of bamboo and three thou- sand specimens of other vegetable fiber were brought him. He tested them all ; three or four were found suitable. Such has been the life of this modern inventor, one of the men who are rapidly changing the world by the ingenuity of their inventions. They are having a large share in this work, but all other laborers have their share also. The America of Benjamin Franklin was greatly unlike that of John Smith ; the United States that Abraham Lincoln knew was not the United States over which Washington was President; and the Re- public in the days of Hay and Roosevelt is vastly superior to the nation in the days of the Civil War. It depends upon the boys and girls who are in school to-day to determine what shall be the condition of the United States — nay, even of the world — thirty years hence. Describe the growth of the United States in area; in population; in number of States ; in business. Give a brief list of American inventors. Give accotxnts of Edison as a newsboy; as a hero; as a telegraph operator. Tell the story of the telegraphic whistle; of the Boston operator; of the New York incident. Briefly mention some of Edison's great inventions. Do you think that the United States will ever have a greater area than at present? Ought all immigrants to this country to be welcomed to-day? Why are not the territories made vStates? Does agricultural machinery make dearer or cheaper foods? Of the stories told here about Edison, which showed qviick thought? Which showed business ability? Which showed experience and practice? CHAPTER XXXVIII John Hay 1838-1905 Theodore Roosevelt 1858- Nations Closely Allied. During the first part of the twen- tieth century the whole world has become so closely allied that whatever affects one country influences all the rest. Transatlantic lines of steamships are so numerous that Europe and America are drawn very near together. The Mayflower was over two months coming from Old England to New England. Now steamers have been from Queens- town to New York in less than five days. The important ports of all countries have their lines of steamers plying reg- ularly to other parts of the world. Besides being able to reach any other point on the globe in a comparatively short time, we can send an instantaneous message by the submarine cable to almost any country. The Marconi wireless invention has enabled us to communicate with all reasonably large vessels at sea, and wireless stations have been built at convenient locations in most civilized parts of the world. This wonderful invention has saved many lives. 314 JOHN HAY — THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 315 Railroads. In our own country there has grown up such a network of railroads that we have but little territory that is really isolated. The Pacific slope, which was considered unavailable for the United States because of the Rocky Mountains, until Marcus Whitman carried over his caravan of more than eight hundred persons, is now reached by half a dozen or more railroads and the length of the continent from east to west can be traversed in four days, in luxurious sleeping cars, with a dining car attached, where substantial meals are served. Much of the desert in the western part of our country has been reclaimed by irrigation, and probably much more will become productive through the same means. Even the small islands off the coast of Florida are con- nected by a railroad which has been built from island to island to Key West, the farthermost of those coral islands. Between Key West and Cuba, a line of transports, or ferries, has been established so that now early fruits and vegetables can be sent in a remarkably short space of time from Havana to New York. Trolley Cars. All of our large cities have elaborate systems of trolley lines connecting the various parts of the city and also running out into the suburbs. Many sections of the country have longer lines of trolleys connecting the various cities and towns. In some places electric locomotives are being used, and these will probably increase in number. Subways, Tunnels, and Elevated Roads. The problem of caring for the traffic in large cities has become difficult and complicated. Most of the persons employed within the city live outside its center. Some arrangement must be made to convey these vast crowds in and out, during the morning and evening hours, before and after work. To accomplish this, 3l6 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. elaborate and costly systems of elevated roads, tunnels, and subways have been devised. Our cities are honeycombed with these subways; our streets are like beehives, filled with people coming and going, and always in a hurry. Life has become wonderfully complex, and there seems to be no time for leisure. All this has changed the country and its needs. Our Immigrants. We have already seen how immigrants from all parts of the world have flocked to this land. It is a difficult task to teach them our aims and ideals, to imbue them with correct ideas of liberty and democratic govern- ment, and to fit them for good citizenship. In order better to accomplish this, many philanthropic schemes have been adopted. Settlement houses have been opened in such parts of our cities as are densely populated by the foreigners. Here have established themselves trained workers who are interested in the betterment of the foreign population. They live among this population thus illustrating a better manner of life. They have classes in which various trades and house- hold economics are taught. Lessons in English are given and the general welfare of the people is cared for. There are a number of schools in which men and women are trained to give the most efficient help to those who are ignorant of the ways of our country, and there are many kinds of social service performed throughout the country. Foreign Relations. With the growth of the country in ter- ritory, population, and power, the need for wise leadership has increased. The tremendous influx of immigrants from many countries of Europe and Asia has called for sagacious foresight on the part of those who direct our affairs of government. This is necessary both in regard to affairs at home, and also in regard to our relation with foreign coun- tries. One of our most illustrious and successful statesmen JOHN HAY — THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 317 was John Hay. To his remarkable skill and tactfulness in dealing with foreign nations, the United States owes a great debt. John Hay. John Hay was born in Salem, Indiana, in 1838. When he was three years of age his father, Dr. Charles Hay, moved to the quaint old town of Warsaw, on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River. Here he built a house on the brow of the bluff, commanding a wide view up and down the river. From the veranda could be seen three states, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. From these heights John Hay viewed the sunsets, which he afterwards described as "more beautiful than those of Italy." He attended school at the little brick schoolhouse until he was twelve years of age. Later when it was abandoned for school purposes and there was talk of tearing it down, Mr. Hay made a protest and out of deference to his wishes it was allowed to stand. He was an intelligent, studious boy with a taste for language, composition, and versifying. His school studies were supplemented by the study of Latin and Greek with his father at home. He was distinguished from other boys by his marvelous memory and his capacity for acquiring knowledge. By the time he was twelve years of age he had read six books of Virgil, learned some Greek, and acquired a speaking knowledge of German. Further Schooling. At the age of thirteen he went to live with an uncle. Colonel Milton Hay, in Pittsfield, Illinois, and attended a private classical school kept by Mr, and Mrs. John D. Thomson. He is spoken of at that time as "a red- cheeked, black-eyed, sunshiney boy, chock full of fun and humor and devilment that hurt nobody." Later his uncle sent him^ to Brown University, Providence, R. I. "He at once took rank among the brightest boys in 3l8 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. the college. In those days all text was memorized, and it was the general opinion that Hay put his books under his pillow and had the contents thereof absorbed and digested by morning, for he was never seen 'digging,' or doing any other act or thing that could be construed into hard study." He was graduated from Brown at the age of nineteen, in the class of 1858, which was noted for its famous men. Association with Lincoln. Colonel Hay had left Pittsfield for Springfield, where he was practising law with Abraham Lincoln. It was arranged that John should study law with his uncle and thus he was brought in contact with that won- derful man who afterward freed the slaves of this country and at the same time held the states together as one coun- try. The extent of the influence of Lincoln upon John Hay cannot be estimated; neither can we know how far the younger man helped and sustained the older one in his tre- mendous task. We know, however, that Hay became his private secretary, and that his residence at the White House and the extraordinary duties that fell to his lot brought him into close personal relations with all the public men of the time. Diplomatic Career. John Hay was Secretary of Legation at Paris and also at Madrid. He was Charge d''affaircs at Vienna, Assistant Secretary of State, and later Ambassador to England. His eighteen months as Ambassador at the Court of Saint James paved the way for the Anglo-Saxon alliance which saved us so much embarrassment when the war with Spain became inevitable, and undoubtedly pre- served the Philippines from the covetous grasp of Germany. His diplomatic career is extraordinary, and the triumphs he won by his clear vision, his tact, and his understanding of the temper of the nations, has never been equaled. JOHN HAY — THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 319 His Fame. John Hay's fame was twofold. He was known to the literary world, while still a boy; and he won his place as a master of diplomacy and a director of the world policies after he had reached the age when most men retire from mil- itary and naval service. His forty years of public life had given him a better training than any other American diplo- mat ever had, with the possible exception of John Qiiincy Adams. It was fortunate for this country that a man of his breadth, caliber, and philanthropy was raised up at just such a time. With the complicated life of nations it is very essential that we have far-seeing, broad-minded, thoroughly philanthropic men at the head of the nation, men who are willing to give their best efforts to the wisest and most just administration of the govern- ment of our country. He died in 1905. McKinley and Hay. In 1897, Major McKinley became Presi- dent of the United States. The next year he appointed John Hay as his Secretary of State. He could not have chosen a better man for the position. All through the War with Spain the two worked together for the wel- fare of our country, as well as for that of Cuba, and to keep our relations with the foreign powers friendly and peaceful. McKinley as a Man. President McKinley was greatly be- loved by the people. He had shown himself a man to be trusted, always at his post of duty, a man whom nothing WILLIAM Mckinley. 320 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. seemed to ruffle. It was fortunate that the nation had at its head a man who could control himself and could control the nation. A pretty story is told of him when he reached Washington for the inaugural. As he walked down the platfoim past the train, he looked up at the engineer who, dirty and grimy, was leaning from the window of the cab. With a smile the President took the flower from the buttonhole of his coat and passed it to the man who had safely brought him and his party from Canton. The Boxer Uprising. The Spanish war was not the only difficulty that came to the nation during the jNIcKinley administration. There were the tariff and the silver questions, trea- ties with England in re- gard to the Nicaragua Canal and the Alaskan boundary, and, perhaps over-capping them all, the insiirrec- tion in China. In 1900 there was a fearful uprising in China against all foreigners and against all Chinamen who had adopted foreign customs. The Boxers, as the rebels were called, murdered many foreigners and destroyed much Mckinley and the engineer. JOHN HAY — THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 32 1 property. It was necessary that the different nations should protect their people and their interests, as the Chinese gov- ernment was either powerless or unwilling to do so. The United States and the leading nations of Europe sent a joint army to China, which fought its way to Pekin, the capital, and captured it. Until the insurrection was over and the Chinese government had resumed control, this international army preserved order. During these trying times the course of the United States was such as to win the admiration and applause of the world. When the rioters were put down and terms were discussed for the settlement of damages, our govern- ment, through our Secretary of State, proposed a policy quite different from that advocated by the European powers. There was danger that a part of the territory of China would be demanded by the nations whose subjects had suffered. The United States firmly insisted that the territory of China should not be divided; that China must pay a proper indem- nity for property destroyed and lives lost, and must punish the instigators of the movement; but that she should lose no territory. This policy prevailed through the work of John Hay, who also arranged that all Chinese ports should be open to the trades of all nations. This arrangement, called "The Open Door," was a brilliant diplomatic achievement. John Hay's course throughout this whole difficulty reflected great credit upon himself and upon our country. Increased Power of the United States. In fact, the treatment of the many questions that have come before the nation in the close of the last and the beginning of the present century has strengthened the power of the republic and raised its reputa- tion in the eyes of the world. The time seems to have come when we are no longer to be looked upon as a small nation, separate from European civilization. It is clear that hence- 322 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. forth we are to be counted a part of the world, with world- wide interests, and that whatever affects humanity concerns us. "God has locked the nations together. No nation can longer be indifferent to the others," were significant words in President McKinley's last speech. Death of McKinley. In September, 1901, the life of this well-loved, upright, and faithful president was cut short by an assassin, an anarchist who was opposed to all rulers. President McKinley was sincerely mourned by his Own people and by all nations of the world. Roosevelt's Life. Theodore Roosevelt was born in 1858. He is a graduate of Harvard College, a cultured scholar, the author of many books, showing a broad mind and high character. When he once entered public life he rose rapidly. At the age of twenty-four he was United States Civil Service Commissioner; and a little later was appointed President of the New York Police Board. From this position he rose to that of Assistant Secretary of the Navy. In the war with Spain he was Colonel of the "Rough Riders"; and he was elected Vice-President in 1900, at the age of forty-two. On the death of President McKinley he took the oath and became President. This was September 14, 1901. He was elected President in 1904 by the largest majority ever accorded a candidate. Five times in our history has the Vice-President been called to exercise the office of President because of the death of the latter. Theodore Roosevelt was the first Vice- President thus serving out the term of office of another Pres- ident to be elected to serve as President for another term of four years. The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty. Over half a century ago our government made a treaty with Great Britain concerning any interoceanic canal that might be built across the Amer- JOHN HAY — THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 323 ican Isthmus. Early in this century the United States wished to build a canal across this isthmus. Through the efforts of John Hay the old treaty was annulled and a new treaty made, which provided that the canal, when built, should be con- trolled by the United States, but that it should be open to "vessels of commerce and of war of all nations on terms of entire equality." Thus the way was opened for our govern- ment to build a water route between the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. The Panama Canal. This gigantic enterprise was largely the outgrowth of the war with Spain. Its value and, indeed, its absolute necessity was seen, when it became important for the great war vessel The Oregon to return from the Pacific Ocean to engage in the war with Spain. She was obliged to make the long voyage around Cape Horn. This was a concrete illustration of the value of a canal across the Isthmus of Panama. When it is finished at a cost of several hundred million dollars it will be of immense aid to the commerce of the en- tire world. It is hoped that it will also, to a great extent, promote the peace of the world and increase good will among all its inhabitants. Russia and Japan. After the Chinese insurrection had been put down, the foreign nations withdrew their forces, according to the agreement, except Russia. Japan feared that Russia meant to hold the Chinese Province of Manchuria. As this would seriously interfere with her commerce and de- velopment and her influence in China, Japan sent a protest to the Czar asking that the Russian troops be removed. The Czar refused to heed this request and Japan declared war against Russia. President Roosevelt offered his ser- vices as peacemaker. The two belligerents sent commis- 324 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. sioners to the United States. They met in the city of Portsmonth, New Hampshire, and there negotiated their treaty of peace. This was greatly to the credit of President Roosevelt and our country. On its account the famous Nobel prize of $40,000 was given to Roosevelt. With the money he endowed the Foundation for the Promotion of Industrial Peace. President Roosevelt, at the close of his administration, traveled extensively. While in England and on the con- tinent of Europe he met many high in authority in various countries, and friendly, relationships were confirmed by his visits. Thus the. kindly feeling between the United States and other nations has been strengthened. Taft's Administration. In 1909 William H. Taft became president and much advance was made during his four years as the head of the government. One important problem that President Taft attempted to rectify was that of Trusts. A trust is a corporation formed by the union of several com- panies. As the trust controls the market in its given line of goods, it could fix the price for which its goods should be sold. The people felt that these prices were too high, and as the trusts often controlled necessities of life, it became important that these prices should be lowered. Previous to this time a law had been passed which declared, in effect, that all combinations and agreements made for the purpose of controlling the output and sale of goods and of fixing prices are unlawful and are liable to punishment by fine or imprisonment. President Taft relentlessly pursued corpora- tions which he thought were violating this law. The accept- ance of money given for party purposes with the expectation on the part of the donor of obtaining political influence and the use of official position for private gain were persistently frowned upon. JOHN HAY — THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 325 Advance Movements. During this same administration many important improvements were made. Among these might be noted the Postal Savings Banks, which enabled the people of the country to deposit small savings at certain post offices, and know that their money so placed was abso- lutely safe. The Parcel Post permits the sending through the mail of farm and factory products, books, and all matter not classed as first, second or third class mail matter at cer- tain fixed rates according to distance. The country has been divided into zones, and the rate is uniform in each zone. In the first two zones the limit of weight is fifty pounds, and in the other zones it is twenty pounds. This regulation has proved of especial benefit in supplying our cities with the products of the country at reasonable rates. The massing of large numbers of people in commercial and manufacturing centers furnishes difficult problems. Many of the most ignorant foreign-born voters are found in such centers and being without intelligent ideas about our gov- ernment, they can the more readily be induced to sell their votes. Widespread movements for better government have been inaugurated and popular opinion is becoming strong along these lines. President Taft introduced into the con- duct of the Federal Government many methods of economy and efficiency, and converted a deficit of $58,000,000 into an annual surplus of nearly $50,000,000. Democrats in Power. For a period of fifty years, the Re- publicans had been in power most of the time. In 1913 Woodrow Wilson, a democrat, became president. Not only was the executive head a democrat, but the legislative power was also democratic. This changed the general policy of the nation in many important particulars. The most im- portant change related to the tariff, which hitherto had been 326 FIRST STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY. a protective tariff. The party now in power favored a tariff for revenue only. An extra session of Congress was at once called and after much discussion a new schedule of rates was adopted. Later a new bill was passed which provided that certain banks should serve as centers for various regions of the country, which should be able to draw on each other in time of need, thus equalizing the monetary condition of the country. Troubles in Mexico. Previous to the inauguration of Pres- ident Wilson troubles had arisen in the government of the Republic of Mexico. President Huerta * had come into power on the assassination of Madero, the previous presi- dent. The rebellion against the Huerta government has gone on until nearly all of northern Mexico is under the control of the rebels, or as they call themselves " the Consti- tutionalists." Our president has favored the retirement of Huerta and the election of a new president by the people. Huerta refused to withdraw and the fighting has been con- tinued to the present time (1914). What the outcome will be, no one can foretell. Most of the Americans who were living in Mexico have returned to this country, and other foreigners have gone home in large numbers. Business in Mexico has largely come to a stand- still. Present Prospects. The growth of our country and the rapid increase of its population and of its business have astonished all mankind. To-day it is doubtless true that we are the strongest and most important nation of the world. The young people in school to-day will soon control affairs in this gigantic nation. In their maturity they will need more education and better disciplined minds than their * Pronounced "Werta." JOHN HAY THEODORE ROOSEVELT. 327 fathers required. Business is more complicated than form- erly and success requires more thought and skill than in the past. America means opportunity. It means opportunity to get wealth, power, influence, and honor. It means opportunity to make the most of one's powers of body and mind. But more than all else, it means opportunity to make this country better by honest, faithful service, and sincere efforts to know the truth, and to help on international peace and good will among all the nations of the world. Give the reasons why distances do not seem as great as they once did. Tell what is being done for our immigrants. Give an account of the life of John Hay. Describe the trouble in China. Give an account of the life of Roosevelt. Describe the Panama Canal and give some of its advantages. State the meaning of "Trusts," and tell why people dislike them. Which do you think of greater importance the submarine cable or wireless telegraphy? It is said that when the Romans became luxurious their government became effete and lost its power. Is there danger of a similar catastrophe in our country? Why is it necessary to teach our foreign element our aims and ideals? How did contact with Lincoln help to prepare John Hay for his wonderful career? What is the meaning of the " Open Door? " Why should the United States inter- fere between Russia and Japan? What is the difference in the policy of a demo- cratic administration from that of a republican administration? How will the new Currency Bill establishing Regional Banks help to prevent a panic? Why is it necessary that boys and girls should be more thoroughly educated than ever before? What do you think of America as a country in which to live? Books for Outside Reading Butterworih — Young Folks' History of America. Markham — Colonial Days. Wright — Children's Stories in American History. Lodge and Roosevelt — Hero Tales from American History. MacCoun — Historical Geography of the United States. Hale — Stories of Discovery. Kingston — Notable Voyages. Abbott — American Pioneers and Patriots. Abbott — Ferdinand de Soto. Higginson — American Explorers. Henty — Under Drake's Flag. Towle — Sir Walter Raleigh. Cooke — Stories of the Old Dominion. Cooke — My Lady Pocahontas. Hart — Colonial Children. Bacon — Historical Pilgrimages in New England. Hawthorne — Grandfather's Chair; Twice-Told Tales. Moore — Pilgrims and Puritans. Abbott — Myles Standish. Gilman — The Story of Boston. 'Moore — From Colony to Commonwealth. Smith (Mary P. Wells) — Boy Captives of Old Deerfield; Young Puritans of Old Hadley. Abbott — Peter Stuyvesant. Irving — Sketch Book. Kennedy — Rob of the Bowl. Watson — The Great Peacemaker. Drake — Indian History for Young Folks. Catherwood — Story of Tonty. Henty — With Wolfe in Canada. Watson — Boston Tea Party. Greene — Peter and Polly. Preble — History of the Flag. Woodman — Boys and Girls of the Revolution. Fiske — Washington and His Country. Henty — True to the Flag. Coffin — Boys of '76. Abbott — Blue- Jackets of '76, Watson — The Friend of George Washington. Mayhew — Young Benjamin Franklin. Wilkins — Adventures of Ann. Seawell — Paul Jones. Brooks — The True Story of Lafayette. Varney — The Story of Patriot's Day. Stoddard — Two Cadets with Washington. Abbott — Daniel Boone. Coffin — • Building the Nation. Upton — Our Early Presidents, their Wives and Children. Hale — Philip Nolan's Friends. Knox — Life of Robert Fulton. Hale — Stories of Inventions. Lossing — Story of the United States Navy. Abbott — Blue-Jackets of 1812. Soley — Boys of 1812. Eggleston — Big Brother. Seawell — Twelve Naval Captains. Brooks — Boy Settlers. Eggleston — Hoosier Schoolboy. Monroe — Golden Days of '49. Irving — Astoria. Brooks — Boy Emigrants. Wright — Children's Stories of American Progress. Field — Story of the Atlantic Telegraph. Butierworth — In the Boyhood of Lincoln. Brooks — Abraham Lincoln. Coffin — Drum Beat of the Nation. Henty — With Lee in Virginia. Adams — Our Standard Bearer. Page — Two Little Confederates. Coffin — Redeeming the Republic. Soley — Sailor Boys of '61. Abbott — Blue-Jackets of '6r. Miss Nicolay — The Boyhood of Lincoln. Abbott — Blue-Jackets of '98. Brooks — Story of our War with Spain. Kaler — Boys of '98. Stratemeyer — American Boys' Life of William McKinley; American Boys' Life of Theodore Roosevelt. 32S Index Adams, Samuel, 114, 116, 119; his great work, 123. Adams and Jefferson, Death of, 184. American life, Changes in, 209. Authors, American, 290. Baltimore, Lord, 83; religious persecution, 84; St. Mary's, 86; religious toleration, 86. Barton, Clara, 292, 295; her work in the Civil War, 296; in Europe, 297; the Red Cross Society, 297; in Turkey, 299; in Cuba, 299; in the Spanish War, 301; a minister of mercy, 302. Barton, Colonel, 135. JBoston, 68. Boxer uprising, 320. Bradford, William, 56, 57. British Army, in New York, 134; in New Jersey, 135. Bunker Hill, 129. Burgoyne's campaign, 136. Cabinet, The first, 174. Cabot, John, 30; the mainland discovered, 31; his rewards, 33; the second voy- age, 33; the fisheries, 34; the claim of England, 34. Calhoun, John C , 210; national problems, 210; poHtical parties, 211; quarrels with Jackson, 212; his influence, 213; compared with Clay and Webster, 220. California, 226; a free State, 228. Calvert, Sir George, 83. Civil War, 253. Clark, George Rogers, 159, 160; in Ken- tucky, 160; midnight flight, 161; plan to capture the Northwest, 163; visits Patrick Henry, 163; down the Ohio, 163; capture of Kaskaskia, 165; march to Vincennes, 165; conquest of the North- west territory, 166. Clay, Henry, 208; compromise, 208; na- tional problems, 210; political parties, 211; biography, 213; brilliant career, 214; a great orator, 214; Missouri Com- promise, 215; Compromise of 1850, 216; compared with Calhoun and Web- ster, 220. Cole, Hugh, loo. Colonies, The New England, 74; growth ■ of, 114; England taxes them, 115. Columbus, Christopher, 15; boyhood, 15; the map that he studied, 17; aid sought from Spain, 19; his first voyage, 22; fear of the sailors, 23; the discovery, 24; the Indians, 25; the return, 26; the second voyage, 26; his death, 28. Conant, Roger, 64. Concord Bridge, 127. Confederate commanders, 258. Confederate States, 257. Connecticut constitution, 73. Continental Congress, proposed, 120; first congress, 121; second congress, 121. Cornwallis surrendered, 147. Cowpens, Battle of, 145. Cuba, 322. Dare, Virginia, 45. Decatur, Stephen, 192; war with Tripoli, 192; his early life, 193; captures the Macedonian, 194; Jack Creamer, 194; other victories, 198. Declaration of Independence, 122. Dix, Dorothea L., 294. Dutch, explorations, 76; settlements, 77. 329 330 INDEX. Eastern, The Great, 243. Edison, Thomas A., 304; a newsboy, 307; his heroism, 308; leams telegraphy, 309; his experiments, 309; his skill tested, 310; the stock-printer, 311; "the Wizard of Menlo Park," 311; his inventions, 312; a persistent search, 312. English explorations, 42. Enthusiasm for exploration, 36. Farragut, David G., 273; his boyhood, 274; commands a fleet, 274; captures New Orleans, 275; battle of Mobile Bay, 276; the first American admiral, 276; his ancestors, 278. Federal convention, 171. Field, Cyrus W., the ocean cable, 242. First English Colony, 43. Forty-niners in California, 227. France, loses her American possessions, hi; treaty with, 136. .Franklin, Benjamin, 148; and the apple woman, 149; his dream, 149; entrance into Philadelphia, 150; Miss Read, 150; in London, 150; "Poor Richard's Al- manac," 151; inventions, 152; patriotism, 152; in France, 153; treaty of peace 153; Constitutional Convention, 154, 155; his death, 157. French explorations, 76. Fulton, Robert, 186; the first steamboats, 187; his early Hfe, 188; failure of his boat at Paris, 189; success, the Cler- mont, 189. General Court of Massachusetts, 120. Gettysburg, Battle of, 261. Gold, Discovery of, 226. Grant, Ulysses S., 265; early manhood, 265; capture of Fort Donelson, 266; Vicksburg, 267; the Wilderness, 267; Lee's surrender, 267; end of Civil War, 268; results of the war, 269; slavery abolished, 269; national growth, 270; his later years, 271; his tomb, 272. Grasse, Count de, 146, 147. Greene, Nathanael, his thirst for knowl- edge, 142; Quaker soldier, 143; goes to Boston, 143; proposes independ- ence, 144; at Valley Forge, 144. Hamilton, Alexander, i58; patriots meet in New York, 168; speech in New York, 169; controls a mob, 169; aide to Washington, 170; his work, 174. Hay, John, 317; with Lincoln, 318; diplo- matic career, 318; his fame, 319. Holland, FUght of the Puritans to, 57. Hooker, Thomas, 72; the Connecticut colony, 72; the first written constitu- tion, 73. Houston, Samuel, 222; free and slave States, 222; brief biography, 223; Texan independence, 223; annexation of Texas, 224; war with Mexico, 225. Hudson, Henry, 75. Immigrants, 316. Indians, The, 25; hostiUty of, 43. Jackson, Andrew, 201; a young rebel, 201; hard times, 201; his boyhood, 202; a busy lawyer, 263; "Old Hickory," 204; war with Creek Indians, 204; battle of New Orleans, 205; his popularity, 206; elected President, 207; nullification, 207; Clay's compromise. 208. Jackson, Helen Hunt, 293. Jamestown, 49. JeSerson, Thomas, 176; at Williams- burg, 176; in the Continental Con- gress, 178; governor of Virginia, 178; President, 179; tries to buy New Or- leans, 179; Napoleon's plan, 180; Marbois visits Livingston, 181; Louisi- ana ceded to the United States, 182; price paid for Louisiana, 184. Jefferson and Adams, Death of, 184. Johnstown flood, 298. INDEX. 331 Kaskaskia, Capture of, 164. Kentucky, Life in, 161. King's Mountain, 145. La Salle, Cavalier de, loi; strenuous life, 102; resolute purpose, 102; Louisiana, 103; misfortunes, 103; his death, 104. Lee, Robert E., 257; Confederate States, 257; Confederate commanders, 258; leader of the Confederate army, 259; invades the north, 261; Gettysburg, 261; a citizen after the war, 263. Lexington, Expedition to, British 251; arrive there, 127. Libraries, Public, 290. Lincoln, Abraham, 245; his ancestors, 245; his boyhood, 246; his first dollar, 247; pioneer life, 247 ; struggle for an education, 248; early manhood, 249; studies law, 250; debate with Douglas, 251; slavery, 252; Southern States secede, 252; Fort Sumter, 253; Civil War, 253; his states- manship, 254; speech at Gettysburg, 254; tribute of Castelar, 255. Livingston, Robert R., buys Louisiana, 181. Lost Colony, The, 46. Louisiana, 103. Mann, Horace, 280; his early life, 280; Secretary of Massachusetts Board of Edu- cation, 280; the American public schools, 281; old-time schools, 282; a spelling les- son, 283; spelling school, 284; discipline 285; modern methods, 286. Maryland, 84. Mason and Dixon's line, 87. McKinley, William, 319; a thoughtful deed, 320; elected President, 319; the Boxer uprising, 320; increased power of the United States, 321; his assassination 322. Mediterranean pirates, 198. Mexico, War with, 225. Monitor and Mcrrimac, 260. Monmouth, Battle of, 138. Morse, Samuel F. B., 237; conversation between Benjamin West and George III, 237; invents the telegraph, 238; appro- priation from Congress, 239; the first mes- sage, 240; value of the telegraph demon- strated, 241. Nations closely allied, 314. Naumkeag, 64. New England Colonies, 74. New York adopts the Constitution, 171. Northwest territory, Conquest of, 166. Ohio, Valley of the, 162. Paine, Thomas, 122; "Common Sense," 122. Panama Canal, 323. Patriotism, Lessons in, 291. ■- Peninsular Campaign, 260. Penn, William, 88; the king's debt, 90; city of brotherly love, 92; treaty with the Indians, 92. Pennsylvania, 91. Persecution under Elizabeth, 56. PhiUp, King, 95; the war with, 95; Captain Church, 96; capture of Anna wan, 97; his royalties, 98. Pilgrims, The, 58; the voyage of, sq; the Compact, 60; the first winter, 60; Governor Bradford, 60; the Indians, 6i; the chal- lenge, 62. Pocahontas, 52. Polo, Marco, 17. Prescott, General, Capture of, 135. Presidential election. The first, 172. President's inauguration. The first, i73- Products of the New World, 44. Puritans, The, 64. Quakers, 88; persecution, 88. Raleigh, Sir Walter, 41; and Queen Elizabeth, 41; his second-colony, 45. Revere, Paul, 124; midnight ride of, 126. Roosevelt, Theodore, 322; takes the oath 332 INDEX. as President, 322; Hay-Pauncefote Treaty, 322; Russia and Japan, 323; Panama Canal, 323. Ross, Betsy, 136. San Francisco Earthquake, 331. Schools, 281; the American public, 281; spelling school, 284; discipline, 285; the three R's, 285; modern methods, 286; preparatory schools, 287; colleges, 287; education of women, 288; technical schools, 288. Scrooby Separatists, The, 56. Secession, 252. Smith, John, 48; his voyage, 40; early ad- ventures, so; a wise leader, 51; explora- tions, 52; father of Virginia, 54. Soto, Ferdinand de, 36; his long march, 37; the Mississippi discovered, sg; his death and burial, 39. Spanish cruelty, 38. Stamp Act, 115; Congress, 116. Stars and Stripes, 136. Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 293; "Uncle Tom's Cabin," 293. Stuyvesant, Peter, 75; an able governor, 77; prosperity, 78; quarrel with the Swedes, 79; English claims, 80; resistance useless, 81; New York, 81. Sumter, Fort, 253. Taft's Administration, 324. Tea, Tax on, 116; party, 119. Texas, Annexation of, 224. United States. The growth of, 304; Immigra- tion, 305; the several States, 306; new territory, 306; prosperity, 306; the results of inventions, 307. Valley Forge, 136. Vergennes's prophecy, 113. Vincennes, 165. Virginia, 43; company, The, 48. Washington, George, Commander-in-Chief, 121, 129, 133; a distinguished Virginian, 131; boyhood, 132; manhood, 132; at prayer, 138; elected President, 139; a majestic figure, 141; FrankUn's toast, "Joshua of Old," 141. Webster, Daniel, 217; his early life, 217; political life, 217; debate with Hayne, 218; Dartmouth college case, 219; as an orator, 220; compared with Clay and Calhoun, 220. Whitman, Dr. Marcus, 230; our claims to Oregon, 230; missionary to the Indians, 231; "the ride for Oregon," 232; at the Grand River, 233; a fire under difficulties, 233; in Washington, 234; emigrants of 1843 to Oregon, 234; Indian massacre, 235; Oregon to-day, 235. W^illiams, Roger, 69; his banishment, 69; the wilderness, 70; Providence 70; religious freedom, 71. Willard, Frances E., 295. Wilson, Woodrow, 325; troubles in Mexico, 326. Winthrop, John, 64; early settlements, 64; Endicott pear tree, 65; reinforcements, 66; Governor, 66; Boston, 68. Wolfe, James, 106; French and Indian War, 106; decisive battle, 106; his appearance, 107; at Quebec, 108; repeats Gray's "Elegy," 109; the battle, 109; his death, II I ; death of Montcalm, iii. Women, Distinguished, 294. Yorktown, 146. The World and Its People A Series of Ten Geographical Readers, Charmingly Illustrated, for Supplementary Work in Schools, and for the Interest of the Family at Home. Book I. First Lessons - - 36 cts. Book II. Glimpses of the World - - - 36 cts. Book ill. Our Own Country 50 cts. Book IV. Our American Neighbors - - 60 cts* Book V. Modern Europe - 60 cts. Book VI. Life in Asia - - 60 cts. Book VII. Views in Africa - 72 cts. Book VIII. Australia and the Islands of the Sea 68 cts. Book IX. Hawaii and Its People - - - 68 cts. Book X. The South Ameri- can Republics 60 cts. This series of fascinating books makes geography a study of absorbing interest. The maps, the boundaries, the spots called cities, begin to be alive as the pupil reads these graphic and ample descriptions of the countries of the world, their individual characteristics, their people's ways. Behind the map he sees a real world, tangible and bright-hued as his own surroundings. This circling picture of the world comes, not as a task, but as a wise direction of the home reading, in which all the family are often impelled to join. Send for Specimen Pages. Songs of the Nation A Superb Collection of the Most Representative American Songs, for Schools, Societies, and Homes. Compiled and edited by COL. CHARLES W. JOHNSON. With an Introduction by Leonard B. Marshall, Special instructor in Music in the Public Schools of Boston. In these days, when the sentiment of country is calling for a new and fuller expression, this collection is most timely. It embodies the patriotic and national songs most in demand, together with many more songs for Anniversaries and occasions, American folk-songs, a group of old religious favorites, the best College songs, etc. Sent by mail on receip* of price — bo cents. Silver^ Burdett and Company, Publishers New York Boston Chicagfo Historic Pilgrimages in New England. By Edwin M, Bacon. This is the vivid story of early New England, told while standing upon the very spots where the stirring Colonial drama was enacted. The famous places where the Puritans and Pilgrims planted their first homes, the ancient buildings, and the monuments to the wise and dauntless founders of the great Commonwealth are visited, and, while in the atmosphere of the associations, the thrilling narrative of the past is recounted. The connecting thread is the summer pilgrimage which a thoughtful young fellow from a western college makes to the country of his ancestors. He is accompanied by his father's friend, who talks entertainingly about the memorable facts which the hallowed soil suggests. The boy's earnest curiosity stands for the interest which some millions of others feel in the same events and personalities and shrines. Of all the books which describe that country and set forth the significance of the deeds done there, — from the landing of the Pilgrims to the first blow of the Revolution, — this new volume combines, perhaps, the most that is of interest to lovers of Yankee-land. It is accurate. . It abounds in facts hitherto unpublished. It gives snatches from early diaries and documents. Disputed stories are sifted until the fabulous elements are cut out. The style is graphic from start to finish — even statis- tics are made picturesque. 4J^ Pages, ijr Illustrations. Uncut edges. Retail pi ice, $i.^o. (For introductory price of School Edition send for Circular.) For School Libraries and Reading Circles, this book appeals to a deep and constant taste. For Supplementary Reading in the higher grades it is a mine of interest and delightful instructiveness, " ' Historic Pilgrimages ' abundantly justifies its double purpose of serving both the student's needs of a graphic summary of the history of Massachusetts Bay, and the stranger-visitor's need of a preparation for, and a pleasant keepsake of, his journeyings." — Boston Journal. Silver, Burdett and Company, Publishers, Boston. New York. Chicago. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS liilii ! I '! "I < 011527 5318 t :