Class _EiiX?_ Book GopyiiglitN" COPVRICSHT DEPOSIT. Washington Taking the Oath of Office as President. ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY BY WILLIAM A. MOWRY AND BLANCHE S. MOWRY WITH MANY MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS SILVER, BURDETT AND COMPANY NEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO STANDARD BOOKS FOR SCHOOLS. By WILLIAM A. MOWRY, A.M., Ph.D., LL.D. First Steps in the History of Our Country. In colhihoration witli Akthuk M. Mowuy, A.M. For lower grades. 334 i>ages. 00 cents. Essentials of United States History. In collaboration with Bl.\nchk S. Mowry. For grammar grades. X, 434 pages. 90 cents. A History of the United States. In collal)oration 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, A.M. 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, A.M. 324 pages. 70 cents. Copyright, 1906, 1 9 11 , By SiLVKR, BURDE'IT AND CoMPANV ©CI.A2S375^ TO THE TEACHER The opportunity for developing a strong love for Ameri- can history conies when the boy or girl is beginning the seri- ous study of this subject. If the teacher and the text-book together can present the essential points in the history of our country in an attractive, realistic way, a lasting interest is assured. This interest is the best possible basis for develop- ing patriotism and good citizenship. To give a living touch to the text, the authors, in the record of events, have put emphasis on the personal element, on the men who have made American history. Granmiar school pupils need a narrative history rather than a condensation of facts, dates, and names. It largely rests with the individual teacher to give the class a liking for the history hour. The discerning teacher will select the important topics and study them in fuller detail than the space of a single text-book allows; he will provide for the reading of interesting books listed in the bibliography (Ap])endix, page 3) ; he will enlarge upon the significant parts of the biographies of our leading statesmen and makers of history. He will not set forth the bald outline of everything the man did, but rather will make clear for what he was noted, what he did for his age and for succeeding ages. For example, he will make it appear that Jefferson or Madison was a statesman, and show the important things for which he should be remembered ; and that Washington was a states- man and a soldier, while Franklin was a statesman, a diplo- mat, a scientist, an economist, a philosopher, and a writer of pure English. vi PREFACE It is well, in many cases, merely to read over the details of war and battles, dwelling i-ather on causes and effects. The classroom should be free from the spirit of militarism, and the pupils should see clearly that glory is not confined to the battlefield, nor patriotism to the career of the soldier. Attention should be given especially to the growing tendency among the nations to avoid wars and to settle all international difficulties by arbitration. Nowhere better than in the history lesson can we cultivate the spirit of philanthrojjy and good- will for the whole human race. CONTENTS SECTION I. — THE COLONIES I. Primitive America . . . II. The Discovery of America III. Early Settlements . . . IV. The Southern Colonies V. The New England Colonies VI. The Middle Colonies . . VII. Life in the Colonies . . VIII. The French Colonies . . IX. The Struggle for America 1 7 20 27 43 56 65 79 91 SECTION II. —THE REVOLUTION X. The Colonies Alienated 100 XL The Struggle for Independence (1776-1777) . 125 XII. The Struggle for Independence (1778-1781) . 143 XIII. The Articles of Confederation and the Fed- eral Convention 164 SECTION III. — THE NATION XIV. The Constitution of the United States XV. The United States in 1790 XVI. Washington's Administration (1789-1797) XVII. John Adams's Administration (1797-1801) XVIII. Jefferson's Administration (1801-1809) XIX. Madison's Administration (1809-1817) XX. Monroe's Administration (1817-1825) XXI. John Quincy Adams's Administration 1829) XXII. Jackson's Administration (1829-1837) XXIII. Van Buren's Administration (1837-1841) XXIV. Harrison and Tyler's Administration 1845) XXV. Folk's Apministration (1845-1849) , . vii 1825- 1841- 170 175 186 193 198 208 217 223 227 234 236 242 VIU ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY CHAPTER PACK XXVI. Taylou and Fillmoke's Administration (1849- 1853) .249 XXVII. Pierce's Administration (1853-1857) 252 XXVIII. Buchanan's Administration (1857-1861) ... 257 XXIX. Lincoln's First Ad.ministr.\tion (1861-1865). — The Civil War (1861-1863) 268 XXX. Lincoln's First Administration (continued) — The Civil War (1863-1865) 294 SECTION IV. — THE NEW NATION XXXI. Lincoln and Johnson's Administration (1865- 1869) 313 XXXII. Grant's Administration (1869-1877) 323 XXXIII. Hayes's Administration (1877-1881) 330 XXXIV. Garfield and Arthur's Administration (1881- 1885) 333 XXXV. Cleveland's First Administration (1885-1889) . 336 XXXVI. Harrison's Administration (1889-1893) .... 339 XXXVII. Cleveland's Second Administration (1S93-1897) . 341 XXXVIII. McKinley's First Administration (1897-1901) . 346 XXXIX. McKinley and Roosevelt's Administration (1901- 1905) 364 XL. Roosevelt's Administration (1905-1909) .... 370 XLI. Taft's Administration (1909- ) 374 XLII. The United States at the liEGiN.viNG of the Twentieth Century 377 APPENDICES appendix A. Bibliography 3 B. Chronology 12 C. The Declaration of Independence 25 D. The Constitution of the United States of America . . 29 E. Lincoln's Address at Gettysburg 45 F. Colonial Possessions 47 G. States and Territories of the I^nio.m 48 INDEX 50 MAPS PAGE The Location of the Eastern Indian Tribes 3 The World as Known in the Time of Columbus 8 Toscanelli's Map, 1474 10 The Map of Da Vinci, 1512-1516 14 The Sloane Manuscript, 1530 15 Mercator's Map, 1541 17 Grants to the London and Plymouth Companies 27 The Southern Colonies 38 The New England Colonies 50 The Middle Colonies 61 European Claims to the Atlantic Slope in 1640 (colored). Following 64 The French Occupation of North America 84 Colonies during the French and Indian Wars (colored). Following . 90 North America after the Treaty of 1763 98 The Campaign around Boston, 1775-1776 115 The Vicinity of Boston . . .' 118 The Campaigns in New York and New Jersey 132 The Campaigns in the Middle States 137 The Campaigns in the South 151 The Battleground of Yorktown 159 The Territory of the United States after September 3, 1783 (colored). Following 164 The States and their Land Claims at the Close of the Revolution (colored). Following 176 The United States in 1800 (colored). Following 198 The United States in 1803 201 Field of Operations in the War of 1812 212 East and West Florida 217 The United States in 1821 (colored). Folloiving 218 Routes of Travel from the Seaboard to the Mississippi . . .221 The Center of Population 224 Field of Operations in the Mexican War 244 The Mexican Cessions and the Oregon Country 245 The Territorial Growth of the United States (colored). Following . 246 The Result of the Compromise of 1850 249 ix X ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY PAGE The Result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act 253 The United States during the Civil War (colored). Follotoing . . 268 The Peninsular Campaign 281 The First Invasion of the North 283 Field of Operations in Virginia 285 Field of Operations in the West 288 Field of Operations in the Southwest 290 The Battleground of Gettysburg 295 Sherman's Campaign in Georgia 305 Western Half of the United States, 1870 (colored). Following . . 322 Territorial Dependencies of the ITnited States (colored). Following 356 The World, showing the United States and its Dependencies (colored) Following 360 The United States in 1911 (colored). Following 372 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY SECTION I.— THE COLONIES CHAPTER I PRIMITIVE AMERICA I. The Land. — The North America of five hundred years ago was a region very different from the North America of to-day. The general outUne of the shore was much the same. The same mountain ranges raised their crests towards the skies; the same rivers ran to the seas. But most of the land east of the Mississippi was covered with a forest that extended from the frozen lands of the North to the tropical shores of the southern sea. The great prairies of the interior were the home and the feeding ground of innumerable herds of deer, buffalo, and elk. The deserts of the West were vast solitudes. For countless ages the forces of nature had been preparing a land that could support a nation. Great oceans bordered its eastern and its western shores, and mighty rivers with far- reaching branches connected north with south, and east with west. The action of rain and snow, of frost and ice, and the decay of vegetation had made a soil of marvelous fertility. Below the ground were vast treasures of gold and silver, of iron and copper, and unmeasured fields of coal. But no one in all this great territory understood the advantage of river and seas; no one realized that the soil could produce more than a 1 2 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY bare subsistence; and few could have made use of tlie minerals, even if they had known how to take them from the ground. 2. The Inhabitants. — Yet a, peoi)le roamed through the forests, hunted on the prairies, and made homes for themselves in the cliffs of the \^ ii// '■'^'' -' "• ' West. They were divided into many tribes and spoke different dialects, but they all be- longed to one race of men and they wei'e all barbari- ans. Their com- ])]oxion was a dark reddish brown color; their cheek bonc's were iiigh and their hair was straight, black, and thin. In summer they wore little or no clothing; in winter they wiajjix'd themselves in the furs of animals. As nearly as can be (leterniined, there wer(> in all about five hundred thousand of these red men within the present limits of the United States, which is less than the number of inhabitants in the city of Baltimore to-day.* 3. Homes. — The homes of the red men varied in size and An Indian WioswA^r. iThe eastern half of the continent was occupied l)y three main tril)es of Indians. All the region south of the present southern boundary of North Carolina was held by the Maskoki. North of that line the Al- gonquins held all the territory, except the portion which is now New York State. This latter area was occupied by the strong Five Nations of the Iroquois — the Oneidas, Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, and the Mo- hawks. The Pequots, Mohegans, Narragansetts, and Wanipanoags, with whom the settlers in New England came in contact, were Algonquin tribes. PRIMITIVE AMERICA shape. Some were constructed of poles fastened together at the top and covered with bark or skins; others had straight sides and rounded roofs; still others had upright walls and slanting tops; while those of the southwest were dug out of the cliffs or built of stone or adobe. Yet, however much they The Location of the Eastern Indian Tribes. varied in appearance, seldom was a red man's house the home of one family. Some sheltered twenty people; some were large enough to accommodate two hundred. They were like great tenement houses and were noisy, dirty, and unhealthful. Of comfort there was little, and of privacy none at all. ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Rugs of fur and mats of woven grasses took the place of beds and chairs. Fire was built on the ground under a hole in the roof through which only a portion of the smoke escaped. Food was boiled in crude earthen pots or roasted on twig spits. A matron presided over each house. She directed the preparation of the food, and distributed it when it was cooked. Her word was the law of the household and no one, not even a warrior high in the councils of his tribe, dared to dispute it. A village was composed of several of these houses and was usually surrounded by a stockade, outside of which were the vegetable gardens. 4. Occupations. — The red man had two duties — to pro- vide the meat for his wife and family, and to protect them from their enemies. As a hunter he rivaled the beasts in cun- ning. He could imitate the gob- ble of the turkey and the cry of tlie wolf so as to deceive those animals them- selves. He knew all the haunts of the deer and the feeding grounds of tlie buffalo. By a broken twig, or a track in the dust, he could tell what animals and how many had passed his way. He seldom missed his shot, so great was his skill in the use of the bow and so swift were his flint- pointed arrows. A red man could endure untold privations and sufferings An Indian Village in the Southwest. PRIMITIVE AMERICA without a muriilur or a groan. His standing in the tribe depended upon his courage and his success in war. No cow- ard could become a chief. As a warrior he was fierce, cruel, and treacherous. He never, if possible, met the enemy in open battle, but surprised him on the trail or attacked him in the night. Women and children were either put to death, so that no one would be left to avenge the men, or else atlopted into the conciuer- ing tribe. All captives were cruelly tortured. 5. Women. — Wliile man was the provider and the pro- tector, woman was the drudge. She j)lanted the corn, the beans, the squashes, and the tobacco; cultivated them with hoes made of shells or of bones; harvested the c r o {) s ; and pounded the grain into meal. She brought the game into the village, dressed it, and preserved it for future use. There were neither horses nor cattle in America, before the white men came, so on a journey the woman carried the burdens and also prepared the camp. Almost as soon as the girls could walk, they were given tasks which grew longer and harder as their strength and stature increased. The boys had no duties, but ran and wrestled and shot at a mark with bows and arrows. According to the red man's idea this was not an unfair division of labor. If the man carried the burdens, he could not protect his family; if he risked his life to procure game, it The Indian Huntkk. From the Statue by J. Q. A. Ward in Central Park, New York City. 6 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY was only right that the wife should prepare it for food; and he thought that by some mysterious power she had greater success in raising crops from the soil than he. In his rough way he was usually kind to his family, and if there was trouble in the household, the man and not the woman had to find a new home. As we have seen, women controlled their homes and sometimes they even became the rulers of their tribes. 6. Religion. — The red man was very religious. Every- thing that was new, or strange, or that he could not under- stand was the work of the Great Spirits or manitous. So he worshiped the thunder, the wind, the fii"e, the sun, and sought their aid and appeased their wrath by long fasts and by burnt offerings. He also believed in witches and thought that all dreams, however ridiculous, were sent for his guidance and instruction. When a youth reached manhood, he spent several days in a lonely spot without food. Then, if at the end of his fast he saw in his sleep some bird or beast, that creature was supposed to be his guardian spirit through Ufe. He believed that existence was not ended at death, but was continued either in some animal or in some other country where customs and habits were similar to those here. So a warrior was buried with all his weapons about him and with food and drink for his journey. 7. The Coming of the White Man. — In some sections the red man had a legend that a great white manitou would some- time visit their country. And when the white men first arrived, they were welcomed with all the honors that the red men knew how to confer. To discover why and how the white men came to America it will be necessary to cross the Atlantic and learn something of the conditions in the Old World five hundred years ago. THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 7 SUMMARY A land rich in natural resources was inhabited by a race of barbarians who had no knowledge of the minerals stored beneath the ground or of the proper cultivation of the soil. They lived principally on the products of the chase and the vegetables of their gardens, which were cared for by the women. They were fierce fighters, but feared all the forces of nature and worshiped whatever they could not understand. CHAPTER II THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 8. The Old World. — Five hundred years ago Europeans had a very limited knowledge of the extent of land on the earth's surface. Maps of that period omitted the whole of Australia, the most of Africa, and large portions of Asia. Tradition had said that somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean was a large island, but no one had even dreamed that a western hemisphere existed. In fact most people believed that the world was flat, and that if one went far enough to reach its edges, he could look down into unknown horrors, "Tell me, my son," asks an old Anglo-Saxon book on geography, "why the sun is so red in the evening," and then replies, "Because it looketh down upon hell." Only a few hardy Norsemen had dared to venture far to the west, and the reports of their voyages had never reached southern Europe, The Atlantic was commonly Norse known as the Sea of Darkness, where only gods Voyages, might sail in safety. All sorts of fierce monsters were sup- posed to live in its waters, and to be large enough to destroy ships as well as men. The south presented equal dangers. 8 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY There, it was said, the heat of tlio sun (h-ied uj) all moisture, and ships lost their way in muddy seas and never reached home again. 9. Trade with the East. — It was not strange that mari- ners were not eager to make explorations either to the west or south, until a nocossity arose that coiupollpd them to seek P ARCTIC OCEAN ^■=> c. •, ,^ ; NORTHV \ . AMERICA p^ ^ TO PACIFIC WORLD as known in th& time ot Columbus. ANTARCTIC OCEAN The World as Known in the Time oe Columbus. a new route from Europe to Asia. Even five hundred years ago a flourishing trade was carried on between Europe and the East. Spices, ivory, jewels, and silks were brought by caravans from Asia to the Mediterranean Sea. There they were packed in vessels and carried to Genoa, Venice, and other Turks ports. In exchange for these luxuries, Europe in Europe, gave woolen cloths, linens, glass, and wines. There had been three routes between the West and the East, but the Turks had closed them all when they captured Constan- THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 9 tinople in 1453 and gained control of the eastern end of the Mediterranean. Now that Europe was denied these kixuries, she desired them more than before, and her desire was increased by the new stories that were told by travelers from Cipango and Cathay, as Japan and China were called. Palaces and temples were reported to be covered with gold, and jewels were said to be larger and more numerous there than any- where else. A new route must be found. 10. Da Gama. — The Portuguese were the most daring sailors of that time, and Uttle by little they pushed their way down the coast of Africa.^ As the mud banks and the dry seas did not appear, each journey made them a little more daring than before. In 1487 Bartolomeo Diaz (devils) reached the southern point of Africa, but his crew com- pelled him to return. The king of Portugal, however, was convinced that the route to India had been found, and when he learned that this point had been called the Cape of Storms he said, "Nay, rather, let it be called the Cape of Good Hope." Yet even then ten more years went by before a ship, com- manded by Vasco da Gama (vas'ko dii gii'ma), reached India. Meanwhile another voyage, far more important in its results than the discovery of the water route to the East, had been made. 11. The New Theory. — In spite of the almost universal belief that the earth was flat and the sun moved round it, a few earnest students had reached the conclusion that it was round. Toscanelli, an Italian astronomer, was the first to announce this theory. If, he reasoned, the earth were a ' The use of the compass, which was introduced into Europe from China liy Arabian sailors, helped to give mariners courage to sail beyond the sight of land. Before the thirteenth century, Europeans directed their course upon the ocean by the sun and the stars, which were entirely use- less as guides in cloudy weather. 10 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY sphere it would be possible to reach India by saihng west; there was an ocean on the western coast of Europe and a great sea along the shores of India and China. The niarnier who attempted to prove the truth of this theory was Christopher Columbus. 12. Christopher Columbus. — (\jlumbus was born m Genoa. He received a good education and at an early age went to sea, where he had various experiences as a pirate and a slave ToscANELLi's Map, 1474- trader. Once Columbus visited Iceland, and while there he possibly heard stories of the voyages that some daring Norse- men had made, hundreds of years before, to a land far to the west. Later he became a thoughtful student of geography and a skilled map maker. Ilis business carried him to Lis- bon, in Portugal, where there was great call for maps and charts and where everybody was interested in the progress of the voyages down the coast of Africa. The studies and experiences of Columbus had convinced ThePlanof bini that the earth was round and he became Columbus, interested in Toscanelli's theory that India could be reached by sailing west. He desired to make a voyage THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 11 by that route, and several letters {)assed between him and Toscanelh. In one of them the astronomer wrote, "When that voyage shall be accomplished it will be a voyage to powerful kingdoms and to cities and provinces most wealthy and noble. . . . For these and other reasons and many ('hristopheh Columbus. As he appeared before Queen Isabella. others, I do not wonder that you, who are of great cour- age . . . are now hiflamed with desire to execute the said voyage." 13. The Preparations. — It was one thing to reach the conclusion that such a journey was possible, but a very differ- ent matter to get governmental aid, without which no voy- age of discovery could be made at that time. As was natural, 12 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Columbus first sought assistance from Portugal. But King John — eager discoverer though lie was — refused. Genoa and ^'enice had also been invited to help, but neither would Spain aids give assistance. Finally Columbus turned to Spain. Columbus. Queen Isabella gave him a friendly hearing, but was so opposed by her counselors that six or seven years went by before she could give him the necessary aid. Even then the difficulties of prei)aration were not ended, From a sixteenth century print. Columbus, Departing on His Fikst Voyage, Takes Leave op THE King and Queen. for ship owners refused to risk their ships and sailors declined to enlist. Finally all obstacles were overcome and on the 3d of August, 1492, the expedition embarked in three small ships, the largest of which was only sixty-five feet long and twenty wide. Even Columbus would scarcely have dared THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 13 to make the voyage in such small boats, had he not supposed the distance to be much less than it is. 14. The Discovery. — Throughout the voyage the weather continued fair and the seas calm. The sailors were constantly on the lookout and frequently mistook the low-lying clouds and fog-banks for the much-desired land. As day by day went by and land did not appear, they began to be troubled at the distance they were going from Spain. Columbus, therefore, thought it necessary to keep them in ignorance of the real distance made each day. The voyage, on the whole, was uneventful. Finally, on the night of the 12th of October, the familiar cry of ''Land! Land! " once more arose. This time the cry proved true. The lookout on board one of the vessels had really spied the faint outlines of land in the distance. Daybreak showed a beauti- ful island covered with trees and tropical plants. Columbus ordered the anchors to be dropped and the boats to be lowered. Then he and his company landed, knelt on the shore, set up the cross, and took possession in the name of the San king and queen of Spain. Columbus called the Salvador, island San Salvador in honor of "the blessed Saviour." The name has since been changed to Watlings Island. For some weeks Columbus voyaged around the adjacent islands, seeking for the continent of Asia. So firmly did he believe that India was close at hand that he called the islands the West Indies, and their inhabitants Indians. But he thought that the natives were a stupid race because they called all the world an island and did not seem to know what a continent was. In spite of all that the Indians told him, Columbus decided that he had discovered Asia when he found Cuba. He immediately sent a messenger, who could speak Arabic, into the interior with a letter to the "Great Khan." Though neither the emperor 14 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY nor the cities of China were reached, Columbus imagined a reasonable excuse, and still firm in his behef that he had discovered Asia, he set sail for home in January. After a stormy voyage he reached Palos, where he was received with great honors and rejoicing. 15. Other Voyages. — Almost immediately after his return Columbus made preparations for a second voyage, and this time he had no difficulty in getting sailors to man the ships. "Such was the desire for travel," said an old- time historian, "that the men were ready to leap into the sea, to swim, if it had been possi- The Map qf Da Vinci, 1512-1516. ble, into these new After the discovery of South America and Florida. partS " ; and thc SOfl of Columbus wrote, "There is not a man who does not beg to be allowed to become a discoverer." Columbus made in all four voyages across the Atlantic, and on one of these touched the shores of South America. He died still thinking that it was Asia he had found. In his last illness, which had been brought on by worries and disap- pointments, he cried, "\\niy doest thou falter in thy trust in God? He gave thee India." 16. John Cabot. — Columbus wrote a letter giving an ac- count of liis voyage, which was translated into Latin and scattered throughout Europe. When the letter reached THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 15 England, it was read with great astonishment and the voyage was considered an achievement "more divine than human." An ItaUan navigator had made a home for himself in the busy seaport town of Bristol, where he was known as John Cabot. He had traveled much, had been in the East, and had accepted the theory that the earth was round. The story of the success of Columbus made him desire to accomplish "some notable thing," and to give to the king of England some share in the honors that were coming to the kings of Portu- gal and Spain through the discoveries made by their subjects. Henry VH gave him permission "to sail to the east, west, or north with five ships carrying the Enghsh flag, and to dis- cover all islands, countries, regions, or provinces of pagans in whatever part." Cabot set sail in May, 1497, and Discovery reached land, probabl}^ at Cape Breton Island, in of North June. He returned to Bristol in August, where America, his stories of fish and forests and bears were received with such astonishment that he "would have been set down as a Uar, being foreign-born and poor, had not his crew, who 16 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY were Bristol men, confirmed everything he said." King Henry honored him by giving him ten pounds and a yearly pension. It has been said that the next year Cabot and his son Sebastian set sail again, and that after reaching land they coasted along the shore from Labrador to Virginia. Because no riches were gained by these voyages, England for many years paid little attention to the new lands, but in after years it was upon these two voyages of the Cabots that she rested her claim to the ownership of North America. 17. America. — The re- ports of Columbus's voyages caused great ex- citement in Spain. Men l^elieved that gold could l)e picked up everywhere on the other side of the water. Merchants and atlventurers begged the court to give them per- mission to fit out vessels at their own expense. Among the many who made voyages across the Atlantic was another Italian, Amerigo Vespucci (vos-poot'chg). He made four voyages in Amerigo all and exjilorod the coast so far to the south Vespucci, that he came to the conclusion that the new lands were not islands off the coast of Asia Init an entirely new continent lying between Asia and Europe. On his return from one of these voyages he wrote a long Sebastian CAUtn-. THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 17 letter in which he described with great enthusiasm all that lie had seen. This letter was so interesting that it was pub- lished in book form and widely circulated. A man by the name of Waldsee- miiller ^ added it to a book on geogra- l)hy that he was about to pubUsh. In it he said, "Another fourth part has been dis- covered by Amer- igo Vespucci . . . therefore I do not see what is rightly to hinder us from calling it Amerige or America, I.e., the land of Americus, after its discoverer ... a man of saga- cious mind." The name was adopted and at first was applied only to the southern conti- nent. By 1541 the whole hemisphere, north and south, was known as America. There appears to have been no intention on the part of MERCATOR'S MAI 1541 ^ Martin Waldseemtiller (valt'za-miil-ler) was a German. He wrote a work called Cosmographice Introdudio, to which he added a reprint of the four voyages of Vespucci. This work was published in 1507, just a year after the death of Columl)us. 18 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Vespucci or Waldseemiiller of robbing Columbus of his right- ful honors. Columbus was supjjosed to be the discoverer of the "new islands merely," while Vespucci was the explorei- of an entirely distinct "new world." 1 8. The South Sea. — The news that a new world lay in the path to India was not at all welcome to Europeans. They wanted the wealth of Asia, not the hardships and privations of an undeveloped continent. Innnediately a search for a passage through to Asia began, and this search continued for over three hundred years. The first European to see the ocean "on the back side of the continent" was a Spanish explorer, Vasco Nunez de Balboa (noo'yath dS, bal-bo'a) He crossed the isthnms of Darien in September, 1513, and walking into the sea, took possession of it in the name of the king of Spain. Because it a))peared to lie to the south, he called it the South Sea. By this name it was known for many years. iQ. Magellan. — Because of this discovery, explorers nat- urally came to the conclusion that the New World was only a narrow strip of land, and their desire to find a {oassage through it increased. In 1519, Fernando Magellan, a Portu- guese nobleman in the service of Spain, set out to circum- navigate the globe. Though he knew that his ships were unseaworthy and his crew nuitinous, he told his friends to be "of good cheer . . . he would do his appointed work all the same." After reaching the New World he sailed south along the shores of South America, and finally entered the strait which bears his name. The ships were five weeks going through the passage, but as the water continued to be salt, Magellan was firmly convinced that the way through the continent had at last been found. Even then his men, fearing starvation, de- sired to go back, but the brave conunander declared that he THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 19 would go oil "if he had to eat the leather off the ship's yards." When he reached the "mayne sea, he was so gladde thereof that for joy the teares fell from his eyes." Because its (juiet waters were so different from those of the stormy Atlantic, he named it the Pacific or ''peace- ful." After great suffering he reached a group of islands which )ic called the Ladrones, "the isles of robbers." He then proceeded to another group and named it The World the Phihppine Islands Circum- after King Philip of navigated, gp^-^^ jj^^^^ Magellan, "our warrior, our light, our com- forter, our true guide," was killed in an encounter with the natives. His Ueutenant, Sebastian del Cano, continued the voyage, and on the sixth day of September, 1522, reached Spain with one ship and only eighteen men. Thus was accomplished the first voyage around the world. Magellan. SUMMARY The majority of Europeans believed that the world was flat and that the sea was inhabited by monsters who would destroy men and ships. But the capture of Constantinople forced Euro- peans to brave the horrors of the deep in order to find a new trade route to India. Sailors first sought it around Africa. Meanwhile the idea that the earth was round had been gaining belief, and a few people thought that India might be reached by sailing to the west. Christopher Columbus undertook to follow this route and discov,ered a New World. The report of his voyage excited other nations to make 20 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY explorations and they also sent expeditions across the Atlantic. Columbus died still believing that he had discovered land lying off the coast of Asia; but as years passed, people began to think that an entirely new continent had been found. This was finally proved by the voyage of Magellan, one of whose ships sailed around the world. The New World was called America in honor of Amerigo Vespucci, who wrote a book de- scribing his explorations. CHAPTER III EARLY SETTLEMENTS I 20. Spanish Settlements. — Spain rapidly jmshed forward her explorations in America, but confined them chiefly to Mexico and the southern continent.^ The general idea seemed to be that nothing of value could be found in the north. ''To the South," was the cry, "to the South for the great and exceeding riches of the Equinoctial; they that seek riches nmst not go into the cold and frozen North."- Spain established only two settlements within the present limits of the United States — at St. Augustine in Florida in 1565, and Santa Fe in New Mexico in 1605. The fort at St. Augustine was built more to keep the French "heretics" out of America than for any other purpose. 21. The French. — A decree of Pope Alexander VI had divided the New World between Spain and Portugal by an imaginary line drawn north and south, from pole to pole. » Mexico was first explored by Tlernamlo Cortez in l.'JlO. With an army of four hundred and fifty men he forced his way to the City of Mexico, which he captured and made the headquarters for Spanish explo- ration and trade in North America. Peru, from which Spain got the most of her wealth, was conquered by Pizarro, who entered the capital iu 1533. EARLY SETTLEMENTS 21 Portugal was given all to the east of this line, and thus came into possession of the eastern i)ai-t of South America, which was known as Brazil. Spain received the lands to the west, which included the western part of South America and the whole of North America. This arrangement was naturally unsatisfactory to the other European governments. Francis I of France sent to the king of Spain a letter asking by what right he and the king of Portugal undertook to divide the world l)etween them. Unless they could produce a copy of the will by which their father Adam made them the sole heirs, The Old Spanish C.atk at St. Augustine. Francis declared that he was at liberty to seize all he could get. He dispatched various exploring exjjeditions to the New World, and in 1562 Gaspardde Coligny (de ko-lcn'-ye), admiral of France, sent out a colony of French Huguenots or Protes- tants. They made a settlement on the coast of Carolina and named it Port Royal. The colony was unsuccess- p,. n h ful and soon returned to France. Two years later Settlement Coligny sent out another colony under Rene Lau- at Port donniere (loMo'nyar'), who built Fort Caroline near °^^ * the mouth of the St. Johns River in Florida. When the news of this colony reached Spain, Pedro Menendez de Aviles 22 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY (ma,-nan'dath dS a've-las') hastened to America to destroy the Protestants. He founded St. Augustine, defeated the French fleet, captured Fort CaroUne, and put to doatli all the French. In 1568 this massacre was avenged by Dominique de Gourgues (do'me-n$k' da goorg) with terrible slaughter. He was aided by the Florida Indians, whose first reverence for the Spaniards had changed to savage hate. St. Augustine, how- ever, remained in the possession of Spain, and France did not attempt to make another settlement in the soutliern jjart of North America. 22. The English. — Spain, steadily growing moi-e powerful because of the riches she was obtaining from her American possessions, was the enemy that England most feared and hated. Englishmen began to wonder if there might not be wealth for them in the long-neglected land that John Cabot had discovered. Hitherto their attemj)ts to gain a footing there had not been successful. George Brete, writing in 1578, gave as reasons for this, the lack of liberality among the Eng- lish nobility, and want of skill among the English in the art of navigation. But he added, "These two causes are now in this present age very well reformed." Sir WilUam Hawkins, the slave trader, and his more famous son. Sir John, had made several trips to the New World. Their Hawkins stories of its natural resources had thoroughly and aroused the English merchants. In 1576 an ex- Frobisher. pedition under Martin Frobisher was sent out. He started with three vessels, but one was lost, a second turned back, and with only one he reached the northern coast of Labrador. All hopes of a profitable southern passage to India had, by this time, been abandoned, and the discovery of a northern strait, it was beheved, was the one thing that could bring fame and fortune to an explorer. EARLY SETTLEMENTS 23 Frobisher found a stone which he thought contained gold, and the expedition returned in great excitement to England. The gold did not appear. Two years later Frobisher set out again, this time with a colony, to seek for gold. But so many of his vessels were lost or crushed by the icebergs that he gave up the idea of leaving a colony in Labrador. He filled his few remaining vessels with a worthless cargo of dirt supposed to contain gold, and WTnt back to England. 23. Sir Francis Drake. — About this time Sir Francis Drake came back from a trip around the world. He had been gone about three years, had harassed the Spaniards, had captured great quantities of their treasure, and had been the first white man to see the west- ern shores of the present United States. He spent the winter in a harbor on the Cahfornia coast, named that part of the country New Albion, and returned to England by way of the Cape of Good Hope (1579). His voyage aroused such enthusiasm at home that it was suggested that his vessel, the Golden Hind, should be placed on the top of St. Paul's cathedral in London, where all people could see the bark that had sailed around the world. 24. Gilbert and Raleigh. — Sir Humphrey Gilbert then attempted to start an English settlement in Newfoundland. But though he discovered what he supposed to be silver, he decided that the situation was unsuitable for a colony. He loaded his vessels with the supposed ore and set out for home, only to lose his ship, his ore, and his life in a fearful storm. Sir Francis Drake. 24 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY This disaster did not prevent his half-brother, Sir Walter Raleigh, from sending out an exploring expedition in April, 1584. Raleigh was one of the most distinguished and far- sighted Enghshmen of his time. He knew that Spain had done nothing with the country lying just to the north of Florida, and hither he sent his ships, instead of to the frozen north. Taking possession of this country in the name of the queen, the explorers returned to England and re- ported tliat the soil was "the most plentiful, sweet, fruitful, and wholesome of all the world," and "the people most gentle, lov- ing, and faithful, void of all guile and treason." Queen Elizabeth named this region Virginia,* in compliment to herself, the virgin queen. 25. The First Colony. — In April, 1585, Raleigh sent to Roanoke Island a colony of one hundred householders with Ralph Lane as governor. The charter granted to these colo- nists all the rights and privileges of persons native of England. Raleigh carefully fitted out the expedition with all things necessary. Most of the settlers, however, were seekers for gold, and few were of a kind to make useful members of a colony in a new country. By their harshness and injustice they soon rendered hostile the "gentle, loving, and faithful" Sir Walter Raleigh. 1 The story is told that the Indians were asked the name of their coun- try. They misunderstood the question and replied, "Win-gan-da-coa." The English for some time called this region by this name, but dropped it when, later, they discovered that the word meant "You wear fine clothes." EARLY SETTLEMENTS 25 Indians. Since it did not furnish gold, life in the wilderness held few attrac- tions for them. Accord- ingly, when Sir Francis Drake paid them a visit, they were all glad, to return with him to England. With them they carried back two products of the new land that were unknown in Eng- land, the potato and to- bacco. Raleigh planted the potato on his estates in Ireland, where both climate and soil were favorable to its production, and it be- came a staple article of food with the Irish people.^ 26. The Second Colony. — Raleigh, undiscouraged by the failure of his first colony, sent out in 1587 a larger and better equipped company of settlers. Some of them brought their wives • with them, some knew how to till the soil; everything seemed to point to the suc- ' It is said that Raleigh learned from Governor Lane the use of the "new weed." A well-known story relates that one day as Raleigh sat in his room smoking, a servant came in with a tankard of beer in his hand. When he saw smoke issuing from Raleigh's mouth, he thought that his master was on fire and poured the contents of the cup over him. Stone Marking the Site of Old Fort Raleigh. INSCRIPTION. On this site in July-August, 1585 (O. S.), colonists, sent out from England by Sir Walter Raleigh, built a fort, called by them " The New Fort in Virginia." These colonists were the first settlers of the English race in America. They returned to England in Julv, 1586, with Sir Francis Drake. Near this place was born, on the 18th of August, 1587, Virginia Dare, the first child of English parents born in America — daughter of Ananias Dare and Eleanor White, his wife, members of another band of colonists, sent out by Sir -Walter Raleigh in 1587. On Sunday, August 20, 1587, Virginia Dare was baptized. Manteo, the friendly chief of the Hatteras Indians, had been bap- tized on the Sunday preceding. These bap- tisms are the first known celebrations of a Christian sacrament in the territory of the thirteen original United States. 26 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY cess of the colony. In accordance with the advice of Gover- nor Lane, they had intended to settle on the shore of Chesa- peake Bay. Calling first at Roanoke Island, however, they established themselves there. Governor ^^liite soon was obhged to go back to England for reenforcements and fresh supplies. He promised to return immediately, but England was then engaged in a fierce war with Spain, and two years went by before White was able to get back to Virginia. When at length he arrived, he found the settlement a wilder- ness, and no trace of the inhabitants could be discovered. Among those lost were his daughter and his tiny grandchild, Virginia Dare, the first English child born in America. For many years the fate of the settlers remained a mystery. It was finally discovered that, despairing of the return of the governor, they had moved to Croatoan, the home of some friendly Indians. They were adopted as members of the tribe and were killed by the tribe's enemies. Raleigh had sj^ent so much money on his colonies that he was unable to fit out another. He still trusted that he should live to see America an English nation. Though he did not realize his dream, he did live long enough to see an English colony permanently established in Virginia. Of this we shall learn in the next chapter. SUMMARY The Spaniards confined their explorations to Mexico and South America, and the Portuguese to Brazil. When the French attempted to found a colony in Carolina, Menendez built a fort at St. Augustine and massacred the French. The English now began to turn their attention to America. Martin Frobisher and Sir Humphrey Gil])ert started unsuc- cessful colonies in Labrador and Newfoundland, and Sir Francis Drake harassed the Spaniards and made his famous voyage around the world. Sir Walter Raleigh then attempted to colonize Virginia and failed. THE SOUTHERN COLONIES 27 CHAPTER IV THE SOUTHERN COLONIES 27. The Two Companies. — In spite of the English failures to colonize America, Englishmen more and more turned their thoughts towards the possibilities of the new world. By the opening of the seventeenth cen- tury conditions favored a fresh attempt. England had given her old enemy a crushing blow in the de- feat of the Span- ish Armada, and Spanish attacks were no longer to be feared, either on sea or on land. In 1606 certain firm and hearty lovers of coloniza- tion organized into two companies and obtained from King James charters which gave them the right to colonize Virginia. At that time the whole of the territory in North America claimed by Great Brrtain was called ^^irginia. To the first, which was known as the London Company, because most of its members lived in the vicinity of London, was given the territory be- The Charter of 1606. 28 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY tween the 34th and 38th degrees of latitude, or from Cape Fear to the mouth of the Potomac River. The second, or the Plymouth Company, whose members were residents of the west of England, obtained the land between the 41st and 45th degrees, or from Long Island to a little north of the present city of Halifax. The region between was common property, but neither company could make a settlement within a hundred miles of the other. The territories were to be a hundred miles in width, but a second charter, granted three years later, extended the boundaries from sea to sea. No one, however, supposed that the distance between seas was more than a few hundred miles. 28. The Purpose. — To find the way to the "back side of Virginia," which Sir Francis Drake had seen in 1579, was indeed one of the chief reasons for sending out the colonies. This is shown by certain instructions given to the Jamestown settlers: ''You must observe if you can whether the river on which you plant doth spring out of the mountains or of lakes. If it be out of any lake, the passage to the other sea will be the more easy." Another reason of the colonizing scheme was, as in the earlier attempts, to find gold which, according to a story book of that time, was still believed to be "more plenti- full there than copper" (so very common, indeed, that even the "dripping pans" were reported to be of "pure gould"). The main purpose of the companies, however, lay in the fact, which all the most clear-sighted were beginning to realize, that English power and English commerce could be extended and increased by American colonization. It was felt, too, that the colonies would give to the poor and unfortunate an opportunity to make a new start in life. This idea steadily grew, as the years went by and men did not find gold in every sand bank. Virginia was called the best poor man's country in the world, and preachers came to speak of Virginia as the THE SOUTHERN COLONIES 29 " door which God had opened for England." It was no longer difficult to get men to go to America, and this, in spite of the fact that all the advantages were for the king and the com- pany and not for the colonists.* 29. Jamestown. — The first colony of the London Company left England on the 19th of December, 1606, in three small vessels, the largest of which, the Susan Constant, could carry only a hundred tons of freight. The voyage was long and stormy, and when the seasick travelers reached land in the early spring, they found the trees and bushes green, the woods full of flowers, and the birds singing. It seemed to them that heaven and earth had never "agreed better to frame a place for man's commodious and dehghtful habita- tion." Therefore they named this land Point Comfort. The two points at the entrance of Chesapeake Bay they called Cape Henry and Cape Charles, for the two sons of the king. Proceeding up a fair and broad river, which in honor of the king they named the James, they landed May 13, 1607, and immediately set up tents and erected booths of branches. Thus, in high spirits and with fair expectations, the settle- ment of Jamestown began. 30. The Difficulties. — The joy was short lived. In a few weeks serious difficulties arose. The colonists had made a mistake in choosing the situation for their settlement. It was on a low point almost surrounded by water. As soon as the hot summer came, the fumes which rose from the ' The king was to receive one fifth of all the gold mined, and one fifteenth of the copper. The company had the rest of the profits and the entire control of the government. The colonists had few rights, except those which Raleigh's charter gave to the settlers at Roanoke Island: they and their children were to have all the rights and liberties that would have been theirs had they been " abiding and born " in England. Because the kings did not keep this promise was one of the chief reasons for the controversy between kings and colonists in later years. 30 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY marshes brought on a serious ilkiess. Before the frosts of Death of autumn arrived, men died, sometimes as many the Settlers, as four a day, until about one half the colony had perished. Moreover, the colonists had not been well chosen; most of them knew nothing about the cutting down of trees, or the digging up of stumps, or the tilhng of the soil. "Thirty carpenters, husbandmen, gardeners, fishermen, blacksmiths, masons, and diggers up of tree roots," wrote one of their number, would have been worth "more than a thousand" of these. Not only did they not know how to work, but they did not want to work, and the president of the council and most of his assistants were too inefficient to force them. In addition to all these troubles, the stock of food ran low and, as the Indians would not sell to them, the colonists were in serious danger of starvation. Indeed there is no doubt but that Jamestown would have shared the fate of the preced- John ing colonies, if one of the council, Captain John Smith. Smith, had not gained control of the government. He compelled the Indians to sell food, and told the men that if they did not work they should not eat. As he was a man who kept his promises, land was cleared, corn was planted, and fortifications were built in spite of grumblings and com- plainings and blistered hands. Under Smith's rule some men proved more industrious than he had expected. And yet ten good workmen, he wrote, would have done more substantial work in a day than ton of his men did in a week. 31. The Starving Time. — For a time affairs at Jamestown moved on with some degree of smoothness, though quarrels were frequent, Indians were hostile, and gold was not found. The next year more colonists came over, and by 1609 there were five hundred settlers. But they were mostly adven- turers and gold seekers, and after Smith was wounded and THE SOUTHERN COLONIES 31 obliged to return to England^ another starving period came on. By the next spring only sixty inhabitants were left, and in June they decided to abandon the settlement and return to England. As they sailed down the bay "none dropped a tear, for none had enjoyed one day of happiness." Before they reached the open sea, they met the ships of the new governor, Lord Delaware. He brought colonists and fresh provisions. The de- serters returned and a new day began for Jamestown. 32. The Reforms. — Lord Delaware served as gover- nor of Virginia less than a year, yet he remained long enough to establish the colony permanently. Sir Delaware Thomas Dale and Dale, then became governor. He was a stern, military ruler, but he brought order into the colony. He started a new settlement at Henrico City, which was a more health- Captain John Smith. From the original cngra\ingin John Smith's "His- tory of New England, Virginia, and the Summer Isles," published in 1624. ful location than Jamestown, and made several reforms that were of benefit to company and colonists alike. Up to that time the land had been held in common and the settlers took Uttle interest in its cultivation. Dale gave to each colonist three acres of land and exacted as a yearly payment only six bushels of corn for the public granary. The colonists now had something of their own to work for and to develop. In place of their continual quarrelings, a good-natured rivalry 32 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY sprang up among them. Crime grew less and less, and all fear of another starving period passed away. 33. Tobacco. — The settlers had not been the only ones to suffer discouragement at the condition of affairs in Virginia. The members of the London Company had been dissatisfied at the returns that came from their expenditures. Lumber and sassafras roots hardly had the market value of the gold A Virginia Tobacco Field. that had been expected. Some of the members had even urged the abandonment of the colony; others, however, were interested enough to continue the experiment Then, at length, an abimdant revenue came in from an entirely new and unexpected source. In 1612, one of the colonists, John Rolfe,* began to grow ' John Rolfe married Pocahontas, the daughter of Powhatan, the Indian chief. She it was who had saved John Smith's life Avhen he had been con- demned to death by the Indians, and who afterwards aided the colonists in several times of need. After his marriage, Rolfe took his wife to Eng- THE SOUTHERN COLONIES 33 tobacco. Year by year its cultivation spread until almost every other product of the soil was neglected. Against the weed King James expressed himself, declaring smoking to be "a custom loathsome to the eyes, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs." Nevertheless its use in England increased with great rapidity, and the product found a ready market. In five years, indeed, "the market place, streets, and all other spare places in Jamestown were planted with tobacco." It almost came to be the money of Virginia. One pound of best tobacco was valued at three shillings. Fines for misdemeanors were paid in tobacco, and every planter was compelled to set aside a certain number of pounds towards the minister's salary. 34. Slavery. — The rapid increase in the production of tobacco demanded an increase also in the number of field laborers. Englishmen had found the summer sun of Virginia too hot for active labor, and the Indians made poor farmers. Negroes from Africa had been imported into the West Indies, where it had been proved that one negro could do the work of four Indians. Therefore, when in August, 1619, a Dutch man-of-war brought twenty negroes to Jamestown, no diffi- culty was found in selling them to planters. The importation of slaves increased year by year until, at the end of one hun- dred and fifty years, there were nearly as many blacks as whites in Virginia. 35. The First Assembly. — The same year that brought the slaves to Virginia witnessed another event which was also to have a lasting influence upon American history. This was the calHng together by Governor Yeardley of the House of Burgesses, the first legislative assembly of representatives land, where she was received with great honor. Pocahontas died soon after her son was born. He became the ancestor of many of the leading families of Virginia. 34 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORi of the people ever held in America. Up to this time the colo- nists had had no voice in their government. Virginia had been ruled by a governor and a council of thirteen, appointed in England. The laws had been harsh and calculated to benefit the company and the king rather than the people, and Virginians considered that they were not given the rights and Uberties that were due the subjects of the king of England. Now, however, the company became more liberal and pro- vided that Virginia should henceforth have an assembly with power to make such laws as the people should deem necessary for the good of the colon3^ The first assembly of twenty-two burgesses, elected by the free inhabitants of the plantations, met at Jamestown, July 30, 1619. It passed laws that were "well and judiciously framed, which were of the greatest com- fort and benefit to the people." 36. Bacon's Rebellion. — Yet all the good which had been expected did not come from the new assembly. In 1624 the king took the government of Mrginia into his own hands, and the hberal poUcy of the London Company came to an end. The governors were given greater power and, since many of them w^ere men who thought only of the advantages that would come to themselves, the colonists suffered many hard- ships. By 1676 indignation had risen to such a point that under the leadership of Nathaniel Bacon, a wealthy young planter, the colonists rose in rebellion against the tyranny of Governor the governor, Sir Wilhani Berkeley. The direct Berkeley, reason for their revolt was his refusal to send an expedition against the Indians who were j)lundering and kiUing the inhabitants of the distant plantations. Bacon first punished the Indians and then, marching to Jamestown, he captured the town and burned it to the ground in order that "the rogues," as it was stated, ''should harbor there no more." THE SOUTHERN COLONIES 35 Bacon died a few weeks after the capture of the capital and, as the people had no leader, the rebellion came to an end. Such was Governor Berkeley's reputation for severity that the colonists believed he would hang half the colony. He was, however, recalled to England by the king, Charles II, who declared of Berkeley that he had "taken away more hves in that naked country than I for the murder of my Father."^ No reforms were brought about by this rebelUon against the government of the king, nor was it taken as a warning that the inhabitants of Virginia would not forever endure tyranny and oppression. 37. Lord Baltimore. — Nearly fifty years before Bacon's rebelHon, and while Charles I was still upon the throne, the people of Virginia were greatly disturbed by the arrival of a visitor. This was George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, a favorite of the king. He had previously attempted to make a settle- ment at Avalon, in Newfoundland, but had failed because the winters were so long and severe. He now desired to found another colony where the winters were shorter and milder. Virginia gave him a cold welcome, first because she feared a division of her territory, and second because he was a CathoHc. No Catholic and, in fact, no one who did not be- lieve in the forms and doctrines of the Church of England, was tolerated in Virginia. Nevertheless, Lord Baltimore was pleased with the country, and soon after his return to Eng- land Charles I granted to him a large tract of land on both sides of Chesapeake Bay. This was clearly within the ter- ritory of Virginia, but the remonstrances of the colony were 'About thirty years before Bacon's reljellion, England had risen against the misrule of Charles I, and had beheaded him. The repub- lic or Commonwealth, as it is usually called, lasted for eleven years, and then Charles II, the son of the first Charles, was placed upon the throne. 36 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY not considered.^ Calvert called his country Maryland, in honor of the queen, Henrietta Maria. 38. St. Marys. — Lord Baltimore died before he had com- pleted his plans for a colony. The king, however, transferred the charter to his lordshi])'s son, Cecil, who had succeeded to his father's estate and title. In 1633 the new Lord Baltimore sent his brother Leonard to Maryland with twenty gentle- men and two or three hundred laboring men. These colo- nists bought, on the shore of Chesapeake Bay, an Indian vil- lage, the inhabitants of which were moving away. They paid for the village in steel liatchets, hoes, and cloth, and named it St. Marys. It was March when they arrived, and as the land had already been cleared by the Indians, the colonists imme- diately began their planting. The winter, therefore, found them well provided with food and there never was a starving time in St. Marys. The colony prospered, and by 1647 twenty thousand people had settled in Maryland. 39. Government. — Maryland was known as a proprietary colony; that is, it had been given by the king to a proprietor, Lord Baltimore, who had entire control of its territory and all the revenue coming therefrom. In return for his gift the I ' Soon after the arrival of the Marj'land colonists, a controversy arose with Virginia over the ownership of Kent Island in Chesapeake Bay. The island had been settled by William Clayborne, a Virginian, but was included in the grant to Baltimore. Clayborne attempted to hold it by force but was driven out by the Marylanders. The dispute was not settled until 1776, when Maryland came into full possession. From a medal of 1632 Cecil Calveut, Second Lord Baltimore. THE SOUTHERN COLONIES 37 A Baltimore Shilling. king asked two Indian arrows, which were to be delivered yearly on Tuesday of Easter week, and a fifth of all the, gold and silver. The arrows were faithfully presented every year, but Maryland never pro- duced enough gold and silver to fill the king's purse once. In Maryland, Calvert had powers al- most equal to a king. Fortunately for the colony he ruled with justice and wisdom. The colonists were allowed great freedom, and taxes could only be levied by an assembly elected by the people. 40. Religious Toleration. — Maryland was founded first as a business venture and second as a refuge for Roman Catholics, who were at the time greatly oppressed in Eng- land. Though there was no section of the charter which absolutely granted religious freedom, every settler was allowed to hold any religious faith he pleased, provided only he be- lieved in Jesus Christ and respected the creeds of others. Such freedom in religious matters was not at that time granted anywhere else except in Holland, and Maryland came to be known as "the land of the sanctuary." As his seal upon this spirit of religious liberty. Lord Baltimore, in April, 1649, framed the famous Toleration Act, which "ordered and enacted . . . that noe person or persons in this Province . . . professing to beheve in Jesus Christ, shall from hencefoith bee any waies troubled ... in respect to his or her re- ligion." Later, when the colony was taken from the Cal- verts, this freedom came to an end. Taxes w^re levied for the support of the English church, and CathoUcs were oppressed. 38 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 41. The Carolinas. — Carolana or Carolina/ as the region south of Virginia was called, extended to the boundaries of Spanish Florida. It had first been settled by the French The Southern Colonies. Huguenots and afterwards by Raleigh's two colonies. Each of these attempted settlements, as we have seen, had failed. Early Toward the end of the seventeenth century, how- Settlers, ever, English colonists began to emigrate to Caro- lina. The first settlement, started in 1653 by a company of 1 This region had been named Carolana by the Huguenots, in honor of the French king, Charles IX. Later, at the time of its permanent settle- ment, the name was retained as a compliment to Charles II of England. THE SOUTHERN COLONIES 39 non-conformists from Virginia, was known as the Albemarle colony. The second, at the moutli of the Cape Fear River, was begun by a company of New Englanders. These latter settlers were dissatisfied with the country and abandoned the settlement. Later, some other colonists came from the Bar- badoes and settled at the same place. The district was thenceforth called Clarendon. In 1670 still another settle- ment was made at Charles Town at the junction of the Ashley and the Cooper rivers. 42. North and South Carolina. — In 1663 King Charles gave the whole of this district to eight proprietors. They had almost absolute power over it, but as they offered liberal terms to colonists, the southern portion was rapidly settled by a thrifty class of people. In the northern part, however, conditions were not so prosperous. North Carolina was known as the "rogues harbor," and was the refuge of all sorts of people who could not live elsewhere. In fact, exemp- tion from arrests, from investigation of the past records, and a year's freedom from taxation were granted to all newcomers. Therefore the northern section of Carolina was turbulent and disorderly. The colonists had little regard for law and order: they were without lawyers, regular physicians, and even, for many years, without a clergyman. In 1729 the colony was divided into North and South Carolina, and thereafter had separate governments, -p^e Caro- South CaroUna became one of the richest and most li^^as be- come influential of the English colonies, while North Separate Carolina was for a long time of little importance. Colonies. 43. Agriculture. — Near the close of the seventeenth century, a ship from Madagascar put into Charleston harbor. The cook had some rice among his stores of provisions which he gave to one of the settlers, who planted it in his garden. So flourishing was the growth from this small quantity, that 40 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY the extensive culture of rice was undertaken in the swamps of South Carohna. In less than fifty years the rice crop Rice and yielded an annual income of £200,000. The soil Cotton. and climate were also found to favor the culture of indigo, and next to rice this became the principal product of Carolina. Cotton was also raised, and pitch and tar were obtained from the forests in large quantities. Charleston became a commercial center .<4 ■^^ ~N-~ ^■-V^^Xil.^N and two or three hundred ships annually M'ent thence to Europe. 44. James Edward Ogle- thorpe. — According to Eng- lish law, during the eighteenth century, a man owing money wliieh he could not pay was condemned to imprisonment until such time as his debt should be paid. Prisons af- forded little opportunity for earning money; therefore many debtors lingered in prison for years and often- times for life. And when, in- deed, they were released, it was difficult for them to find work, and their condition and that of their families was very lit- tle improved. James Edward Oglethorpe (o'g'l- thorp), while serving as a member of a committee to investigate debtors' prisons, was much affected by the miseries which he found there. He therefore conceived the plan of founding a colony in America where the most worthy debtors could begin life again. He formed a company, solicited subscriptions, and obtained a grant of territory between the Savannah and the James Oglethorpe. THE SOUTHERN COLONIES 41 Altamaha rivers. It was wholly a benevolent undertaking; the trustees desired no income from the colony The Georgia and did not reserve any of the land for them- Charter. selves. The province of Georgia was to be held "in trust for the poor," and the motto on its seal was ''not for themselves, but for others." 45. Georgia. — In January, 1733, the first company of colonists, led by Oglethorpe himself, arrived in America, and made a settlement at Savannah. "His colony will suc- ceed," said Governor Johnson of South Carolina, "for he nobly devotes all his powers to serve the poor and rescue them from their wretchedness." Fifty acres of land were allotted to each settler who could not pay the expenses of his journey, and five hundred to those who paid. The land was granted for life, provided the tenant improved and cultivated it, and there was to be no charge of rent for ten years. Oglethorpe directed that every settler should set out mulberry trees, and he hoped that thereby silk could be produced in quantities large enough to give the colonists an income and save England the necessity of buying it from foreign countries. The laws of the colony forbade the impor- tation of spirits, and inasmuch as Georgia was to be an "asylum for the distressed," and "slaves starve the poor laborer," the keeping of slaves was not allowed. Moreover, Oglethorpe granted freedom to all rehgious behefs, except to Roman Catholicism, and many persons of persecuted sects found refuge in Georgia. They carhe — Jews, Swiss, Scotch Highlanders, and Salzburgers and Moravians from Georgia Germany. The colony, however, did not fulfill all Roy^T^" of Oglethorpe's hopes, and for many years it did Province, not prosper. The warm climate was trying to the colonists. Only the Germans were able to keep their vigor. Accordingly, in 1752, the trustees turned over the province to the king. 42 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY SUMMARY The English king granted land in America to the London and the Plymouth comj^anies. The London company sent out the first colony, which settled at Jamestown in 1607, and which, in spite of discouragements, endured until success and prosperity arrived. Tobacco, which was first grown as an experiment, soon found a ready market in England and became a source of large revenue. A demand for laborers was supplied by negro slaves from Africa. In 1619 the first representative assembly on American soil was held. The settlers hoped that this would remedy all their evils, but the colony later passed into the hands of the king, and suffered from the oppression of the governors. As time went on, one of the governors was so tyrannical that the peo- ple rose in rebellion. But their leader died, the rebellion was put down, and no especial benefit was accomplished. Virginia was in course of time disturbed by the king's grant of a portion of her territory to Lord Baltimore. This grant resulted in the founding of .the Maryland colony. The first settlement in IMaryland was made at St. Marys. The colony grew rapidly under Baltimore's kindly rule. Religious free- dom was granted to all who believed in Christ. Virginia also acquired neighbors on the south, in the terri- tory of Carolina. At first this whole region was onc^ colony, but in 1729 it was divided into North and South Carolina. Georgia was founded by Oglethorpe as an asylum for the poor debtors of England. The first settlement of this colony was made at Savannah. THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 43 CHAPTER V THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 46. The Separatists. — The sixteenth century was a period of rehgious unrest in England as well as on the continent. A great many people were dissatisfied with the pomp and show of the Established Church and desired to "purify" it of what they considered its evils. One class thought that they could best improve the church by remaining within it though without conforming to all its rites and ceremonies. These reformers, non-conform- ists, as they were called, were known as Puritans. Then there was another class of dissenters who did not retain their mem- bership in the Church of England. They formed separate organiza- tions which had no bishops nor appointed clergy and which left out of their service all forms and ceremonies. These were called Separatists, or Independents. At the time of this division in the church it was unlawful for any one to hold opinions on religious matters not in accord with the accepted l^eliefs of the religion established by the government of England. In fact, religious liberty was a term that had almost no meaning three hundred years ago. King James declared, "I will make them conform or I will harry them out of the kingdom." Puritans as well as Separatists were fined and imprisoned, and suffered all sorts of indig- A Puritan Minister. 44 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY nities because they would not conform. But the Separatists were more severely punished because they carried their dis- sent to greater lengths. To escape persecution many fled to Holland, the only country in Europe which permitted hberty of conscience in religious matters, and which was therefore called by the other nations ''a common harbour of all here- sies" and "a cage of unclean birds." 47, The Pilgrims in Holland. — In the httle village of Scrooby, situated in Nottinghamshire on the main road from London to the north, lived a congregation of Separatists. They were accustomed to hold their meetings in the manor house, where lived William Brewster, the postmaster. Because of their religion " they could not long continue in any peacable condition, but were hunted and persecuted on every side. Some were taken and clapt up in prison, others had their houses beset and watched night and day; . . . and the most were fain to fly and leave their houses and habitations and the means of their livelihood." After several trials and much suffering they succeeded in reaching Amsterdam, where a number of English fugitives had already assembled before them. The next year they removed to Leyden, where they found homes and employment. More and more Pilgrims continued to arrive until, within a few years, their number had increased to a thousand. 48. The Removal to America. — At Leyden the Pilgrims lived happily many years. The Dutch so highly respected them that they would trust even the poorest "in any reason- able matter when they wanted money, because they had found by experience how careful they were to keep their word, and saw them so painful and diligent in their calling." Yet the Pilgrims were not wholly satisfied with their life in Holland. As their children grew up, they saw them take ser- vice in the Dutch army or navy or marry into Dutch families. THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 45 It continually became harder and harder for them to retain their English speech and customs. They finally determined to search for a place where it would be possible for their chil- dren to remain English and where they might la}^ the foun- dations of a new church. America seemed to offer the advantages which they desired, and through the good offices of friends in England a section of land was obtained for them on the banks of the Delaware River within the territory of the London Company. 49. The Voyage. — It was decided that only the strongest of the Pilgrims should go first to the New World, and that the majority, with their pastor, John Robinson, should remain in Leyden until the venture should prove a success. The colonists led by William Brewster left the Old World in two ships, the Mayflower and Speedwell, in the sum- The mer of 1620. After sailing three hundred miles Mayflower, beyond Land's End, the master of the Speedwell claimed that his vessel was leaking and unseaworthy. She was obliged to put back to Plymouth, where she was abandoned. As many of her passengers as possible were transferred to the Mayflower, which, with one hundred and two colonists, started again, alone. The voyage was long and stormy and land was not reached until the 9th of November; then instead of the green shores of the Delaware which the voyagers had expected, they saw the bleak and sandy end of Cape Cod. The captain of the May- flower claimed that it was unwise to sail farther, and after a month spent in exploring the country, they finally landed at Plymouth on the 21st of December. 50. The Mayflower Compact. — The patent that the Pil- grims had received had been granted by the London Company and would be of no value in the territory of the Plymouth Company to which they had come. Therefore, as they were 46 ESSENTIALS OF- UNITED STATES HISTORY without laws or form of government, before landing they met in the cabin of the Mayflower and drew up a compact, in which they solemnly, "in the presence of God and of one another," promised to obey the laws that should be framed for the government of the colony. Forty-one men signed their names to the compact. They then elected John Carver as their first governor. 51. The First Winter. — The long voyage had weakened i *^^^^^ 4 fV ^'^;^^ ' ^ t 3^ The Landing of the Pilgrims. many of the Pilgrims and they were ill-prepared to stand the hardships of a cold New England winter. Though the season was unusually mild, one half of their number died, among them Governor Carver. Yet, when the Mayfloirer returned in the spring, not one of the colonists went back with her. "It is not with us as with men whom small things discourage or small discontentments cause to wish themselves at home again," said their minister, William Brewster. The Plymouth colonists were fortunate in that they had THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 47 no conflict with the Indians. They early made friends with Massasoit, the chief of the Wampanoags, and he aided them in many ways. The Indians showed the Pilgrims how to plant the Indian corn, and before another winter came, they had so bountiful a harvest that Governor Bradford appointed a day of thanksgiving to God who had been "with them in all their ways." This was the first Thanksgiving Day. 52. The Salem Settlement. — "Out of small beginnings great things have been produced; and as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone to many." Thus wrote Governor Bradford of the founding of Plymouth, and the history of Massachusetts Bay proves his words. Wliile the Plymouth colony was slowly growing, the Puritans in England were finding life there more and more difficult. Some of the more clear-sighted leaders, realiz-^ ing that an open conflict with the king must soon come, and with the example of the Pilgrims before them, concluded that it might be possible to plant a Puritan colony in America. In 1628 six prominent Puritans obtained from the Ply- mouth Company a grant of land which extended from three miles south of the source of the Charles to three miles north of the Merrimac. In September a colony of sixty persons, led by John Endicott, arrived at Naumkeag. A small company of fishermen who had found Cape Ann too rocky for a successful settlement were already stationed there. They and the newcomers came to an agreeable understanding and changed the name of the place to Salem, a Hebrew word meaning peace. The next year the members of the colony were increased by the arrival of a large com- pany of Puritans, well supplied with cattle, tools, and am- munition. Francis Higginson, the minister, a leader of this fresh band 48 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY of immigrants, had said, as the shores of England grew dim in the distance, "We will not say as the Separatists were wont to say at their leaving of England, 'Farewell, Babylon,' but we will say ' Farewell, dear England, farewell, the Church of God in England, and all the Christian friends there.' We do not go to New England as Separatists from the Church of England, but ... to propagate the gospel in America." Yet in spite of this declaration, soon after their arrival, Hig- ginson and his followers organized a church ^ in Salem which to all in- tents and purposes was as truly a Separatist church as the one in Plymouth, and when later some among the band attempted to organize another church like that of the Church of England, they were sent home. John Skelton was ordained as minister of the Salem church and Francis Higginson as teacher. 53. Boston. — The charter granted to the Massachusetts Bay Comj)any by the king did not designate any special place for holding the meetings of the corporation. The company therefore decided to transfer the government of the plantation to those emigrating and to move their officers and the charter itself from England to America. John W^inthrop, a wealthy Puritan of Suffolk, was elected governor of the colony. Under his guidance a large company was brought together, and setting sail, arrived in Salem in the summer of 1630. Some of the company re- ' The church building, erected in 1634, is still standing in Salem. The First Chukch at Salem. Winthrop. THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 49 mained there, others founded Charlestown, still others started the towns of Dorchester, Newtown, and Watertown. The majority, with the governor, settled at Shawniut, which was renamed Boston in memory of Boston, England, whence many of the Puritans had come. 54. The Government of the Colony. — In a short space of time the region around Massachusetts Bay possessed more inhabitants than Plymouth. Settlers continued to come in large numbers, until in 1650 there were about twenty thou- sand people in Massachusetts. Many of these colonists possessed considerable property and were men of great influence. At first the colony was gov- erned by the governor and his assistants. When, however, a tax- was levied for the purpose of building a fort at Newtown, the inhabitants of Watertown de- clared that they were English freemen and alone had the power to levy taxes. As a result of this protest, a change was made in the government and thereafter the freemen of each settlement elected representatives to the General Court. Rgpresent- These representatives met in Boston and there ative Gov- transacted the business of the colony. Local emment. affairs were managed in a general assembly or town meet- ing, by the freemen of each town. A freeman (or voter) was any male member of the colony who was twenty-one years old and a member of the Puritan church. 55. Roger Williams. — Though the Puritans had come to America "to enjoy the liberties of the gospel in purity and Governor Winthrop. 50 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY peace," they were not more willing than were the Church of England settlers of Virginia to tolerate in the colony jioople who did not agree with their behefs. Naturally, among so large a number of people, there were those who did not agree. Roger Williams, a young clergyman, arrived in Boston in 1631. He settled in Salem, was made pastor of the church, and was justly popular with the people. He soon, however, Thk New England Colonies. came into conflict with the officers of the province because of his views on civil and religious matters. He claimed that the land which the colonists occupied belonged to the Indians and that the king's grant had no value unless supported by a purchase of the land from its rightful owners. He declared that the power of the magistrates extended only to the bodies and outward estate of man, not to the mind and con- THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 51 science. Therefore, he argued, every man should be allowed to worship as his own conscience dictated. The Puritans were not ready to admit that a complete separation of church and state was wise or even possible. They feared that the whole country would "be set on fire by the rapid motion of a windmill in the head of one particular man," and ordered Williams to leave the country in a ship that was returning to England. Williams fled into the wilderness and spent the winter among the Indians. Then, at the suggestion of Governor Winthrop, he bought of the Indians a tract of land bordering upon Narragansett Bay and started a new colony. He named his settlement Providence and made it "a shelter for persons distressed for conscience." 56. Rhode Island. — About this time Mrs. Anne Hutchin- son was banished from Massachusetts because « she held religious beliefs that were disapproved by the magistrates. She and some of her followers settled on tlie island of Rhode Island in Narragansett Bay, where they founded the towns of Newport and Portsmouth. These settlers were on friendly terms with the Providence people, and in 1644 Roger Williams obtained a charter which united the colonies of Rhode Island and Providence. This charter, in 1663, was superseded by another, which granted complete civil and religious liberty. 57. Connecticut. — In 1635 and 1636 a large number of the inhabitants of Dorchester, Newtown, and Watertown, led by the Rev. Thomas Hooker, moved to the valley of the Connecticut River and began the settlements of Hartford, Weathersfield, and Windsor. Their reasons for removal were several: namely, that the settlements at the Bay were too crowded, that their cattle had too little pasture room, and that the law comj^elling non-church members to protect the colony and to obey its laws, but giving them no voice in the government or election of officers, was not just. 52 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY The new towns remained for a time within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts Bay, but in January, 1639, all the freemen met in Hartford and "adopted the first written constitution The First known to history. In it there was no mention of Constitu- the authority of the king. The ]jeople were made tion. ^]-^g foundation of all authority and every citizen who would take the oath of fidelity was accounted a freeman. This Connecticut constitution marked the beginning of American democracy. 58. New Haven. — The fertiUty of the Connecticut Valley Saybrook Fort in 1G36. attracted other settlers, and towns were started at various points along the coast and in the interior. A settlement at Saybrook was begun as early as 1635. New Haven * was begun in 1638 by the Rev. John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton, the one a minister, the other a merchant of London; and the towns of Milford, Guilford, and Stamford were settled at about the same time. These four towns were known as 1 The site of New Haven was bought of the Indians for " twelve coats, twelve alehymy spoons, twelve hatchets, twelve hoes, two dozen knives, twelve poringers, and four cases of French knives and scissors." THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 53 the New Haven Colony, and their government was similar to that of Massachusetts Bay. In 1665 the two colonies of New Haven and Connecticut were united and were thenceforth known as Connecticut. 59. New Hampshire and Maine. — New Hampshire was first colonized under a grant made to Ferdinando Gorges and John Mason, and originally included a portion of the present state of Maine. Settlements were made at Dover and Portsmouth as early as 1623 and at Pemaciuid and York two or three years later. Exeter and Hampton were founded by colonists from Massachusetts. From 1643 until 1679 New Hampshire formed a part of Massachusetts. At the latter date the por- tion west of the Piscataqua River became a royal province, but the eastern part, known as Maine, remained under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts until 1820. 60. The United Colonies of New England. — The year 1643 saw the first union of the English colonies. In that year the four colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, New Haven, and Connecticut formed a confederacy as a protection against the Indians and against the Dutch, who laid claim to much of the present state of Connecticut. Two commissioners were elected from each colony, who took charge of the militia and had power to provide for the common defense and welfare of the four colonies. Each colony, however, had complete con- trol of its own internal affairs. The English government, afraid that the colonies were planning to throw off their dependence upon the home country, protested against the union. Governor Winslow of Plymouth, however, defended it, declaring, "If we in America should forbear to unite for offense and defense against a common enemy till we have leave from England, our throats might all be cut before the messenger would be half seas through." The union thus formed lasted forty years and was especially 54 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY useful in bringing into closer sympathy the people of the various New England colonies. 6i. Royal Provinces. — Through all the early years of New England, the New England colonists had almost complete )52\V| control of their government. ^^jV^^^\/Mj The Navigation Acts, passed ^V ^*'°'^if'j^\>^^ by the English Parliament, re- "•"*' stricted then- commerce, but the A Pine-Tree Shilling. , i , , ^i • people elected their governors and legislatures, made their laws, levied their taxes, and even coined their money. ^ In 1684, however, the king took away the charter from Massachusetts and made it a royal province. Three years later the charters of Rhode Island and of Connecticut were also withdrawn. Sir Edmund Andros was ap- pointed governor of all the country from Acadia to the Delaware River. Under his rule the colonies were de- prived of so many of their rights and liberties that Massachu- setts declared that no privilege was left them but to be sold as slaves. "The governor invaded liberty and property after such a manner," wrote Increase Mather, "as no man could say anything was his own." In 1689, when a new king came to the English throne, the people of Boston seized and imprisoned the governor and sent him out of the colony .^ Then a new charter was granted to ' One piece of money was known as the pine-tree shilling. It had Mas- sachusetts printed on one side and New England on the other. The pine tree was not unmistakably a pine tree. Therefore, when the king objected that there was not shown on the coin any evidence of the colony's alle- giance to England, a friend of the colonies assured his Majesty that the tree on the coin represented the oak in which Charles II had hidden after the battle of Worcester. 2 Soon after Andros was imprisoned by the people of Boston, the nii- I'tia of New York arose against Lieutenant-Govemo" Nicholson and seized THE NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 55 Massachusetts, which restored most of her privileges, but reserved to the king the right to appoint the governor. In 1691 Plymouth and the Massachusetts Bay Colonies were united. Rhode Island and Connecticut' continued to govern themselves in accordance with their old charters. SUMMARY Dissatisfaction with the religious forms of the Established Church brought about the next English emigration. In 1620 a company of Pilgrims, who had found a refuge from persecu- tion in Holland, started the settlement of Plymouth. ■ Eight years later some Puritans arrived at Salem, and two years afterwards a large colony laid the foundations of Boston and the surrounding towns. The Puritans of Massachusetts Bay could not agree upon religious matters, and those who were dissatisfied moved to Providence and the Connecticut Valley, where settlements were made which granted greater religious freedom. In spite of their differences, there was considerable sym- pathy between the colonies. At one time four of them formed a union as a protection against the Indians. For many years the New England colonies practically governed themselves. Parliament began to fear that they were becoming too inde- pendent, and deprived them of many of their rights and privileges. the government for William and Mary, the new English rulers. A com- mittee of safety was elected and Jacob Leisler was placed at its head. For over a year he governed the colony and then surrendered to the new governor appointed by the king. Leisler was tried for high treason, con- demned, and hanged. > When Andros went to Hartford to demand the Connecticut charter, the document was brought, but the discussion continued until evening, when the lights suddenly went out and left the room in total darkness. The candles were relighted, but the charter could not be found. Tradition says that it was hidden in the hollow of an oak tree, which thenceforth went by the name of the Charter Oak. This tree was blown down in a gale in 1856. It was estimated that it was at that time about one thousand years old. 56 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY CHAPTER VI THE MIDDLE COLONIES 62. Henry Hudson. — In the first half of the seventeenth century the famous Enghsh navigator, Henry Hudson, made two voyages in search of a northern passage to India. He had carefully explored Greenland and the waters north of Europe as far as Nova Zembla, and had gone nearer to the north pole than any other navigator of that time. He desired to make another exploration, l)ut the Enghsh merchants who employed him were unwilling to spend more money on what appeared a useless undertaking. He therefore offered his ser- vices to the Dutch East India Company and they were accepted.^ A shij) of eighty tons, called the Half }'oon, was fitted out, and on the 4th of Ajml, 1609, Hudson set sail from the Zuyder Zee. He first followed his old track to the north, but being stopped by the ice he turned his ship towards America, in the hope of finding a passage to the Pacific somewhere to the north of Chesapeake Bay. He landed at the mouth of the Penobscot River, cut down a pine tree for a new mainmast, and carefully explored the 1 The Dutch East India Company was a great organization designed to carry on trade with India and China. THE MIDDLE COLONIES 57 coast to the south. Finally he entered the present harbor of New York and went up the river now known by Discovery his name, until the waters measured only seven of Hudson feet in depth. There he turned his prow down the ^^ver. river and directed his course homeward, since the autumn was too far advanced for further explorations to the north. ^ 63. The Dutch Settlements. — Hudson, in his report to the East India Company, said that the country he had visited was as fair a land as could be trodden by the foot of man ; that it was the finest for cultivation that he had ever seen; that it was well covered with great trees of every description, and that it abounded in fur-bearing animals. Dutch merchants soon discovered that the fur trade was profitable, and in 1613 built a few log houses on Manhattan Island and the next year a fort near the present city of Albany. About the same time, Adrian Block, a Dutch navigator, made a voyage to Man- hattan Bay, where he secured a rich cargo of furs, which he carried to Amsterdam. Block also sailed along the New England coast and gave names to two islands. Block Island and Rhode Island. After a time the States General of Holland made a formal grant of territory to settlers. Later the government turned over to the United Netherland Company the land from ' The English regretted that they had allowed so skillful a navigator as * Hudson to sail in the service of another nation, and when he touched at an English port on his return voyage, they would not allow him to proceed to Holland. The next year he again set sail in a ship fitted out by English merchants. He reached the great sea now known as Hudson's Bay, and at its southern end he spent the winter. In the spring, when he made known his determination to push his discoveries farther, the crew mutinied. They placed Hudson, his son, and .several of the crew who were sick, in an open boat, cut it loose, and turned their ship towards home. When they reached England, they were seized and imprisoned, and a vessel hurried to America to search for Hudson. No trace of the bold navigator or of his boat was ever found. 58 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY the 45th parallel to the mouth of the Delaware, extend- United ^"S ^° ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^ Csipe Cod. This whole Netherland region was within the territorj- granted by Eng- Company. jg^j^j iq ^]^g London and Plymouth companies. Of course the Enghsh made complaints, but they were disre- garded. Dutch colonists were sent over in 1623, and three years later, Peter Muiuit, the governor of the colony, bought the island of Manhattan from the Indians for sixty guilders.' The settlement became known as New Amsterdam, the fort farther up the river as Fort Nassau, and the colony as New Netherland. 64. Peter Stuyvesant. — New Netherland grew slowly. It was simply a trading colony. Religious liberty was granted, but the people had no voice in the government. When Peter Stuyvesant, their most famous governor, ar- rived in 1647, he declared, Peteh Stuyvesant. .j ^^j^^jj ^^^,^^.^ ^^^^ ^^ ^ father his children, for the advantage of the chartered West India Company." ^ > The present value of a guilder in American money is about forty cents. This would mean that Manhattan was bought for twenty-four dollars. But as the purchasing value in Minuit's day was about five times what it now is, it is often said that he paid one hundred and twenty dollars for the whole of Manhattan. 2 The West India Company was chartered Ijy the Dutch government in 1621. It had control of all Dutch navigation and trade on the coast of America as well as of Africa. THE MIDDLE COLONIES 59 The company could not have found a better man to guard its interests than Stuyvesant, who was absolutely trust- worthy and honest. On the other hand, he was obstinate and hot-tempered and was continually quarreling with Discontent the colonists, who desired more rights and greater of the freedom. The company upheld the governor in Colonists, his opposition to the demands of the people and once wrote him that he must not let them indulge in their visionary dreams. The colonists compared their condition with that of their neighbors, the New England colonists, and became more and more dissatisfied and discontented. 65. New York. — Consequently, when in 1664 the English The Dutch Staadt Huys (State House) at New York. determined to take possession of New Netherland, many in New Amsterdam sided with the English. "The company," wrote Stuyvesant, ''is cursed and scolded; the inhabitants de- clare that the Dutch never had a right to the country." The governor determined to oppose the English fleet, but the people felt that resistance was madness and in a written remonstrance urged him to surrender. Finally, Stuyvesant gave orders for the white flag to be raised, saying, ''Well, let it be so. I had rather be carried to my grave." Thus, without bloodshed, the English took possession of New Netherland. Later the Dutch regained control of the province, but only for a few 60 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY months. New Netherland was given by King Charles to his brother James, Duke of York, antl tlie name was changed to New York. Fort Nassau was renamed Albany. 66. Delaware. — The Dutch made their first settlements in Delaware as early as 1630. Eight years later, a company of Swedes connnanded by Peter Minuit, who had once been The governor of New Netherland, bought of the Indians Swedes. a tract of land in the vicinity of Wilmington. They called their colony New Sweden, and their fort Christiana, in honor of the queen. It was hoped that New Sweden would be a refuge to ''all oppressed Christendom" and a blessing to "the common man." Lord Baltimore claimed New Sweden as a part of Maryland, and the Dutch in New Netherland maintained that it belonged to them. Minuit paid no atten- tion to the remonstrances of either colony. In 1655, how- ever, Governor Stuyvesant made an expedition against New Sweden and captured it. The colony passed, with New Netherland, under the control of England. 67. New Jersey. — New Jersey, like Delaware, was origi- nally settled by the Dutch. The Swedes also made settle- ments north of the Delaware River and a company of Puritans migrated there from New England. The region, however, was generally considered a part of the Dutch colony. After the English came into possession of New Netherland, the Duke of York gave the countrj^ lying to the south of New York and to the east of the Delaware to Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley. Carteret had been at one time governor of the isle of Jersey, and owing to this fact the colony re- ceived its name New Jersey. Lord Berkeley sold his share to two Quakers and the colony was then divided into East and West Jersey. The' two portions were not united until 1702, when New Jersey became a royal province. 68. The Quakers. — George Fox, an English preacher, THE MIDDLE COLONIES 61 was the founder of a religious sect which came to be known as the society of Friends or Quakers. This last name was given them by Justice Bennett, whom Fox, in the course of his trial before him, bade "tremble at the word of the Lord." The Quakers held many peculiar be- liefs which caused them to be severely persecuted. They refused to serve in the army or navy, would not pay tithes, and main- tained that every man was the equal of eve r y o t h e r man. In consid- eration of this lat- ter assertion they kept on their hats in the presence of })ersons in author- ity, not even ex- cepting the king. They held the doc- trine that each man's Hfe should be guided by an inner light. A few of these Friends were led into many ex- travagant and foolish deeds. The majority, however, were sincere, quiet, and peace-loving people, who could not be won "with gifts, honors, offices, or places." The Quakers found their way to America, where they The Middle Colonies. 62 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY received anything but a cordial welcome. Several colonies, indeed, passed laws which made it a crime for captains to give the members of this new sect passage in their ships. They were banished, flogged, imprisoned; but persecution NewEng- ^"^^ made them more zealous, and they returned land perse- after banishment only to receive severer punish- cuted the ment. The Puritan rulers of Massachusetts were Vua ers. jj^Qj-g harsh in their treatment of the Quakers than those of any other colony and hanged four of them on Boston Common. But the people of the Bay Colony, as a whole, were not in sympathy with such extreme measures and the persecu- tion gradually died out as the spirit of libert}^ increased. 69. William Penn. — The cause of the much-abused Quak- ers was warmly taken up by William Penn, who had become a Friend while at college. His father, an English admiral and a stanch friend of the Duke of York, remonstrated with his son in vain, punished him, sent him abroad, and even disinherited him, but finally took him back and left him a fortune. William Penn had become interested in America while acting as an arbitrator in a dispute between the Quaker proprietors of West Jersey. He began to i)lan how the New World might become a refuge for the despised sect. When, on the death of his father, he discovered that the king owed his father £16,000, he proposed that the debt be paid in American land. King Charles was not unwilling to make Penn's ^^^^^ arrangement, and granted to Penn a tract Grant from south of New York. The territory included Dela- the King, '^yare and land formerly given to other colonies. The rival claims created bitter disputes in after years. ^ At ' A dispute with Maryland over the southern boimdary of Pennsylvania soon occurred. Pennsylvania claimed south as far as the entrance to Dela- ware Bay, while Maryland declared her northern boundary to be the 40th THE MIDDLE COLONIES 63 the time of the grant, however, the king was not thinking or caring about future disputes. 70. Pennsylvania. — The story is told that Penn decided to call his province Sylvania and that the king added Penn for the first syllable. It is further related that Penn objected to the addition, saying that it was contrary to his wish and principle to be thus honored. To this objection, the king replied that he had no inteur tion of honoring William Penn, but only wished to perpetuate the memory of Sir William Penn, the admiral, and re- fused to change the name. Thus, "after many watchings, solicitings, and disputes in council," wrote Penn, "my country was confirmed to me under the great seal of Eng- land. God will bless it and make it a great nation." As settlers were already in the province, Penn wrote them a letter expressing the hope that they would not be troubled by his coming. He declared that he had no desire to increase his fortune at their expense, and promised that they should be governed by laws of their own making. 71. The Colony. — The first of the colonists under Penn were sent over in 1681, but Penn himself did not arrive until the next year. He made a treaty with the Indians that was parallel. The dispute lasted for eighty years and was finally compromised. Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, two eminent astronomers and surveyors, marked a boundary line between the two colonies. Milestones were set up, every fifth one bearing on one side the arms of Penn and on the other those of Baltimore. This Mason and Dixon line became famous in after years as the dividing line between the free and the slave states. William Penn. 64 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY never broken, laid out the city of Philadelphia, and granted a Charter of Privileges for the government of the colony. Religious freedom was given to all who believed in God, and the people were allowed great liberty. X...-i5 f..H^-tiU. Zk«*^ .TZu^ •J3 /Li^ ^^^^^xcU ^ ^9;C^3:^L^ >T Cy^l^J^A^I^,^ •^ ^(^.^^^.W^. ^ =«^"s were sharply drawn. The members of the learned professions — the ministers, the doctors, and the lawyers — fowiied the upper class. Seats in church were given according to rank or the contribution that a man made to the minister's salary. The poet, John G. Whittier, has written in regard to this custom the following lines : " In the goodly house of worship, where in order due and fit, - As by public vote directed, classed and ranked, the people sit." LIFE IN THE COLONIES 67 At Harvard College the students were arranged in class or at table in the order of their father's positions in the com- munity. Even the dress of the people was carefully regulated. Men who were worth less than two hundred pounds could not ornament their garments with gold or silver lace, and their wives were prosecuted if they wore silk hoods or scarfs. In New York the patroons, Dutch owners of the great estates on the Hudson, constituted the aristocratic class. They rented their lands to tenant farmers and obtained large ^j^pj^Ni^ TtSl y^ Wf^^S^u^ \ ^^^^vvllnl 5l^ P% ]n^Z^OMW%^«K^ttH$fcr''^^ A H *>^^^ Hf^S^e^^^^y kv^^SRiS 5*t T-j . 11 ■mi ri II ^^ W i ""m^-'yT ^■"^^s^^^/ \ IH yij imriiiii'llfflflf ^ Wi \ m- IF "■ •---" i A Manor Housf: in New York. incomes therefrom. In the South also the gentry were the great land owners. They lived in luxury and patronized all who had to work with their hands. However, there were few very poor people in any of the colonies. New England had practically none, and in Phila- delphia it was said no beggars were to be seen, for none had the "least temptation to take up that scandalous hfe." New York was not so fortunate and was put to some difficulty in caring for its poor. In North Carohna too there were a 68 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY number of unprosperous peo})le, most of ^vholll were outcasts from Virginia. 75. Servants. — The poorest people in all the cok)nies were Redemp- those descended from the redemptioners, or indeii- tioners. tured servants. Some had either sold or hound themselves to pay their passage across the Atlantic: others had been transported for crimes and misdemeanors; and many had been kidnaped and sold by their captors. During their time of service these redemptioners could be l^ought or sold at the pleasure of their owners. At the end of a term of years, usually not over seven, they were given their freedom. The worthless among these servants caused their owners nuich trouble, and rewards were continually offered for runaways. Besides these redemptioners the only servants were slaves, and they were in every colony. In New England they were employed mostly as house servants and never be- Slaves. I -^ -^ came very numerous. But if New England^ did not find it profitable to keep negro slaves, she did find it greatly to her advantage to import them into Virginia and the other Southern colonies. Many of the Virginia planters were disturbed by the rapid increase of negroes in their colony and desired to stop the trade in men and women. England, however, also found the slave trade ])rofitable and would not prohibit it. In South Carolina the slaves soon outnumbered the white inhabitants, and there, in the unhealthy rice fields, their condition was most pitiable. 76. Cities. — Because of the small farms and the necessity of keeping together from fear of the Indians, the New England colonists lived near one another in towns and villages. Boston was the largest city in America up to the middle of the eigh- teenth century, and Salem, Portsmouth, Newi)()rt, and New Haven were towns of considerable importance. Philadelphia LIFE IN THE COLONIES 69 came next to Boston in size, and was well laid out with straight, wide streets bordered by handsome houses. New York was even in those early colonial days the gayest city in the colonies, and had the most varied population. ^ Albany was a flourishing town, but all the other settlements of the middle colonies were small villages. Baltimore was not founded until 1729, but it grew rapidly and in fifty years had a population of 20,000. A Southern Colonial Home. Charleston was the only city in the South worthy of the name. In many places the colonists of South Carolina could not live on the plantations because of the unhealthfullness of the country. Therefore they generally left overseers ' The first charter for New York City was granted in 1689 by Thomas Dongan, English governor of the colony. This was superseded by the Montgomerie Charter in 1731. The rights which Dongan gave to Albany in a charter granted a year or two before that to New York are incorpo- rated in the present city charter of Albany. 70 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY to rule their great country estates and made their homes in Charleston, where the breezes blow fresh from the sea. In Virginia the planters, prefcring country to city life, lived more generally on their plantations. Williamsburg, the capi- tal of the colony, was but a small village. 77. Travel. — Roads outside of the towns were poor in all the colonies. At first they were usually bridle paths with- out bridges and were often impassable in bad weather. Later A Massachusetts Tavern. Built in 1695 they were widened to cart roads, but history does not record bridges broad enough to admit a wagon until 1669. In the South sloops and boats were used almost entirely as means of transportation. It was said to be easier to go to London than to travel from Boston to Virginia by land. Therefore there was Httle com- LIFE IN THE COLONIES 7\ munication between the colonies. It naturally followed that, as they knew Uttle of one another, there was no close bond of sympathy between them. In the South a visitor was always welcome, for it was he who brought the news. Robert Beverley writes that in Virginia a traveler needed no other recommendation than that of being a human creature. Even a poor planter was glad to give up his one bed to make room for a weary traveler. South Carolina was noted for its hospitality. A traveler there had little need of money. Every house was open to all respectable strangers, and tavern keeping was a very unprofitable business. In the Northern colonies, however, the taverns held an important place in village hfe. They were to those early colonists what news- papers now are to us, for it was there that all the men of the town gathered to learn whatever news of the outside world a passing traveler might bring. Few letters were written, and even after postal routes were laid, the riders went only when their bags were full. The first mail between New York and Boston started on the The First first day of January, 1673. In his letter to Gover- Mail, nor Winthrop of Connecticut, Governor Lovelace of New York wrote that he considered this monthly post the best means for bringing about a mutual understanding between the colonies. 78. Houses. — The first houses of the colonists were built of logs and seldom had more than one room, had no plaster on the walls, and for windows had only wooden shutters. As the country grew older, however, these rough shelters were replaced by more substantial dwelhngs built after the style of those in England and Holland. The wealthy merchants of the Northern towns and the owners of the great Southern plantations lived in handsome mansions built of brick, or stone, or wood. Much of the building material was brought from Europe and the furniture was imported. n ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY The furnishings of the smaller houses were mainly of home manufacture. Benches and stools took the place of chairs and couches. Beds were often only rude frames fastened against the wall, on which were placed mattresses stuffed with mosses or corn husks. FnHjuently hemlock boughs were used for beds. The tired colonists slept well on these hard couches, for, as they said, "a hard day's work makes a soft bed." The great kitchen, with its fireplace large enough to hold a The Kitchen Fiheplace. four- or six-foot log, with its festoons of dried fruits and vege- tables, with its spinning-wheel and loom, was the center of family life. The best room was reserved for ceremonious occasions, such as weddings and funerals. There were almost no carpets anywhere, but the floors were carefully covered with fine white sand, which was often elaborately marked in figures. 79. Utensils. — Only the wealthy families could buy gold and silver dishes, but there were few who did not own at least LIFE IN THE COLONIES 73 one silver spoon. Dishes and platters of various sorts, and common spoons were made of pewter, a mixture of tin and lead. In early times forks were seldom used. Knife, spoon, napkin, and fingers were thought sufficient for the proper handling of food at table. Wooden dishes of all descriptions were employed, but even these were not very numerous. One wooden trencher usually sufficed for a plate for two people, and when a Connecticut deacon, who owned a sawmill, cut out a trencher for each one of his children, his neighbors said that he was too extravagant, even for a deacon. Cups and mugs were also scarce, so drink was passed around the table in a large tankard shared in common. Gourds of various shapes and sizes made good bottles, skimmers, dippers, cups, and bowls. The best bowls, however, were formed out of maple knots and were so highly prized as freciuently to be mentioned in wills. 80. Home Industries. — Almost everything that a farmer's family could eat or wear or use was homemade. Wool was cut from the sheep's back, carded, spun into thread, and woven into cloth for suits, dresses, and coats. Flax was grown in the fields and made into table linen, towels, and sheets. Straw was plaited for bonnets and hats. Gloves, mittens, and stockings were knit; butter and cheese manufactured; candles dipped; and fruits, vegetables, and meats salted, cured, dried, and preserved for winter use. The farmer made his tools, his harnesses, his sleds, and his carts. He was mason, brick- layer, and carpenter in one. In the South the slaves did most of the real labor of the household, though the mistress and her daughters gave care- ful oversight to the work. In the Middle and Northern col- onies, every member of the family was a helper. Even the little children had their tasks of knitting, sewing, and dish washing, almost as soon as they could walk. 74 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 8i. Amusements. — Yet \\dth all their many and varied duties, the colonists found time for amusements. Thanks- giving Day and election and training days were holidays that were greatly enjoyed in New England. Families helped one another when any great task was to be done, and quiltings, corn huskings, house raisings, and road breakings in winter were made the occasions for much fun and merry-making. The Dutch were fond of sports and games of all sorts. In the winter they skated, coasted, and went sleighing. .They bowled and played trock (a kind of croquet) and tick-tack, which was much like the game of backgammon. In 1753 a theater was opened in New York, where })lays were given three times a week. In the South men engaged in all manner of outdoor sports, especially horse racing, fox hunting, and cock-fighting. 82. Sunday. — An old hymn says: — " New England's Sabbath day Is heaven-like, still and pure." Sunday began at sunset Saturday night and lasted until sunset the next night. Everything was made ready on Satur- day so that no cooking, sweeping, or other housework except that absolutely necessary was done on the holy day. No one could run, or walk, or ride except quietly to church. All the people were expected to attend the services and all ab- sences were carefully investigated by the tithing man. The sermons were long and difficult to understand, but no one was allowed even to nod, for the tithing man was careful to arouse every sleeper with his long pole. The early Virginians were just as particular to keep the Sabbath as were the Puritans. One of the early governors even went so far as to declare that absence from church should be punished by death. This penalty was never imposed, but LIFE IN THE COLONIES 75 offenders were fined and even put in the stocks. If one made a journey on Sunday, other than to go to church or to attend a case "of extreme necessity," he was fined twenty pounds of tobacco. In times of trouble, such as famine or Indian raid, the last Wednesday in every month was set apart for prayers and was nearly as carefully kept as Sunday. The Middle colonists were not so strict in their observance of Sunday, but even with them laws were framed which care- fully guarded the day. No Sunday excursions or picnics were allowed, the vicinity of the churches was kept quiet and trans- gressors were punished. 83. Punishments. — The colonists had many strange punishments for crime and wrongdoing which have en- tirely passed out of use. These were also at that time common in the mother country. Samuel Johnson, the English author, once said, "Madam, we have different modes of restrain- ing evil — stocks for men, a ducking stool for women, and a pound for beasts." The stocks consisted of a bench on which the offender sat. In front was a board with holes through which the feet were thrust and held securely. The pillory was another instrument for punish- ment similar in idea to the stocks. On a plat- form were erected two upright posts across which was a board with holes just large enough for wrists and neck. The board was divided so that the upper half could be raised. After the culprit was placed in position, the upper part of the board Pillory, 76 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY The Pillory. was lowered and locked, holding the hands and head securely. Frequently a card was fastened to the breast of the trans- gressor, on which was a letter denoting his offense. Whipping posts often stood by the stocks and the pillory, and these w'ere used as punishments for lying, swearing, selling spirits to the Indians, and other misdemeanors. One of the most ]3eculiar penal instruments was the ducking stool, which was used to punish scolding women. John Endicott saw one in use in Vir- The Duck- ginia and wrote a de- ^^S Stool, scrijition of it. "At ye end of a long arm," he said, "is fixed a stool upon which the woman was fastened by cords, her gown held fast around her fcete. The machine was then moved up to the edge of ye pond . . . and ye woman was allowed to go down under ye water for ye space of half a minute." Massa- chusetts at first punished her scolding women by gag- ging them and setting them before their doors "for all comers and goers to gaze at." But this form of punishment was abandoned for the ducking stool, the use of which soon became universal in all the colonies. The Ducking Stool. LIFE IN THE COLONIES 77 84. Schools. — The colonies varied greatly in the regard paid to tlie education of their children. The first public school in America was established in Dorchester as early as 1639, and eight years later the Massachusetts legislature passed a law which ordered every village of fifty families to have a school for teaching all children to read and write. Further- more, it was ordained that every town of one hundred families must set up a grammar school to fit the youth for the univer- sity. The Dutch also started schools at an early date, but they were private schools and most of them w^ere not continued after the English took possession of New Netherland. The Middle colonies had some good private schools, but no public money was spent to educate the people. In the South the settlers taught their children as best they could, or sent them to England to be educated. The planta- tions were too scattered for the children to come together for school purposes, and the authorities were opposed to public education. Governor Berkeley's remark on this point is often quoted: ''I thank God," he said, ''there are no free schools, nor printing: and I hope we shall not have them, these hun- dred years; for learning has brought disoliedience and heresy and sects into the world, and printing has divulged them. . . God keep us from both." As a result of this short-sighted policy held by the magistrates of Virginia, the poor children of that colony were ignorant of even the simplest knowledge of letters and figures, while in Massachusetts it would have been difficult to find a child of school age who could not read and write. Virginia, however, had schools where children were taught to spin and weave. In 1668 the colony passed a law that such schools should be established in every county. 85. Colleges. — Massachusetts, in 1636, though disturbed by the hostility of the Indians and by controversies of various 78 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY sorts, appropriated four hundred pounds to start a college at Newtown. Two years later, John Harvard, the young minister at Charlestown, died and left his hbrary and one half of his estate to the new college. The college was named Harvard in his honor and the town was called Cambridge for the Cam- bridge in old England, where most of the Puritans were edu- cated. Harvard soon enjoyed a high reputation and Eng- lish Puritans sent their sons to America to be educated there. The next college founded in America was William and Mary College, at Williamsliurg, A^ir- giuia. Dr. James Blair, its first president, went to England to collect money for it. He met with little sympathy from the colonial commissioners, who seemed to think that it would be a waste to expend money in America when every penny was needed to carry on the war with France. Blair urged that clergymen, and a college in which to educate them, were needed in Virginia. "You must not forget," said he, "that people in Virginia have souls to save as well as people in England." The commissioners told him that the colony had better devote itself to the growing of tobacco. Blair, however, persevered and the college was chartered in 1693. Seven years later, in 1700, Yale College was founded at New Haven, and before the French and Indian War, King's Col- lege, now Cohmibia University, Nassau Hall, now Princeton, and the University of Pennsylvania had been begun. From the engraving by Paul Revere. Harvard College in 1720. THE FRENCH COLONIES 79 SUMMARY The occupations of the inhabitants of the thirteen Enghsh colonies were influenced in a large measure by the character of the soil. In the North, where the soil was stony, the people lived in villages and became sailors, ship-builders, and mer- chants. In the South, where the land was fertile, the colonists had extensive plantations and did not live in towns and cities. Though there were no members of the nobility in America, social lines were closely drawn. However, there were few very poor people, except those who were descended from the inden- tured servants. Negro slaves performed most of the manual work in the South, but were not numerous in the North. Only the wealthiest people could afford to buy goods im- ported from Europe. On the farms almost everything that was worn or used was of home manufacture. In the North- ern colonies everybody had to work hard, but even there time was found for various kinds of amusements. Sundays were everywhere carefully kept as holy days, but observed more strictly in New England and Virginia than elsewhere. New England, at an early date, provided free education for the children. The other colonies had some good private schools, but spent no public money for educational purposes. — ^' — CHAPTER VIII THE FRENCH COLONIES 86. The French in Canada. — We must now go back and study the part France played in the colonizing of America. Though no further attempt was made to settle Carolina after the destruction of Port Royal by the Spaniards, the French did not lose their interest in the New World. The hardy sailors of Normandy made profitable voyages each year to the fishing grounds of Newfoundland, and in 1524 Verraz- zano (ver'rat-sa'no), an Italian navigator in the employ of 80 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY France, coasted along the shore from Cape Fear to Labra- dor. Eleven years later, Jacques Cartier (zhak kiir'tya'), a jolly Frenchman, sailed up the great river of Canada as far as Jacques the ])resent city of Montreal. He built a fort on Cartier. the banks of the St. Charles where he and his men, tormented by scurvy and in constant fear of the Indians,* spent the long northern winter. When, in July, Cartier re- turned to France, his report was not such as would tempt settlers to emigrate to the valley of the St. Lawrence. 87. The Founding of Quebec. — Religious wars for half a century prevented the French from sending out colonists. In 1608, how- ever, the year after the founding of Jamestown, Samuel de Champlain sailed up the St. Lawrence with two ships. His most earnest desires were, first, to con- vert the Indians to the Catholic faith, and second, to establish the power of He built a fort where the river narrowed and the cliffs rose high on either side and called the place Quebec. Here he spent the winter with twenty- eight men, while his ships went back to France for recn- forcements and supplies. When the ships returned in the spring, there were only eight men at Quebec to give them a welcome. But the courage of the men was not daunted by Samuel de Champlain. France in the New World. • To hide their weakness the French frequently heat against the sides of the fort with stones and sticks so that the Indians would think that they were engaged in vigorous labor. THE FRENCH COLONIES 81 the sufferings of the Canadian winter, and Champlain, as soon as possible, set out with a party of Indians to explore the waterways of the St. Lawrence. In his first expe- Discoveries dition he discovered Lake Champlain. Each year of Cham- he pushed farther and farther west until he reached P^^^°- Lake Huron. Champlain had a wonderful faculty of winning the confidence and respect of the Indians, and thus, from the very beginning, the French had little to fear from the natives. Quebec, however, grew slowly and after seventeen years it had only fifty or sixty inhabitants, mostly traders and ad- venturers. 88. The Jesuits. — In 1625 the first company of priests, belonging to the Society of Jesus, arrived at Quebec. Strong in the belief that ''the saving of a soul is worth more than the conquest of an empire," they abandoned even the comforts that could be had in a frontier fort and went into the wilder- ness where no white men had ever been. Here they lived with the Indians and in the Indian way, and labored long and faithfully with suffering and death for their rewards. "Should we at last die of misery, how great our happiness would be," wrote one of these heroic priests, and surely if to die of misery was their idea of happiness, many of them were happy. Though their work was of httle lasting benefit to the Indians, it was of great value to France. The Jesuits blazed the way for the soldier, the trapper, and the trader. Their tact and their knowledge of the red man's character won the allegiance of the Indian, if their religion did not win his heart. The work of one of these missionaries. Piquet, was said to have been worth that of two regiments of soldiers. 89. Marquette and Joliet. — The Indians who visited the frontier mission post of Michilimackinac (Mish-il-i-mack'-i- nack) s])oke of a river which flowed to the south, ever gain- ing in volume. They called it the Mississippi (" the father of 82 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY waters"), but no one seemed to know just where it entered the sea. The French wondered whether it flowed into the Atlantic, or the Pacific, or the Gulf of Mexico. Father Marquette (mar' kef), who had charge of the port of Michilimackinac, had a great desire to seek this river. He Marquette Preaching to the Indians. did not, however, leave his post until, in 1673, Louis Joliet (zho'lyu') arrived at the mission. Stories of the great river had even reached Quebec, and Joliet had been dispatched to join Marquette and explore its course. Together they set out in birch canoes and finally, by means of lakes and streams and portages, they reached the Mississippi, with a joy, as THE FRENCH COLONIES Sc Louisiana. Marquette wrote, which he could not express.' They floated down the river as far as the mouth of the Arkansas, and then, having determined that it flowed into the Gulf, they returned, Marquette to his work among the Indians and Joliet to Quebec with an account of the voyage. 90. La Salle. — Eight years later (1681) Robert Cavelier de La Salle, the commander of Fort Frontenac on Lake Ontario, set out to complete the explora- tions begun by Marquette. On the 19th of April, 1682, he reached the mouth of the Mississippi. Erecting a cross and a column on w li i c h were engraved the arms of France, he took possession, in the name of the king, of all the country which bor- dered upon the river and its branches. He named it Louisiana in honor of Louis XIV. Two years later he sailed from France for the mouth of the river, and on this expedition was accompanied by a large 1 Marquette, however, was not the first white man to see the Missis- sippi. In 1513 Florida had been discovered and named by Ponce de Leon, a Spanish explorer. In 1539 Ferdinand de Soto and six hundred Spaniards set out from Tampa Bay, Florida, to search for gold. LTrged on by stories of vast treasures to the west, they pushed their way through trackless for- ests, innumerable streams, and treacherous swamps, until they reached the great river. This they crossed with difficulty, and for a year longer con- tinued their fruitless search. Then, worn out by hardships and thoroughly discouraged, they turned their steps to the sea. When they again reached the Mississippi, De Soto became ill and died. His body was secretly buried by night in the river, in order that the Indians might be kept in ignorance of his death. His companions built several small vessels and succeeded in reaching Mexico. But this was after nearly one half of their number had perished. Robert de la Salle. 84 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY colony fitted out by the king. But the commander of the fleet was jealous of La Salle and, purposely missing the Missis- sippi, landed the colony on the shores of Texas and returned to France. La Salle attempted to find the Mississippi by marching overland, but was unsuccessful in his search, and Ih»fiesttona ^1 The French Occupation of North America. finally starting out for Canada was assassinated by one of his followers. 91. New France. — In spite of La Salle's failure to found a colony, he had added greatly to the domains of the P>ench king in America. At his death, and due in large measure to his efforts, New France extended from the Gulf of St. Lawrence THE FRENCH COLONIES 85 to the farther end of the Great Lakes, from the Great Lakes south to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Appalachian Moun- tains to the farthest source of the Missouri. Between this great territory and the Atlantic was a narrow strip of country, a few hundred miles wide, occupied by twelve English col- onies. Even some of this land was claimed by the French. The English colonies, on their part, laid claim to much of Louisiana under their grants of land from sea to sea; they had, however, done nothing to possess it. 92. Iberville. — "Possession is nine points of the law," says a common proverb. And in accordance wdth this proverb, France determined to show the validity of her claim by something more substantial than words on paper. With the idea of guarding the southern gateway of Louisiana and keeping the English out of the valley of the Mississippi, she dispatched another colony to the Gulf of Mexico. It was commanded by Lemoyne d 'Iberville (le- settlement mwan' debar'vel'), the idol of the Canadians and of of Missis- the French navy. He founded Biloxi in 1699, and ^W' ^al- nineteen years later his brother, Bienville, estab- ^^* lished the city of New Orleans. The vast stretches of New France were now guarded by Quebec on the north and New Orleans on the south. The waterways connecting with the lakes were also fortified, and the only unguarded approach to Louisiana was over the mountains on the east. 93. The French and English Colonies. — Thus we see two nations firmly established in America, north of Mexico, which was Spanish territory. In their religion, in their method of life, and in their views upon government, they possessed few points in common. The English had come to America to make permanent homes. They brought their families, they built substantial houses, they cleared the land for cultivation and depended upon themselves for subsistence. On the other 86 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY hand the French were mostly hunters, traders, soldiers, and adventurers. Very little land was under cultivation, and the people relied to a large extent upon the French king for their suppHes. Though the English were under the control of king or lord- proprietor, they had in every colony some share in the govern- ment, and in New England they were almost independent. Moreover, they looked to the future, and were thoughtful, sober, and self-reliant. The French were ruled by the gover- French Traders Greeting Indians. nor, the soldier, and the priest. They knew nothing of self- government and did not desire to know. They thought only of the present moment, were light-hearted, picturesque in dress and hving, and dependent. However, the English colonists were not united either in religion or in government; they were jealous of each others' liberties and prosperities; they had no army for mutual defense, and no central power. New France, on the contrary, was a great military camp and every man capable of carrying arms was ready at all times to THE FRENCH COLONIES 87 rally to the defense of the colony. Its settlers acknowledged only one authority, that of the king of France as represented b}^ the governor. They were all of one religious faith. 94. The Indians and the French. — In no way did the French and the English differ so much as in their attitude towards the Indians. The natives saw the forests fall, their hunting grounds disappear, and the number of white people increasing year by year. "You and the French," said they to the EngUshman, Sir William Johnson/ "are hke the two edges of a pair of shears, and we are the cloth which is cut to pieces between them." But the Indians did not dread the French as they did the English. The French best understood the Indian character. They knew how to flatter the pride of the Indians and their love of display; they were able to converse with them in their own language and in their own way; they lived among them, married their women, and often rivaled them in wood- craft and in cunning. And more than all else, the French did not deprive the Indians of their hunting grounds. The greatest product of New France was furs, and the French were just as anxious to keep the hunting grounds unmolested as were the Indians. Moreover, the existence of all French ' Sir William Johnson probably had more influence over the Indians of New York than any other white man. He had the oversight of a large tract of land in the Mohawk Valley and thus came into constant contact with the Indians. He always treated them with fairness and honesty. He lived among them, often wore their dress, talked their language flu- ently, and was acquainted with their customs and traditions. At the out- l)reak of the French and Indian War he was made " sole superintendent of the afTairs of the Six United Nations." He led the colonial forces against Crown Point but met the French at Lake George. In the battle that followed, Johnson completely defeated the French and thus saved New York. For this victory he received the thanks of Parliament and was made a baronet. For further services in the war he was granted a tract of land of a hundred thousand acres. At the time of Pontiac s War his influence alone prevented the Iroquois from joining in the hostilities. 88 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY M A M V i i S WUNNEETCPANATAMWE UP-BIBLUM GOD |H NANEESWE 5NUKK0NR TRSTAMENT Li: ^ K A H W O X K % WUSKU TESTAMENT, [s forts and trading posts depended upon the goodwill of the Indians. Therefore, with steadfast purpose, the French won the friendship of the Algonquin tribes, who occupied most of the territory north of Georgia and east of the Mississippi.^ !>.Jii^?.l^i^S i?l^i..'^.^-i^.i^>^.^i i tii^^l?.»l lH^ 95. The Indians and the English. — On the other hand the English formed large settlements and cleared broad tracts of land. Accordingly, through this colonization, the Indians were pushed out of their old haunts until it" seemed that they would soon not be a])le, as they said, "to hunt a bear into the hole of a tree but some Englishman would claim a right to it as being his tree." The English as well as the French had labored faithfully for the conversion of the red men, John Eliot, the "apostle to the Indians," had trans- lated the Bible into their tongue as early as 1658, and had formed several praying Indians" in Massachusetts. Other Nc <]uufikJDnuroui njOipc Wumnneumoh ^HKIST JOHN ELIOT- From of America," by Thomas WTiittaker. Early Bihl( Wright, D.D Title Page of Eliot's Indian OF 1663. John Bible Translated : " The Whole Holy Bible of God, both Old Testament and also New Testament. This turned [into Indian] by the Servant of Christ who is called John Eliot. Cambridge: Printed by Samuel Green and Marmaduke Johnson, 1663." communities of 'In the struggle that was to come between the French and the English, the tribes occupying the country bordering on the Gulf of Mexico took no part. These included the Cherokees and the several tribes of the Maskoki, the Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Seminoles, and Appalachees. THE FRENCH COLONIES 89 Englishmen in other colonies had worked among the Indians, but, owing to ignorance of the ' Indian language, had not been able to come into close sympathy with them. The character of the red man — his cruelty, his laziness, his slovenly mode of living — was entirely repulsive to the British mind. Most of the colonies, New England especially, had endured terrible sufferings from the hands of the Indians. In the Pequot and King Philip's wars the colonists had seen their homes burned, their crops destroyed, their friends tortured, their wives murdered, their children carried into captivity. 1 Therefore it is not surprising that they finally regarded the Indians as little better than the beasts of the field. 96. The Iroquois. — One important Indian nation 're- mained friendly to the English. This was the Iroquois or Five Nations, whose lands occupied the fertile region between the Hudson River and the Great Lakes. They perhaps did not number more than four thousand warriors, but so great were their courage, their skill, and their intelligence, that even before the Dutch arrived at Manhattan they were the terror of all the Indian tribes of the East. >The Pequots, the most warlike tribe of Indians in New England, lived mostly in Connecticut. In 1636 war with this tribe was brought about by the brutal murder of some of the settlers. It was waged by the Indians with ferocious cruelty, and by the colonists with desperate earnestness. Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth sent soldiers to Connecticut, and the war was not ended until the Indians were practically exterminated. King Philip, chief of the Wampanoags, was the son of Massasoit, who had been a good friend to the early Plymouth settlers and to Roger Wil- liams. Philip hated the English, and as soon as he became sachem of his tribe began to make plans to destroy them. War broke out in June, 1675, and was ended when Philip was killed in August of the next year. The Massachusetts and Rhode Island colonists had endured the most terrible sufferings. Thirteen towns had been completely destroyed and many more damaged. Scarcely a family could have been found who had not lost a member either in battle or by massacre. 90 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY The Iroquois made a treaty of friendship with the Dutch and promised always to keep one council fire with them. When New Netherland became New York, the Iroquois transferred their treaty of friendship to the English. Yet they continued their alliance not so much because they loved the English as because they hated the Frenchman and his Indian allies, the Algon({uins. Champlain, on his first explor- ing expedition, had won the undying hatred of the Five Nations when, in the battle that took place between them and Cham- plain's Indians, the guns of the French had caused their defeat. The French later worked hard to conciliate the Iroquois, but never succeeded in winning their confidence. The active hostility, or passive neutrality, of this powerful tribe to the French was of the greatest advantage to the English colonies in their struggle with New France. SUMMARY The French, driven out of tlie southern part of North America by the Spaniards, began to make explorations in the valley of the St. Lawrence. In 1608 Champlain founded Quebec, and from that time French priests, trappers, and adventurers pushed their way westward until they had reached the farthest borders of the Great Lakes. Marquette and Joliet found the Missis- sippi. La Salle explored it to the Gulf of Mexico and took possession of Louisiana. The French then sent colonists to the mouth of the Mississippi, and built various forts and settle- ments between it and Quebec. Thus it came about that two nations were established in North America, both claiming the same territory. They were unlike in many respects, but especially in their treatment of the Indians. The French understood the red man and won the friendship of most of the tribes east of the Mississippi. The English disliked the Indians, and the Indians hated the Eng- lish, because the white men had taken from them so much of their land. Only the Iroquois withstood the advances of the French, THE STRUGGLE FOR AMERICA 91 and these were powerful enough to render great assistance to the English in the struggle which took place between the two nations. CHAPTER IX THE STRUGGLE FOR AMERICA 97. Early French and Indian Wars. — That a clash between the two nations must come sooner or later was to be expected. France and England had been foes for centuries, and a war between them was always imminent. American colonies would naturally hold the same views as the mother country, so that when war broke out in Europe, it was taken up by the French and British colonies. The first conflict began in 1690, and was caused by European complications. It is usually named in history as King William's War. A short period of peace succeeded, and then Queen Anne's War followed. This, in its turn, was followed by King George's War, which was closed with the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (aks-la-shapel'), in 1748. All three of these wars were of similar character, and the greatest hardships resulting from them w^ere felt by New^ England and New York. These colonies were nearest the Canadian border and most exposed to the fiercQ attacks of the French and their Indian allies. Neither the English nor the French gained by these wars any advantage that was of permanent value. Nearly all the captured points were returned to their original owners and no definite settlement regarding boundary lines was made.^ France and England 1 England came into possession of Nova Scotia, or Acadia, as it was then called, by the treaty of peace at the close of Queen Anne's War. When the final struggle with the French began, England, fearing that the Acadians would take up arms against her, sent an expedition to Acadia. The French peasants were forced to leave their farms, were driven on board vessels, and were distributed along the Atlantic coast among the various English colonies. 92 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY still claimed the same territories and peace was only for a time. 98. The French Forts. — Near the close of King George's War, the English king granted a tract of land on the Ohio River to a company of merchants known as the Ohio Com- pany. In 1750 this company made its first expedition, only to find that the year before the French had begun to con- nect more closely Canada and Louisiana, thus extending and uniting their domain. Here and there all through the valley of the Ohio the English company found buried lead plates bearing the French king's claim, and shields nailed to tree trunks which bore similar inscriptions. Following up the advance thus evidenced, the French next completed a chain of sixty forts, which included such important points as Crown Point, Niagara, Detroit, Vincennes (vin-senz'),and Kaskaskia. Crown Point was on Lake Champlain, and the English colo- nies considered it an insolent invasion of British soil. 99. Fort Duquesne. — The French also built a fort-at the junction of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, which they called Fort Duquesne (du'-kan'). The governor of "\^ir- ginia claimed this region as witliin his jurisdiction and sent, in 1754, Major George Washington with a small forc(> to drive out the 'intruders. The French were strongly intrenched, and Washington was defeated. This skirmish brought on the final struggle for the possession of America, the outcome of which was to decide whether France or England should control the continent. This contest was known as the French and Indian War. 100. The Albany Plan of Union (1754). — England urged the colonies to forget their differences and to unite in a plan for defense. A convention was called to meet at Albany, which was attended by delegates from seven colonies. Benja- min Franklin introduced a plan which provided for a capital THE STRUGGLE FOR AMERICA 93 city at Philadelphia, a governor-general appointed by the Crown, and an assembly elected by the various legislatures of the colonies. The assembly was to make the laws, but the governor was given the right of veto. The plan was adopted by the convention, but when it was referred to the colonies and to the English government for acceptance, neither America nor England would ratify it. England objected to it because it gave too much power to the colonies, and the colonies vetoed it because it gave too much power to the king. loi. General Braddock. — England now sent General Braddock to America with a force of regulars. He planned three campaigns, and he himself led the expedition against Fort Duquesne. He had had much experience as a com- mander, but knew nothing about Indian warfare. He re- fused to take the suggestions of Washington and other officers of the colonial militia and formed his plans according to European tactics. The French conunander of the fort was frightened by the size of the English army, and prepared to evacuate Duquesne without waiting for the attack. But his lieutenant, ^^^^ jj ^ Captain Beaujeu (bo'zhuh'), begged to be allowed and Death to meet the English forces. His request was of General granted and with less than nine hundred French ^^^'^'^°^^- and Indians he lay in ambush beside the road. As the red- coats came along, they were met by a volley from the hidden foe. Braddock immediately formed his men into a solid column and returned the fire. But they could not see the enemy and their close ranks made a bright target for the French guns. Completely terrified by their rapid destruction, the British regulars turned and fled, and no efforts of their officers could stay the rout. General Braddock was killed, and the army was saved from complete destruction only by the heroism of the despised colonial troops. 94 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 102. War Declared. — In 1756 war was formally declared between France and England, and preparations were made for waging it on a large scale. The Marquis de Montcalm was placed in command of all the French forces in America, and General Loudon was sent across the Atlantic to lead the British and colonial armies. Loudon and his associate offi- cers were inefficient, and the colonies were backward in grant- ing money and supplies. The next year was disastrous to the English. The French gained the advantage in almost every battle, and the Indians flocked to the support of the victors. Once more the frontiers were drenched in blood. 103. William Pitt. — In June 1757, William Pitt, the famous English statesman, be- came secretary of state for foreign affairs. With him im- mediately a new order came in. He raised a larger army, selected new commanders, and so aroused the zeal of the colo- nists that they responded with money and with men. (icn- eral Abercronibie was ])Uic('(l in connnand of an army which numbered fifty thousand rcgu- WiLLiAM Pitt, Earl of Chatham, j^^. ^^^ colonial troops. Again three expeditions were arranged: one against Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Cham plain, another against Cape Breton Campaigns Inland, and the third against Fort Duquesne. At of 1757 and Ticonderoga no decisive victory was won by either 1758. gjdg The English captured Cape Breton. The French abandoned and burned Fort Duquesne. On its site the British erected a new fortification and named' it Fort Pitt. Moreover, three campaigns were planned for the year THE STRUGGLE FOR AMERICA 95 Montcalm. 1758. General Amherst was to make another attempt to capture Ticonderoga ; General Prideaux (Pre'-do) was to lead an expedition against Fort Niagara, and General James Wolfe was to attack Quebec itself. Montcalm realized that the results at Quebec would decide the outcome of the war. ''Never was Canada in a state so critical and full of peril, ' ' wrote the bishop of Quebec to the people of his parishes. Every Cana- dian who could carry a gun, the boy of fifteen and the old man of eighty, was pressed into service. The French com- mander withdrew so many troops from the forts in the interior that when Amherst arrived at Ticonderoga and Prideaux at Niagara, both })laces fell into their hands, but not in time for them to give aid to Wolfe at Quebec. 104. The Battle of Quebec. — Meanwhile General Wolfe had been making thorough preparations for the siege of Quebec. He had been given the power to appoint his own officers, and had made his selections because of especial fitness and not because of family position and influence. Some of King George's councilors were so surprised by the appoint- ments that they said that Wolfe nmst be mad. " Mad is he? " the king replied, ''then I hope that he will bite some others of my generals." As for Wolfe himself, few would have sup- posed that he would make a successful leader. He was slight and awkward and always suffered from ill health. But he The Marquis de Montcalm. 96 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY had the spirit and the courage of a hero. He neither shunned hardships nor feared death, and his sohUers adored him. In the early summer of 1759, Wolfe and his army of ten thousand men arrived at the Gulf of St. Lawrence in forty Wolfe be- ships. The French, believing that the river was fore Quebec, not navigable for large vessels, had declared that no man-of-war could get up to Quebec. But the English, by means of captured Canadian pilots and by their own skill in navigation, sailed up the river, to the great dismay of the The Hkii.ih French. The latter, however, believed that Quebec, perched high on its steep cliffs, was impregnable, and they sent word to General Wolfe, after he had captured Point Levi across the river and was able to cover the city with his guns, "You may demolish the town, no doubt, but you shall never get inside it." With equal firmness Wolfe replied, "I will have Quebec if I stay here till tlie end of November," 105. The Plains of Abraham. — Week after week went by and Quebec seemed as far from capture as ever. Wolfe had been very sick, but during his illness he perfected his plans so THE STRUGGLE FOR AMERICA 97 that when health returned he begged his physician to put him in such condition that he might be without pain for a few days and able to do his duty. In the stillness of a dark night, September 12, 1759, while the fleet deceived the French into thinking that an assault was to be made below, the army advanced up the river to a point above the town. At the very place where the French had said that the English could not go unless they had wings, and where it was thought that a hundred men could keep back an army, the English ascended the cliff. Almost without a sound the pickets were captured, and when morning came and the mists blew away, Montcalm was astonished to see an English army drawn up in battle array on the Plains of Abraham. Montcalm collected his forces as rapidly as possible and hurried to the attack. Wolfe personally directed the ar- rangement of his men. He was everywhere encouraging, quieting, steadying his forces. When the French assault Defeat of came, it was met by the French, a steady volley. Then Wolfe gave the command to charge. The English bore down upon the French, Wolfe leading the way. One shot struck him, then another ; but still he pressed on. A third lodged in his breast and he fell. Then the cry arose, "They run, they run!" "Wlio run?" asked Wolfe. "The enemy, sir; they give way every- where." Wolfe forthwith gave orders to Colonel Burton to cut off General Wolfe. 98 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY their retreat, and died, murmuring, "Now God be praised, I will die in peace." Montcalm, also mortally wounded, like- wise died, content in the thought that he should not live to see the surrender of the city which he had so long and faith- fully defended. 1 06. The Treaty of Peace. — Though the capture of Quebec practically ended the war, the treaty of peace was not signed North America after the Treatv of 1763. until 1763. By it France was deprived of all her possessions in America except two small islands near Newfoundland. Canada and all the region between the Allegheny Mountains and the Mississippi came into the possession of England, while the country west of the Mississippi was turned over to S))ain. Florida was ceded to Great Britain by ISimin, and remained in her possession twenty years, after which it was ceded back to Spain. Vergennes (var'zhen), the French ambassador to THE STRUGGLE FOR AMERICA 99 Constantinople, said when he heard the terms of the treaty : "England will, ere long, repent of having removed the only check that could keep her colonies in awe. They stand no longer in need of her protection; she will call on them to contribute towards supporting the burdens they have helped to bring on her; and -they will answer by striking off all dependence." SUMMARY After several wars between the French and the English colonies which gave no particular advantage to either side, France redoubled her efforts to occupy the valley of the Missis- sippi. An expedition of Virginian militia against Fort Du- quesne brought on the French and Indian War. Its outcome decided whether France or England would remain the masters of North America. At first the advantages were for the French. The English colonies were not united, were jealous of each other, and their English military leaders were either incompetent or unused to Indian warfare. Finally, however, when William Pitt became secretary for foreign affairs, new plans were laid and skillful generals were appointed. The war was closed by the capture of Quebec. By the treaty of peace France lost all her territory in America except two small islands. SECTION II. -THE REVOLUTION CHAPTER X THE COLONIES ALIENATED 107. Results of the French War. — The war had been a great expense l^oth to England and to the colonies. It had cost the Americans more than ten million dollars and the lives of thirty thousand men. The drain had been excessive, but the colonies had learned some valuable lessons. The sons of Massachusetts and Virginia, of Connecticut and South Carolina, had fought side by side. Colonial They had come to re- Confidence, spect each other, and the jealousies between them, which before the war had been so connnon, had greatly diminished. Then, too, they had acquired experience in the art of war. Moreover, at the close of the war the people realized that with P^rance driven from the conti- nent and Spain confined beyond the Mississippi River, they no longer needed the strong arm of the mother country for protection. Thus they had gained in self-confidence. Up to this time, however, the coloni(>s had remained loyal to Eng- land. Tiie people considered themselves English. They did 100 Ensign Carried by New England Ships. THE COLONIES ALIENATED 101 not wish to be otherwise, though Great Britain had often- times severely tried their patience. io8. Colonial Commerce. — When John Winthrop came to Massachusetts Bay, he brought with him one Wilham Stephens who, it was said, "would have been a precious jewel to any state that obtained him." Stephens was a skilled ship-builder and under his guidance the colonists began to build vessels of all sizes, some of which were large New Eng- enough to carry four hundred tons. The soil of New la^id Ships. England was dry and unfertile, and since the people could hardly gain a living from it, of necessity they turned their attention to some other mode of livelihood. Accordingly New England became the carrier for the colonies and her ships were found in every port or moored at the wharves of the Southern planters. The vessels took rice^ tobacco, tar, fine timber, furs, and fish to England, and brought back in return all the luxuries for house and dress that could not be obtained in America. 109. Navigation Laws. — As early as 1651 England passed the first of the navigation laws, which forbade the colonies to trade with any country except England and only in colonial or British ships. Other navigation laws followed, each one a little more severe than the one before it. In 1663 a law was passed which allowed no goods to be brought to America except in English ships. This last bore heavily upon all the colonies, but especially upon New England. It not only pro- hibited her carrying trade, but ruined her ship-building indus- tries. The law was considered unjust and was evaded as much as possible by the New England captains. Virginia, boasting obedience to the laws, declared that the New England men broke through and traded to any place where their interest led them, but neither small nor great vessels were built in her domain. 102 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY The navigation laws were supplemented by others which put heavy duties on both exports and imports. The money all came out of the pockets of the colonists and went to enrich the English government. no. Manufactures. — The Northern and Middle colonies attempted various manufactures. Fur hats were fashionable, and New York began to make them. England then passed a law to protect the British hat makers, forbidding New York to send her hats either across the Atlantic or to another colony. Pennsylvania started iron industries, and England framed laws which declared that no mill or other engine Restriction ^^j. j.QiiJi^g iron, nor any furnace for making steel, on Colonial i • i i • ixr- • i Industries should be erected m tlie colonies. \ V ithout a special grant from Parliament no one could make a nail or a horse-shoe. Cotton and woolen mills were built in the colonies, but their products could be sold only at home. It would have been considered piracy to print an EngUsh Bible in any American colony. Though angered by these trade and manufacturing restric- tions, all the colonies remained loyal. England, they ad- Continued ii^itted, was only doing what all European countries Loyalty did. It was indeed the universal opinion at the of the time that colonies were for the sole purj)ose of o onists. i^enefiting the parent country. If, after the French and Indian War, England had tried to hold the love and friendship of the colonies, they might perhaps have remained a part of the British empire to this day, III. The English Theory. — At the close of the war Great Britain found herself burdened with a vast debt which must be met in some way. Parliament considered that the war had been brought on by the colonies and had been waged principally for their benefit, and argued that it therefore was right and just that they should bear their share of the burden. THE COLONIES ALIENATED 103 Parliament based its assertion on the ground that, in its character of a representative government, it had become the legislative body for the whole empire; that thus it had the power to make the laws for the colonies as well as for England, and could levy taxes upon both alike. On this point, English and American ideas were so different that the American Revolution resulted. 112. The American Theory. — The colonists claimed that by royal grant each colony had a legislature or parliament of its own and that the London Parhament had no right to tax it. If the British govern- ment required money from the colonies, it must appeal to the colonial legislatures, and they would raise the needed sum by levying taxes upon their people. James Otis of Massachusetts, quoting Lord Coke, the greatest authority on English law, de- clared that it was "against the franchise of the land for free- men to be taxed but by their own consent." In this same vein the colonists argued that taxation and representation went together, and that as they personally were not repre- sented in the British Parliament they should not be taxed by that body. Their point was not that they desired representa- tion but that they believed taxation without it both illegal and unjust. They determined not to submit to the injustice. "Here," said Henry Ward of Rhode Island, "no acts of Par- hament can bind. Giving up this point is yielding all." James Otis. 104 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 113. The Stamp Act. — In March, 1765, Parhament passed what is known as the Stamp Act.^ This act provided that stamped paper must be used for all legal documents, and that stamps be i)laced on playing cards, books, newspapers, and pamphlets, and various other articles used in the colonies, and that this paper and these stamps must be bought of the British government. 114. Its Effect. — The passage of this act inflamed the g 9 |l ■ ^BHI J i m ^^^1 B^^^^H^^rI^^^^H V*i ^ ""i dt : t«. ^HH HI .^^^i^': jF'^^^^^ . ^^£^^H k ^■n^HDundi^^^^l^^^^H ^vy i//:* m ti|^^H 1^^ P m ^^^^'^^^^T""" ^^^^^^^^H 1 1 1 i V ii^ From the paintinii by l i: ; ; > Patrick Henkv Addressing the Virginia Burgesses. American people in every colony. It was said of Virginia that "the whole colony was filled with the utmost consterna- tion and astonishment." In the House of Burgesses, Patrick Henry, then less than thirty years of age, made a thriUing speech against the act and ended with the words, "Tarquin and Caesar had each a Brutus; Charles the First, his Crom- ' The celebrated William Pitt, the elder, did not favor the Stamp Act. When it was first proposed, he said to Sir Robert Walpole, "I will leave the taxation of America to some of my successors who have more courage than I have. I will not burn my fingers with an American Stamp Act." THE COLONIES ALIENATED 105 well; and George the Third" — The speaker of the House cried, " Treason, treason! " Then Henry fixed his eyes on the chair and added, "may profit by their example." Thenceforth the leading men of America had no desire to withdraw from the contest. They did not then contemplate independence, but they determined to resist the Colonies acts of Parliament, and by every means in their resist, power to seek to have their grievances redressed. Benjamin Franklin wrote to Charles Thompson, "The sun of hberty is set; you must hght up the candles of industry and economy." Mr. Thompson rephed that he feared that other Ughts would be the consequence, and predicted the revolution that followed. 115. The Tax on Tea, Paper, etc. — The Stamp Act, so obnoxious to the colonists, was repealed the next year. Parliament, however, still insisted on its right to tax the colonies, and a httle later a new act was passed imposing a tax on tea, paper, lead, and one or two other articles. 116. America's Friends in England. — It must not be supposed that the entire people of Great Britain agreed with Parliament in its legislation against the colonies; for the facts are far otherwise. The course taken by Parhament was in ac- cordance with the views and desires of the king and his prime minister. Lord North. Many of the leading men in and out of Parhament, however, openly and warmly defended America, and opposed the hostile acts of the British government. AVlien the Stamp Act was under discussion in the House of Commons, Charles Townsend made a speech in g its favor in which he spoke of the Americans as and Pitt "children of our own planting, nourished by our plead for indulgence," and "protected by our arms." Ini- o omes. mediately Colonel Isaac Barre rose and replied in a jjurst of eloquence that thrilled the whole house. "Children planted by your care?" he cried, "No! Your oppressions planted 106 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY them in America. . . . They nourished by your indulgence? They grew by your neglect. . . . They protected by your arms? They have nobly taken up arms in your defense. . . . The people there are as truly loyal, I believe, as any subjects the king has; but a people jealous of their liberties, and who will vindicate them, if they should be violated. . . . But the subject is too delicate. I will say no more." The great statesman, William Pitt, the elder, declared in the House of Lords: "I rejoice that America has resisted." Lord Camden said: "The question before your lordships con- cerns the common rights of mankind. . . . In my opinion, my lords, the legislature had no right to make this law" (that is, one laying a tax upon America). 117. British Troops in Boston. — In 1768 a regiment of British soldiers, under Colonel Dalrymple, was ordered to Boston and was rjuartered in that town. The British minis- try and Parliament, it was evident, were endeavoring to sub- due the spirit of the colonies, but in vain. Every step taken by them had more and more inflamed the ])atriotism of the Americans. 118. The Boston Riot. — On the 5th of March, 1770, a crowd of men and boys, angry at the presence of the redcoats in a time of peace, insulted the city guard, and dared the soldiers to fire. It was in the evening, and several hundred persons had collected in and near King Street, now called State Street, just east of the old colonial State House. The officer in command, in order to avoid trouble, ordered the soldiers into the barracks. About nine o'clock the mob gathered round the sentry near the Custom House, with sticks and stones, hooting and yelling, ''Knock him down, kill him, kill him." The captain sent a corporal and a squad of six men to protect the sentry. This only incensed the men, who gathered near the soldiers and, THE COLONIES ALIENATED 107 with insulting words and tones, dared them to fire. The soldiers fired a volley and four persons were killed and five wounded, of whom one afterwards died. 119. Trial of the Soldiers. — The soldiers were arrested and tried by the civil law, for murder. John Adams and Josiah Quincy, two of the stanchest patriots, defended them. It was a notable trial. The accused were the hated British sol- From the puinlint; by Ch;ipix'l. The Boston Massacre. diers. They had killed American citizens. But they were with great ability defended by two leading Boston lawyers, who beheved that the killing was justifiable. Captain Preston and six soldiers were acquitted, and two men were convicted and sentenced to light penalties. Thus it was proved that a Boston jury could give an impartial verdict, even in the face of an inflamed pubUc opinion. 108 ESSENTIALS OF ITNITED STATES HISTORY 120. The Burning of the Gaspee — Alamance. — The ill feeling was not confined to Boston. It pervaded all the colonies. In the early sunnner of 1772 the British armed schooner Gaspee under command of Lieutenant Dudingston, was picketing Narragansett Bay to prevent smuggling, when a Providence packet decoyed it into shoal water at high tide and ran it aground. In the darkness of the night follow- ing, several boat loads of men, some of them leading citizens of Providence, rowed down to the schooner, boarded her, captured her officers and crew, carried them ashore, and l)urncd the vessel. The British government offered a large reward for the arrest of any person who ])articipated in the affair, but although it was well known who some of them were, no information was ever given and no arrests were made. In North Carohna the people resisted the royal Governor Tryon on account of heavy taxation and fought with him the battle of Alamance. Tryon won the battle, but the sturdy patriots continued their resistance, 121. Parliament removes all Taxes except on Tea. — In the year 1770 Lord North became prime minister. He moved in the House of Commons that all duties levied in America, except that on tea, be repealed. His motion was carried. Nevertheless the Americans refused to l)uy any tea. The English East India Comjiany found itself encumbered with a large surplus stock of tea. To aid this company a new plan was proposed in 1773, which promised to be certain of success. It was a carefully prepared scheme to thwart the opposition in the colonies. The tax upon tea in the Ameri- can colonies was threepence per pound and the East India Company paid a heavy duty on all the tea it landed in England. The company was permitted to export to America its surplus stock free of the duty in England, provided it paid the American tax of threepence a pound. This plan THE COLONIES ALIENATED 109 was thought to be very shrewd. The buyers in America would thus be getting their tea lower than the market price in England and have no tax to pay. The East India Com- pany at once shipped various cargoes of tea to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston. At Charleston the tea was landed and stored in damp cellars, where it Qoio^i + was allowed to rot. Not a pound was sold dur- regard the ing the war. In Philadelphia and New York the Tea Tax as captains were persuaded to carry the tea back to ^ ^^ ^' England. With the Americans the question was not one of money but of principle. If the tea was landed and sold, they reflected, the British government would receive the tax, although it would not be paid directly by the consumers. 122. The Boston Tea Party. — Late in the fall of 1773 three vessels loaded with tea anchored in Boston Harbor. The citizens held a great meeting in the Old South Church (December 16), and voted that the tea be sent back to England. The governor, however, refused to allow the ships to sail till they had landed their cargo. He would give no pass, and the owners of the vessels were unwilling to sail with- out one. The people, therefore, took matters into their own hands. A cry was heard, the warwhoop sounded, and a com- pany of men disguised as Indians, wrapped in blankets and each carrying a hatchet, advanced to Grifhn's Wharf where the tea vessels were lying. They boarded the ships and pro- ceeded quietly to their work. No damage was done to the vessel, nor was any person molested, but in about three hours three hundred and forty chests of tea were broken open and the contents poured out into the sea. A multitude of spec- tators stood on the shore watching the bold proceeding, and when the work was done all returned to their homes and the city again resumed its quiet. 123. The Peggy Stewart. — At Annapolis, Maryland, 110 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY lived a Scotchman named Anthony Stewart. One of his ves- sels, the Peggy Stewart, laden with tea, sailed in October, 1774, into the harbor of AnnapoUs, then one of the most important seaports in America. The men of Maryland were just as determined and just as patriotic as those of Boston. They would not allow the tea to be landed. They even went further than the Boston patriots had gone. A company of young men, banded together as the Wliig Club, rode into The Stewart House at Annapolis. Annapolis on the morning of October 19. On their hats was the motto, "Liberty and Independence, or Death." They went to the house of Anthony Stewart, erected a rude gallows, and their leader. Dr. Charles A. Warfield, gave Mr. Stewart his choice, in these words: "You must either go with me and apply the torch to your own vessel, or hang before your own door." Stewart chose the former course and was forthwith marched down to Windmill Point, where THE COLONIES ALIENATED 111 he was compelled to set fire to the vessel loaded with the obnoxious tea. Thus North and South alike resisted the attempt of the British Parhament to tax the colonies. 124. The First Continental Congress. — During the sum- mer of 1773 Committees of Correspondence were appointed in all the colonies, so that whatever was going on in any colony became quickly known from New Hampshire to Georgia. Next, measures were taken to call a Continental Congress to consider what the colonies should do at this critical period. The first Continental Congress met in Carpenter's Hall, Phila- delphia, on the 5th of September, 1774. It was comjoosed of fifty-five delegates representing all the colonies except Georgia, who, on her part, promised to unite with the other colonies in the "effort to maintain their right to the British constitution." John Adams, in a letter written wliile the Congress was still in session, describing that body, called it "an assembly such as never before came together, on a sudden, in any part of the world." After a long and spirited discussion, Congress adopted a Declaration of Rights in which it declared that the colonies were "entitled to life, liberty, and property"; that their emi- gration from England did not take away from them Declaration their rights as Englishmen ; and that "they were en- of Rights, titled to a free and exclusive power of legislation" in re- gard to taxation and all internal matters. The Congress furthermore claimed that the acts of Parliament had violated the rights of the colonies and that harmony between England and America could be restored only by their repeal, and it agreed to stop all imports and exports from Great Britain. The members then adjourned until the following May when, it was hoped, an answer from the king would be received. All votes in this and the subsequent Congress were taken 112 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY by colonies, each colony having one vote. Doubtless this united action was of advantage in that it helped to bind the colonies together, but it was apparently without effect on the British government. 125. Who first foresaw Revolution. — As time went on, it began to dawn upon first one and then another that a revo- lution, calculated to bring about a complete separation from Great Britain, was inevitable. It is impossible now to sa} with certainty who first per- ceived that this revolution must come. The people were slow to consider seri- ously that thej^ nuist break from the mother country. They wanted to be loyal sub- jects of the king. James Otis, Sanuiel Adams, and Joseph Hawley in Massachu- setts, and Patrick Homy of Mrginia, were probably the first men to see clearly that there was no solution to the ])roblem but independence. Joseph Hawley wrote : "After all, we must fight." Wlien these words were read in the hearing of Patrick Henry, he exclaimed, "I am of that man's opinion." George Washington himself now reahzed that parchment measures would be useless.^ ' A pamphlet, written by Thomas Paine, called "Common Sense," was issued early in the year 1776 with the approval of Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Adams. It boldly asserted that the Americans ought to separate en- tirely from Great Britain, and set up a government of their own. This pro- duction was read everywhere. It is said that over 100.000 copies were sold. It did much to make the Revolution possible and to hasten its coming. Patrick Hexky THE COLONIES ALIENATED 113 126. Leslie at Salem. — General Gage was made governor of Massachusetts and was ordered to Boston with four regiments of British regulars to awe the people into submission. Early in 1775 Gage assumed the aggressive. He heard that powder and cannon were secreted at Salem, and sent Colonel Leslie with three hundred sol- diers to capture any mili- tary stores to be found there. On Sunday morn- ing, February 26, 1775, Leslie sailed out of Boston harbor and arrived at Marblehead about noon. The object of the expedi- tion was at once suspected by the patriots of Marble- head, and Major John Pedrick mounted his horse and rode to Salem to warn the people. Di- vine service was being held in the several churches, but when Major Pedrick announced the approach of the soldiers, the congregations were instantly dismissed. It had been reported to the English that Colonel David Mason was mounting beyond the North River some old can- non captured from the French in the recent war. Colonel Leslie, therefore, rapidly marched to the drawbridge over the river. On arriving at the bridge he found a large number of men already there and the draw raised. He ordered the draw down, but his command was defied. There was then A PowDEK House near Boston. Used by the colonists in 1775 and 1776. 114 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY danger of immediate conflict. Leslie threatened to fire. Colonel Timothy Pickering, who was in command of the Salem militia, warned him that if he opened fire not one of his men would leave town ahve. The delay had already given time to secrete the cannon, and Reverend Thomas Barnard, pastor of the North Church, succeeded in making a com- promise. The agreement was that the draw should be lowered and that Leslie be permitted to march his men thirty rods beyond the bridge, but only on his word of honor as a man and a soldier that he would then countermarch and return with his forces to Boston. This was done, and thus blood- shed was averted. Here at Salem, then, was the first armed The First resistance to British soldiers, and but for the tact Armed and skill of Mr. Barnard, here would probably have Resistance, {^(.^^n the first bloodshed of the Revolution, instead of a httle ]at(>r at Lexington. 127. Lexington and Concord. — Nevertheless Gage was determined that the people should not arm themselves nor secure ammunition. He sent his spies to neighboring towns, and through them he learned in April that the })atriots were al)out to remove some military stores from Concord to Groton. On the evening of April 18, eight hundred regulars, the pride of Gage's army, with great secrecy crossed the Charles River beyond the Common and took up their march for Con- cord. Their movement, however, became known to the patriots. The troops had scarcely passed Boston Common when William Dawes gallojied across the neck to Roxbury, and on through Brookhne, Brighton, and Watertown to Lex- ington; at the same time, Paul Revere, who was waiting for the signal with his horse ready saddled, started from Charles- town and took the northern road through Somerville and Medford to Lexington. Both men warned the inhabitants along the road, from farmhouse to farmhouse, that the THE COLONIES ALIENATED 115 regulars were coming. In the early morning of April 19, 1775, the British troops, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn, arrived at Lexington, . Lexington, about twelve miles irom Boston. Ihere they found a small company of minute-men and citizens, about seventy in all, a motley group, and perhaps forty spectators without arms. Major Pitcairn led the advance. He halted his troops at the Green, and riding around the meeting-house, with a drawn sword in one hand and a pistol in the other, he shouted, ''Dis- ^.L^Vytexingion Thk Campaign around Boston, 1775-76. perse, you rebels. Throw down your arms and dis- perse." No one obeyed. He then rode on a little farther, discharged his pistol, flour- ished his sword, and ordered his sol- diers to fire. Seven Americans were killed and eight wounded. The patriots scattered, but kept up an irregular firing. The British then pursued their way to Concord, a distance of six or eight miles. Here the people, having had full infor- mation of their approach, were found drawn up for defense. Observing that the regulars were too numerous, they retired across the bridge, and waited for reen- forcements. The soldiers proceeded to execute their commis- sion. They destroyed several cannon, carriages, wheels, and limbers. They threw five hundred pounds of ball into the river, and destroyed fifty or sixty barrels of flour. The militia, now being reenforced, advanced under the command of Major Buttrick. The British retired across the bridge, Concord. 116 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY and then fired upon the patriots. The fire was returned with such vigor that the regulars were forced to retreat, with a loss of several killed and wounded and some prisoners. 128. The Retreat to Boston. — They continued their re- treat to Lexington. There they were joined by Lord Percy with one thousand men and two cannon, but they made no further aggressive movements. The entire force returned The Ketueat of the British from Concord. to Boston without delay. They were fired upon from behind stone walls and fences, and were constantly harassed through the entire march. The loss of the British army during the day was, killed, wounded, and missing, two hundred and seventy-three; of the Americans, eighty-eight. Thus hostili- ties were commenced. The Revolution, which was to end in the independence of America, had begun. 129. Effect of the Battle upon the Country. — That had THE COLONIES ALIENATED 117 come which Patrick Henry predicted when he said: ''The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to om' ears the clash of resounding arms." The poet Emerson, years afterwards, sang the great significance of this "clash": — "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." It is indeed difficult to estimate the effect of this battle upon the people in all the colonies near and far. The news of it spread like wildfire. The entire American people, from New Hampshire to Georgia, were inflamed with enmity against England. Israel Putnam left his plow in the fur- universal row and hastened to Cambridge. Colonel Stark, Enmity from New Hampshire, brought his militia to Massa- against chusetts. A single month had not passed before twenty thousand men were encamped near Boston. At Savannah, Georgia, a band of men broke open the powder- house, captured the powder, and secreted it for future use. The patriots in New Jersey took possession of the treasury containing one hundred thousand dollars and appropriated it for the payment of troops. At Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, the people, on the 31st of May, made the first declaration of independence. Doings similar to these took place all over the thirteen colonies. 130. Reenforcements for the British Army. — On the 25th of May the Cerberus arrived at Boston bringing large reen- forcements, with Generals Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne, so that the entire British army in Boston numbered more than ten thousand men. The patriotic Provincial Congress of Massachusetts voted that "an army of thirty thousand men be raised immediately." In Rhode Island a brigade of three regiments, with a train of artillery, was placed under the 118 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY coininand of General Nathanael Greene. The army of twenty thousand men aromid Boston was set to work building en- trenelimcnts to shut up the British army in that city. 131. Battle of Bunker Hill. — The Massachusetts Com- mit t{H> of Safety undertook to raise defenses on Dorchester Heights on the south and on Bunker Hill on the north. Colonel Prescott was charged with fortifying Bunker Hill. On the night of June 16, 1775, with one thousand men, in the quiet of the midnight darkness, he marked out the entrenchments, and at dawn, June 17, a redoubt about eight rods scjuare had been thrown up. Directly opposite, in the channel, was anchored the British sliip Lively. When the captain of the Lively came on deck, just after daylight, he was surprised to find the newly made Yankee breastworks frowning down upon him from the sum- mit of the liill, and at once he ordered his men to open fire u])()n the fort. At almost the same time the British artillery on Copp's Hill began a discharge across the channel, and continued it during the entire forenoon. In the afternoon a strong British force of fully three thousand men was landed at the foot of the hill. Forming into two lines under com- mand of Generals Howe and Bigot, the men began their advance up the hill. The patriots were commanded by Colonel Prescott. Colonel Stark directed the New Hamp- Thr Vicinity of Boston. THE COLONIES ALIENATED 119 shire forces, and Captain Knowlton the company from Con- necticut. General Warren, General Pomeroy, and General Putnam were all on the field, helping and encouraging wher- ever needed. The Americans reserved their ammunition until the regulars were close at hand. Then the order to fire was given, and they poured forth their shot with such sure and successful aim upon the British infantry that they mowed them down in ranks. The advancing column broke and fled. Once more, rallied by their of- ficers, the army steadily moved forward to the assault. Again it was driven back by the same miu'derous fire. Then General Clinton arrived with reenforce- ments, and for the third time the British regulars marched up the hill against this Yankee force of Retreat undisciplined yeomen, of the The Americans had ex- Amencans. hausted their ammuni- tion and were obhged to retreat. They retired in good order across Charlestown Neck to Prospect Hill. Here they fortified themselves. The British, on their part, wantonly burned Charlestown, destroying three hundred houses and two hundred other buildings. The British lost over a thousand men and the Americans less than half that number. The patriots, however, were greatly saddened by the death of General Joseph Losses in Warren, who was shot in the head and killed in- the Battle, stantly. Among the losses on the British side was Major Pitcairn, who had led the regulars at Lexington. In the Colonel William Prescott. From the statue on Bunker Hill. 120 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY decisive battle of Quebec, which practically closed the French and Indian War, not so many British officers were killed as in this little skirmish with the farmers of New England. 132. Results of the Battle. — Thus four thousand trained and disciplined British regulars, after being twice repulsed by less than fifteen hundred raw militia, had succeeded in cap- turing a slightly fortified redoubt only because the ammu- nition of the defenders had been exhausted. The English government and people now had a clearer idea of the great- ness of the task which they had undertaken. General Gage at once saw that it would be difficult to subdue the Americans. He wrote to Lord Dartmouth: "The rebels are not the despicable rabble whom many have supposed them to be. Tlie conquest of this country is not easy." The colonies, on their part, encouraged l)y their success, were inspired with fresh zeal to carry forward the contest. General Ward, in an order to the troops, said, ''We shall finally come off victorious, and triumph over the enemies of freedom and America."^ Dr. Frankhn wrote to his English friends, "The Americans will fight, and England has lost her colonies forever." ^ 1 Not long since a gentleman from Boston visiting in Quebec was shown a small cannon, and was told, "We captured this from you at Bunker Hill." "All right," replied the Anierican, "you have the cannon, but we have the hill." 2 General Howe's order to bum Charlestown aroused the indignation of Dr. Franklin. In London Franklin had made the acquaintance of a very intelligent gentleman, Mr. William Strahan, like himself a printer, and in 1775 a member of Parliament. Between the two men a strong friendship had ari.sen. Soon after the battle of Bunker Hill, Franklin wrote Strahan a letter which has become famous. Indignant as Franklin was at the conduct of General Howe in Ijurning the town, yet, after the war was over and peace had been declared between the two countries, Frank- lin renewed his acquaintance with Mr. Strahan, and they enjoyed a friendly confidence till death interrupted it. A copy of this letter was procured from Strahan soon after it was received and was printed in the English newspapers. THE COLONIES ALIENATED 121 ^y^tyUA-a^^^rt- ■t^^*.^^3'^t^e^ ^^at>^?iX7> ^'^t'^^f^'-turZ'^?-'^ ~Z<> '■^^ -^ — ^ a' ^t^Cr^A^ ■^5'*- y' <^Le— Franklin's Letter to Mr. Strahan. 133. Washington, Commander-in-Chief. — Meanwhile the Second Continental Congress had met in Philadelphia. It voted to raise an army of twenty thousand men and to issue bills of credit to the amount of three million dollars. Massa- chusetts requested Congress to organize a Continental Army, 122 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY and John Adams suggested George Washington as com- mander-in-chief. Accordingly, Washington was chosen by ballot on the 15th of June, 1775, and commissioned in the name of the United Colonies. As the main army was centered around Boston, Washington went there. He arrived at Cambridge on the 2d of July, and on the very next day, "at about nine o'clock in the morning, Washington, with several of the general officers, went on foot (not mounted, as often rep- resented) to the elm still standing by the edge of Cambridge Common. There he said a few words to the assembled troops, and drawing his sword took command of the Continental Army," ^ a little band of strag- gling farmers, dressed in homesj^un of varied col- ors and texture. Cheers and shouts immediately followed, and the boom- ing of cannon told the story to the enemy in Boston. Washington, tall, strong, and well jiroiwrtioned, was at the time forty- three years of age. "He wore a blue l^roadcloth coat, buff smallclothes, silk stockings, and cocked hat." 134. The British Army leaves Boston. — In March, 1776, Washington fortified Dorchester Heights by night. The 1 Quoted from Henry Cabot Lodge. l-'rimi the paiiitiiv^ liy KacJ. General Washington in Command. THE COLONIES ALIENATED 123 astonishment of Lord Howe can only be imagined when in the morning he beheld these new entrenchments overlooking Boston and threatening his forces. He then remembered too late that he had been advised by General CUnton to pos- sess and fortify this commanding position, and was bitterly mindful of the fact that once before, at Bunker Hill, the Americans had stolen a march upon him. On that occasion he had promptly attacked the new fortifications, but now he dared not risk an advance. He instead decided to leave the city. On the 17th of March, 1776, his army, his fleet, and many loyalists sailed away for Halifax, and the American troops, marching from Roxbury, or crossing the Charles River from Cambridge, entered Boston. The British in their haste had left several hundred cannon, many horses, bedding, and soldiers' clothing, and thousands of bushels of wheat, bar- ley, and oats. 135. Trend towards Independence. — Early in 1776 a growing sentiment of independence was manifest throughout the colonies. In South Carohna, on the 23d of April, the chief justice charged the Grand Jury in Au"hodtv these words: "The law of the land authorizes me denied in to declare, — and it is my duty to declare the law. South — that George the Third, King of Great Britain, ^^''°^^°^- has abdicated the government, that he has no authority over us and we owe no obedience to him." Rhode Island passed an act. May 4, actually declaring herself independent of Great Britain. This act provided that all commissions for oflficers and all writs and pro- j.. , cesses in law should be made out in the name and island's Act by the authority of "the Governor and the Com- of inde- pany of the Enghsh Colony of Rhode Island and P^""^^""' Providence Plantations. . . . That the Courts of Law be no longer entitled nor considered as the King's Courts, and that 124 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY no instrument in writing , . . shall mention the year of the said King's reign." It was furthermore enacted that the time-honored words, "God save the King," be changed to the expression, "God save the United Colonies." On the 6th of May the House of Burgesses in Virginia, in ses- sion at Williamsburg, voted that inasmuch as "the an- cient constitution had been subverted by the virginialn- King and Parliament dependent of Great Britain, the o^ the TT !• King. Jiouse now dis- solve." In this dissolution of the Virginia House the last vestige of the king's authority passed away from that colony. A few days before, Joseph Hawley of Massachusetts wrote: "For God's sake let there be a full revolution. Independence and a well-planned Continental Government will save us." King George III. SUMMARY The colonists had continued in their loyalty to England, though Parliament had frequently angered them by passing laws that restricted their commerce and manufactures. The French and Indian wars had left England with a great debt on her hands. In order to raise money to pay this debt. Parlia- ment determined to tax the colonies and passed the Stamp Act. The colonies claimed that this was unlawful since they were not represented in Parliament. The Stamp Act was shortly repealed, but a tax on tea and other articles was then levied. The colonies refused to use the tea, and when the shipmasters would not return it to England they destroyed it. A Continental Congress framed THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1776-1777) 125 a declaration of rights and sent a petition to the king. Many- Americans were beginning to think that a separation between the colonies and Great Britain was the only means of outcome from their difficulties. General Gage sent a detachment of troops to Salem to seize some cannon. The expedition was unsuccessful and returned to Boston without bloodshed. Then Gage sent a force to Lexington and Concord and the Revolution began. A colonial army was collected and the battle of Bunker Hill was fought. In the meanwhile the Continental Congress ap- pointed as commander-in-chief of the American forces George Washington, who fortified Dorchester Heights. The British army, seeing his strong position, evacuated Boston. CHAPTER XI THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1776-1777) 136. Independence Declared. — Up to this time the col- onists had been contending for a redress of grievances, but had failed. They would have preferred to remain loyal sub- jects, could they have done so and retained their rights. But despairing of justice from the king and Parliament, they saw no way of defending their liberties but to establish a new and independent government. Early in June, 1776, Richard ^Henry Lee, in accordance with instructions from the Virginia Convention, introduced into the Continental Congress a resolution that Resolutions "these LTnited Colonies are, and of right ought to forinde- be, free and independent States; and that all politi- pendence. cal connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." The resolution was adopted June 11, and two committees were appointed, one to prepare a Declaration of Independence, and the other to prepare Articles of Confederation. The committee on the 126 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Declaration consisted of Thomas Jefferson of Mrginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Frankhn of Penn- sylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, and Robert R. Livingston of New York. The document was drawn up by Jef- ferson, and re- vised with merely a few changes by Adams and Frankhn. The committee sub- mitted its report on the 28th of June, and it was thereupon agreed that final action should he taken on the first day of July. On that day the resolu- tion was dis- cussed in the committee of the mm ' JMr^'^xM&M fWllf " *jE^^ftj^^^^^^^H ^B^^^HMS ^ ^«lS^ jflH^^^^^v M^^^^l ^^^HHHBfr^^fl 1 SSI^BS^^I^Tl^^^^^H ■HK! 1— ^- .^r^---5^'>'^JB Jeffekson Reading to the Committee the Fikst Dkaft of the DeclXkation. whole; Jolm Adams made a strong argument in its favor, and John Dickinson of Pennsylvania spoke in opposition, claim- ing that the measure was premature. Two thirds of the colonies, represented in the committee of the whole, voted for the resolution, and final action was deferred till the next day, July 2. The declaration closed with the words: "And for the sup- port of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protec- THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1776-1777) 127 The Vote for the "Decla- ration." tion of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." It was solemnly understood by the framers that if this resolution was adopted, " to secede would be infamy, and to persist might be destruction." The mo- ment was critical and of vast importance. New York was unable to vote, but, on the fourth of July, 1776, twelve colonies, without a dissension, adopted and agreed to su})- port the "Declaration of the Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. ' ' After the vote, some one remarked, "Well, now we must all hang to- gether," to which Dr. Frank- lin ironically replied, "Yes, or we shall all hang separately." The declaration was signed by the president and secretary of the Congress and was then given to the world. i 137. The Declaration Proclaimed. — The bell which later > An interesting incident is told by Dr. Prime, the biographer, of Pro- fessor Samuel F. B. Morse, the inventor of the electric telegraph. Dr. Prime says that Mr. Morse was in the studio of the celebrated painter, Benjamin West, in London, and was examining a portrait, when West told him that it was a portrait of King George III. "Did the king sit here for it?" asked Morse. The painter answered him in the affirmative and said: "One day the king was sitting to me for that portrait when a box containing the American Declaration of Independence was handed to him." "Indeed?" said Morse, "and what appeared to be the emo- tions of the king? What did he say?" "Well, sir," answered Mr. West, "he made a reply characteristic of the goodness of his heart. He said. The Liberty Bell. 128 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY rang out the news to the people, and which is still preserved The Liberty in the same building where the Declaration of In- Beii. dependence was adopted, bears at its base in raised letters these words, ''Proclaim hberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." It w^as secreted during the war while the British army held Philadelphia, and was afterwards restored to its place. There it has remained for more than a century, except when exhibited elsewhere on special occasions.^ 138. The United States of America. — Thenceforth the thirteen British colonies w^ere colonies no longer. Instead they were the United States of America. The internal affairs of each of the states w^re to be controlled by the states themselves, each attending to its own affairs only, while all foreign matters relating to various nations, and internal affairs of common interest were to be in the hands of a federal con- gress, composed of representatives from every state. 139. New York the First Strategic Point. — The war was now l^etwecn the powerful nation of Great Britain and a young repubhc. The royal troops had left Boston. It next became their plan to seize upon the most important strategic point, which manifestly was the mouth of the Hudson River. By controlling the Hudson and separating New England from the other colonies, they could seriously weaken the chances of American success. They believed that once in possession of New York they could attack Boston or Philadelphia with hope of success. 'Well, if they can be happier under the government they have chosen than under mine, I shall be happy.' " ' It was loaned by the state of Pennsylvania to the New Orleans Cotton Exposition in 1S84; to the Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893; to the Atlantic Exposition in 1895; to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1902; to Boston in 1903; and to St. Louis in 1904. At all times the bell has been carefully guarded and promptly returned to its home. THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1776-1777) 129 To accomplish this purpose, General Howe from Halifax, Admiral Howe from England, and General CHnton from the South brought their united armies to the mouth of the Hudson. 140. The British Plan Forestalled by Washington. — Gen- eral Washington had, however, anticipated their designs. As soon as the British army left Boston he began to prepare New York for defense. He ordered that vessels be sunk in the channel near the mouth of the river, and that as the enemy's ships attempted an entrance, a cross-fire from Fort Washing- ton on the New York side and Fort Lee on the Jersey shore be directed upon them. On the hills of Broolclyn General Greene planted cannon and raised fortifications to prevent the British ships from passing up the Hudson. The British thus opposed, finding that they could not sail their ships up the Hudson River, finally landed an army, thirty thousand strong, on the southwest corner of Long Island. The patriot army was scarcely half the -pj^g -jwo fiize and was divided, a part in Brooklyn under Armies General Greene and the rest along the Hudson in Unevenly New York. Furthermore, it should be reflected that W-ashington's army was composed of raw recruits, while the British army, under the command of experi- enced officers, was made up of professional soldiers from Europe. 141. The Battle of Long Island. — The British generals resolved to attack the Americans on the heights of Brooklyn. If they could capture General Greene's command and turn their cannon upon New York, they believed they could drive Washington out of the city. General Greene was ill, and the command fell upon General Putnam. Before Gen- eral Putnam could be reached, however, the British had first to meet four thousand men, under General Sullivan, who 130 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY General Sullivan Taken Prisoner. guarded the approaches to the Brooklyn fortifications. As the EngUsh force advanced, General Sulhvan marched out and gave Ijattle. The British, by their .sui)eri()r numbers, were able to surround the patriots, and captured more than a thousand prisoners, includ- ing General Sullivan. Colonel Smallwood's regi- ment from Maryland distinguished itself in several brave charges. The men were struck down in heaps, l)ut they held the English army in check and helped the retreat of the Americans which followed. This was on August 27, 1776. The British officers confidently expected to make an easy capture the next day of General Put- nam and his army on Brooklyn Heights. Wash- ington saw the danger and he also saw his' oppor- tunity. That night a dense fog came up on r^^^ the Island, while Americans it i-emained clear retreat in on the New York CiKN'KKAL IsHAlCL Pl'TNAM. a Fog. side. In the darkness of the niglit he directed the retreat of the entire force by boats fiom Brooklyn across the river to New York. In the morning Ilowe found only the ''nest of rebels" on the heights of Brooklyn; the birds had flown. Before the last boat-loads had landed on the New York side, the fog cleared off and the British could be distinctly seen THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1776-1777) 131 taking possession of the American works. This skillful re- treat, almost in the presence of the enemy yet concealed from them, was a brilliant military achievement.^ 142. Operations at New York and Vicinity. — Howe tried for the next two months to draw the American army into a disadvantageous engagement. But he found Washington wily and tactful. The English general moved his army across from Long Island to Manhattan Island, and attempted to turn Washington's left flank. Thereupon Washington extended his lines to White Plains. Here, on the 28th of October, a battle occurred between a part of the American army and a portion of the British troops. The Americans in consequence fell back and took up a strong position at North Castle. Howe deemed it best not to attack. Wash- ington left General Charles Lee in command at North Castle, and made his headquarters at Fort Lee, in New Jersey. General Howe (November IG) attacked Fort Washington, and after a stubborn resistance captured the fort. Capture of The British lost one thousand men in the engage- FortWash- ment, but they secured nearly three thousand "'gton, prisoners. This affair at Fort Washington was a most dis- heartening blow to our little army and would have discouraged a commander less brave and resourceful than Washington. The fort had been garrisoned, by order of Congress, contrary to the judgment of Washington. 143. Lee's Disobedience. — Washington was now on the Jersey side of the Hudson with about seven thousand troops, > It is related that when the Americans began the movement across the East River to Manhattan, a Tory's wife sent her slave to notify the British. He was arrested by a Hessian sentinel, who could not under- stand a word of English, and kept in the guard-house until morning. Then he was examined by a British officer who, on hearing his story, at once dispatched a few of the guard to learn the facts. The last boats of the Americans were just gaining the New York shor«. 132 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY and General Charles Lee was in command of about as many at North Castle, on tlie east side of the river.^ Washington saw that Howe was planning an expedition against Philadelphia, and he determined to direct his march through New Jersey and inter- cept the enemy. He ordered Lee to cross the river with his full force and join him, Lee crossed to Morristown and halted. He was cap- tured there, in the night, at a tavern outside of his army lines, and taken to New York. It was afterwards learned The Campaigns in New York and New Jersey. that he gave to General Howe important information as to Washington and the American army. Sullivan was placed in 1 Charles Lee was a British adventurer. He had lieen in the British army, but had come to America and entered Washington's command. He had obtained the rank of major-general. While serving under Wash- ington he wrote letters lull of prejudice against him. He was in no way connected with the'Lees of Virgmia. THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1776-1777) 133 command of Lee's forces, and he promptly- marched onward and joined Washington. He arrived none too soon. 144. Washington crosses the Delaware. — The moment had come for Washington to make a bold stroke. On Christ- mas night, 1776, with about twenty-five hundred men, he crossed the Delaware, which was full of floating ice. Gen- eral Rodney wrote, it was "as severe a night as I ever saw. The frost was sharp, the current difficult to stem, the ice increasing, the wind high, and at eleven it began to snow." Undaunted by these obstacles, the httle force gained the farther bank, and at four o'clock in the morning, in a fierce snowstorm, started on their nine miles' march to meet the enemy at Trenton. The British force was com- posed of Hessian 1 troops, who felt themselves secure. The surprise of these Hessians was complete. The engagement was short and sharp, and the result, victory for the patriots. The American loss was two killed and three wounded. The Hessian loss was forty killed and wounded, and one thousand prisoners. On the night of the 26th the American army with its prisoners, arms, and ammunition recrossed the Dela- ware into Pennsylvania. 145. The Battle of Princeton. — With this turn of affairs Washington's army forgot its discouragements. Great joy was felt throughout the country. Even the faint-hearted took courage. The British, on their part, were bitterly depressed. For a» few days Washington remained inactive and rested his men. Then on New Year's day he again •King George was unable to get enough English soldiers to put down the rebellion in the colonies. He therefore hired troops from a number of the German princes. As most of them came from Hesse-Cassel, they were generally called Hessians. The king made a great mistake in hiring these mercenaries. Many thousands of the colonists who had previously been lukewarm in supporting the demand for independence now openly fa- vored it. 134 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY crossed the Delaware and took up his position at Trenton with a force of five thousand men. The very next day Lord Corn- walUs appeared. The EngUsh general thought that he had Washington and his army "bottled up" between Trenton and the river. The Delaware was so full of ice, he argued, that the Americans could not possibly cross it. He was con- fident that the next day would bring him success and dehver Washington and his entire army into his hands. He was to "bag the old fox" this time without doubt. During the night Washington quietly moved his army around the enemy's flank and took up a strong position at Princeton. Here he suddenly attacked the British force. The action was short but decisive, and resulted in another victgry for the Americans.^ The "old fox" had outwitted Cornwallis. 146. Winter Quarters. — Washington now moved his army to the outlying hills of Morristown, where it went into winter quarters. During the next few months he sent out several expeditions, and soon recovered the greater part of New Jersey, which had so lately been overrun by the British and Hessians. By this thne many of the terms of enlistment had actually expired, and the condition of the army was almost desperate. Congress was powerless to raise money. A few wealthy KoBKRT Morris ' Frederick the Great of Prussia, one of the most skillful generals of modern times, is said to have pronounced Washington's operations, in the three weeks ending with Princeton, "the most brilliant in military history." THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1776-1777) 135 persons, however, contributed liberally.^ Thus the soldiers were paid and many of them re-enhsted. Before spring (1777) the American army was larger than ever before, condition stronger, more hopeful, and under a better state of the of discipline. Meanwhile the Continental Congress ■^'^^y- passed a very important act, giving full military power to General Washington. This, with other circumstances, strength- ened the cause of the United States and gave confidence to Washington and the army. 147. Help from Europe. — The next summer the Marquis de Lafayette came over from Paris and offered his services to General Washington. Congress made him major-general, and Washington at- tached him to the staff. De Kalb, a German soldier. Baron Steuben, ^ a Prussian military engineer, and Kosciusko and Pulaski, two Polish patriots, joined our army that same year. All these volunteers from Europe rendered great service. 148. Capture of General Pres- cott. — The conmianding officer of the British forces in Rhode Marquis de Lafayette. 1 Washington wrote an urgent letter to Robert Morris, who was a mem- ber of the Committee of Ways and Means in Congress. In one day Morris raised $50,000 and sent it to Washington. Shortly afterwards Morris was made Superintendent of Finance. He had a genius for raising money, and often borrowed large sums on his own personal account. His generous and efficient aid helped greatly towards the success of the Revolution. -Baron Steul^en drilled the army at Valley Forge and brought it to a high state of discipline and military tactics; De Kalb was made major- general, and was killed at the battle of Camden; Pulaski fell, gallantly fighting, before Savannah; Kosciusko ( kos-si-us'ko) was a noted engineer and erected the military works at West Point. After the war he returned to die fighting for freedom in his native land. 136 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Island was General Prescott. He had his headquarters at a farmhouse four miles north of Newport in the town of Ports- mouth. On the night of July 20, 1777, Colonel William Barton, with six trusty officers and thirty-four men, rowed across Narragansett Bay, anchored their boats, and stole silently through the fields to the house, nearly a mile from the shore; they surrounded it, captured the guard, and burst open the doors. They took the general and his aid. Major William Barrington, and hurried them half-dressed to the boats, and rowing past the stern of the British guard-ship returned to Warwick, on the west side of the bay. Soon afterwards, Prescott was exchanged for General Charles Lee, who had been captured seven months before.^ 149. Howe sails for Philadelphia. — During the summer of 1777, Howe held his army in New York and its vicinity, trying to entrap Washington into a hazardous position. But the American general was as wary and alert as ever Fabius was.^ 1 The two following anecdotes are told of this capture: .After entering the house, Colonel Barton found the general's bedroom door locked. A negro named Jack Sisson, in the service of the Americans, stepped back some distance, and bending down ran forward, breaking in the door with his head. After reaching the boat and rowing away, General Prescott remarked to Colonel Barton, "You have made a bold push to-night. Colonel." "We have done what we could, General," was the reply. 2 The Fabius here referred to was a great Roman general who lived two hundred years before Christ. He was named Quintius Fabius Maxi- mus Verrucosus, Cunctator. " Maximus" is the Latin word for "greatest" and "Cunctator" means "the delayer," and refers to his abihty to avoid an engagement when the chances were not good. Faljius commanded the Roman army against the Carthaginians under Hannibal in the second Punic War. "Hanging on the heights like a thundercloud, to which Hannibal compared him, and avoiding a direct engagement, he tantalized the. enemy with his caution, harassed them by marches and counter- marches, and cut off their stragglers and foragers, while at the same time his delay allowed Rome to assemble her forces in greater strength." — International Encyclopedia. THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1776-1777) 137 Howe then attempted a march across New Jersey to attack Philadelphia, but Washington managed to worry him and to delay his movements to such an extent that Howe was forced to return with his army to New York. There he met the fleet under the command of his brother, Lord Howe, and embarked with eighteen thou- sand men. Finding the Delaware River obstructed, he sailed around through Chesapeake Bay and landed his force at Elkton, about fifty miles from Philadel- phia. Washington marched overland to oppose him. Though the American general had only a force of about eleven thou- sand men, he was de- termined to risk a battle for the defense of Philadelphia. 150. Battle of the Brand)rwine. — Wash- The Campaigns in the Middle States. ington took up his position on the east side of the Brandy- wine near Chadd's Ford. Immediately the British attacked. A part of Howe's army under the command of Knyphausen 138 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY (knip'hou-zen), a Hessian general, engaged the Americans di- rectly in front, while Howe, with a large force, went farther up the river, crossed at Jeffrey's Ford, and turned the right flank of the American army. The patriots were routed, Lafayette was wounded, and Washington was forced to retreat to Phila- delphia. His army was not large enough to resist success- fully the advance of General Howe, and late in Septem})cr the The Attack on the Chew House at CiEUMANTOWN. British entered the city. A portion of the force, under Corn- British wallis, occupied Philadelphia, and a large body under inPhiladel- General Howe encamped at German town. Washing- P^^^- ton occupied a position farther up the Schuylkill. 151. The Battle of Germantown. — Having received reen- forcemcnts from Maryland and from New York, Washington decided to give battle. On October 4 he attacked the British at Germantown. His plan was well laid, and at the THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1776-1777) 139 outset the Americans were successful. General Greene routed the British right wing. Six companies of regulars, however, occupying a stone house (the property of the Chews, a well- known Philadelphia family) poured forth such a deadly fire of musketry upon the Americans that they were unable to advance. The delay at the Chew house was such that Greene's success could not be followed up. Added to this, a dense fog set in. Then, finally, additional British troops came up and the Americans were obliged to retire. 152. Burgoyne's Famous Expedition. — General Howe, by establishing his base of operations at New York, had not succeeded in cutting off New England from the other states. Therefore, a new plan, with this same end in view, was adopted. General Burgoyne (bur- goin'), with a force of about eight thousand men, received positive orders from London to march from Canada, by way of Lake Chami)lain, to Albany, where General Howe from New York was to join him. Thus, by combined action, it was arranged that Burgoyne and Howe should separate New England from New York. Burgoyne, however, was opposed by General Schuyler, who broke down bridges, felled trees across the roads, and did everything possible to harass the enemy and hinder his advance. Never- theless, Burgoyne captured Ticonderoga and pushed his army southward. Colonel Baum with one thousand men was totally defeated by the patriots under General John Stark Arnold's at Bennington. A British force sent up the Mohawk Stratagem. Valley was routed through stratagem by General Arnold. A half-witted Tory boy named Yan Yost Cuyler was held by General Burgoyne. 140 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Arnold under arrest. Arnold told him that he would give him his freedom if he would make the enemy believe that a large body of Americans was close at hand, ready to capture the whole British army. The boy played this part with absolute success. He rushed into the British camp, breathless and greatly excited, his coat full of bullet holes, and told them that an American army of countless numbers, heavily armed, was right upon them, and that in a few minutes they would all be cut to pieces. A panic ensued and the British were soon in full flight. 153. Battle of Freeman's Farm. — Burg03me moved his army across the Hudson and (September 19) met the American force at Freeman's Farm, below Saratoga. An obstinate contest ensued. Both armies fought with skill and tact, and both exhibited the most heroic bravery. The battle, however, was indecisive. This encounter is known as the first battle of Stillwater. 154. Battle of Bemis's Heights. — Two weeks of constant watching followed. Then occurred the battle of Bemis's Heights (October 7), sometimes called the second battle of Stillwater. This resulted in victory for the Americans. The patriot army had l^een put under the command of General Gates, but these two battles were fought by Gen- eral Schuyler and General Arnold. In the engagement of Bemis's Heights the latter officer, who had displayed great skill and bravery, was severely wounded. 155. The Surrender of Burgoyne. — Burgoyne was sur- rounded, liis retreat cut off, and on the 17th of October, 1777, he surrendered his entire command.^ His army had been ' General Clinton had sent a messenger to Burgoyne with a letter written on very thin paper and put inside of a silver bullet. The messenger was captured at Kingston. He swallowed the bullet, but it was recovered by an emetic. The messenger was hanged and Burgoyne did not get his word from Clinton. THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1776-1777) 141 reduced in various ways. Many had returned to Canada; the Indians and some Canadians and Hessians had deserted. The number surrendered was 5,791 men. This victory was of immense vakie to the American cause. The plan for the campaign had been formed in London, and it was there confidently beUeved that in a few Results months Washington's httle army would be ef- of the fectually crushed and the conquest of the rebel Campaign, colonies finished. The entire failure of this well planned and Winter at Valley Forge. important campaign created a strong reaction in England in favor of these same rebel colonies. Moreover, on the side of the Americans themselves, a new impetus was given to en- listments, and the thin ranks of the American army began rapidly to fill. 156. Winter at Valley Forge. — The British, under Gen- eral Howe, went into winter quarters in Philadelphia, where they lived in ease and luxury. Washington selected as the place for his winter camp Valley Forge, a little village in 142 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Chester County. His headquarters were in a stone house owned by Mr. Isaac Potts,^ Here the soldiers built their huts, cooked their food, and had daily drills. They endured most extreme hardships. The winter was unusually severe. The soldiers were ill fed, half clothed, and unpaid. Many went practically barefoot. Sometimes they left bloody tracks in the snow. The story of that winter at Valley Forge, in the " wilderness of America," is an "epic of slow suffering, silently borne, of patient heroism." ^ 157. "The Conway Cabal." — And as though Washington had not enough l)urdcns to bear, he was obliged to endure the indignity of slander. A plot, or rather a conspiracy, was planned to remove him and put Gates in his place. This was known as the Conway Cabal. General Gates, a weak and ambitious man, and Conway, an iuiprincii)led Irish ad- venturer, laid the plan, consulted together, and influenced many members of Congress to its ado{)tion. However, their scheme was exposed, Washington was vindicated, Conway resigned, and Gates was sent to his command in the North. Washington's reputation was thereby rendered greater than befoi'e. Then, as always, the army was loyal to him. 158. Negotiations with France. — The defeat of Burgoyne's army convinced the French that our chances of success were not small. They saw that the Americans, with their small undisciplined army, scattered over a large territory, had shown themselves able to capture Burgoyne's disciplined regulars. The king of England had hired mercenary soldiers from Germany. Wliy should not France not only recognize the young republic, but also render her efficient aid? Accord- ingly, "France cast her sword into the scale against Eng- land." The king of France said that he would not merely > The house is still standing, and is used as a Revolutionary Museum. - "Story of the Revolution," l)y Henry Cabot Lodge. THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1778-1781) 143 acknowledge the independence of America, but tliat he would aid her to gain it. SUMMARY At first the colonies fought for a redress of grievances. But when England would not change her policy, they determined to declare themselves independent. A formal Declaration of Independence was framed and given to the world. The war was then pushed vigorously forward. General Howe arrived in New York, and the battles of Long Island and White Plains followed. Howe then planned an expedition across New Jersey to Philadelphia, but was held back by Washington's skillfully arranged battles at Trenton and Princeton. The next summer Howe sailed round by sea to Philadelphia, was met by Wash- ington at the Brandywine and later at Gcrmantown, and finally entered and occupied the city. Meanwhile General Burgoyne was sent from Canada down the valley of the Hudson with instructions to separate New England from the rest of the colonies. He was attacked by the patriot troops at Freeman's Farm and at Bemis's Heights, and finally was obliged to surrender. The result of this expe- dition raised the spirits of the colonies and impressed the European nations. France not only acknowledged the inde- pendence of America, but determined to aid her. CHAPTER XII THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1778-1781) 159. Treaty with France. — The bright month of May had come. The buds were bursting on the trees of the Valley Forge forests. The breath of spring was bringing new life to all nature. Quite in accord with this hope-giving season came the French frigate, La Sensible, with news of the 144 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY treaty, and cast anchor in the harbor at Portland, Maine, Lafayette, at the same time, received letters from Paris. He at once sought Washington and with tears of joy exclaimed, "Your Excellency, I bring you glad tidings. The king, my master, has acknowledged the independence of America and will sign a treaty to help you." On the morning of the 7th of May, at nine o'clock, the American army at Valley Forge assembled on parade. Then "the treaty of aUiance was read and in solemn silence the army united in thanksgiving to Almighty God that He had given them one friend on earth. Huzzas for the king of France, for Washington and the Republic, \vith caps tossed high in air, and a rattling fire throughout the whole Hne, ter- minated the humble pageant." ^ This "treaty of amity and commerce," in which Louis XVI acknowledged the independence of the United States and pledged his assistance, was the first recognition by any foreign power of our independence, and the first treaty between the United States and any European nation. It was signed, on the part of the United States, by Benjamin Frankhn, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee. It was dated February 6, 1778. The A fleet had been sent out from France in April, French 1778, under connnand of Count D'Estaing (das'- ^^^^*- tan'), to blockade the British fleet in the Dela- ware and thus to cooperate with Washington, who would direct his forces against the enemy by land. i6o. The British leave Philadelphia. — On the resignation of Sir William Howe, wlio had been commander-in-chief of the British forces, Sir Henry Clinton was placed in connnand. Not deeming it prudent to remain in Philadelphia till D'Estaing sailed with his fleet into Delaware Bay, Chnton evacuated the city and retreated across New Jersey with his 1 Carrington's "Battles of the Revohition." THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1778-1781) 145 army. His stores and baggage were sent to New York by fleet. i6i. The Battle of Monmouth. — As the season advanced, Washmgton moved his forces across New Jersey, in pursuit of Chnton. The purpose of the British general was to trans- fer his army safely to New York, and to avoid a battle. On the other hand, it was the design of Washington to attack the enemy as soon as they could be overtaken. The British army numbered about fifteen thousand men; Washington had nearly the same number. Lafayette, in command of the advance troops, overtook the British on the 28th of June at Monmouth, now Freehold. General Charles Lee begged him "for his honor's sake" to yield to him the command. Lafayette reluctantly consented. In the course of the battle, apparently without cause Lee ordered a retreat. Migbe- Soon a panic arose among the troops. For- havior of tunately, at this crisis, Washington came riding ^®®- up. At once he re-formed the retreating ranks, brought order out of chaos, and intelligently directed a quick advance. He seized defensive positions, and so restored the confidence of the troops that by evening the American army occupied a strong advance line.* That night Clinton withdrew his forces, hastened to Sandy Hook, and thence to New York. Washington took up his position at White Plains, where he could watch the British commander. There he remained ' When Lee came into Washington's presence, the commander-in-chief, rising in his stirrups and towering over the cringing officer, demanded in the most decided manner "an explanation of the retreat." It has been frequently said that Washington, contrary to his usual custom, indulged in profane language upon this occasion, but the best testimony entirely disproves this charge. Lee tried to excuse himself but failed. He was court-martialed and found guilty of "disobedience of orders in not attacking the enemy, misbehavior before the enemy, and disrespect to the commander-in-chief." He was suspended for twelve months. He resigned and never returned to the army. 146 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY with his army till he went into winter quarters in New Jersey.* 162. The Settlement of Kentucky. — A few years before the opening of the Revolution, a small company of hardy hunters from North Carolina had pushed their way over the mountains into the fertile fields of Kentucky. A fort was built at Harrodsburg in 1774, and soon afterwards another was erected at Boonesborough, named for the famous i)ioneer, A Settler's Home in Kentuckv. Daniel Boone. Kentucky had been a blooth"^ battleground between Indian tribes. So much blood had been shed that it was called the "dark and bloody ground." The red men were very loath to share it with the white settlers, and it is marvelous that any pioneers dared to remain there. Yet not only did these first ones remain, but others followed. Their numbers constantly increased and new clearings had to be made in the Kentucky wilderness. 1 A beautiful monument was erected some years ago to commemorate the battle of Monmouth. It stands on the pul)lic Sfjuare, or triangle, in the town of Freehold, not far from Monmouth Court House. THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1778-1781) 147 After the beginning of the war, the dangers and hard- ships there became more numerous. The British Indian governor of Canada offered rewards to the Indians Raids, for American scalps, and a settler could not venture outside the walls of the forts without running the risk of a shot from some skulking red man. The Indians had their head- quarters at Kaskaskia, Vincennes, and other of the old French settlements north of the Ohio, now in the possession of the English, and from these villages they obtained their supplies and ammunition. 163. George Rogers Clark. — All the territory south of the Great Lakes and between the . Allegheny Mountains and tl>€ Mississippi had been occupied by the French, but it had also been included in the grants to several English colo- nies. In 1774, the British Par- liament, in an act called "The Quebec Act," made the terri- tory northwest of the Ohio River a part of the Canadian domain. Had it not been for one man, possibly we might not have secured this region by the treaty of peace at the close of the Revolutionary War. That man was George Rogers Clark, a native of Virginia. In the year 1778, when he was twenty-five years of age, having made an explor- ing tour into Kentucky, he returned on foot to Virginia, to obtain aid from the governor for the western frontier. The next year he conducted an expedition against the old French settlenients in the Illinois country. So secretly George Rogers Clark. 148 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY had his plans been made that his arrival at Kaskaskia was Kaskaskia a complete surprise. He captured the place with- Captured. out a battle, and secured not only the British governor but also the writ which the governor had received from Canada instructing him to mcite the Indians against Kentucky. 164. The Capture of Vincennes. — The governor of Vin- cennes, General Hamilton, was stationed at that post with a large force. Colonel Clark, with one hundred and thirty men, set out from Kaskaskia for Vincennes in February, 1779. It was a long journey, beset with difficulties which most men would liave found insurmountable. The march lay across a country flooded by the melting snows and without bridges or roads. Often the men waded through water up to their bodies, and sometimes to their armpits. They suffered un- told hardships, but they did not flinch. Never was there a braver or a more heroic body of men than the httle army which marched with George Rogers Clark. On the 23d of February, just at dusk, Clark with his men entered Vincennes from the river below, captured the town without meeting with any resistance, and laid siege to the fort. The next day Vincennes surrendered. Hamilton and his garrison were marched to Williamsburg, where they were imprisoned. Finally permanent possession was secured of the entire territory north of the Ohio; Virginia estabhshed the county of lUinois and passed a vote of thanks to "Colonel Clark and the brave officers and men under his command for their extraordinary bravery and perseverance and for the important services which they had thereby rendered their country." Not only had they secured the Northwest Terri- tory for the United States, but they had also stopped the Indian raids. 165. Movements in 1779. — ^ Neither army was inactive THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1778-1781) 149 during this year. The British sent out marauding bands into Virginia and other parts of the country. General Chnton led an expedition up the Hudson. General Try on raided through Connecticut and burned East Haven, Fairfield, and Nor walk. The Americans gained several important victories. Gen- eral Wayne — "Mad Anthony Wayne" he was sometimes The Medal Voted to General Anthony Wayne by Congress. called because of his impulsive and energetic bravery — by a bold and decisive stroke captured Stony Point, a strongly fortified place on the Hudson, forty point miles north of New York. Major Henry Lee of Paulus Virginia, "Light Horse Harry, "^ successfully Hook, stormed Paulus Hook, now Jersey City, at two ^^ . ^ o'clock on the morning of August 19. Not a shot was fired; only bayonets were used. Commodore Paul Jones, in his ship the Bon Homme Richard, captured the Serapis in a daring and victorious engagement. The last part of 1779 was a gloomy period for the Ameri- cans. The assistance of France had proved of less benefit than had been expected. Several important plans had failed, ' This was the father of General Robert E. Lee. 150 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY the financial affairs of the country were depressing, and Great Period of Britain was laying plans for a yet more vigorous Gloom. prosecution of the war. It seemed hardly possible, much less probable, that within two years our independence would be assured. 1 66. The War in the South. — Before that event could be reahzed, the Southern states had yet to experience a time of discouragement and disaster. In December, 1778, Clinton had sent Colonel Campbell with more than three thousand men and a fleet under Admiral Parker against Savannah. The city was defended by a small force under General Robert Howe. The Americans fought bravely, but were completely over- powered by the superior number of the British and were forced to abandon the city. Campbell had about four thou- sand men mider liis command. They overran the lower part of Georgia and various engagements took place between them and the Americans. Our army was commanded by General Lincoln, a skillful and brave officer who had already dis- tinguished himself in tlie various cam])aigns of the North. 167. The AmericansRepulsed at Savannah. — In Septem- ber (1779) the Americans attacked the British forces at Savannah. They laid siege to the city, and a few days later, aided by a French fleet under Count D'Estaing, made a vigorous assault. The British, however, being strongly en- trenched, repulsed the besiegers, who suffered great loss. The Americans retired to Charleston and the French fleet sailed away to the West Indies. 168. Patriot Bands. — The patriots of the South were obUged to protect themselves from the British and Tories, who overran the comitry and drove the inhabitants almost to desperation by their savage cruelties. They therefore organized bands in the various swamps under the command of brave leaders such as Marion, Lee, Pickens, and Sumter, THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1778-1781) 151 who skillfully harassed the British on their marauding expeditions. 169. Battle of King's Mountain. — After the battle of Camden, in which the British wore victorious, Major Fergu- son took refuge with his corps on King's Mountain, a long 152 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY ridge just on the line between North and South Carolina. There he was attacked on the 7th of October by a force of sixteen hundred Americans, and after a fierce battle of an hour or two Ferguson was killed and the British surrendered. This battle was one of the most stubborn and decisive of the entire war. Those who fought on the patriot side were unpaid bands of men from Tennessee, Virginia, and the two Carohnas. 170. Benedict Arnold. — Benedict Arnold had proved himself a brave officer. He had enlisted a company of sol- diers at the very beginning of the war, had fought bravely and endured great hardships. But he had also shown him- self to be extravagant and dishonest. His ambition, as it later appeared, was so great that he was willing to commit the blackest of crimes in order to gratify it. Arnold received from Washington the command of the important post of West Point on the Hudson River. It is now an established fact that he sought this position with the deliberate purpose of betraying it into the hands of the enemy. In the autumn of 1780 his plans were discovered by the capture of Major Andre, the British agent in the transaction, and West Point was saved. 171. Andre's Arrest. — Major Andre, a British officer of Andre's n^erit and personal charm, went up the Hudson in Interview a British vessel, the Vulture, had a secret inter- with \dew with Arnold, and received from him plans of °° * the fortifications and a detailed account of the forces defending the place. The plan for delivering up the fortress to General Clinton was arranged, and Andre started to go back to New York by land. At Tarrytown Andre was arrested by three militiamen, John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Van Wart. They were poor men to whom money was a temptation, but they . THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1778-1781) 153 were incorruptible patriots.^ They refused Andre's offer of his horse, watch, purse, and any sum of gold they might name to release him. "No," said Paulding, "not for ten thousand guineas." Washington was quickly told of the situation. He made prompt efforts to capture Arnold, but was not successful. Arnold had been informed of the arrest of Andre Arnold's and at once escaped to New York. Here he joined Escape, the British army, was made brigadier-general, and received a reward of six thousand three hundred and fifteen pounds for his treachery. Mrs. Arnold afterwards received from the Eng- lish government a pension of five hundred pounds a year.^ Andre was tried, condemned, and hanged as a spy. ' These patriots were rewarded by Congress with pensions of two hundred dollars a year, each, for life. Congress also presented to each a silver medal, with the motto "Fidelity" on one side and " Vincit amor ■patrice" (the love of country conquers) on the other. = Washington's plan for the capture of Arnold was bold and adroit and seemed promising, but in the end it was unavoidably defeated. Ser- geant John Champe was selected hj Major Henry Lee to conduct the enterprise. The arrangement was that he should apparently desert, join the British army in New York, get attached to Arnold's legion which, it was well known, was already forming, and then devise and execute a scheme for Arnold's capture. Champe received his instructions from Major Lee on the evening of September 26. It was necessary that there should be no delay, for Washington hoped to secure Arnold in time to save Major Andr4. Champe took his cloak, valise, and orderly book, drew his horse from the picket, and rode away from the camp about eleven o'clock. Within half an hour his absence was discovered, and a few minutes past twelve Colonel Middle- ton with a party of troops started in pursuit. The route lay along the valley of the Hackensack River to Paulus Hook, now Jersey City. In the morning, as the pursuing party reached an eminence a few miles north of Bergen, they saw Champe not more than half a mile in advance. Fortunately for Champe, he .saw them at the same instant. Middleton divided his men so as to intercept Champe whichever way he should go. They spurred their horses to their utmost speed and the race began. But Champe was not to be trapped, He changed his course from 154 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 172. Arnold's Subsequent Military Career. — Arnold's career to the close of the war was infamous. With sixteen hundred men he sailed for Virginia. Arrived there, he burned Richmond, destroyed much property in the vicinity, and made raids through the state, pillaging everywhei-e. Clinton sent him to ravage his native state, Connecticut. He cap- tured Fort Griswold, in Groton, and after the surrender of the fort butchered the commander and half the garrison. He burned New London, only a few miles from his birthplace. It is related that he stood in the belfry of a church steeple Paiilus Hook to the little village of Bergen on the east side of Newark Bay. Finding his adversaries gaining upon him, he strapped his knapsack to his shoidders, drew his sword, threw away the scal)l)ard, antl turned his horse across the low ground toward the marsh which lay along the shore of the bay. Several British galleys were at anchor a short distance to the westward. Leaping from his horse, he ran across the marsh, plunged into the water, and calling for help swam toward the British vessels. They sent out a boat and picked him up. Middleton took Champe's horse and retraced his steps back to the camp. When Major Lee saw the party returning without Champe, but bringing his well-known horse, he suppo.sed that Champe had been .shot. The story was soon told and Lee breathed more freely, Init of counse was obliged to conceal his feelings. Champe was sent to New York to Sir Henry Clinton, Avho examined him, asking many questions about the condition of Washington's army and the restlessness of officers and soldiers. He was then sent to Arnold, became a member of his legion, and immediately entered upon his scheme for the capture of the traitor. He found that Arnold was accustomed to walk in his garden every night at twelve o'colck just before retiring. Champe dislodged several pickets from the fence and replaced them so that they could be removed instantly and without noise and a way opened into the adjoining alley. The night for the .seizure was set. It was arranged that Lee was to send a party of dragoons to Hoboken, and Champe with an assistant was to surprise Arnold, gag him before he could make an outcry, throw a cloak over him and hurry him off through the alleys and back streets to the boat on the river, where another assistant would be in waiting. Shovild any one question them on their way, they were to say they were taking a drunken soldier to the guard-house. THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1778-1781) 155 and watched the progress of the flames; and, Hke Nero, ap- peared ^'dehghted with the ruin lie had caused, the distresses he had inflicted, the blood of his slaughtered countrymen, the anguish of the expiring patriot, the widow's tears, and the orphan's cry." Thus ended Arnold's career as a soldier.^ 173. Arnold's After Life. — Arnold lived about twenty years after the Revolution, most of the time in England, shunned and despised by every one. Lord Surrey, having risen to speak in the House of Lords, saw Arnold in the gallery. He pointed to him and said: "I will not speak while that man is in the house." At another time, when a peti- Lee himself went with the party to the Hoboken shore. They waited impatiently from midnight till daybreak, but as no boat appeared they returned to their camp up the river. A few days afterwards Lee received word from Champe that on the appointed evening Arnold had removed his headquarters to another part of the town, in order to superintend the embarkation of troops for his expedition to Virginia. So that night, John Champe, instead of escorting Arnold across the Hudson and into the American camp to be hanged as a traitor, was himself safely placed on board one of the British transports. Some time elapsed before he could desert, but when he did accomplish the task he promptly presented himself to his old commander (then Lieutenant-Colonel Lee), who with his corps was in the interior of North Carolina. Great must have been the surprise of Colonel Lee when Champe appeared in camp, and we may well believe that all who witnessed the occurrence were startled to see the cordial reception that was given him. Soon the whole story was known to the troops. Champe, who had been regarded as a base traitor and deserter, was now honored as a Ijold patriot who had undertaken a heroic and arduous enterprise, which had failed only because of unavoidal)le circumstances. Washington immediately gave Champe his discharge lest at any time he might fall into the hands of the British, in which event, if recognized, he would surely end his life on the gallows. The above incident, given thus in detail, forms one of the most interesting stories of the entire war. ■ It is related that Arnold once asked a captain whom he had taken prisoner, what he thought the Americans would do with him, if he should fall into their hands. The officer replied, "They will cut off the leg which was wounded when you were fighting for the cause of liberty and bury it with the honors of war, and hang the rest of your body on a gibbet." 156 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY tion was presented to the king, Lord Lauderdale is reported to have declared, as his eye fell on Arnold standing near the throne, that, however gracious might be the language he had heard from the throne, his indignation could not but be highly excited at beholding his majesty supported by a traitor. On account of this remark Arnold fought a bloodless duel with Lord Lauderdale. "His last years," it is said, "were embittered by re- morse."^ 174. General Greene in the South. — General Gates had been unsuccessful in the South and the I^ritish army had overrun the Carolinas and Georgia. General Greene was ap- pointed to succeed him. The force under his com- mand was not only small, but was largely composed of half-clothed and half- starved men. Greene, how- ever, was not dismayed. He at once sent General Morgan with a part of his troops across the mountains to threaten Ninety-six 2 and the posts in the rear of the British army. This was a wise move, although it left him but a meager two thousand men for immediate service. Cornwalhs, on his part, » At one time an American officer whom Arnold had known in early life was in London. Arnold called on him and sent in his name. "Tell the gentleman I am not at home," was the answer, "and never shall be for General Arnold." 2 Ninety-sLx, a village in the western part of South Carolina, in Abbe- ville County. General N.\th,\nael (ikeene. THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1778-1781) 157 dispatched Colonel Tarleton to strike Morgan, and himself at once started to attack Greene. Morgan selected for his posi- tion a place called Cowpens, South Carolina, just at an angle of the Broad River, which he judged would cut off retreat. 175. Battle of Cowpens. — Tarleton advanced through an open wood, and was fired upon by the Americans. When, as instructed, our army fell back, the British took this move- ment for a retreat, rushed on and soon confronted the Con- tinentals. The American cavalry routed the opposing forces and gained the day. It was a great victory. The loss to the Americans was small, while the British casualties were more than a hundred killed and wounded and six hundred prison- ers. The Americans captured two cannon, eight hundred muskets, one hundred horses, and great quantities of supplies. 176. Guilford Court House. — The next engagement was at Guilford Court House, in northern North Carohna. This battle was fought March 15, 1781. It was a bloody conflict, but neither army could claim the victory, except that Corn- wallis held the field. Greene took up his camp in a strong position a few miles away on Troublesome Creek. Of this battle, Ramsay, the historian of South Carolina, says, "The British had the name, the Americans the good consequence, of victory." Charles James Fox, in the House of Commons, said, "Another such victory would ruin the British army." In April was fought another important battle at Hobkirk Hill. The contest was fierce, and the losses on both Hobkirk sides were about equal. As the British held the Hill. field they claimed the victory, but the battle "produced no consequences beneficial to British interests." 177. Eutaw Springs. — Cornwallis decided to move his forces into Virginia, hoping, perhaps, to draw Greene away from the Carolinas. The British general believed that the war could best be fought in Virginia. He left a force under 158 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Lord Rawdoii to hold South CaroHna and Georgia. General Greene immediately moved south and undertook to win back the Southern states. Sumter and Marion were on the move all summer. They captured Orangeburg, Fort Mott, Fort Granby, Fort Cornwallis, Georgetown, Augusta, and laid siege to Ninety-six. In September Greene fought the last battle of the South at Eutaw Springs. The British fled and were pursued for thirty miles by the Americans. In all the maneuvers General Greene, who was ol)liged con- stantly to fight under disad- vantages, showed himself to be, next to Washington, the most skillful American general. In little more than a The Caro- year he had practi- linas and cally recovered the Georgia. Carolinas and Georgia from British rule. 178. The Plans of Corn- wallis. — Cornwallis had determined to carry on the contest in Virginia. Greene was in the South, Washington was op- posing Clinton at New York, and Lafayette with about twelve hundred New England and New Jersey troops was in Virginia. Cornwallis tried to draw Lafayette into an engage- ment, but the prudent marquis was too shrewd to risk battle with an army so much larger than his own. The British army, therefore, carried on marauding excursions here and there, destroyed much property, and finally crossed to the peninsula made by the York and James rivers. 179. Washington's Purpose. — The great American gen- ^^^^^V ^ vs ■ Wi ^tSb 'H From the painting by Copley. General Cornw.\llis. THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1778-1781) 159 eral now saw his opportunity. He determined, at all hazards, to crush the army of Cornwallis. For this purpose, while keeping up appearances before Clinton's force at New York, he moved his main army with all possible speed across New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and had almost reached Delaware before Clinton suspected his intentions. Meanwhile Count Rochambeau (ro-shon'-bo') , who had been at Newport with a French army of several thousand men, had moved his entire force to New York, and, having joined Washington's army in New Jersey, marched with it to Virginia. This rapid march from New York to the Virginia peninsula was a bold and difficult maneuver. i8o. At Yorktown. — By the middle of September Wash- ington and Rocham- beau had reached Lafayette's headquar- ters at Williamsburg. Before the end of the month the combined armies had appeared before Yorktown. Meanwhile the French fleet of twenty-eight ships of the line and six frigates, under Count De Grasse (de- gras'), which had re- cently sailed from the West Indies to the Chesapeake Bay, appeared in the York River opposite York- town. Cornwallis was in an uncomfortable position. The Continental armies hemmed him in and prevented his escape by land, and the French fleet obstructed his retreat by water. ROCHAM_BEAU^ WASHINGTON A ^ yS»^^VNEW YORK ^ RHODE ISLAND VL 1. "^NEW JERSEY The Battleground of Yorktown. 160 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY The real siege began with a bombardment on the 9th of October. The American armies, throwing up entrenchments in parallel lines from a point below Cornwallis's position to another point above the town, advanced nearer day by day. i8i. The Surrender. -^ For ten days the Americans, aided by their French allies, hemmed Cornwallis in closer and closer; a full hundred cannon were concentrated against his fortifi- cations until every British gun was disabled and dismounted. Finally, on the 19th of October, 1781, terms of capitulation were agreed upon, and the entire British army, numl^ering nearly eight thousand, marched under arms to a plain on an outer edge of the town and there formally surrendered. Corn- walhs, worn out, sick, and mortified, deputed General O'Hara to tender his sword. Some months before this General Lin- coln had l^ecn obliged to give u{) his sword at Charleston. Washington appointed Lincoln to receive the sword of the British general. With this surrender of Cornwallis and his army at Yorktown, the war practically ended.^ Washington and his soldiers then retired to winter quarters, in New Jersey and on the Hudson. ' The following details of the surrender arc given by General Carrington in his excellent work, "The Battles of the American Revolution": — "At twelve o'clock the two redoulits on the left flank of York were de- livered over, one to the American infantry and the other to the French grenadiers. "At one o'clock two works on the Gloucester side were delivered re- spectively to French and American troops. At two o'clock the garrison of York marched out to the appointed place in front of the post, with shouldered arms, colors cased, drums heating a British march, grounded their arms and returned to their encampments, to remain until dispatched to their several destinations in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The land forces became prisoners to the Ignited States and the marine forces to the naval army of France. The British troops marched to the field of ceremony with their usual steadiness, and the appearance of the whole army, having received an issue of new clothing, was as soldierly as if on garrison parade." THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1778-1781) 161 182. The Effect of the Surrender in America. — The news was received in one place after another with great rejoicing. The courier who brought the tidings reached Philadelphia at two o'clock at night, and immediately the watchman, going his rounds, shouted, "Two o'clock and CornwalHs is taken." There was no more sleep that night for the citizens. Bon- fires were lighted on the hilltops, and fast riders were dis- patched to distant points with the glad news. 183. The Effect in England. — The liberal party in Eng- land was at once greatly strengthened. Many of the ablest statesmen and most discerning people of Great Britain had opposed the war from the beginning, but King George and his premier. Lord North, had been fixed in the determination to prosecute it. Now, when Lord North heard that Corn- walHs had surrendered his army to the rebels, he paced the room in great agony, swinging his arms and repeating again and again, "It is all over, it is all over. Everything is lost." It was moved in Parliament to give up "all further attempts to reduce the revolted colonies." The city of London en- treated the king to put an end to "this unnatural and unfor- tunate war." 184. The Victory Celebrated by Congress. — As soon as the dispatches announcing the victory reached Congress, that body, followed by an immense concourse of people, went in procession to the Dutch Lutheran Church to return thanks to Almighty God. In the evening Philadelphia was illuminated with greater splendor than ever before. Congress voted honors to Washington, to Rochambeau, and to De Grasse, and especial thanks to all the officers and men of the army. 185. Preparing for the Treaty of Peace. — There were no further plans for great military movements. Instead, prepa- rations were made for a formal treaty of peace. Necessarily this took considerable time. At first Congress appointed 162 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Jolm Adams, our minister to Holland, to negotiate the treaty. Adams was too much of an Englishman himself to please the French people, who soon began to inquire why America, which was the home of so many brilhant statesmen, should place all the honor of making this important treaty in the hands of one man. At length Congress, finding this argument quite reasonable, made other arrangements. 1 86. Five Commissioners. — Finally it was determined that the treaty be referred to a commission of five: John Adams of Massachusetts, representing New England, to be chairman: John Jay of New York, and Benjamin Frankhn of Pennsylvania, representing the Middle states; and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, and Henry Laurens of South Caro- lina, representing the South. Jefferson, for good reasons, (lid not go to Paris, where the treaty was negotiated, and Laurens, who had lately been I'oleased from long confine- ment in the Tower of Lon- Krom a medallion. i , .ii • i i.i don, was still m poor health. HeX.IAMI.M rH.VXKLIX. mi • Ihe nnportaiit work of tlie treaty was, therefore, performed by Jay, Franklin, and Adams, but since Adams was much of the time in Holland, where he was negotiating a treaty, the burden fell largely upon the two commissionoi-s from New York and Pennsylvania. 187. Three Important Questions. — The three main topics on which opinions most widely differed, were these: — 1. The Atlantic fisheries. 2. The treatment of the Loyalists, or Tories, as they were called. THE STRUGGLE FOR INDEPENDENCE (1778-1781) 163 3. The western boundaries. Adams succeeded in securing our right to take "fish of every kind on the Grand Banks and on all other banks of Newfoundland, also in the Gulf of St. Lawrence." Frankhn managed to settle the question of the rights of the LoyaUsts by referring it, since Congress had no power in the matter, to the several states. He satisfied the British commissioner with these words: "It is agreed that the Congress shall earnestly recommend it to the legislatures of the respective states, to provide for the restitution of all estates, rights, and properties which have been confiscated, belonging to real British subjects." Largely through the efforts of John Jay, possession was acquired of all the territory in the northwest beyond the Great Lakes to the Lake of the Woods, and thence down the Mississippi River. Mr. Oswald, the British commissioner, had proposed that the western boundary should be the Mississippi and the Ohio rivers. Franklin objected, saying, "If you insist on that, we go back to Yorktown." This treaty, which was called the Provisional Treaty, was signed as follows : — "Done at Paris, the thirtieth day of November, in the year one thousand seven hundred and eighty-two. Richard Oswald. John Adams. Benjamin Franklin. John Jay. Henry Laurens." The Definitive Treaty, which followed, was signed at Paris the third day of September, 1783, by David Hartley for Great Britain, and Adams, Franklin, and Jay for the United States. These two treaties acknowledged fully the independence of the LTnited States of America. 164 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY SUMMARY The news of the treaty of alhance with France, and the arrival of the French fleet brought joy to the patriot army at Valley Forge. Before the arrival of the fleet, Howe evacuated Phila- delphia. Washington pursued him across New Jersey and overtook him at Monmouth Court House. In the engagement which followed, at first the Americans, but finally the British, were forced to retreat. To stop the Indian raids into Kentucky, George Rogers Clark made an heroic expedition against Kaskaskia and Vin- cennes. He not only captured these posts, but gained the control of the whole of the Northwest Territory. The year 1779 was marked by a few American victories, but was on the whole a gloomy period for the new republic. In the following year Benedict Arnold attempted to betray West Point, and deserting to the British, fought against his country. The remaining battles of the war were fought for the most part in the South. After a series of battles in the Carolinas, Cornwallis withdrew to Yorktown. Here the British general was besieged by Washington and the French fleet, and forced to surrender. While this was going on in Virginia, the British were driven out of the Carolinas and Georgia by General Greene. The war was practically at an end, and by the treaty of peace signed at Paris in 1783, the United States were acknowledged a free nation and came into the posses- sion of the American continent as far west as the Mississippi. CHAPTER XIII THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND THE FEDERAL CONVENTION i88. The Revolutionary Government. — In -June, 1776, as soon as the Continental Congress had determined to put forth a Declaration of Independence, it appointed a com- THE FEDERAL CONVENTION 165 mittee to draft "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union." This was not an easy task. Hitherto the several colonies had been independent of each other and jealous of each other. Their experience with Great Britain had been such as to make them suspicious of any strong national power. The Northern and the Southern states had but little in com- mon, and the small states were in constant fear of the greater power of the larger states. The committee, however, soon reported to Congress Articles of Confederation. These were considered by Congress from time to time, changes were made in them, and finally, in November, 1777, after a delay of more than a year, they were submitted to the states for ratifica- tion. These Articles were to be binding only after having been ratified by all the states. Here was the difficulty. The majority of the states, one after another, agreed to them, but some h-esitated, and Maryland, the last state to ratify, held off until March, 1781. Hence the Articles did not go into effect till nearly five years after the colonies had declared themselves independent and the war was almost ended. Meanwhile the Continental Congress had maintained a sem- blance of united government, though it really had no power nor authority. *" 189. Weakness of the Articles of Confederation. — When adopted and put into force, these Articles proved false in theory and weak in practice. The following were some of the defects : — 1. Congress was continued as a single body. 2. No national courts were established, 3. There was no executive. 4. Every state, large or small, had but one vote in the Congress. 5. Congress could not levy a tax. 6. Congress could not compel the states, so that every 166 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY state did as it chose, heeding or not any advice or demand from the Congress, as it might see fit. In short, the Congress could declare everything, but it could enforce nothing. There was great danger that the government would be overthrown and that anarchy and chaos would reign. Washington wrote to a member of Congress, "You talk, my good sir, of employing influence. Influence is not j5fo?'- From an old print. Independence Hall at Philadelphia. emment. Let us have a government by which our lives, hberties, and properties will be secured, or let us know the worst at once." 190. The Federal Convention. — Finally, after much dis- satisfaction had been felt and expressed, in accordance with a vote of Congress, a convention of delegates from the several states met at Philadelphia, May 14, 1787, to "revise the Articles of Confederation." All the states, except Rhode THE FEDERAL CONVENTION 167 Island, were represented. The members of this convention were charged with ''revising the Articles of Confederation, and reporting . , . such alterations and provisions therein as shall . . . render the federal constitution adequate to the exigencies of government and the preservation of the Union." 191. Remarkable Character of this Convention. — This was undoubtedly the most celebrated gathering of able men that had ever been convened on the continent of America. Five members, viz., Frankhn, Morris, Read, Sherman, and Wilson, had signed the Declaration of Independence; Wash- ington afterwards became the first and Madison the fourth President of the United States; Rutledge and Ellsworth be- came chief-justices; Gerry was later Vice-President; Hamil- ton, as the first secretary of the treasury, established our system of finance; Johnson was a doctor of laws; Wilson and Sherman were able constitutional lawyers ; Gouverneur Morris brought the Constitution to its present form; Benjamin Frankhn was then past fourscore years of age, a profound scholar, a noted scientist, a distinguished diplomat, a practical philosopher, who now rounded out a long life of almost unsur- passed usefulness by thus contributing to his country, at this most critical period, the benefits of his long and successful experience.^ 192. The New Constitution Framed. — The task set before this convention was a very difficult one. The Congress had authorized it to " revise the Articles of Confederation." How- ever, it soon became apparent that no mere revision would be found "adequate to the exigencies of government and the preservation of the Union." The convention, therefore, decided to frame a new constitution to supersede the old one. Throughout the entire summer, for four long months from May 14 to September 17, this convention of patriotic men » Quoted substantially from Professor Francis Newton Thorpe. 168 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY sat behind closed doors, in the city of Philadelphia, and per- formed the great work which now for more than a century- has been the supreme law of this vast country. Of the Con- stitution, Gladstone, the foremost statesman of Great Britain, said : " It is the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man." * 193 . The Constitution Adopted by the States. — After the framing of this new in- strument of government, it was next necessary to submit it to the several states for adoption or rejection. It could go into effect between the states ratifying it only when nine states, two thirds of the whole num- ber, had agreed to it. In less than one year all the states except North Caro- lina and Rhode Island had adopted it. The former state ratified it in November, 1789, and the latter in May, 1790. Under this Constitution, Washington was unanimously elected ' Upon the carved back of the chair in which Washington sat, as presi- dent of the convention, was a representation of the sun on the horizon, with its diverging rays shooting upward. When the convention had finished its laI)ors and the members were standing around, one after another affixing his signature to the document, Benjamin Franklin, rub- bing his spectacles with his handkerchief, remarked to several members standing by: "Painters have found it difficult to distinguish in their art a rising from a setting sun. I have often and often in the course of the session, and the vicissitudes of my hopes and my fears as to its issue, looked at that behind the president without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting; but now at length I have the happiness to know that the sun of America is rising and not setting." Chair and Table used by Washington AS President of the Federal Con- vention. THE FEDERAL CONVENTION 169 the first President and John Adams the first Vice-President. The new government went into effect in New York in the spring of 1789. SUMMARY The Articles of Confederation, which had been framed for the government of the new states soon after the colonists had declared themselves independent, proved to be defective in many ways. A convention was called by the Congress to revise them. Instead of revising the Articles, an entirely new consti- tution for controlling the affairs of the nation was drawn up and was adopted by the states. Under it the new government went into effect, with George Washington as President. SECTION III. — THE NATION CHAPTER XIV THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 194. The Preamble. — The Constitution begins with what has usually been called the Preamble. This gives the rea- sons for its adoption, and its aims and purposes. It is as follows: ''We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to our- selves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitu- tion for thp. United States of America." The Constitution divides the government into three depart- ments, viz.: (1) The Legislative or law-making department; (2) the Executive or administrative department; and (3) the Judicial or law-interpreting department. 195. Legislative Power. — The legislative power is placed in the hands of a Congress of the United States, which consists of two branches, a Senate and a House of Representatives. 196. Powers of Congress. — Congress makes laws for the nation, but cannot interfere with the rights of the states; each state has its own laws, made by its own legislature. The powers of Congress are carefully defined by the Constitution. 1. "To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States." 170 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 171 2. To borrow money. 3. To regulate commerce. 4. To make laws concerning the naturalization of foreigners. 5. To make laws concerning bankruptcies, 6. To coin money and fix the standard of weights and measures. 7. To provide for punishing counterfeiters. 8. To establish post-offices and post roads. ¥' —4s 1 mm i ^ Si 1 ■■ 9 ifl The Pkkskm Natkjnal Capitol at Washington. 9. To grant copyrights for books and patents for inven- tions. 10. To establish United States courts. 11. To punish piracy. 12. To declare war and for this purpose to support armies. 13. To provide and maintain a navy. 14. To call forth the militia of the several states when needed. 172 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 15. To organize, arm, and discipline this militia when called forth. 16. To exercise full control over the District of Columbia, and over post-offices, custom-houses, arsenals, etc., which belong to the nation. 17. And finally, "To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the govern- ment of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof." 197. Executive Power. — The executive power is vested in one man, the President of the United States. He is chosen for a term of four years, by electors appointed by the people of the several states. Each state has as many electors as it has senators and representatives in the national Congress. These electors are chosen on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of every leap year. They meet in their respective states on the second Monday in January following their election and vote for President and Vice-president. These votes are counted in the presence of the two houses of Congress on the second Wednesday in February, and on March 4 following the President enters upon his office. The principal powers and duties of the President are as fol- lows : — 1. He is commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States. 2. He can make treaties, by and with the advice and con- sent of the Senate. 3. He appoints, with the concurrence of the Senate, ambas- sadors and ministers to other countries, consuls, judges of the United States Court, and various other officers of the nation. 4. He can grant reprieves and pardons for the offenses against the United States. THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 173 5. He can call Congress together whenever he shall deem it necessary. 6. He has the veto power on all acts passed by Congress. 7. "He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all officers of the United States." He can be re-elected for a second term, and there is no pro- vision in the Constitution to prevent his holding office for a third term. Washington, however, having served two terms. Room in the National Capitol used by the House of Repre- sentatives UNTIL 1859, NOW Statuary Hall. refused another election. And this precedent, established by the first President, has been an unwritten law ever since. No President has been elected for a third term. 198. List of Presidents. — The following is the list of Presi- dents, with their terms of office : — 1. George Washington, Virginia, two terms, 1789-1797, 2. John Adams, Massachusetts, one term, 1797-1801. 3. Thomas Jefferson, Virginia, two terms, 1801-1809. ^. James Madison, Virginia, two terms, 1809-1817, 174 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 5. James Monroe, Virginia, two terms, 1817-1825. 6. John Quincy Adams, Massachusetts, one term, 1825- 1829. 7. Andrew Jackson, Tennessee, two terms, 1829-1837. 8. Martin Van Buren, New York, one term, 1837-1841. 9. William Henry Harrison, Ohio, one month. Died in office. 1841. 10. John Tyler, Virginia, three years and eleven months, 1841-1845. 11. James Knox Polk, Tennessee, one term, 1845-1849. 12. Zachary Taylor, Louisiana, one year and four months. Died in office. 1849-1850. 13. Millard Fillmore, New York, two years and eight months, 1850-1853. 14. Franklin Pierce, New Hampshire, one term, 1853-1857. 15. James Buchanan, Pennsylvania, one term, 1857-1861. 16. Abraham Lincoln, Illinois, elected twice, four years and one month. Died in office. 1861-1865. 17. Andrew Johnson, Tennessee, three years and eleven months, 1865-1869. 18. Ulysses Simpson Grant, Illinois, two terms, 1869-1877. 19. Rutherford Burchard Hayes, Ohio, one term, 1877-1881. 20. James Abram Garfield, Ohio, six months. Died in office. 1881. 21. Chester Alan Arthur, New York, three years and six months, 1881-1885. 22. Grover Cleveland, New York, one term, 1885-1889. 23. Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, one term, 1889-1893. 24. Grover Cleveland, New York, another term, 1893-1897. 25. William McKinley, Ohio, elected twice, four years and six months. Died in office. 1897-1901. 26. Theodore^ Roosevelt, New York, 1901-1909, 27. William Howard Taft, Ohio, 1909- THE UNITED STATES IN 1790 176 199- Judicial Power. — The judicial power embraces a series of United States courts. The Constitution provides that there shall be "one Supreme Court and such inferior Courts as Congress may from time to time ordain and estab- lish." Congress has organized the following system of United States Courts : — ■ 1. The District Courts. 2. The Circuit Courts. 3. The Circuit Court of Appeals. 4. The Supreme Court. Besides these there are special courts as follows : — 1. Court of Claims. 2. Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, 3. District Courts in the several territories. 4. Supreme Courts in the territories. The Supreme Court is presided over by a chief justice and eight associate justices. There are nine judges of the Circuit Court of Appeals, and an equal number of Circuit Court judges. The Circuit Courts are divided into districts; in every state there is at least one District Court, and several of the larger states have two or even three districts.^ — «^ — CHAPTER XV THE UNITED STATES IN 1790 200. Extent of Territory. — By the treaty of 1783 the territory of the new republic extended from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the Mississippi River on the west, and from the Great Lakes and Canada on the north to Spanish 1 For a fuller treatment of this subject of our national government under the Constitution, every teacher should use some text-hook on Civil Government, having in mind the character and interest of the class. 176 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Florida on the south. The country thus bounded, compared with what it is to-day, seems small. Yet it was even then a large territory. It embraced over eight hundred thousand square miles, lying in the north temperate zone, and was as large as France, Spain, Italy, and Germany combined. At the time no one supposed that its area would ever be in- creased. 201. Population. — The population was small and mainly to be found east of the Allegheny Mountains. The entire number of inhabitants was less than four million. To-day, the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Ohio have each a population greater than that of the whole coun- try in 1790. The average for the entire country was at that time only five persons to the square mile. Moreover, the population was then largely rural, and there were no big cities. Only six cities had a population of more than eight thousand ; and these six cities, taken together, had only 131,472 inhabitants, barely more than three per cent of the population of the whole country. Hence more than ninety-six per cent of the people were in what may be called rural communities. New York City had the largest popula- tion of any city in the country, numbering a little over sixty thousand. Philadelphia came next with forty thousand, then Boston with about eighteen thousand, and then Charles- ton, South Carolina, with about sixteen thousand. 202. How the People Lived. — In 1790 the people of the United States had no electric lights or gas. Houses were lighted by candles, and only in the largest towns were the streets illuminated, and then but dimly, by lanterns. Means of heating was confined to fireplaces and stoves; coal was not commonly used until long after this period. No sys- tem of waterworks had as yet been devised. Housekeepers were still dependent upon the well or the town pump or on THE UNITED STATES IN 1790 177 rain water caught in cisterns. Telegraphs and telephones were not even dreamed of, nor were any of the other electrical devices that are now so common. There were no railroad trains, no electric cars, no steamboats. All journeys on land were made on horseback, in private carriages, or in stage- coaches, and on the water in sailing vessels. Matches, sewing machines, typewriters, elevators, and bicy- cles were unknown. Envelopes were C^l-^ not used, neither (f^ ir-.^ were postage --^^''''* ^^^ ' ^ stamps. The cost of sending a letter de- pended u p o n the distance it traveled, and the rates were so high that few let- ters were written. The farmer knew nothing about the h o r s e - }) 1 o w , the seeder, the rea])er, the binder, or threshing machine. Shoes were made by hand and so were nails, horseshoes, and tools of all sorts. In fact almost everything that one could use or wear was still manufactured without the aid of machinery. Indeed, most of the labor-saving devices and conveniences, without which to-day we think we could not live, were entirely unknown when Washington was President. Then there were only four daily newspapers in the United States and not one illustrated paper or monthly magazine.* ' The first newspaper in the United States was pubHshed in Boston in 1690. It was suppressed by the British government but was soon fol- lowed by the Boston News Letter. Other newspapers were established in The Old-time Mail Carrier. 178 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Truly, the world has greatly changed in the last hundred years. 203. Industries. — A century ago the principal produc- tions of the country were the fruits of the soil, because the chief occupation of the people was agriculture. The differ- ence between the industrial advantages of the North and the South during colonial times has already been commented upon. Agriculture ^^^ the Southern states, where the soil was most in the fertile and its cultivation most profitable, agri- South, culture flourished. Virginia possessed a source of wealth in her large and valuable crops of fine tobacco; at great profit the swamps of the Carolinas yielded the best rice in the English market; North Carolina was fast growing rich through her productions of pitch and tar. The entire population of the Southern states, by the cultivation of a pro- ductive soil, was becoming well-to-do and progressive. New England, on the other hand, with her rocky land, produced hardly enough corn, rye, and potatoes to feed her own people. She was forced, as we have already seen, to turn her atten- tion to other ])ursuits and industries than those of agriculture. 204. Manufactures. — In the colonies, before the Revo- lution, Great Britain had almost entirely prevented the growth of manufacturing. Parliament had forbidden drawings, models, or memoranda of any machine used in making textile fabrics to be carried out of the realm. Naturally, after various colonies until at the beginning of the Revoluti(in they numbered thirty-four. The first daily paper was published in Philadelphia in 1784. The right of the press to freedom of speech was estaWished by the famous Zenger trial. Paul Peter Zenger was the publisher of the New York Weekly Journal, which was started in 1733. This paper made so many attacks upon the government of the colony that copies of it were ordered to be burned by the hangman and Zenger himself w^as arrested and im- prisoned on the charge of libel. The jury decided that since the state- ments were true they were not libels and acquitted Zenger. THE UNITED STATES IN 1790 179 independence had been won, there was a rebound in favor of manufacturing industries. By 1790, of course, there was Httle evidence of this change. Ahiiost immediately, how- ever, manufactures of ah kinds rapidly developed, especially in New England. 205. Samuel Slater. — In the year 1790, Samuel Slater, an Englishman who had learned in his own country the manu- facture of cotton goods by machinery, introduced into a fac- tory at Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the first American machines for spinning cotton, worked by water power. Ten years later, Massachusetts alone had 62,794 hands employed in her cotton mills. 206. Whitney's Cotton Gin. — Two years after Slater's in- troduction of the hrst cotton machinery, Eh Whitney, a native of Massachusetts, in- vented the cotton gin. Pre- viously the raising of cotton was not profitable because it was so difficult to separate the seed from the fiber. One man could separate only two or three, or at the most four, pounds of cotton in a day. ^" Whitney. Whitney, who had gone to Georgia to teach school, made his home for a time in the family of the widow of General Nathanael Greene. One day some friends of Mrs. Greene, in conversation with her, regretted that there could ^^.^ be no profit in raising cotton. If only a machine Greene's for removing the seed could be invented, they Suggestion, said, this industry would become very profitable. Mrs. Greene had already observed Wliitney's inventive genius and she replied, "Ask Mr. Wliitney to invent one, for he can 180 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY make anything." It was not long after this that Mr. Whitney succeeded in making a successful cotton gin. Innnediately the raising of cotton became profitable in the South and the manufacture of cotton cloth on a large scale was made pos- sible in the North. In 1790 less than ten thousand bales of cotton were raised in the United States; in 1900 ten million Copyright, 1892, by J. Horgun, Jr. The Cotton Gin in Operation. bales were produced, the value of which was more than five hundred million dollars. 207. Commerce. — At the close of the Revolution the United States found her conunerce gone. A coasting trade, to be sure, was carried on between the North and the South, but there was practically no foreign commerce. English THE UNITED STATES IN 1790 181 ports were closed to American, exports, and the West Indies no longer bought the products of the North unless they were brought in English ships. The seaports of Europe were open to the United States, but Congress had no power to make treaties governing trade with foreign nations. Not until the new Constitution went into force did prosperity return to the seaboard towns. 208. Fisheries. — From the earliest colonial times the hardy sailors of New England had carried on an extensive fishing industry, not only in the nearby waters but also on the great banks of Newfoundland. Dried fish had been one of the leading articles of export and brought large profits. At the close of the Revolution, one of the three important ques- tions determined by the treaty of peace was the fisheries question. By the third article of the treaty, Great Britain granted that the people of the United States should continue "to enjoy unmolested the right to take fish of every kind on the Great Bank and on all other banks of Newfoundland, also in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and at all other places in the sea where the inhabitants of both countries used at any time heretofore to fish." For more than half a century this arti- cle has been of great benefit to the people of New England. 209. Whaling. — When the first settlers came to New England, whales were frequently seen in the waters near the coast. Nantucket early engaged in the business w t k t of catching them and marketing their oil. Whal- a Great ing began here before 1750. The Revolutionary Whaling War paralyzed the industry, which was in a meas- ^t^o^- ure monopolized by England and France. In 1790 the population of the island of Nantucket was but a little over four thousand. From that time whaling became their prin- cipal occupation. The business was profitable and it caused a steady increase of population until in 1840 there were over 182 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY nine thousand people on the island. Gradually the whaling industry declined, and the number of inhabitants continued to decrease until the census of 1900 showed only three thou- sand and six residing there. New Bedford was for many years the greatest whaling port of the world, and had nearly seven thousand and fifty vessels engaged in the fishery. 210. Wealth. — After the Revolution the entire country was poverty-stricken. The war had been very expensive, as all wars are. It had impoverished the people, who indeed had never been wealthy, but who from force of circumstan- ces had learned to be economical. In the year 1787, one calling himself an "honest old farmer" pubHshed a paper in which he said: "At this time my farm gave me and my whole family a good living from the produce of it, and left me, one year with another, one hundred and fifty silver dol- lars, for I never spent more than ten dollars a year, which was for salt, nails, and the like. Nothing to wear, eat, or drink was purchased, as my farm provided all." And this case is but one of many. In those earliest days of our national life, our country, which has since become the wealthiest on the globe, was one of the poorest and at the same time one of the most frugal and industrious. 211. Paper Money. — During the war Congress and the legislatures of every state had felt obhged to issue paper money. This was an evil and nothing but an evil, and caused a vast amount of suffering. The value depreciated until paper money became almost worthless. At one time during its circulation, in Philadelphia a pair of boots sold for $600, handkerchiefs at $100 apiece, caUco at $85 a yard. Some- times a barrel of flour cost $1,575 and John Q. Adams paid $2,000 for a suit of clothes. In one instance a bill of goods, amounting to $3,144.50 in currency, was paid by less than in coin. By the new Constitution only the national THE UNITED STATES IN 1790 183 government, not the state governments, could coin money, and by means of this restriction the country soon began to recover from this depressed condition of its finances. 212. The Ordinance of 1787. — The Continental Congress had not the power to do great things in legislation, but there was one thing it could and did do. It legislated for the western territory w^hich had been ceded to the general gov- ernment. In the year 1787, just at the time when the Federal Convention was in session, it passed an act called "An Ordi- nance for the government of the Territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio River." Seven of the thirteen states had claimed the country to the west as far as the Mississippi River. These states, by mutual agreement, finally ceded all claims to territory west of the mountains, except what is now Kentucky, which was organized into a county of Virginia. Among other provisions this famous Ordinance provided as follows for this western territory : 1. Freedom of conscience in religious matters. 2. Schools and education to be "forever encouraged." 3. Slavery forever prohibited within its borders. 4. Eventual division into states to be admitted into the Union on equal terms with the older states. From this territory five states have been formed, which to-day have a population of fully sixteen millions. 213. Marietta. — Wlien the war closed and the soldiers went to their homes, many found their places taken from them and their business gone. It was necessary for them to find new occupations and new homes. General Rufus Putnam befriended these discouraged men, and obtained for them, from the government, land in the Northwest Terri- tory. In January, 1788, a company of people set out from Massachusetts for the Ohio Valley. The snows were so deep on the mountain passes that they were obliged to abandon 184 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY their wagons and repack their goods on sleds, and oftentimes to break the way for the horses. But they reached Pittsburg in due time and there embarked in a chimsy, flat-bottomed boat. Early in April they reached the mouth of the Mus- kingum River. Immediately clearings were made, seeds WTre planted, and a town was begun. It was called IMarietta and was the first permanent settlement in the state of Ohio. Traveling by Flat-boat down the Ohio. These pioneers sent home glowing accounts of the fertility of the soil and the rapid growth of the crops. "Why will you waste your time cultivating such land as this?" said one, who had returned for his family, to a former neighbor of his in the East. "Out in the West we have to stand on tiptoe to break off an eai" of corn; while here you have to stoop down." Reports such as these spread. People flocked in great numbers to Ohio, though the Indians did everything possible to keep the Americans out of their hunting grounds. The red men had once said that no white man should plant corn in Ohio, and they declared that "before the trees again THE UNITED STATES IN 1790 185 put forth their leaves, there shall not remain the smoke of a single white man's cabin west of the river." A conflict terrible conflict followed, which finally resulted with the (1794) in an utter defeat of the Indians near the Indians, present site of the city of Toledo, by forces under General Wayne. Later the Indians moved farther west. The pio- neer settlements then grew so rapidly that in fifteen years Ohio had inhabitants sufficient for it to become a state. SUMMARY At the beginning the nation, in comparison with what it has since become, was small in territory and thinly populated. Most of the inhabitants lived on farms and there were no large cities. The people were without the conveniences and comforts of modern life. Agriculture was the principal occu- pation. Great Britain had forbidden manufacturing in the colonies, but soon after the Revolution New England began to build various factories. Cotton manufacturing was especially aided by Samuel Slater and by Whitney's invention of the cotton gin. Commerce and the whale fisheries had been destroyed by the war, and not until the Constitution went into effect did prosperity return to the seaboard towns. The war had also left the people poverty-stricken. Paper money was the prin- cipal currency, and as it was almost valueless, the most com- mon articles brought fabulous sums. The Continental Congress had organized the Northwest Ter- ritory and provided for its government. The region was soon settled, and a town was founded at Marietta. Such glow- ing reports of the fertility of the soil were sent to the East, that in spite of the Indian hostilities thousands flocked to Ohio. 186 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY CHAPTER XVI WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION (1789-1797) 214. The New Government. — The Constitution went into effect March 4, 1789. As soon as a quorum was present the Senate was organized; John Adams was sworn into office as Vice-President ; the House of Representatives chose their speaker and began operations; and George Washington, who had been unanimously elected, took the oath of President of the United States. It was on the 30th of April that Washington was inaugurated in New York City on the balcony of Federal Hall, corner of Wall and Broad streets. The oath of office was administered to him by Robert R. Livingston, the chancellor of the state of New Yoi'k. It was an imposing ceremony, witnessed by a large concourse of people, including the members of both houses of Con- gress and many officials of New York and other states. Thus the new government began. 215. The First Cabinet. — Congress proceeded to estab- hsh the necessary executive departments, and the President appointed officers for them. He made Thomas Jefferson secretary of what was at first called the Department of For- eign Affairs, and later the Department of State, Alexander Hamilton secretary of the treasury, Henry Knox secretary of war, and Edmund Randolph attorney-general. Other departments have since been added. These are Additions the Navy Department, the Post-Office Depart- to the ment, and the Department of the Interior, and Cabinet. within a few years past the Department of Agri- culture and the Department of Commerce and Labor. 216. The Judicial Department. — The Constitution estab- lished the Supreme Court of the United States. Washington WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION (1789-1797) 187 made John Jay of New York the first chief justice of this court. Jay was succeeded by John Rutledge of South Caro- Hna, who in turn was followed by OUver Ellsworth of Con- necticut, and he by John Marshall of Virginia. These were all men of great abihty. John Marshall perhaps more than any other molded and shaped the court. He became chief jus- tice in 1801 and held the office for thirty-four years. This Supreme Court is famous in the history of the world as a tribunal of the highest ability, which has fulfilled the prophecy made by Washing- ton concerning it, that it "would give dignity and luster to our national character." 217, Amendments to the Con- stitution. — While AVashington was President, ten amendments to the Constitution were adopted. These were in the nature of a Bill of Rights, and were substantially what Patrick Henry had urged in the Virginia convention. They took away many of the objections which had been raised to the Constitution, limited the power of the national government, and gave more authority to the states and the people. 218. Revenue for the National Government. — At the close of the Revolution and in the dark days of the critical period between 1783 and the beginning of the new government in 1789, the finances of the country had been in an alarming condition. The important question was, "How can sufficient revenue be raised for the new national government, so as to give it substantial and solid standing among the nations of the world?" The United States then, as now, had two prin- JoHN Marshall. 188 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY cipal sources of revenue : taxes on imported goods and taxes on the property of the country.* The new government made use of both of these methods. The prmcipal revenue, however, except in a few instances, from that time until this, has been from tariff on imports. The first tariff bill was First Tariff passed during Washington's first term, and while Bill. primarily it was a tariff for revenue, yet to some extent it was also a tariff for protection .^ Iron, hemp, cotton, and salt were among the majiufactures protected. 219. The First Census. — The first national census was taken in 1790, and a new census has been taken every ten years since. The census bureau is now one of the most im- portant of the national government. Each census collects careful and accurate information not only in regard to the population, but concerning industries, productions, imports, exports, wealth, illiteracy, education, rehgion, and many other important matters showing the progress, development, and condition of the country and its people. 220. Coinage of Money. — The national mint for the coinage of gold, silver, and copper money was established at Philadelphia, where it has ever since been in active operation. The first coins were struck in 1793. The decimal system of money — ten dollars making an eagle, ten dimes a dollar, and ten cents a dime — was adopted. 221. New States. — The new government contained thir- teen states, but during Washington's first term two states 'Taxes on property may l)e on all property, real or personal, or they may be on specific kinds of property, or on goods manufactured. ^A tariff for revenue is a tax on importations from foreign countries and is designed to furnish money to carry on the government. A pro- tective tariff is designed to protect home production; and is placed upon raw materials or goods manufactured in countries where labor is cheap, so that they cannot be sold in the United States at a lower price than goods manufactured here. WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION (1789-1797) 189 From the painting by Stuart. George Washington. were added. These were Vermont, in 1791, and Kentucky, in 1792. During his second term, in 1796, Tennessee was admitted. Hence by the year 1800 there were sixteen states in the Union; eight of them were slave states and eight were practically free states. 222. The French Revolution. — In 1793 the French people executed their king, Louis XVI. Thereupon three 190 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY nations, England, Spain, and Holland, made war upon France. During our Revolutionary struggle, France had aided us with a loan of money, with troops, and ships of war. Many of our citizens now wished that our government would in turn help France in her struggle with those three nations. Wash- ington and Hamilton favored strict neutrality, but Jefferson Division in wished to aid France. 1 Other difTerences arose in the the Cabinet, which caused much heated discussion. Cabinet. ^j^j there was great political excitement through- out the country. Jefferson resigned his position in the Cabi- net at the close of the year, and Hamilton in January, 1795. 223. Great Britain Unfriendly. — Although the EngUsh government had acknowledged our independence and made a treaty of peace with us in 1783, it still retained i)ossession of forts on Lake Erie and in its vicinity. It held Detroit and seemed un- willing to withdraw its troops from our territory. Moreover, American seamen were taken "from our merchant vessels under the pretext that they were Brit- ish deserters, and forced to serve on English shij)s. These things caused a bitter feeling toward England and many of our states- men favored a declaration of war. 224. Jay's Treaty. — War, however, was averted by the >In a letter to the Earl of Biichan, now preserved in the British Mu- seum, Washington Avrote: "I believe it is the sincere wish of United America to have nothing to do with the political intrigues or the squabbles of European nations: l)ut on the contrary, to exchange commodities and live in peace and amity with all the inhal)itants of the earth, and this I am persuaded they will do, if rightly it can be done." John Jay. WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION (1789-1797) 191 celebrated treaty of 1795. This was the work of John Jay, an experienced and discreet statesman, whose services were prominent in the treaty of 1783 and who had served as chief justice of the United States. In some quarters this treaty met with bitter opposition. It was especially criticised be- cause it failed to restrict the British claim of the right to search our vessels and impress our seamen, and because of the feeling that it would restrict our commerce with the West Indies. 225. Treaty with Spain. — During the same year Thomas Pinckney negotiated a treaty with Spain fixing the boundaries between the United States and Florida, and granting New Orleans as an open port of deposit for American merchandise, free of duty. 226. Hamilton and the National Bank. — Alexander Ham- ilton was secretary of the treasury under Washington, and with great skill he established the treasury of the United States on a firm basis. Hamilton favored a national bank, and in 1791 such a bank was chartered by Congress called ''The Bank of the United States." The charter ran for twenty years, and when it expired, in 1811, it was not renewed. But it was rechartered in 1816 for twenty years and never renewed. 227. Washington refuses a Third Term. — Washington, having l^een twice ummimously elected President and having served for eight years, declined a reelection for a third term, and thereby established the precedent in accordance with which no President has been elected for a third term. No one except Washington has ever had a unanimous election. James Monroe, at the time of his reelection in 1820, a period known as "the Era of Good Feeling," came within one vote of a unanimous election. He had two hundred and twenty-eight electoral votes, and a delegate from New Hamp- shire gave John Quincy Adams one vote, not because he was 192 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY opposed to Monroe, but because he was unwilling that any one after Washington should have a luianimous election. 228. Washington's Farewell Address. — Washington had been greatly abused by his political opponents. The attacks upon him had been made, as he himself expressed it, "in terms so exaggerated and indecent as could scarcely be applied to a Nero, a notorious defaulter, or even to a common pick- pocket." Having fully made up his mind to retire to private life, he wrote his ''Farewell Address to the People of the United States." Concerning this address, John jMarshall, in his "Life of Washington" says, "He wished to terminate his political course with an act which might be suita])le to his own character and permanently useful to his country." He calls it "A Valedictory Address, in which, with the solicitude of a person who, in bidding a last adieu to his friends, leaves his affections and his anxieties for their welfare l)ehind liim, he made a last effort to impress upon his countrymen those great political truths which had been the guides of his own administration, and could alone, in his opinion, form a sure and solid basis for the happiness, the independence, and the liberty of the United States." And he adds, "The sentiments of veneration with which this address was generally received were manifested in almost every i)art of the Union." In this address, interesting now as then, "The Father of his Country" spoke many words of important significance. "Promote, then," he said, "as an object of primary impor- tance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. . . . Recom- Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; mends cultivate peace and harmony with all. . . . Har- Peace. mony, and a liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest." 229. Eight Years of Prosperity. — The first eight years under the Constitution were years of increasing prosperity JOHN ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION (1797-1801) 193 for the country. The young repubhc brought new Hfe into every department of domestic production and won the respect of all nations. Its population constantly increased, its indus- tries widened, and its finances improved. All conditions, indeed, were so encouraging as to call forth these words from President Washington: "The wealth and prosperity of these States will increase with that degree of rapidity as to baffle all calculation," SUMMARY As soon as the new government was in active operation, the President proceeded to choose his Cabinet officers. A tariff bill for protection as well as for revenue was passed, a census was taken, a national mint was established, and new states were admitted. It was soon discovered that the Constitution needed some changes and ten amendments were added. A war between France and England brought dissension in the President's Cabinet and much excitement throughout the country. England angered the United States by seizing Ameri- can seamen, but war was averted by Jay's treaty. An agree- ment with Spain fixed the southern boundary between the United States and Florida. Washington refused a third election and closed his eight years of service as President with a remarkable address to the people, in which he urged them to cultivate peace and harmony with all nations. - X - CHAPTER XVII JOHN ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION (1797-1801) 230. The Second President. — By this time the people had become divided into two political parties, the Federalists, and the Republicans or Democratic-Republicans. The Fed- eralists favored a strong, national government. The Repub- licans, on the other hand, beUeved in ''state rights," or state 194 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY supremacy. The former were called "loose construction- ists," and the latter "strict constructionists," from their method of interpreting the Constitution. . John Adams of Massachusetts, the choice of the Fed- eralists, was inaugurated the second President, March 4, 1797, at Philadelphia. The national debt had already been funded, that is, put into bonds bearing regular interest, and a part of it had been paid. Connnerce was increasing and agriculture was everywhere flourishing. The South was especially prosperous because of the rapid increase of the cotton crop, brought about by the cotton gin. 231. Efforts to prevent War. — Jay's treaty, which had prevented a war with Great Britain, was in danger of causing hostilities with France. Accordingly President Adams sent a s})ocial com- mission of three men to France to treat with that country. The commissioners were John Marshall of Virginia, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney of South Carolina, and Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts. The French minister, M. Talleyrand, re- fused to treat with them. Then it was intimated, through secret agents, that if the}^ would pay a quarter of a million dollars to the French government they would be oflricially received and all matters of dispute would soon be settled. To this Pinckney replied, "Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute." This saying at once became popular throughout the United States. The French government ordered the connnissioners to quit the country at once. They forthwith fitted out privateers to prey upon our J()H\ A DA .MS. JOHN ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION (1797-1801) 196 merchant vessels at sea, and this procedure soon led to open warfare. Such a state of affairs required the most careful attention of Congress. The nation must be made ready for war. A provisional army was ordered, and Wash- prepara- ington was conmiissioned lieutenant-general. tions for American men-of-war were instructed to seize any ^^^' French vessel which should commit depredations on American commerce. Intercourse with France was suspended, and it seemed for a time that war could not be avoided. Presi- dent Adams, however, was well aware that we were still a small nation, hardly recovered from the effects of the long struggle with Great Britain. He therefore avoided a dec- laration of war. In 1799 Napoleon became First Napoleon's Consul of France, and the year following a treaty Treaty, was made and peace restored. 232. Alien and Sedition Laws. — Wliile these troubles with France were existing. Congress passed two laws which wgre very unpopular with the people and which did much to destroy the Federalist party and to give the control of the national government at the next presidential election to the Republicans.^ The first of these laws was called The Alien Laiv. It authorized the President to order any foreigner whom he should judge to be dangerous to the peace and liberties of America to depart from the United States; those who refuse to obey the President's command in this re- spect were liable to be fined and imprisoned. A few weeks after the Alien Law was passed, the other, called The Sedition Law, was enacted. It imposed a fine and the penalty of imprisonment upon such persons as should utter any false, scandalous, or malicious writing against the government. Congress, or President, and upon such as should 1 The party then called Republicans was the forerimner of the present Democratic party. 196 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY combine or conspire together to oppose any measure of gov- ernment. These two laws were a great stretch of the power of Con- gress, such as had not been ventured upon since the adoption Opposed of tlie Constitution. The opposing party at once by Repub- called them unconstitutional, claiming that they hcans. violated the first amendment, which prohibited Congress from passing any law to lessen freedom of speech or of the press. '233. Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. — The legis- latures of Kentucky and Virginia were liitterly opposed to The Tomh of Washington at Mdini \ kknox both these laws, and passed resolutions asserting llic doc- trine that a state might judge for itself how far the national authority should bind and control it. These resolutions were the first official utterances of the doctrine which South' Carohna some thirty years later proclaimed, — namely, the doctrine of nullification. 234. Death of "Washington. — Washington, who had commanded the armies of the united colonies, fought the battles of the Revolution, and served as first President of JOHN ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION (1797-1801) 197 the young republic, died at his home at Mount Vernon, on the 14th of December, 1799, not quite sixty-eight years of age. At news of his death the whole country was thrown into deep mourning. By his military ability and success, his constructive statesmanship, his dignity and gentleness under all circumstances, his lofty patriotism and philanthropy, and his high moral character, Washington had endeared himself to all. The high estimation in which he was held is best described by the title given to him, and to him only, famihar now to every school child, "first in w^ar, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." 235. The New Capital. — The seat of government had first been established in New York City, but was soon moved to Philadelphia. In 1800 it was transferred to its permanent home in the new city of Washington on the Potomac River. President Washington himself had chosen the site of the national capital. The land was originally the gift of Maryland and Virginia, but the part given by Mrginia was afterwards returned. Washington located the position of the principal buildings and approved the plan for laying out the streets and squares. The city was named appropriately in his honor, but for a long time it was derisively called "The City of Streets without Houses," and "The Capital of Miserable Huts." 236. Presidential Election (1800). — President Adams was the Federalist candidate for reelection, with Charles C. Pinckney for Vice-President. Thomas Jefferson was the choice of the Republican party, with Aaron Burr for Vice- President. The Federalists, as has been stated, had made themselves unpopular by the Ahen and Sedition laws, and the RepubHcans triumphed. According to the Constitution as it then stood, the candidate who received the largest number of electoral votes became President, and the one who received the next, Vice-President. As there w^ere an equal 198 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY number of votes for Jefferson and Burr, the election was jjjg thrown into the House of Representatives. There Twelfth the choice fell upon Jefferson for President, and Amend- J3^J.J. fQj. Vice-President. To guard against the recurrence of this difficulty of a tie vote, the twelfth amendment to the Constitution was framed. SUMMARY John Adams at his inauguration found the country in a prosperous condition. Jay's treaty, which may have prevented a war with England, very nearly caused a war with France. Pri- vateers preyed upon our vessels, and intercourse with France was suspended. An American army was raised and the nation made ready for war. Hostilities, however, were finally averted and peace was made. The difficulties with France were followed by the passage of the Alien and Sedition laws, which were so unpoj)ular that they prevented the reelection of President Adams. During this administration, George Washington died, and the capital was moved to its permanent home in the new city of Washington. — -^^ — CHAPTER XVIII JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION (1801-1809) 237. The Inauguration. — The third President, Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, Teff arson ^^^ diplomat who had represented his country in Demo- France, who had been governor of Virginia, United cratic in States secretary of state, and Vice-President, was Character, jj^a^g^rated March 4, ISOl.^ The new President was opposed to any display or unnecessary ceremony. His •Jefferson's acquirements were numerous and varied. It was said of him that he " could calculate an eclipse, survey an estate, tie an artery, JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION (1801-1809) 199 habits were simple, and some thought him too careless and midignified for the chief executive officer of an important republic. 238. The New Party and its Policy. — Jefferson's election was the first political revolution since the adoption of the Con- stitution. His message^ voiced the policy of the incoming Re- publican party. This pohcy was to foster carefully the state governments; to restrict the Federal power; to reduce the army and navy, the taxes, and the duties on imports to the lowest available point. The new party favored a currency of gold and silver only, and none of the leaders were in favor of prohibiting Congress from borrowing money. Jefferson par- doned all who had been imprisoned under the Alien and Sedition laws. Party spirit ran high and much bitterness existed in political circles. Thomas Jefferson. plan an edifice, try a cause, break a horse, dance a minuet, and play a violin." A Northern man said of him: "When he spoke of law, I thought he was a lawyer; when he talked about mechanics, I was sure he was an engineer; when he got into medicine, it was evident that he was a physician; when he discussed theology, I was convinced that he must be a clergyman; when he talked of literature, I made up my mind that I had run against a college professor who knew everything." 'Quite in keeping with his democratic character, Jefferson wrote his first message and sent it to the Senate and House to be read, instead of delivering it himself formally in person as both Washington and Adams had done. His example in this respect has been followed by aU succeed- ing Presidents. 200 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 239. The Province of Louisiana under Spain and France. Of the three European nations prominent in the perma- nent colonization of North America, France settled along the valley of the St. Lawrence River, — Quebec, Montreal, and the adjacent places, — England peopled the Atlantic coast from Maine to Georgia, and Spain planted colonies in Florida and ]\Iexico. The treaties of 1763, however, greatly changed the map of North America; France was thereby swept entirely from the continent; Spain came into possession of the whole country west of the Missis- sippi River, and Great Britain had all east of the Mis- sissippi River, together with Canada. Florida was ceded back to Spain in 1783, and in the year 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte made a treaty with Spain by which that country gave up to France the vast territory west of the Mississippi called the Province of Louisiana. Napoleon intended to make Louisiana an important colony of France. 240. The Louisiana Purchase. — Spain had previously agreed to allow New Orleans to be an open port of deposit to the people of the United States. In 1802, however, just before Louisiana was turned over to France, the Spanish governor closed the port of New Orleans to American vessels. This naturally alarmed the people of the Ohio and the Mis- sissippi valleys, since for them the port of New Orleans was the one doof to the commerce of the world. Jefferson, to avoid any conflict with France, proposed to buy from France the island of New Orleans. This island is formed by the Iberville River, Lake Pontchartrain, the Gulf, and the Mis- sissippi. If the island could be bought, he reflected, then the United States would hold the left bank of the river to its mouth and the Mississippi could never be closed to us by any foreign power. Accordingly, Robert R. Livingston, our 'minister to France, was authorized by the President to buy 202 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY the island of New Orleans. Monroe, also, was sent over to aid him and to hasten the negotiations. At this time Napoleon was on the eve of a war with Great Britain, and he feared that power would capture New Orleans and take from France the whole province. He there- A stretch ^^^"^ ^^^^ ^^^ Louisiana to the United States, and the of Consti- treaty was signed early in 1803 by our ministers, tutionai Livingston and Monroe. Mr. Jefferson found °" ^' nothuig in the Constitution giving authority to purchase more territory, but the treaty was so obviously for the good of the country that he signed it, and it was rati- fied liy the Senate. Congress made the necessary api)ro- priations, and the price, fifteen milUon dollars, was paid. We thus doubled our territory and out of the newly acquired section have come twelve great states. This purchase was the j^gjyg most important transaction of Jefferson's eight States from years as President. Indeed it was one of the most the Pur- striking treaties ever made between two nations. In time of peace one government sold to another a territorj^ as larg(^ as all Europe west of Austria. 241. The Lewis and Clark Expedition. — Many years before Jefferson became President he planned an exploring expedi- tion to discover the sources of the Missouri Eiver and, if possi- ble, to find a passage to the Pacific. Very httle was known of the country west of the Mississippi. Before the purchase of Louisiana was proposed, Jefferson had commissioned Meri- wether Lewis, his private secretary, and William Clark to organ- ize an expedition to explore the western land lying between the "Father of Waters" and the "Great South Sea," and, if possi- ble, to find a path either by river or by land to the Pacific. These two l)rave men left St. Louis in May, 1S04, went up the Missouri River to the Mandan country, and wintered near where the city of Bismarck now stands. In the spring JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION (1801-1809) 203 following they pushed on and by early summer reached the snow-capped mountains. These they crossed, and floating down the Columbia River in canoes of their own construc- tion, they were at last gladdened by the sight of the great ocean. They reached the Pacific in November, 1805, and wintered on the shores of Young's Bay, near the mouth of the Columbia. The next year, 1806, starting as early as the condition of the country would allow, they retraced their William Clark. Mekiwkthku Lewis. steps over the mountains and down the Missouri, and reached St. Louis in September, thus completing their marvelous journey of about eight thousand miles performed in two years and four months. This exploration gave us not only much information concerning the region traversed, but also an additional claim to the country drained by the river dis- covered by Captain Gray in 1792, and called by him after his ship;, the Columbia. 204 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 242. War with Tripoli. — For years the pirates of the Barbary States had preyed upon our commerce, seized the cargoes, destroyed the vessels, and sold the crews into slavery. Meanwhile we had paid tribute to prevent the pirates from injuring our commercial trade. Then, when in 1801 we re- fused to pay their demands, the Dey of Tripoh declared war against the United States. A naval force was sent by our government to the Mediterranean, and, largely through the bravery of Stephen Decatur, the Dey made peace and the other Barbary States followed his lead. The war was ended and the tribute ceased. 243. Troubles with Great Britain — The Embargo Act. — The British government persisted in what it called the ''right of search and impressment," which meant the right to stop any vessel upon the high seas, search it for sailors that were British subjects, and force them into British service again. The British frigate Leopard fired upon the American frigate Chesapeake, killing and wounding twenty men, and took from the vessel four of the crew. England, however, disa- vowed the act. Still the English vessels continued to exer- cise the right of search. If any seamen thus taken from American vessels were not British subjects but were Ameri- can citizens, they had no opportunit}^ to prove their claims. Here seemed to be good cause for war, but the United States Embargo was not ready for war. Congress passed an act Act. called The Embargo Act, which forbade all ves- sels to leave or enter American harbors, except for coast trade. This act proved a serious injury to our commerce, but caused less harm to the English trade, against which Non-Inter- it was aimed. Later, Congress repealed the Em- course Act. bargo Act. In its place it passed the Non-Inter- course Act, which forbade English and French vessels to come into our ports. JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION (1801-1809) 205 244. Hamilton and Burr. — Aaron Burr was Vice-President from 1801-1805, that is, during Jefferson's first term as Presi- dent. Party politics ran high and much bitterness of feehng and personal abuse prevailed among the leading poUti- cians. A quarrel of long standing existed between Hamil- ton and Burr. Burr was un- principled and was intensely ambitious. He wanted to be governor of New York, and with a view to that end courted the friendship of the Federal- ists. In the election he was defeated, largely through the influence of Hamilton. In 1801 Hamilton's Burr challenged Death. Hamilton to fight a duel. Hamilton unwillingly accepted and was killed. The tragedy occurred at Wee- hawken, on the Jersey shore opposite New York. The whole country was shocked. The high standing of the two men, one a Vice-President, the other a former secretary of the treasury, increased the sentiment felt by all against this barbarous practice of duelHng. 245. Burr's Southwestern Plot. — Burr was at once shunned, and was not renominated for Vice-President. Find- ing his political career ruined, he remained for a time in hiding and then began to plot a desperate scheme. In 1806 he crossed the Alleghenies and gathered to himself a company of reckless men, ready to follow him in his plans for power and self-glorification. It has never been fully known what, in detail, his ]Droject was, but it was pretty generally understood that he planned a mihtary invasion of the Louisiana country Alexander Hamilton. 206 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY and Mexico, with the intention of organizing a new govern- ment there and putting himself at its head. His scheme failed, and the next year he was arrested and tried for high treason.. Sufficient evidence to convict him was not found and he was Burr's Last discharged. He spent many years as an exile, and Days. finally returned to this country and practised law in the city of New York. He was never able to reinstate him- self in pubhc favor. He died in neglect and poverty in 1836. 246. The American Steamboat. — Improvements in trans- portation form one of the most important chapters in the history of our modern civilization. The excellent road build- ing of Rome constitutes one of the great legacies bequeathed to us by that ancient civilization. But it was left to the nineteenth century to bring into successful operation rail- roads and steamboats. Not wars, but the quiet triumphs of peace, have brought about these great improvements of modern life. Soon after Washington became President, experiments were made with a view to the propelling of boats by steam. Cap- tain Samuel Morey on the upper Con- necticut River, John Fitch at Philadelphia and New York, and James Runisey on the Potomac River, made the attempt with more or less success. It -was, how^ever, left to Robert Fulton, under the patronage and largely at the expense of Robert R. Living- ston, to make successful the American steamboat. Fulton experimented first in England, then in Paris, and finally in New York, where, in 1807, he built the Clermont and made The Clermont. JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION (1801-1809) 207 a successful trial trip to Albany and back. From that time improvements have been rapid in steam navigation, until now the great trans-oceanic steam palaces, such as the ships of the American, the White Star, the Cunard, and the North German Lloyd steamship companies, are among the marvels of the age. 247. Presidential Election (1808). — As Jefferson's second term of office drew towards the end, each party held a caucus of its members of Congress and nominated candidates for President and Vice-President. The Republicans nominated James Madison of Virginia for President, and George Clinton of New York for Vice-President. The Federalists nominated Charles C. Pinckney of South Carolina and Rufus King of New York. Madison and Clinton were chosen. SUMMARY The policy of Jefferson was almost the opposite of that of the two Presidents who had preceded him. A strict construc- tionist, he nevertheless authorized the purchase of Louisiana, though the Constitution gave Congress no express power to make such purchases. Lewis and Clark made their famous exploration of the Mis- souri and Cohimbia rivers and thereby gave the United States another claim to the Oregon country. War was waged with Tripoli. Great Britain continued to seize our seamen. In retaliation the Embargo and Non-Inter- course acts were passed and finally war was averted. Hamilton and Burr fought a duel in which Hamilton was killed. Burr afterward attempted to form a new government in the West, but was defeated in his scheme. The first steam- boat made her trial trip in 1807. 208 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY CHAPTER XIX MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION (1809-18 17) 248. Relations with England. — When Madison came to the presidency he found our relations with England in a sad state. The Non-Intercourse Aot had been a hindrance rather than a help to American commerce. It was repealed in 1810, the second year of Madison's presidency. For two years, how- ever, trade with Great Britain was forbidden. During all this time the President and his Cabinet did all in their power to pre- vent war without at the same time degrading the country. 249. Immediate Causes of the War of 1812. — During the year 1811 the war spirit was greatly inflamed, especially among the Westerners. It was thought that the British had l)cen inciting the northwestern Indians to war. At length Tecumseh, an Indian chief, formed a league of these red men and at their head proceeded against the forces of the United States. General \\llliam Henry Harrison (after- wards President) met the Indians at Tippecanoe and utterly routed them. This incident, with one other, did much to hasten the war. The other incident was that the Little Belt, a British war vessel, fired upon an American frigate, the President, without cause. 250. War with Great Britain. — On the first of June, 1812, President Madison sent a message to Tippecanoe. James Madison. Little Belt and The Presi dent. MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION (1809-1817) 209 Congress in which he mentioned four serious complaints against Great Britain. They were : 1. Impressment of our seamen. 2. Attacks upon American vessels. 3. Injury to our commerce. 4. Tampering with the Indians. Eleven days later, Congress declared war. The majority of the Republican party favored the war, but the Federalists From the painting \>y White. The Constitution Destroying the Guerriere. and the minority of the Republicans were bitterly opposed. The people of the Eastern states were quite generally against the war. Great Britain had a powerful navy, while we had scarcely a dozen vessels. Our army was small, made up of undis- cipHned militia under ignorant officers. Two attem])ts were made in that first year to invade Canada, both of which were 210 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY disastrous to the American cause. But the action of our Success httle navy more than atoned for the army's want of our of success. Captain Hull, in the frigate Consti- ^^^y- tution, fought the British Guerriere off the coast of Newfoundland and in two hours' hard fighting com- pletely wrecked the British frigate. The Wasp defeated the Frolic off North CaroHna, the United States captured the Macedonian, and the Constitution took the Java. The next year (1813) we lost the Chesapeake near Boston, and, in 1814, the Essex at Valparaiso in the Pacific Ocean. Then Commo- Perry's dore Oliver H. Perry, with his little fleet of ves- Victory. ggls built on Lake Erie, attacked the British fleet of six vessels and sixty-three guns and defeated it. He an- nounced his victory thus: "We have met the enemy and they are ours, — two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop." Through Perry's victory the Americans gained com- plete control of Lake Erie. Various engagements followed, highly advantageous to the Americans. The British made an attempt to invade New York by way of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River, but were driven back by Commodore Mac- MacDonough, and in this encounter lost four Donough. vessels and two hundred men. MacDonough's victory ended the war in the North. 251. Massacre at Fort Mims. — In August, 1813, occurred a frightful massacre, by the Creek Indians, of five hundred men, women, and children in southern Alabama. These people had gone for protection to a stockade made for cattle by a farmer named Mims. They were suddenly attacked by a force of one thousand Creeks led by a half-breed named Weathersford. Andrew Jackson was dispatched Tflcksou with a command of troops to avenge this massacre. He overran the whole Creek territory and forced the tribe to sue for peace. MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION (1809-1817) 211 Jackson then set a price on the capture of Weathersford, ahve or dead. One day when the General was sitting in his tent, a big Indian chief walked in and said: "I am Weathers- ford. I am come to ask peace for my people. I Surrender am in your power; do as you please with me. lam ofWea- a soldier. If I had an army I would still fight; thersford. but my warriors hear my voice no longer. Do as you will with me. You are a brave man. I ask not for myself, but for my people." Jackson, of course, was greatly astonished. Being a generous man, he gave the chief his liberty, on his promise to keep the peace in the future — and the chief kept his promise. 252. British capture Washington and burn the Capitol. — The British warships blockaded the Atlantic ports, plunder- ing and burning many of the smaller towns. Admiral Cock- burn with his fleet blockaded the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. In August, 1814, General Ross landed a force of nearly five thousand men in Maryland, and marched rapidly to the new city of Washington. This was at that time little more than a village of eight thousand people. He captured the city and burned the capitol and other public buildings, includ- ing the President's mansion. Before setting the match to his bonfire it is said that Cockburn, followed by a mob of soldiers, entered the hall of the House of Representatives, climbed into the speaker's chair, and put the question, "Shall this harbor of Yankee democracy be burned?" The vote was unanimous in the affirmative and the torch was immediately applied. However, British sentiment in general, as Knight informs us in his history of England, disapproved of the destruction of these non-warlike buildings and con- demned the act as "an outrage inconsistent with civilized warfare." Meantime the President, his family, and his Cabinet fled 212 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY MEXICO CMHEr-^Qj^la ^^.—.■^. Field of Operations in the War of 1812. from the city. Before she went, Mrs. Madison carefully Flight secreted Stuart's famous portrait of Washington of the and the original draft of the Declaration of Inde- President. pendence and thus saved them. So hurried was the retreat from the White House that the President's dinner remained upon the table, where the British soldiers found it MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION (1809-1817) 213 and feasted upon it. After burning these buildings the Brit- ish army retreated. 253. The Star-Spangled Banner. — They sailed away to threaten Baltimore, but the fleet was unable to pass Fort McHenry. All day and until late at night the bombardment continued, but at dawn the American fiag was still waving over the fort. During the night Francis S. Key row^ed out to the British flag-ship, under a flag of truce, in an effort to get a personal friend paroled. The Admiral detained him on From the painting by Carter. The Battle of New Orleans. board the flag-ship till morning. At dawn Key beheld with joy the stars and stripes still waving, and on the inspiration of the moment he wrote the popular national hymn, "The Star-Spangled Banner." The British, having failed to cap- ture Baltimore, sailed away. 254. The Battle of New Orleans. — The British army then directed its operations farther south. On the 8th of January, 1815, was fought the decisive battle of New Orleans. 214 ESSENTIALS OP UNITED STATES HISTORY General Andrew Jackson, having repulsed the British army at Pensacola, had hastened to New Orleans, feehng sure that the enemy would make its next attack there. Jackson's army, although composed of excellent fighting material, — brave frontiersmen used to rough border fights, — was utterly un- disciphned as to mihtary strategy and tactics. The British army, on the other hand, was made up of well-trained soldiers led by superior officers, under the command of Sir Edward Pakenham. Jackson was skillful aiKl energetic in his prepara- tions to defend New Orleans. He put the city under martial law, and built barricades of cotton bales and earthworks. With his five thousand men he was soon in readiness to re- ceive the British army, superior in numbers. The attacking party was brave and confident, but the Americans met its fire with patience and cool courage. The compact fines of the British soldiers were broken; they were repulsed every- Defeat of where ; the dead lay in heaps. The battle was the British, bj-jef ; it lasted but two hours and the chief slaugli- ter occurred in less than half an hour, Pakenham and many officers of high rank were killed. Their loss in all was re- ported to be seven hundred dead on the field, and twice as many wounded. The American loss in the main battle did not exceed eight killed and thirteen wounded. Jackson after- wards, in a letter to a friend, gave his loss as six killed and seven wounded. The British immediately retired and sailed away from the southern coast. This defeat of Pakenham was one of the greatest victories of modern times.* 255. The Hartford Convention. — While the war was in ' At the beginning of the war Jackson had been ordered to raise two thousand troops and proceed to Natchez. While at that place, an order came for him to disband his army. Jackson was indignant. He declared it was unworthy any government to enlist a body of men, march them five hundred miles from their homes, and then turn them off without food, money, or means of transportation. He refused to obey the order and MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION (1809-1817) 215 progress, opposition to it was increasing in certain quarters, especially in New England. In December, 1814, twenty-six delegates from the New England states met in a convention at Hartford, Connecticut. The convention sat for three weeks with closed doors. The fact that its discussions were secret strengthened the impression already prevalent that the object of the convention was treasonable. It was commonly believed that a dissolution of the Union was urged. The published reports of the convention were practically as fol- lows : that no new state be admitted to the Union except by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress; that Congress have no power to lay an embargo for more than sixty days; that no President be eligible for reelection; that a Presi- dent shall not be elected from the state which has furnished the preceding President; and that the proceeds of Federal taxes be turned over to the several states in which they were collected. The people of New England, in general, were hostile to the movement. The political prospects of the dele- End of the gates were ruined, and the Federal party here re- Federalists, ceived its death-blow. 256. Treaty of Peace. — On the 24th of December, 1814, conmiissioners, American and British, signed a treaty at Ghent, in Belgium, which was ratified by both nations. Al- though the war had not been fought through to a result, yet England was wilUng to make peace because of European complications, and America, because of the dissatisfaction felt by so many of our people against the war. The issues marched his men back to Tennessee at his own expense. He was after- wards reimbursed by the government. He had three good horses, but he himself walked and gave his horses to sick men to ride. He was strong and " tough." On the march some one said, " The General is tough, tough as hickory." Hence he was called " Old Hickory," and this name clung to him A\ his life. 216 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY which had brought on the war were not settled by the treaty, and the relations between the two countries appeared to be about the same as before the war. Respect for the United States, however, was strengthened in Europe, and England never afterwards attempted to enforce her claim to the right of search and impressment. Thus the war brought commer- cial independence to America. The treaty was made before the battle of New Orleans was fought, but news of it had not yet reached America. 257. Affairs at Home. — During Madison's two terms our government was so much concerned with European dif- ficulties and the war with Great Britain, that but few domes- tic questions could receive attention. Two efforts, however, were made to charter a national bank, the second of which was successful, in 1816. Two new states were admitted to the Union, Louisiana in 1S12, and Indiana in 1816. 258. Presidential Election (1812). — Madison's second elec- tion was by a vote of one hundred and twenty-eight for him, against eighty-nine for DeWitt Clinton of New York. Dur- ing this second term Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts was Vice-President. In 1816 the candidates of the Repubhcan party were James Monroe for President, and Daniel D. Tompkins of New York for Vice-President. The Federalist candidate for President was Rufus King of New York, and no nomination was made for Vice-President. Monroe and Tompkins were elected by a large majority. SUMMARY War with Great Britain was the chief event of Madison's administration. Many of the principal battles of this war were fought on the sea. The United States had only a few vessels, which, however, usually came off victorious. The British cap- tured and burned the city of Washington, but were repulsed at MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION (1817-1825) 217 Baltimore. Tho most brilliant victory of the war, the defeat of the British at New Orleans, was fought after the treaty of peace had been signed. The war did not settle the difficulties which had caused it, except that England never again attempted to search American vessels. The war was opposed by many of the people of New England. Delegates from the five states met at Hartford and discussed various questions in secret. Their deliberations resulted in nothing but their own political ruin. -$^ CHAPTER XX MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION (i8 17-1825) 259. Era of Good Feeling. — The Federalist party had disappeared and the people were no longer divided on po- litical questions. Hence Monroe's administration has been called the Era of Good Feeling. There was no opposition to Monroe's second election, in 1820, and he received every vote but one. Washing G U L ton, as has been already stated, was the sole President to receive all the electoral votes. 260. The Pur- chase of Florida. — Florida was a Span- ish province till 1763, when it was ceded by vSpain to Great Britain. It was ceded back to Spain in 1783. Spain, however, took but little interest in preserving order there, and the country was overrun with freebooters, Seminole Indians, East and West Florida. 218 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY and runaway slaves. Indeed, the social conditions there were such as to be a constant menace to the people of Georgia. Various attempts were made to purchase the country from Spain. Finally a treaty was negotiated in 1819, by which Spain transferred the two provinces of East and West Florida to the United States for the sum of five million dollars. The final ratification of this treaty was delayed for two years, but in 1821 we came into possession of the entire province. It was organized as a territory soon after the treaty was ratified, and was admitted as a state in 1845. By this Treaty treaty the United States gave up to Spain all her with claim to Texas derived from the purchase of Spain. Louisiana, and Spain in return yielded to us all her claim to the Oregon territory. The forty-second par- allel west of the Rocky Mountains was made the dividing line between the Spanish i)rovinces and the United States. 261. Slave States and Free States. — As early as 1787, in the Federal Convention, the slavery question was a bone of contention among the states. After the invention of the cotton gin, slave labor, which was already an important factor in the South, became more profitable. By the year 1800, all the Southern states were slave states, while all the Northern states were practically free. There were at that time, therefore, eight free states and eight slave states. Consequently the United States had sixteen slave-state sena- tors and an equal number of free-state senators. Henceforth Balance of for half a century the balance of power in the Power. Senate was carefully preserved in the admission of new states. New states were admitted as iollows: In 1803, Ohio, free state; in 1812, Louisiana, slave state. In 1816, Indiana, free state; in 1817, Mississippi, slave state. In 1818, Illinois, free state; in 1819, Alabama, slave state. MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION (1817-1825) 219 In the year 1820, Missouri applied to be admitted as a slave state. 262. The Missouri Compromise. — A large part of Missouri lay just across the river from Ilhnois. The people of that state and other Northern states did not want Missouri to be admitted into the Union as a slave state. Maine was ask- ing for admission, and became a free state in 1820. The South insisted that Missouri should come in as a slave state to keep the balance of power in the Senate, After a long and angry debate, a bill known as the Missouri Compromise Bill was adopted in 1820. This bill provided that Missouri should be admitted as a slave state, but that there should be no slavery in any other portion of ,the Louisiana Purchase north of the parallel 36° 30', the south- ern boundary of Missouri. The result of this compromise was to postpone the settlement of the slavery question, and for thirty years longer new free and slave states were admitted alternately, so that the balance of power was still preserved in the Senate. 263. The Monroe Doctrine. — The Spanish colonies in South and Central America and in Mexico had, previous to the time we are now considering, one after another thrown off the yoke of Spain and become independent states. Spain wished to reclaim them, but was not able alone to accom- plish her desire. She therefore sought aid from other Euro- pean nations. France, Prussia, Austria, and Russia formed what was called the Holy Alliance. This alliance Holy was for protection against revolutionary move- Alliance. ments within their own states. England and the United States interpreted this action as the beginning of an attempt to compel the former colonies of Spain, which had revolted, to return to their allegiance. President Monroe consulted Ex-President Jefferson, who said: "Our first and fundamen- 220 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY tal maxim should be, never to tangle ourselves in the broils of Europe; our second, never to suffer Europe to intermed- dle with Cis-Atlantic affairs." President Monroe, in his message to Congress, December, 1823, announced the three principles known in history as the Monroe Doctrine. These were: 1. Any European power, which should interfere with any American government whose independence had been acknowl- edged by the United States, "for the ])urpose of oppressing them or controlling in any other manner their destiny," would be considered by us as showing an "unfriendly dis- position towards the United States." 2, "It is impossible that the Allied Powers should extend their political system to any portion of either continent [North or South America] without endangering our ])eace and happiness. ... It is . . . impossible that we should behold such intor])()sition, in any form, with indifference." 3. "The American Continents, by the free and independent con- dition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any Euro- pean Power." 264. Tariff for Protection. — After the war with England was over, petitions for an increase of duties on imported goods were made to Congress. In 1816 a new tariff bill was passed, raising the duty on many kinds of wares, especially cotton and woolen goods. Four years later an attempt was made to pass a bill for a higher protective tariff, but by one James Monroe. MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION (1817-1825) 221 vote it failed to become a law. In 1824 a new tariff bill was passed, furnishing greater protection to home industries. 265. Naval Force on the Great Lakes. — In the year 1817 the United States and Great Britain agreed that the naval force on the lakes between this country and Canada should be Hmited. Neither of the two powers should have more than two vessels on the upper lakes, and only one on Ontario and one on Champlain, each vessel to be limited to one hun- RouTEs OF Travel from the Seaboard to the Mississippi. (Note the Cumberland Road, the Erie Canal, the Pennsylvania Canal, and the route down the Ohio River.) dred tons burden, with but a single cannon. These vessels were to act as a police force to keep order and see that the revenues were properly collected. It was further agreed that no vessel should be built on the Great Lakes for war purposes. 266. The Erie Canal. — DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York, advocated the building of a canal across the state 222 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY to connect Lake Erie at Buffalo with the Hudson River at Albany. In 1825 he succeeded in accomphshing this great enterprise. The canal traversed a wilderness, uninhabited or only sparsely settled. It was almost four hundred miles in length, and cost very nearly eight milhon dollars. How- ever, it proved a great success and has continued useful to the present day. 267. Presidential Election (1824-1825). — In 1824 there were no party nominations. A few members of Congress nominated William H. Crawford, Tennessee presented Andrew Jackson, Kentucky Henry Clay, and Massachusetts John Quincy Adams. The electors gave Jackson ninety-nine votes, Adams eighty-four, Crawford forty-one, and Clay thirty- seven. As no one had a majority, the election was thrown into the House of Representatives, and there Adams was chosen. The country was then, as always before and since, divided as to the powers of the Federal government into two parties, "strict constructionists" and ''loose construction- ists." Crawford and Jackson were "strict constructionists," and Adams and Clay were "loose constructionists." The " strict constructionists " held that the Federal government was limited to the powers expressly granted by the Consti- tution. The "loose constructionists" maintained that in the Constitution certain powers may l)e im])lied which are not expressed; that the Constitution is not to be interpreted literally; and that new questions were not provided for in the Constitution. SUMMARY The principal events of the Era of Good Feeling were the purchase of Florida, the beginning of the slavery controversy, the Missouri Compromise, the adoption of the policy known as the Monroe Doctrine, and the opening of the Eric Canal. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION (1825-1829) 223 CHAPTER XXI JOHN QUINCY ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION (1825-1829) 268. Conditions in 1825. — When John Quincy Adams became President, our covmtry was under conditions very different from those which prevailed during the presidency of his father, a quarter of a century before. Twenty-five years had witnessed great progress. The territory was twice as large. The population had grown from four millions to eleven millions. The lousiness centers along the Atlantic coast had developed from small towns into large cities. The tide of emigration was moving westward with increas- ing rapidity, and, as a consequence, the center of population had changed from the eastern side of Chesapeake Bay almost to the western boundary of Maryland. The number of states had increased from sixteen to twenty-four. As yet, there were no railroads and land transportation had made no decided progress. Chnton's ''big ditch," however, and other shorter canals had to some extent lessened the difficulties of conveying freight.^ Moreover, transportation by water had greatly improved. Steamboats had come into common use, especially on the Mississijipi River. The steamship Savannah ' The Cumberland Road, also known as the " Great National Pike," was built by Congress and was intended to make easier communication be- tween the Ohio Valley and the Atlantic seaboard. The first section from Cumberland, Maryland, to the Ohio River was begun in 1806 and was opened to the public in 1820. Later the road was extended to Indian- apolis and afterwards to the Mississippi. It cost nearly seven million dollars. The Cumberland Road was a great aid in helping forward the development of the West. As the roadbed was smooth and the grades were easy, it was usually followed by the many bands of emigrants who were at that time leaving the East for the more fertile regions of the Mis- sissippi Valley. See map on page 221. 224 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY had already crossed the Atlantic, and the Enterprise had steamed round the Cape of Good Hope. 269. Industries. — Farming continued to be the chief occupation. Wheat, Indian corn, barley, oats, potatoes, and hides were the products of the North. Cotton, sugar, Indian corn, rice, tobacco, and indigo were exported from the South. Many cotton and woolen mills had been built in the Eastern states, where spinning, weaving, and indeed all the processes of manufacture were carried on by water power. Map Bbuwinx the position of the - CENTER OK POPULATION j at the close of each Decade from 1790 to 1900 • ^, Center of Pupulativn-® [^Pittsburg V j.j P^ E N N S | _LJ^'UUo The Center of Population. 270. Education. — A rapid advance had been made in educational advantages. Public schools had multiplied, many academies had been estal^lishod, and there were scattered throughout the country more than fifty colleges. The num- ber of newspapers had increased and literature was improv- ing. 271. Church and State. — From the beginning the trend of sentiment had been against a state church. The doc- trine of "freedom in religious concernments" had been adopted and had flourished until, at the period we are con- sidering, it was almost universal. During the first quarter of the century religion had advanced, churches on the voluntary principle had been established almost everywhere. JOHN QUINCY ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION (1825-1829) 225 and great progress was evident in the uplifting of mankind and the enUghtenment of the race. 272. Political Parties. — The Era of Good Feeling was past. New political parties had sprung up and were now divided on important questions. The administration party, with Adams and Clay as leaders, had favored a ^ .^p , , . . , . , . Protective protective tarm and the opinion that internal im- Tariff Na- provements might be made by the national gov- tional and ernment. The other party, under the leadership ^*.^*® of Calhoun, Jackson, and Crawford, opposed the two chief tenets of the governing party and held to the doctrine of state rights and the limited powers of the Federal gov- ernment. The party in power was now known as National Re- publicans, and the followers of Jackson and Calhoun were called Democrats. A few years later the National Republicans took the name of the Whig party. 273. The Deaths of two Ex- Presidents. — John Adams, the second President, and Thomas Jefferson, the third President, died , , , 1 A A ^ cnn J^^N QuiNCY AdAMS. on the same day, July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Amei'ican Dec- laration of Independence. Just before his death, Adams said, "Thomas Jefferson still sur\dves." But Jefferson had already expired. 274. The New Tariff of 1828. —The idea of "protection to home industries" was now supported by the majority in Congress, and that body passed a new tariff law of high pro- tective duties. The duties on wool and hemp, lead, iron, and 226 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY molasses, were very high. The bill, as passed, satisfied no- body, but was a coniproniisc between the different sections of the country. It came to be called the Tariff of Abominations. It was especially disliked by the Southern states. Calhoun, who was then Vice-President, proposed that South Carohna pronounce the act "null and void" in that state. 275. Presidential Election (1828). — The National Repub- lican party nominated Adams for President, and Richard Rush of Pennsylvania for Vice-President. The candidates of the Democratic party were Jackson and Calhoun. Jackson received about twice as many votes as Adams and was elected. Both John Quincy Adams and his father were able and patriotic men, but neither of them was a popular or successful politician. John C. Calhoun. SUMMARY At the time of John Quincy Adams's administration the country showed great progress. Population had increased, transportation facilities had improved, educational advan- tages had developed, and religious freedom had advanced. New political parties had been formed which were opposed to each other on the question of national and state rights and protective tariffs. JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION (1829-1837) 227 CHAPTER XXII JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION (1829-1837) 276. The New President. — Andrew Jackson was a man of vigorous personality. He had lived a frontier life, and was ''rough and ready." He had a strong will and paid little regard to precedents. He was a brave soldier and had won distinction fighting the Indians in Florida and the British at New Orleans. He was, however, without administrative experience. Hitherto the employees in all the departments at Washington had been subject to few changes. In forty years less than two hundred office-holders had been removed. Jackson's motto was, ''To the victor belong the spoils," and he proceeded at once to make more than a thou- The Spoils sand changes. Men of little experience filled the System, positions made vacant. This course, inaugurated by Jackson and known as the "spoils system," has been followed more or less by every President since Jackson. 277. Hayne's and Webster's Speeches in the Senate. — In the year 1830, a great debate took place in the Senate between Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina and Daniel Webster of Massachusetts. Hayne, in a two days' speech, defended the right of a state to nullify a law of Congress. He claimed that every state had a right to decide for itself whether any particular law was in accordance with the Constitution. He was well versed in the history of our country and he quoted the Virginia and the Kentucky resolutions and the doings of the Hartford Convention. His speech was one of power, show- ing that he was an able statesman, a careful student of history, and a great orator. Webster replied in a three days' speech which has to this day been considered, both at home and abroad, one of the noblest specimens of oratory in the English 228 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY language. Hayne had made a bitter attack upon New Eng- land, upon Mr. Webster personally, and upon the character and patriotism of Massachusetts. Webster argued that the Constitution was the supreme law of the land. He called nullification "revolution." One of Webster's biographers writes of this speech: "He said, as he alone could say, the people of the United States are a nation, they are the masters of an empire, their union is indivisible, and the words which then rang out in the Senate chamber have come down through long years of pohtical conflict and of civil war, until at last they are part of the })o- litical creed of every one of liis fellow-countrymen." He argued with great power that "lil}crty and union, now and forever," are "one and insep- arable." Later Haj^ne resigned his seat in the Senate and was elected governor of South Carolina. Calhoun resigned his office of Vice-President, and was elected to succeed Hayne in the Senate. 278. South Carolina and Nullification. — In those days the most important question in the minds of the people was the tariff. Four years after the tariff law of 1828, a new tariff bill was substituted, more uniform and with a lower average rate of duty. By this later bill the duties upon goods im- ported into the South were lower; yet the bill still held to the i)rincii)le of protection, and to this principle Calhoun and South CaroUna were opposed. Daniel Webster. JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION (1829-1837) 229 Collection Bill. A convention was held at Columbia, South Carolina, in November, 1832, which passed an Ordinance of Nullification. It declared the tariff^ acts null and void in South Carolina, for- bade the payment of duties under tliese acts, and threatened to withdraw from the Union if the Federal government should attempt to enforce these laws in that state. Jackson, how- ever, determined to preserve the integrity of the Union. The next month he issued a proclamation to the people of South Carolina, warning them that the general government could not and would not yield to their demands, and jj^g insisting that the duties must be collected there Revenue as in the other states. Jackson then asked author- ity from Congress to collect the duties in South Carolina by force if necessary, and in response Congress passed the so-called Force Bill. 279. Clay's Compromise Tariff Bill. — In 1833 Henry Clay introduced a new tariff bill, by which duties were to be de- creased regularly every two years until 1842, when they were to be brought to a uniform rate of twenty per cent upon all imports. This bill became a law and South Carolina repealed the Nullifica- tion Act. Thus peace was re- stored. By this compromise the protectionists, on their part, had lost, for the time being at least, and South Carolina, on her part, in her attempt at nulhfication had received no support from any other state. 280. Presidential Election (1832). — The Democrats nomi- nated Jackson for reelection, and Martin Van Buren of Hexky Clay. 230 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY New York for Vice-President. The National Republicans nominated Henry Clay of Kentucky for President, and John Sergeant of Pennsylvania for Vice-President. Jackson and Van Buren were elected by a large majority. 281. The United States Bank. — Jackson feared the power of the United States Bank, which had been in operation since 1816. He thought the bank was opposed to him pohtically, and he determined to destroy it, if he could. The bank had been chartered for twenty years, and the Supreme Court of the United States had pronounced the charter valid. In 1832 Congress passed a bill re-chartering it, and Jackson Jackson vetoed the bill. In his veto message he pronounced vetoes a the bank " unnece9 and then fought the battle of Buena Vista (bu'na vis'-ta), where in Buena February, 1847, he defeated the Mexican general, Vista. Santa Ana (san'ta' ii'na) and a force greatly superior in num- bers to his own. 303. The American Plan. — While General Taylor was to advance upon the City of Mexico from the north. General Scott, who had landed with twelve thousand men at Vera Cruz (va'-ra kroos), was to approach the capital city from the east. General Kearny was to capture the old town of Santa Fe (san'-ta fa') and the province of New Mexico. At the same time a fleet of American vessels, under the command of Commodores Sloat and Stockton, which had already been sent to Upper California in anticipation of the war, was to take possession there. In every detail this plan was carried out. In California, Los Angeles (los an'-gel-es), Monterey and San Francisco were captilred; General Fremont was elected governor by the American settlers there. All New Mexico fell into the hands of the Americans. General Scott, wno was placed in su- preme command, marched his army to the City of Americans Mexico. Various battles w^re fought, in which, Every- as throughout the war, the Americans were always where Vic- \ictorious. In September, after hard fighting, Mexico surrendered . The triumi)hant American army marched into the city of the Montezunias, and the war was practically at an end. 244 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Field op Operations in the Mexican War. 304. The Treaty of Peace. — Upon the fall of the capital, the Mexican government was willing to sue for peace. A treaty was negotiated at Guadalupe Hidalgo (ga'-da-loop' he-dal'-go), in February, 1848, by which Mexico yielded Texas, agreeing that the western boundary should be the Rio Grande. Furthermore, Mexico ceded to us her two provinces of Upper California and New Mexico, with the provision that the United States pay to her the sum of fifteen million dollars, and satisfy the claims of American citizens against POLK'S ADMINISTRATION (1845-1849) 245 The Mexican Cessions and the Oregon Country. her to the amount of three iniHion two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 305. The Gadsden Purchase. — Five years after the date of this treaty, an additional territory was conveyed by Mexico to the United States. This territory has been called the Gadsden Purchase, because the treaty was made by Captain James Gadsden. It was a tract to the westward of the Rio Grande and south of the Gila (he'lii) River. It cost us ten million dollars. The purchase was made on account of a difficulty respecting the boundary, and because it was thought 246 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY that the United States might desire at some future time to build here a railroad to the Pacific. The Southern Pacific railroad now runs through the entire length of this district. 306. Increase of Territory. — The original territory of the United States was wholly east of the Mississippi River and included about eight hundred and twenty thousand square miles. By the Louisiana Purchase the territory was extended to embrace in addition more than nine hundred thousand square miles, and by the acquisition of Florida nearly sixty thousand more. The winning of Oregon gave us about three hundred thousand square miles, and the Mexican purchase, including Texas, increased our area by more than nine hun- dred thousand. We had, therefore, at the time we are con- sidering, an extent of territory more than three times that of the original. We had advanced from the eastern side of the "Father of Waters" to the very shores of the Pacific. 307. . The Wilmot Proviso. — When the President asked Congress for money to buy territory of Mexico, David Wil- mot of Pennsylvania offered in the House of Representatives a "proviso" that slavery should forever be prohibited in any territory purchased from Mexico. Although this did not pass Congress, it strongly affected the general sentiment of the people of the North. The opinion was rapidly growing in all the free states that slavery should not be further extended. The principle seemed to be that while, under the Constitu- tion, the national government could not interfere with the domestic institutions of the several states, yet Congress had the constitutional power to "make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territories." The proposal of the Wilmot proviso angered the peojjle of the slave states, and, on the other hand, failure to pass the proviso offended the opponents of slavery. 308. The Cost of the War and its Results. — The Mexican 1U2' LongituJo Wci MAP SHOWING THE TERRITORIAL GROWTH OF THE UNITED STATES 60 100 SCALE OF MILES POLK'S ADMINISTRATION (1845-1849) 247 War cost the United States very nearly one hundred milHon dollars and a great loss of life. The number killed in our army was not relatively large, but very many died later from disease occasioned by the war. Our armies had been successful throughout, but our coun- try had little cause to be proud. In comparison with us, Mexico was a small, weak nation. At the close of the war she was very unwilling to give up any of her territory. But she had been conquered. Her adversary had fought the war for territory and insisted upon securing it. Mexico was obliged to yield. It is to the credit of the United States, however, that we paid full price for the land acquired. The opposition to the war, especially in the North, had been powerful, but not sufficiently so to prevent opposition it. Many of our best statesmen then and since to the were outspoken in condemning it. General Grant ^^^* has called it "one of the most unjust wars ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation." 309. Discovery of Gold in California. — Some years before the Mexican War a native of Switzerland, John A. Sutter, made his way from San Francisco into the interior of Cali- fornia and built a house for himself in the Sacramento Valley. In January, 1848, while he was building a sawmill about forty miles east of the present city of Sacramento, one of his workmen, James A. Marshall, discovered gold that had been washed down in the mill race. Soon large numbers from the neighborhood flocked to the place to dig gold. Later in the year news of the discovery of gold spread over the country and multitudes from far away went to Cali- fornia. These gold-diggers were mainly from the Northern states, and went to California either by way of Cape Horn or across the Isthmus of Panama. By the autumn of 1849 there were one hundred thousand inhabitants in the territory. 248 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 310. California State Constitution Adopted, — At Mon- terey, in October, 1849, a convention assembled and framed a constitution. This constitution was adopted by the people in November, and California then made application to Con- gress to be admitted into the Union as a state. This was before Congress had had time to form a territorial govern- ment. California was made a state in 1S50. 311. Other New States. ^ In 1845 Texas and Florida were admitted to the Union, and Iowa the next year. 312. A New Political Party. — This acquisition of Cali- fornia, a great part of which was in the latitude of the Southern or slave states, and the failure of the Wilmot proviso, so in- censed the people of the Northern or free states that a new party was formed, called the Free Soil party. They de- clared for " Free Soil for a Free People." It was proposed by this party not to interfere with slavery where it already ex- isted, but to op]3osc its extension into any new territory. 313. Presidential Election (1848). — The Democrats nomi- nated Lewis Cass of Michigan and William 0. Butler of Ken- tucky. The Whigs chose as candidates Zachary Taylor of Louisiana and Millard Fillmore of New^ York. The new Free Soil party nominated Martin Van Buren of New York, and Charles Francis Adams of Massachusetts. Taylor and Fill- more were elected by a majority of both the free and the slave states. SUMMARY A dispute over the Texan boundary brought on a war with Mexico, which resulted in a complete victory for the United States. By the treaty of peace we came into possession of New Mexico and California. This territory was later increased by the Gadsden Purchase. Gold was discovered in California in the winter of 1848. The population there increased so rapidly that within two years California was admitted as a state. TAYLOR AND FILLMORE'S ADMINISTRATION (1849-1853) 249 CHAPTER XXVI TAYLOR AND FILLMORE'S ADMINISTRATION (1849-1853) 314. Compromise of 1850. — California had asked to be admitted without an "enabhng act," and had presented to Congress a free state constitution. Thus she was the cause of a controversy in Congress. The free states favored her ad- mission and the slave states opposed it. The result was the Compromise Measures of 1850. These were as follows: The Result of the Compromise of 1850. 1. California to be admitted as a free state. 2. The slave trade to be prohibited in the District of Columbia, though slavery still continued there. 3. The rest of the Mexican cession to be organized into two territories, Utah and New Mexico, with or without slavery, as each should decide. 4. Texas to be paid ten million dollars for portions of her pubhc lands. (These lands are now included in New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma.) 250 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 5. A strict Fugitive Slave Law to be enacted. The Fugitive Slave Law which was passed required the citizens of the free states to aid United States officers in capturing runaway slaves. The law was opposed by many Northern people, and most of the free states passed what were called Personal Liberty bills, which interfered with its execution. The passage of these bills greatly angered the people of the South. Thus the slavery controversy in- creased; the breach was widened, and the ahenation of the two sections of the countr}^ intensified. 315. Death of President Taylor. — President Taylor, having served as President only a little over a year, died on the 9th of July, 1850. He was succeeded l)y the Vice-Presi- dent, Millard Fillmore. Thus a second time the Whig party lost its President by death, and this time, as before, the Vice- President's policy was fatal to the success of the party. Diuing this administration the older political leaders passed away. New leaders rose up who came to be classed as cither joro-slavery or anti-slavery men. On the one hand were Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia, and Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois; and on the other were William H. Seward of New York, Salmon P. Chase of Ohio, and Charles Sumner of Massachusetts. Douglas was not, strictly speaking, a pro-slavery leader, though he was so considered by many anti-slavery men. 316. Speech of Webster. — Daniel Webster delivered in the Senate, on the 7th of March, 1850, a memorable speech in which he opposed the Wilmot Proviso and defended the Fugitive Slave Law. This speech, his last great effort, was variously interpreted. Some thought that he apologized for slavery and had deserted his Northern fiiends and his prin- ciples; others believed that he made a bid for the Southern favor to help him to the presidency. And still others thought TAYLOR AND FILLMORE'S ADMINISTRATION (1849-1853) 251 that he aimed only to harmonize the views of the North and the South. Viewed in the broader light of this later day, it seems probable that he was greatly influenced by his fear of secession. But, what- ever his motives, the speech seriously injured his influence. It offended the great mass of the Northern people, and Web- ster never regained his former popularity. He was not nomi- nated for the presidency in 1852. He died in October of that same year, a disappointed man. 317. Presidential Election nominated Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire, and William R. King of Alabama, The Whigs named General Winfield Scott of Virginia, and William A. Graham of North Carolina. The Free Soilers nominated John P. Hale of New Hamp- shire, and George W. Julian of Indiana. The Wliig party carried only four states for their candidates. Pierce and King received the electoral votes of the other twenty-seven Millard Fillmore. states and were elected. This election was the death war rant of the Whig party. (1852). Zachary Taylor. The Democrats 252 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY SUMMARY The request of California to be admitted as a free state was the cause of a bitter controversy in Congress. The compromise measures of 1850 served only to widen the breach between the North and the South. President Taylor died in office and most of the old party leaders passed away. New leaders came to the front and these were either pro-slavery or anti-slavery men. CHAPTER XXVII PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION (1853-1857) 318. . The World's Fair. — In 1S51, a ''World's Fair," to illustrate the world's progress in the arts and sciences, was held in London, at the ''Crystal Palace," a large building covered with glass. This attracted so nuieh attention that it was followed by another World's Fair, held in another Crystal Palace, at New York in the sununer of 1853. Ya- rious nations were invited to exhibit with America. The fair had ex- cellent results. Thereby America saw what the nations of Fiu'ope were doing, and those countries saw how rapidly America was improving, and wherein she excelled. 319. Commodore Perry and Japan. — The ports of China and Jajian Ijad been closed to foreign countries for ages, England, by a war begun in 1840, had forced China to open her ports. A little later the United States made a treaty FkANKLIN PlEHCE. PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION (185^-1857) 253 with China for free commerce. Then, in 1853, Commodore Matthew C. Perry was sent by our government to Japan to endeavor to make a treaty for open trade between our people and that country. The next year he succeeded in securing from the Japanese government a treaty by which certain ports were rendered free of access to our commerce. Friendly diplomacy had secured for us what other nations had been unable to accomplish. 320. Kansas-Nebraska Act. — Stephen A. Douglas, Dem- yOTE: In all TerritoHea ^'Queatitm ^i-^^f Slavery" left toseltlers. The Result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. ocratic senator from Illinois, introduced in the Senate a bill (1854) for the organization of the two territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It was proposed in the bill that the peogle of these territories be given the right to decide whether, as territories, they should have slavery or not. The first settlers in a new territory were called squatters. Hence this new doctrine received the name of ''Squatter Sover- eignty." The bill virtually repealed the provision in the Missouri Compromise that there should be no more slave ter- 254 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY ritory north of 36° 30'. It was called the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, and it gave rise to a vigorous and bitter controversy in Congress and throughout the country. However, it finally passed both houses of Congress and became a law. Douglas hoped that this would settle the slavery question. But results proved otherwise. 321. The Border War. — The contest was only removed from Congress elsewhere. Kansas now became the battle- ground. The champions of freedom and of slavery each strove to secure the state. Missouri sent many emigrants over the border; these built the town of Atchison and this place became the center of pro-slavery operations. On the other hand, a society in New England, formed for the purpose, sent anti-slavery men into the new territory. They built the town of Lawrence, which became the headquarters of the anti-slavery movements. As it was clearly api)arcnt that whichever side should have a majority of the votes would will when a government should be established, each of the two parties was striving to build up a population of its own sort in Kansas. 322. Election Contested. — An election was called and many of the inhabitants of Missouri went over the border to vote and then returned to their homes. Thus a pro- slavery legislature was elected. The Free State party, however, held a convention at Topeka, framed a consti- tution, and applied to Congress for admission as a free state. The House of Representatives voted in favor of admission, and the Senate voted against it. 323. Civil War in Kansas. — What might be called a civil war now ensued. Houses were pillaged and burned, assassinations were frequent. These crimes were not con- fined to one party, though the opinion became current that the pro-slavery men were the more violent and PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION (1853-1857) 255 reckless. The administration at Washington favored the pro-slavery side, and one governor after another was ap- pointed by the President and sent to Kansas with the hope of quieting the belligerents, but no one of them was able to preserve the peace. This unfortunate state of affairs continued for several years, and it was not till 1857 that the Free State party gained a clear majority in the terri- torial legislature and hence slavery was excluded. The terri- torial government continued until 1861, so that not till the representatives and senators from the seceded states had withdrawn from Congress did Kansas come in as a state of the Union. 324. The Republican Party. — One important result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act could not have been foreseen by its friends. It was nothing less than the formation of a new and strong political party, destined to have a national majority before many years should pass by. Early in 1856 the Anti-Nebraska party, hitherto called the Free Soil party, adopted the name ''Republican." This party soon received large accessions, especially from the old Whig party. 325. Charles Sumner Attacked. — During this Kansas turmoil, Charles Sumner, a senator from Massachusetts, a strong, independent, out-spoken anti-slavery man, made vigorous speeches against slavery and the pro-slavery party. In one of his speeches he made severe mention of Senator Butler of South Carolina, who was absent at the time. Preston S. Brooks, a member of the House from South Carolina and a nephew of Senator Butler, entered the senate- chamber after adjournment, and approaching Senator Sumner from behind brutally attacked him.^ He beat the ^ The Constitution prescribes that the members of either house shall be " privileged from arrest," and that " for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place." 256 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Massachusetts senator on the head with a thick cane until Sumner lay on the floor unconscious. Sumner was so seri- ousl}^ injured that for years his seat remained vacant in the senate-chamber, "a silent pro- test against unpunished vio- lence." Meantime his term of office expired, but he was unani- mously reelected by the legis- lature of ^lassachusetts. A majority of the House of Rep- resentatives voted to expel Brooks, but since the vote was not a two-thirds vote he was not expelled. He innnediately resigned his seat, but was unanimously reelected by his district. 326. Presidential Election (1856). — The Democratic party nominated James Buchanan, an experienced statesman from Pennsylvania, and John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky. The newly formed Republican party nominated John C. Fremont of California, and William L. Dayton of New Jersey. The Democratic candidates, Buchanan and Breckinridge^ were elected. SUMIVIARY The first World's Fair was held early in Pierce's adminis- tration. Commodore Perry, representing the United States, made with China and Japan treaties allowing Americans to trade with those countries. Stephen A. Douglas introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Bill in the Senate and it became a law. Douglas hoped that this would settle the dispute on the slavery question. Instead it brought about a civil war in Kansas, and led to the formation of the Republican party. BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION (1857-1861) 257 CHAPTER XXVIII BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION (1857-1861) 327. The Dred Scott Decision. — Questions relating to slavery now fully absorbed the public mind. In spite of Mr. Douglas's good intention in putting forward his bill, the next few years showed that he had made a great mistake. That which perhaps did more than anything else to antagonize the North was the decision of the Supreme Court on the Dred Scott case. Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri, and his master had taken him to Illi- nois, a free state. Hence he claimed his freedom. The case came before the St. Louis court, by which the slave was given his freedom, but it was later appealed to the Supreme Court of Missouri, by which the St. Louis verdict' was set aside and Scott was sent back to slavery. Then the case was carried to the United States Circuit Court. Finally it went <• to the Supreme Court. The decision of this Court, pronounced by Chief-Justice Taney (taw'-ney), was that Dred Scott must remain a slave. Further- more Taney pronounced the Missouri Compromise uncon- stitutional, null, and void, and denied the right of Congress or of a territorial legislature to make any restrictions con- cerning slavery in any territory. He affirmed that slaves had no right to sue in the courts, as they were not citizens of the United States, and seemed to approve the statement that the negro "had no rights that a white man was bound to respect." Jame.s Buchanan. 258 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY The decision in the case, while it pleased the South, repulsed Its Effect tlie North. The great body of the people in the on the non-slave-holding states condennied it as unjust Sections. ^^^ unconstitutional. The result was that it in- flamed the people of the two sections and greatly increased the alienation of sentiment which existed between them. 328. The Lincoln and Douglas Debates. — Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln were Illinois candidates for a seat in the United States Senate. During the campaign they "stumped the state" together, and made a series of speeches from the same platforms. The debates between them became famous. The questions which they discussed were those then agitating the public mind all over the country. The two champions themselves were intellectual giants. Perhaps no other political debate was ever so powerful or so far-reaching in results. Douglas had the difficult task of trying to reconcile the Dred Scott decision with his own doctrine of ''Squatter Sovereignty." Lincoln took the ground of the moderate anti-slavery men and oi){)osed, on the one hand the Kansas-Nei^raska Act, and on the other the Dred Scott decision. Douglas was a great orator, but Lincoln proved quite his equal in logical reasoning and in skillful tactics. Douglas knew him well and before the debates began he is reported to have said: 'H shall have my hands full. He is the strong man of liis party, full of wit, facts, dates, and the best stump speaker in the West; he is as honest as he is shrewd." Lincoln one day said to a friend: ''I shall ask Douglas a question to-night and I don't care a 'Continental' which way he answers it. If he answers it one way, it will lose him the senatorship; if he answers it the other way, it will lose him the presidency." This question related to slavery in the territories. If a majority in any territory was opposed BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION (1857-1861) 259 to slavery and the minority was in favor, what would be the outcome? Judge Douglas answered that the majority must rule. This was not according to the decision in the Dred Scott case in which the Supreme Court held that by constitutional right slaves could be taken to any of the ter- ritories of the Union. Douglas's answer satisfied the people of Illinois and they elected him senator, but it "lost him the presidency," for it displeased the South. 329. The John Brown Raid. — The Kansas difficulties, the Dred Scott decision, and the Lincoln-Douglas debates had all served to keep the political fires at white heat. As though all this were not enough, however, a foolhardy at- tempt for immediate emancipation of the slaves by insurrec- tion made the excitement still more intense. John Brown, a bold and fearless man, who had been one of the foremost Free State leaders in Kansas, conceived the idea of freeing some slaves, arming them, and starting an insurrection, probably with the hope of frightening the South into proclaim- ing emancipation. On the night of the 16th of October, 1859, Brown, his son, and a few other persons captured, without bloodshed, the United States arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, armed a few negi'oes, and patrolled the vil- lage. Brown was easily overpowered, several of his men were killed, and the remainder captured by the military. Brown himself was tried by a Virginia court, and sentenced to be hanged. He was executed December 2, 1859. Very few in the North sympathized with Brown's useless and foolhardy raid. The people of the South, how- ever, were highly incensed at this attempted insur- supported rection and failed to understand that only a few by Most Northerners desired the immediate abolition of Northern- crs. slavery, and that fewer still approved of any insur- rection for the purpose. All anti-slavery men were classed by 260 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Southerners as abolitionists, and henceforth Southern Demo- crats had only scorn and contempt for the ''Black Repub- licans," as thoy called the new Northern party. 330. The Slavery Question. — The fathers of the republic, in the South as well as in the North, had been generally opposed to slavery and had expected that in time it would be abolished. But as the years passed by and slave labor became more and more profitable, the people of the South Copyright, 1S1I2 ly J. Horgan, Jr. Negro Laborers in the Cotton Field. arrived at the conclusion that slavery was not only desirable, but justifiable, claiming that it was sanctioned by the Bible. In the North, where most of the people disapproved of keep- ing men and women in bondage, the question was widely discussed. Anti-slavery societies had been formed which ad- vocated the abolition of slavery, and some went so far as to declare that this should be immediate.' The majority of 'In 1831 William Lloyd Garrison, an earnest opponent of slavery, began in Boston the publication of a vigorous anti-slavery paper, called BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION (1857-1861) 261 the people, however, did not sympathize with these extreme ideas, not because they thought them wrong but because they thought them unwise. Moreover, all this discussion, while it widened the breach between the North and the South, served rather to make the condition of the slave harder. Petitions concerning slavery were continually sent to Congress, where they were usually read by John Quincy Adams. ^ The House of Representatives passed The Gag a resolve known as the Gag Rule, which forbade Rule. any petition on the subject of slavery to be presented. Mr. Adams, in spite of threats, ridicule, and abuse, persisted in offering the petitions, and finally the rule was repealed. 331. Condition of the Country Before the Civil War. — Before taking up the election of a new President in 1860, it will be well to review the condition of the country and to observe what great advances had been made in different directions since the beginning of the nineteenth century. 332. Postage. — Rates of postage were fixed by Congress in 1792. At various times after that date the rates were reduced. In 1843 the postage on a single sheet of paper for a distance under thirty miles w^as six cents; from thirty to sixty miles, eight cents; from sixty to one hundred miles, ten cents; and the highest rate was twenty-five cents for four hundred and fifty miles or more. In 1845 the postage for a letter not exceeding half an ounce was The Liberator. He was an extreme agitator, and denounced the United States Constitution as a "covenant with death and an agreement with hell." He pubUshed this paper till slavery was abolished and then it was discontinued. The abolition party in the North was always small, but it greatly inflamed the people of the South. ' After John Quincy Adams had served his term as President of the United States, he was elected a representative to Congress from Massa- chusetts. He was re-elected by his district again and again until his death in 1848. During this period he probably did his best service for his country. He was known as " the old man eloquent." 262 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY made five cents for three hundred miles or less, and ten cents for a distance more than three hundred miles. In 1851 the rates were again reduced. * Postage stamps have been in use since 1847. Before that time postmasters stamped on a letter the word " paid." 333. Temperance. — Societies to diminish the evils of drunkenness began about the year 1825. Until that time almost everybody drank intoxicating liquors and drunken- ness was everywhere common. The American Society for the Promotion of Temperance w^as formed in 1826, and in 1840 the Washingtonian Temperance Society was organized. Other temperance and total abstinence societies followed, and a great awakening in regard to the evils of intemper- ance resulted. Many inebriates were reformed, and multi- tudes were kept from the habit which leads to drunken- ness.^ 334. India Rubber. — Rubber shoes were first seen in the United States in 1820, and two years later a Boston sea- captain brought into jjort five hundred ]3airs of rubber shoes, made by the natives of Brazil. They were quickly sold, but the rubber was soft and easily cut by ice and stones. Shortly afterwards, experiments were made in America to manufacture other kinds of rubber goods. A man named Chaffee thought that he had succeeded in making rubber * In 1883 letter postage was changed from three cents to two cents for any distance in the United States, and a Httle later the weight of a letter for a single postage was fixed at one ounce. Postal cards were first used in Austria and were adopted in our country in 1873. Two years later the Interaational Universal Postal Union began its work at Berne, Switzerland. Its operations have been continued and enlarged until all civilized nations have joined it, and there is now a uniform postage to nearly all parts of the world. 2 To-day laws are in force in all the states, which require all the pub- lic schools to teach the nature of alcohol and its effects upon the human system. BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION (1857-1861) 263 cloth. But the heat of summer melted it and the cold of winter hardened it, so that it was almost useless. For ten years Charles Goodyear worked to discover some substance that would harden gum rubber so that it would not be affected by either heat or cold. He was called the ''India-rubber Maniac," and people described him -^^6 "In- as '' a man with an India-rubber coat on, India-rub- dia-rubber ber shoes, an India-rubber cap, and in his pocket Maniac." an India-rubber purse, and not a cent in it." At times he even felt obliged to sell his children's school books to buy material for his work, but he was at last successful and, in 1844, received his patent for vulcanized rubber. 335. The Sewing-Machine. — In 1846, Elias Howe suc- ceeded in inventing the first practical sewing-machine. At first people were greatly opposed to it, as they were to all labor-saving machines, because it was thought these inven- tions would take away from the working man his means of livelihood. After a time, when people realized the value of sewing machines, Howe made a fortune. The machine was soon adapted to the sewing of all kinds of materials, and the cost of clothing was lessened. No invention has proved a greater blessing or made more of an advance in* American life than this. 336. The Reaper. — Another invention of great impor- tance was produced about this same time. Hitherto all hay and grain had been cut by the hand-scythe or sickle. This was a slow process and suitable only for small farms. As early as 1831 Cyrus McCormick had produced a successful reaper, but for ten years farmers would not buy it, and by 1850 only three thousand had been sold. The next year Mr. McCormick exhibited his machine at the World's Fair in London. The English papers made all manner of fun of it. Nevertheless the reaper easily proved itself superior to all 264 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Cyrus w. McCormick. similar machines. The watching farmers were obliged to give it three hearty cheers, and one broke his sickle across his knee, saying that he would no longer need it. Since then the reaper has been improved again and again, and other farm- ing machines equally marvelous liave been invented. But for them we should not have our great gi-ain fields of the West. 337. Ether. — One of the most wonderful discoveries of this i)erio(l was the use of ether as an ansesthetic. It was found that the inhalation of ether would put a sufferer to sleep and render him unconscious of pain. It was first successfully used in a surgical operation in the Massachusetts General Hospital in 1846. 338. Petroleum. — The first profitable oil well in this country was sunk by Colonel Drake in western Pennsylvania in 1859. It was soon discovered that oil existed in large quantities under the surface of the ground in various parts of the country. In different forms it was put to a variety of uses, and in its refined state as kerosene it took the place of whale oil and candles for common lighting purposes. 339. Transportation. — Railroads had been rapidly built since 1830. In that year there were but twenty-three miles of rails in the entire country, and by 1860 over thirty thou- sand had been constructed. The South was put into connec- tion with the North, and the West with the East, though no road joining the Atlantic and Pacific coasts yet existed. Moreover, Europe and America were brought more closely together than ever before. New lines of steamboats soon BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION (1857-1861) 265 made the trip from New York to Liverpool in less than twelve days. 340. The Results of Inventions. — All these changes had made a great difference in American life. The labor of the housekeeper and the workman had been lightened. The cost of living had decreased and wages had advanced. The merchant was brought into closer intercourse with his cus- tomer, and the buyer was able to get greater value for his money and to obtain the luxuries as well as the necessities of life. The people had more money and there were more things for them to buy. They also had more time for recreation and for reading the many books and papers that the improved printing presses had made possible. 341. Men of Letters. — American literature had become an estabhshed fact. Our authors were being read and praised on both sides of the Atlantic. Names such as Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, Wilham Cullen Bryant, George Bancroft, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry W. Long- fellow, and many others were already famous. 342. Immigration. ^ The migration of foreign-born people to this country and their permanent settlement here have been unprecedented. First, as we have seen, as early as the seventeenth century people came, especially from Eng- land, and established themselves along the Atlantic slope. This first migration of a sturdy, vigorous race resulted in the establishment of the English colonies, which afterwards became the thirteen states of the American republic. Near the close of the eighteenth and the opening of the nineteenth centuries there was a second migration. This was across the Allegheny Mountains to the Mississippi Valley. A third migration had already begun in the period we are now considering, although it has taken place largely within the last fifty years. This third migration was over the Rocky 266 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Mountains to the Pacific coast. These second and third migrations, it should be noted, were made by the descendents of the first. All three, therefore, were of the same race. 343. Migration from Foreign Countries. — About a cen- tury ago there began a migration to our shores different from these other three. This immigration was from all Copyright, 1900, by Detroit Photographic Company. A Foreign Quarter in New York City. parts of Europe. The immigrants came to better their condition, which was, for the most part, poor. They came in small numbers till about the year 1840. Since then the numbei- of our foreign-born citizens has continued to nuiltiply rapidly. During the sixty years liefore the begin- ning of the present century our population was mcreased by nearly twenty million persons of foreign birth. In the BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION (1857-1861) 267 early days of foreign immigration, the great part of this increase was from Ireland and Germany. More recently the larger part of it has been from Italy, Russia, Poland, and Austria-Hungary. In New England many Canadians have settled. These newcomers have spread themselves well over our country, except the Southern states. They are in large numbers in the great cities like New York, Chicago, Boston, Cincinnati, San Francisco, St. Louis, and in the immense agricultural sections of the great Northwest. 344. Presidential Election (i86o). — The Democratic party could not agree upon any one candidate and it split into two wings. The Southern or pro-slavery division nominated John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky, and Joseph Lane of Oregon. The Northern delegates named Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, and Hershel V. Johnson of Georgia. The Repub- licans chose for their candidates Abraham Lincoln of Illinois, and Hannibal Hamlin of Maine. The American or Know Nothing party, now called the Constitutional Union party, nominated John Bell of Tennessee, and Edward Everett of Massachusetts. Lincoln and HamUn were elected. SUMMARY The Dred Scott decision, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and John Brown's raid kept the slavery question prominently be- fore the country, and inflamed more and more the South and the North against each other. All Northerners were classed by the South as abolitionists, and the feeling of the Southerners against them was very bitter. The country had prospered in the twenty-five years before 1860, and the condition of the people had greatly improved. The temperance societies had lessened misery, inventions and discoveries had lightened labor, postage had been reduced, railroads had been built in all sections of the country except the far West, and books and papers had multiplied. 268 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Slavery. CHAPTER XXIX LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1861-1865) The Civil War (1861-1863) 345. Secession. — Tlie alienation of the South and the North was becoming more and more intense. Of this, the principal cause, as we have already seen, was the slavery question. As the anti-slavery party in the North constantly grew larger, the pro-slavery senti- ment in the South became more and more aggressive. The admission of California as a free state in 1850 gave the balance of power in the United States Senate to the Free State ))arty. From that time the states- men in the South began their preparations for a separation from the Union. They did not choose to plan for "revolution," but they thought to avail themselves of what they considered their ''right to secede." ^j^^ts. Although nothing in the Constitution itself favored this sui)i)()so(l right, yet in the early days of the reixiblic many in different parts of the country held to the belief that a state had the right to withdraw from the Union. As time went on, this belief diminished in the North and increased in the South. The great statesman of South Carolina, John C. Calhoun, maintained it firmly, and through his teaching and that of other eminent South- erners the doctrine came to be generally accepted in the Jkffkuso.x Davi> UNITED STATES DURING THE CIVIL AVAR O I I Vuioii States Border States Territory Controlled l,v Jfederal Government I ] Coufedcralc States 2S50 100 200 300 ^00 500 SCALE. Of STATUTt MIUES Th. M.tlhews-Northrupjyoil'. ■aui 1 The Battle Between the Merrimac and the Monitor. son (er'ik-sun), a native of Sweden. She carried but two guns, which were in a revolving turret that rose midships above the flat deck. The explanation of the sudden appearance of this little boat was the fact that the Federal authorities knew the Confederates were rebuilding the Merrimac and had engaged Ericsson to build with all speed an iron-clad moni- tor. As soon as this Monitor was completed, she hastened 280 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY away to Hampton Roads, arriving just in season to prevent the Merrimac from doing further harm. This tiny craft placed herself between the Merrimac (or Virginia) and the wooden war frigates. The great giant and the little giant began firing at each other, but with no effect on either side. Then the Merrimac ran full speed against the Monitor, but the blow was harmless. Five times the huge ram tried to sink the little iron-clad. The contest lasted full four hours, and apparently neither vessel was injured. It was clear, however, that the huge iron-clad could do nothing with her little antagonist. The small boat was shot proof, shell proof, and bomb proof; she could not be sunk ; and being much smaller and recjuiring much less depth of water she could be handled, moved, and turned about much more easily and quickly than her big opponent. The Merrimac steamed back to Norfolk, and never sailed out again. Later she was destroyed JDy the Confed- erates. This brief contest had in a single day revolutionized all modern methods of naval warfare. Thenceforth wooden vessels played no part in contests on the water. 365. The Peninsular Campaign (1862). — From this time to the close of the war Virginia was the principal battleground. The Union army now entered upon a new campaign. With a splendid, well-trained force, afterwards famous as the "Army of the Potomac," McClellan determined to move against the city of Richmond, the Confederate capital. His plan was not to march his large army directly across ^^irginia to Richmond, a distance of very nearly a hundred and fifty miles, through the country of the enemy, but rather to move it by water down the Potomac to the peninsula formed by the James and the York rivers. In this way the actual marching distance to Richmond would be lessened one half. Landing his army at Fortress Monroe, he marched up the peninsula to York- LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1861-1865) 281 town. At this point his advance was checked by the Con- federate forces and he was delayed a whole month. McClellan Then occurred the battle of Williamsburg, after on the which McClellan pushed his army onward to the Peninsula. Chickahominy River. Here within a few miles of Richmond t)ie battle of Fair Oaks was fought. General Johnston, the The Peninsular Campaign. Confederate commander, was severely wounded and the com- mand of his army was transferred to General Robert E. Lee. Meanwhile, in the Shenandoah Valley, the Confederate leader, "Stonewall" Jackson' had been accomplishing great • General Thomas J. Jackson was a West Pointer, served in the war with Mexico, and was General Lee's most valuable general. At the bat- tle of Bull Run, when the South Carolina troops were sorely pressed, General Bee, their commander, to encourage them cried out, " Look at Jackson, — there he stands like a stone wall." Ever after the troops called him "Stonewall Jackson." 282 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY things. With the troops under his command he had out- , . , generaled three Union armies, each larger than his Campaign own, threatened Washington, and prevented Mc- in the Dowell, who with a Union force was marching ■ ^^* southward, from joining McClellan. In addition to these honors, others were in store for him as he now joined Lee before Richmond. Tlius reenforced by Jackson, Lee attacked McClellan. The seven days' battle was then fought. This included several Seven distinct engagements, among which were Gaines Days' Mill, Savage's Station, Fraser's Farm, and Mai- Battle. ygj.jj fjiu During this battle of a week the Union loss in killed and wounded was about ten thousand, and the Confederate loss nearly twice as great. At the close of the seven days' fight, McClellan withdrew with his army to the banks of the James River, where he could be supported by the gunboats. 366. Disappointment in the North. — The Peninsular Cam- paign had ended in failure. Richmond had not been taken. The disappointment in the North was bitter. The President called for an additional three hundred thousand men, but recruiting was slow. The people of the North were dis- heartened. 367. Pope's Campaign. — General John Pope was placed in command of an army of fifty thousand or more stationed for the defense of Washington. McClellan slowly sent his army around by water to Acquia Creek to unite with Pope. Lee determined to attack Pope before McClellan could arrive, and started northward with his army. He met Pope near the old battlefield of Bull Run and a fierce engagement followed. Pope was defeated with great loss and his army retreated in confusion to Washington. Lee now continued his march northward and crossed the upper Potomac into Maryland. LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1861-1865) 283 The First Invasion of the North. 368. South Mountain and Antietam. — McClellan was ordered to intercept Lee with the remnants of his once splen- did Army of the Potomac, now reenforced by Pope's com- mand. He met the Confederates at South Mountain and won an easy victory. Then followed in September of that year (1862) the battle of Antietam. Jackson had captured Harper's Ferry and his forces had joined Lee. Opposed to the Con- federates was McClellan with his whole army. The conflict was severe. The result could hardly be called a victory for either side, although the advan- tage was decidedly in favor of the Union army. McClellan was constantly receiving re- cruits, and Lee suffered for want of supplies. Lee's advance northward was checked, and there was nothing for him to do but to withdraw his army to the other side of the Potomac. The loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners had been heavy, something Hke thirteen thousand on each side. Thus Lee's first invasion of Northern territory was stopped, and he was compelled to march his whole force back to his former position, south of the Potomac. We must now follow the two opposing armies across the Potomac, and observe their movements once more on Virginia soil. Some minor engagements took place, but McClellan did not give general battle, or seek an opportunity to do so. Removal The entire North was fast becoming nervous, im- of patient, and sadly discouraged. Finally, on the McClellan. 7th of November, McClellan received an order reheving him 284 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY from the coniinaiid and directing him to tm-n over the army to General Ambrose E. Burnside. Both armies moved on- ward past Warrenton, down the valley of the Rappahannock to Fredericksburg, the Union army keeping between Lee and Washington. 369. The Battle of Fredericksburg. — Burnside's plan was to reach Fredericksburg before Lee could fortify there, cross the river by pontoon bridges, and choose the time and place for giving battle. He was, however, forced to wait a long while for his pontoons, and during the delay Lee posted his army on Marye's Heights and made strong fortifications. The main battle was fought on the 13th of December. Lee's army could not be dislodged from its strong position, so that the Union forces were obhged to retreat across the river. This was one of the worst defeats that the Union army suffered. The Federal loss was very large. It was now time for the two armies to go into winter quarters and to remain quiet till the next move could be put in operation. 370. Operations Along the Seacoast. — While all these engagements were occurring inland, there was great activity along the seacoast. In August, 1861, Connnodore String- ham, of the navy, and General Butler, of the army, captured the forts on Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. Later Connno- dore Dupont and General Thomas W. Sherman took posses- sion of Port Royal, South Carolina. Federal troops occupied Hilton Head, S. C, and from there naval expeditions were put in operation against various Southein poi'ts. (Jeneral Burn- side landed a large body of troops in North Carohna and acquired Roanoke Island and Newbern. St. Augustine, Fernandina, and other places in Florida fell into the hands of the Federals. General Gilmore took Fort Pulaski, Georgia, and Commodore Goldsboro captured Fort Macon, North Carolina. LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1861-1865) 285 The possession of all these places on the coast was of great advantage to the Federal government, and diminished the difficulty of maintaining the blockade. Field of Operations in Virginia. 371. The War in the West. — During all this activity on the Atlantic slope, imi)ortant things were happening in the Mississippi Valley. Vigorous efforts were made by the Confederates to bring about the secession of Kentucky and Missouri, but without success. 372. General Albert Sidney Johnston. — The main force of the Confederates in the West wg,s placed under the coiU' 286 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY General McClellan. General Burnside. General Halleck. mand of General Albert Sidney John- ston, who soon showed himself one of the very ablest generals on the Con- federate side. He made every possi- ble effort to keep open the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. This was essential in order that the eastern and western sections of the Confederate army might remain in close touch with one another, and especially that the eastern army might be supplied with beef from Texas. Moreover, Gen- eral Johnston made strenuous endeav- ors to keep the Mississippi closed, so that the Union army could not come up the river with its gunboats. 373. Forts Henry and Donelson. — In Tennessee near the Kentucky l)or- der, the Confederates had built two strongly defended forts, Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. Early in the year 1862, Connnodore Foote and a fleet of gunboats cap- tured Fort Henry. The garrison es- caped to Fort Donelson, just a few miles away. General Grant, having sent the gunboats around and up the Cuml)erland to join in the attack, marched upon Fort Donelson. After tln-ee days' severe fighting, the two Confederate generals, Floyd and Pil- low, escaped, the one by taking pas- LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1861-1865) 287 sage on a Confederate steamer, and the other by crossing the river in a boat while his staff retired to Clarks- ville. Buckner was left in command. The next morning Grant's troops were preparing for the final assault when a note was sent by Buckner to Grant asking on what terms he would receive the surrender of the fort. Grant im- mediately rephed: ''Yours of this date proposing armistice, and appointment General A. S. Johnston. of commissioners to settle terms of ca- pitulation, is just received. No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I pro- pose to move immediately upon your works." ^ Buckner straightway sur- rendered. Grant then telegraphed to Washington: "We have taken Fort Donelson and from twelve thousand to fifteen thousand prisoners, including Generals Buckner and Bushrod R. Johnston; also about twenty thousand stands of arms, forty-eight pieces of artillery, seventeen heavy guns, from two thousand to four thousand horses, and large quantities of commissary stores." The Confederate line of de- fense was broken, and Nashville, Co- lumbus, and Bowling Green were soon occupied by the Union forces. Then general Beauregard. • This answer of Grant's was much quoted, and, ever after, bis initi^l^ V. S. were said to §taud for " Uncouditional Surrender." 288 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY New Madrid, Island Number Ten, and Fort Pillow on the Mississippi surrendered. 374. The Battle of Shiloh. — Recovering from their defeats, the Confederates soon gathered a large force near Corinth, a place in Mississippi on the main line of railroad east from Memphis and a few miles west of the Tennessee River. The Union forces advanced up the Tennessee River in transports to Pittsburg Landing, There they disem- barked and marched forward to attack the Confederates. The Southern army was under the command of General A. S. Field of Operations in the West. Johnston and General Beauregard. The two wings were in charge of Generals Bragg and Polk. These able and experienced generals, at the head of a force of between forty thousand and fifty thousand men, were determined to crush Grant's army before it could be reenforced by General Buell. The battle occurred on Sunday, April G. and was fought with great fury. That afternoon General Johnston was killed and the command devolved on Beauregard. Grant's army was driven back to Pittsburg Landing, fighting stubbornly and suffering large losses. This day's battle was a decided LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1861-1865) 289 Admiral Farragut. Admiral Foote. victory for the Confederates. But Buell's army arrived in the night, and on Monday the Union army drove the Confed- erates through the village of Shiloh. Beauregard retreated to Corinth and a little later to Tupelo (tu' pe-lo), Mississippi. The battle of Shiloh was the most important battle which had been fought west of Virginia. General Halleck then took the field in conmiand of the Union army in the West. Fol- lowing the Confederates by slow stages, he compelled the re- treat of Beauregard and stationed his entire force upon the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. Thus he cut off commu- nication between the eastern country and Memphis, and helped to secure to the Union the control of the Mississippi. 375. Farragut and New Orleans. — Operations on the Mississippi were not confined to the northern section. The Confederates had fortified the lower Mississippi and had used every "means to prevent the navigation of the river. They had numerous forts, iron-clads, and fire rafts, and had obstructed the channel with chains. Commodore Farragut, however, determined to sail past these obstructions and take the city of New Orleans. With a large fleet, carrying a land force of six thousand men, he succeeded in cutting the chains and passing the forts on the 24th of April, 1862. The next 290 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY day the fleet anchored below the cit3^ New Orleans, bemg at the mercy of the Union guns, soon surrendered, and the Federal land forces under General Butler took possession. Meanwhile the Confed- FiELD OF Operations in the South- west. erate army had quietly withdrawn. Various en- gagements took place during the summer and autunm of 1862, in dif- ferent parts of the Mis- sissippi Valley, including those at Perryville,* luka, Corinth, and Nash- ville. 376. The Mississippi River. — The Union forces kept the river open above Mcks- burg, but the Confederates still held Port Hudson and Vicks- burg, which was strongly fortified. Farragut, running the gauntlet of the batteries at Vicksburg and Port Hudson, steamed up from New Orleans with his fleet as far as Memphis. 377. Conditions at the Close of 1862. — In the summer of 1861 the Federal army had Ijeen Ijadly defeated at Bull Run. > " The Union loss at Perryville was nearly four thousand, the Con- federate loss about three thousand. Near the close of the battle a curious thing happened to the Confederate General Polk. It was grow- ing dark and he unwittingly rode into the Union lines, thinking them his own men firing on their friends. He angrily demanded why they were shooting their friends. The Union colonel, greatly astonished, answered, 'I don't think there can be any mistake about it. I am sure they are the enemy.' ' Enemy! ' rejoined Polk, ' Why I have just left them, my.self. Cease firing, sir. What is your name? ' ' I am Colonel of the — ■ Indiana. Pray, sir, who are you? ' Polk now saw his blunder and that his only hope of escape was to brazen it out. ' I will show you who I am,' he shouted. ' Cease firing.' Then cantering down the line he reached a copse, put spurs to his horse, and was soon back in his own lines." Battles and Leaders, Vol. Ill, 602. LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1861-1865) 291 During that year, the Confederates had gained several other victories. On both sides great armies liad been organized. The blockade of the coast by the Federals had been ren- dered effective, and both governments had done their best to equip war- vessels for service. The Federals had saved to the Union Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, — three border slave states, — and had defended against the Confederate forces West Virginia and the national capital, Washington. During the second year of the war Forts Henry and Donelson, New Orleans, and Roanoke Island had been cap- tured by the Union army, and the first contest between armor-clad war-vessels had taken place. These en- gagements had all proved substantial victories for the Union cause. Thereby the Federal lines had swept across Tennessee, and the Mississippi River had been opened through nearly its entire length. Neither side had made any important gains in Virginia. The South had driven the Union army from the peninsula, and had gained a decided victory at Fredericksburg. The North had been saved from invasion at Antietam. None of the European governments had acknowledged the independence of the Confederate States, but several of them had given to the Confederacy belligerent rights. The expenses of the war had become so enormous that General Lee. 292 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY both governments had resorted to the use of paper money. The Union Congress, early in 1862, had authorized the issuing Use of of government notes, which were made legal tender Paper in payment of debts. These government bills were Money. called greenbacks because the backs of the bills were printed in green ink. At one time the amount of these bills in circulation had nearly reached the sum of five huntlred million dollars. Each side had, also, issued interest-bearing government bonds amounting to many millions of dollars. Congress had not yet passed the bill authorizing the Na- tional Bank Currency. This was done early in 1863. 378. The Real Cause of the War. — The war was not fought between the two sections for the purpose of retain- ing slavery or of abolishing slavery. On the part of the Southerners, it was to establish a government of their own, separate from the United States. On the part of the national government, it was to preserve the Union. Nevertheless, slavery was at bottom the real cause of the conflict. The public sentiment of the two sections had for a long time become more and more alienated. The bitterness that had dominated the minds of the abolitionists in the North, and the corresponding bitterness of the Southern people against the North, had for their common origin the difference of opinion of the two sections upon the slavery question. 379. Emancipation. — President Lincoln had said that his sole object was to preserve the Union. But as the war progressed, the feeling at the North increased that, as slavery was the underlying cause of the war, the President should attack slavery as a war measure. After the battle of An- tietam, President Lincoln issued his first proclamation. This was only preliminary. It was a warning, a notice served uj)()n the seceded states that if they continued their oi)po- sition to the national government, he would at a later date LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1861-1865) 293 declare their slaves free. This he would do, it was stated, as commander-in-chief of the military forces of the United States, Later, on the first day of January, 1863, he issued his second or real Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all slaves free in all the territory held by the Confederates. 380. The End of Slavery. — This later proclamation, how- ever, did not abolish slavery throughout the United States. It did not apply to the border states which had not seceded. Slavery still existed, legally, in Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri. Slavery was finally made illegal by the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitu- tion, which was ratified by the requisite number of states in 1865, after the war was ended. SUMMARY As soon as Abraham Lincoln was elected President, South Carolina passed an ordinance of secession. The other Southern states followed her example. They then formed the Confed- erate States of America, and elected Jefferson Davis President. Fort Sumter was bombarded by the Confederates and surren- dered. Richmond, Virginia, was made the capital of the new government. Then immediately President Lincoln issued a call for troops. Both North and South made vigorous preparations for war. The Federals blockaded the Southern ports, and ordered an advance upon Richmond. The first battle was fought at Bull Run and resulted in a victory for the Confederates. An engagement took place in Hampton Roads between the big Confederate armored vessel the Merrimac and the little Union iron-clad Monitor. This contest revolutionized modern naval warfare. In the Peninsular Campaign the Confederate forces under Johnston and Lee repulsed the Union army commanded by McClellan. General Lee's advance into the North was checked at the battle of Antietam. The Federals were for the most part successful in the naval engagements, and the Union army 294 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY gained many important victories in the West and opened a long stretch of the Mississipjii River. In January, 1863, President Lincohi issued his Emancipa- tion Proclamation, which set free the slaves in the seceded states. — ^' — CHAPTER XXX LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (Continued) The Civil War (1863-1865) 381. Chancellorsville. — After the Union defeat at Fred- ericksburg, Burnside was kept in command of the Army of the Potomac until the 26th of January, 1863, when he was relieved. General Joseph Hooker succeeded him. Genei-al Hooker at once began a complete reorganization of the army. He did not venture to attack Lee, but, meditating a flank movement, marched a few miles up the Ra])})ahannock to a place in the Wilderness called Chancellorsville. This was not a town, or a village even. The place had simply one house and in it a post-office. Here on the 2d and 3d of May was fought one of the great battles of the war. Hooker was obliged to retreat across the river. The loss was great on both sides. Lee had outgeneraled Hooker, but neither connnander felt himself in a condition to renew the contest. In this battle Stonewall Jackson was killed. His death was a great disaster to the Confederate cause. 382. Lee invades Pennsylvania. — Lee, encouraged by his defeat of Hooker, now determined to carry the war into the enemy's country. By rapid marches he crossed northern Virginia and Maryland, and with a great army of between seventy and eighty thousand men invaded the state of Pennsylvania. General Hooker having resigned his com- mand, the President appointed General George G. Meade to LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1861-1865) 295 take his place. Meade at once hurried forward the entire Army of the Potomac to prevent Lee from attacking Wash- ington or Baltimore. Meanwhile Lee was hastening on, evi- dently aiming at Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania. 383. Gettysburg. — The borough of Gettysburg, the shire town of Adams County, is beautifully situated in a fertile region and had, at the time we are considering, a popu- lation of nearly three thou- sand. The Union forces, by rapid marches, pushed their way northward, until the advance under General Rey- nolds met the vanguard of Lee's army, on Seminary Hill, some distance north of the village of Gettysburg. General Reynolds was killed by a sharp-shooter, and then, until the arrival of General Howard, the command devolved upon General Doubleday. The Federals were forced back through the town, with constant skirmishing, until they finally took a position just south of Gettysburg along Cemetery Ridge. Cemetery Ridge is in the shape of a fishhook and Cemetery terminates at one end in Culp's Hill and at the Ridge, other in Round Top, a steep, rocky elevation of great strategic importance. The Union army had its right on Culp's Hill and from there it extended along the Ridge past the cemetery towards the west, and onward to the south- west for five or six miles, and had its left on Round Top. A part of Ewell's corps on the Confederate left attacked Culp's Hill and drove the Federal force back, but early in The Battleground of Gettysburg. 296 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY the next morning the place was retaken by Wadswoith's division of the Union army. On the second day (July 2), General Longstreet made a brilliant assault at Round Top, hoping to secure that eleva- tion and so turn the Federal left, but was repulsed. The third day of the contest witnessed one of the most memorable battles of the entire war. Let us try to picture the scene. The Federal army of nearly eighty-two thousand men, with three hundred and fifty cannon, was posted upon Round Top and Little Round Top — The Battlefield OF Gettysburg. the series of ridges from Gulp's Hill on the right to Round Top on the left. The Confederates numbered about seventy- five thousand men and had over two hundred cannon. They occupied an elevation of ground which was like an outer circle to Cemetery Ridge. Their right was opposite Round Top and their left opposite Culp's Hill. Thus they extended over a distance of twelve miles. The space between the two armies was from one to two miles. About midday a heavy artillery fire opened on both sides LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1861-1865) 297 and continued for an hour or an hour and a half, shot and shell belching forth from the mouths of two hundred and fifty guns. After a short lull came the famous Pickett's "Pickett's Charge," when fifteen thousand men Charge, deliberately marched from the Confederate center across the intervening mile or more, and attempted to carry the center of the Federal line. They were shot down by a most destructive artillery fire from the center on their front, from Round Top on their right, and from the Cemetery on their left. On coming nearer to the Federal lines they were met with a steady infantry fire. They wavered, they fell back, they retreated across that intervening mile. The attack upon the Federal center had failed. This charge was a wonderful instance of bravery. It was heroically made, heroically withstood. But the slaughter was terrible. The killed, wounded, and prisoners in this important battle numbered about forty-five thousand, and the loss was nearly equally divided between the two armies. Lee had assaulted his enemy's right and failed. He had attacked the Federal left and been repulsed. He had moved against their center and been driven back.* The invasion of next day, worn, weary, disappointed, disheart- the North ened, he turned back towards the Potomac, and Averted, the Southern army did not again attempt to invade the Northland. Gettysburg was the turn of the tide. It was the dawn of 1 General Longstreet strongly disapproved of this charge by Pickett and his infantry. In his book "From Manassas to Appomattox," he writes: "Pickett said, 'General, shall I advance?' The effort to speak the order failed, and I could only indicate it by an affirmative bow." Then the General adds in a footnote: "A sobriquet of my boyhood was 'Peter.' General Pickett had written to the lady who afterwards became his wife, but had not mailed his letter. After receiving his orders, he wrote on the envelope, 'If old Peter's nod means death, then good-by, and God bless you, little one."' 298 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY victory for the North, and its effect was discouraging in the extreme to the brave people of the South. Nor was Gettys- burg all. It did not stand alone as a Union victory. 384. Vicksburg. — The Confederates had continued to 4 hold one important place on the Mississippi River. They had strongly fortified Mcksburg, the largest city of Mississippi, and de- fended it by a large force. Gen- erals Grant and Sherman began their movement against this strong- hold in December, 18G2. Battle after battle occurred in the pre- liminary struggle, in which the Con- General Rosecuans. federates were successful. In May, Grant laid siege, and attack after attack followed, but the city still stood firm. The Confederate army numbered over twenty thousand men and was under the commantl of Generals Pembcnon and J()so[)h E. Johnston. Grant had nearly twice as m.r.n}', counting those engaged in protect- ing his conmiunications. Grant dug twelve miles of trenches. His artil- lery included about two hundred and twenty guns, most of them field pieces. The fort was defended by one hundred and seventy-two guns, nearly fifty of them large siege guns. General G. II. Thomas, -r-.- h r. a ^ ^ c • Imally, aiter twelve days or mces- sant bombardment, the Confederate garrison, cut off from relief and reduced to "one biscuit and a mouthful of bacon a day," surrendered on the 4th of July, 1863. General Sherman spoke of this as ''gne of the greatest LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1861-1865) 299 General Hooker. campaigns in history." A few days kter Port Hudson, farther south below Natchez, surrendered and the Mississippi River was open to its mouth. 385. Chickamauga. — Chattanooga, a city in southern Ten- nessee, was an important point. Wliichever army should hold it could control all eastern Tennessee and at the same time could attack the mountainous region of northwestern Georgia. In September, 1863, Rose- crans, in command of the Union forces, moved his army from Murfreesboro to Chattanooga. The Confederates, under Bragg, left Chattanooga and fell back about twelve miles south into Georgia. They were followed by the Federals. On September 19 and 20, near a creek called the Chickamauga, a fierce battle was fought. Bragg had been reenforced from Lee's army, so that he had about sixty thousand men, while the whole force under Rose- crans was about fifty-five thousand. The loss was heavy on both sides, each army losing in killed, wounded, and prisoners about seventeen thou- sand, nearly one third of the whole number. The Union army retreated to Chattanooga, while General Thomas and his command held back the Con- federates and covered the retreat. 386. The Siege of Chattanooga. — For two months the Union forces were shut up in Chattanooga by Bragg and his army. Grant, after his success at Vicksburg, was ordered to the relief of Chattanooga. Missionary Ridge and Lookout General Meade. 300 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Mountain, commanding heights held by the Confederates, were taken by sudden assaults (November 23, 24, and 25). Bragg's army then retreated to Dalton, and General Johnston took command of it. Meanwhile Longstreet, at the head of a Confederate force, had laid siege to Knoxville, which was held by the Federals under Burnside. He was unable to capture the city and he withdrew, taking his army across the mountains into Virginia. Thereupon military operations throughout that entire region were suspended till the following spring. Copyright, 1902, by Dcliuil I'hotographic Company. Lookout Mountain. 387. The Year in Review (1863). — This year had been far more favorable than the previous year to the Union cause. In the West, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas had been firmly held, the Mississippi River opened, and the Confederacy divided. A new set of al^lc generals had come to the front, notably Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan. On the other hand, the Confederate cause had lost rather than gained. Lee's army at Gettsyburg had been beaten m(\ LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1861-1865) 301 seriously weakened, and the capture of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, together with the movements around Chattanooga, all tended to show that the power of the Confederacy was failing. Indeed, it was evident that the necessary supplies for both the Confederate army and the people of the South were seriously diminishing. All men between the ages of eighteen and fifty were forced into service, and the soldiers were badly fed, clothed, and armed. West Virginia, proving herself loyal to the Union, sepa- rated from Virginia and wsis ad- mitted as a new state, June 19, 1863. 388. Beginning of the Year 1864. — At the l^eginning of the new year locations and com- mands of the opposing armies had greatly changed. Grant was made lieutenant-general of the Union forces. The Union army was massed in two great divis- ions, of which one was under the direct supervision of Grant himself and the other under Sherman. The strength of the Confederates also was in two divisions, one with Lee in Vir- ginia, the other with Johnston in Georgia. Grant threatened Lee, and Sherman opposed Johnston. The Union authorities at Washington had planned a campaign which, it was be- lieved, would result in the capture of both the Confederate armies and in the consequent downfall of the Confederacy. The two divisions of the Union army were to begin operations at the same time. 389. The Wilderness. — The entire Army of the Potomac General Joseph E. Johnston. 302 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY was set in motion in the direction of Richmond. On the 2d of May, 1864, the march began. The army crossed the Rapidan and pushed forward through the country known Grant as the Wilderness. Grant moved directly against against Lee. The struggle began almost immediately, and ^^^' for several weeks the fighting was intense and the slaughter was the most terrible of the whole war. The ob- stacles confronting Grant were many and great. Before him was a deter- mined veteran army under the command of officers brave, brilliant, and expe- rienced. He was in the enemy's country, which was indeed a wilderness. He showed his skill and strategy, especially by the simple device of flank movements. When Lee confronted him in a for- tified position, instead of engaging in a bull-dog attack in front, he simj)ly marched his army past the enemy's flank and forced Lee to retreat to a new position. In this way, although with fearful slaughter, day by day he pushed forward, till in one month his army had reached the Chicka- hominy, and Lee, with his whole force, was within the de- fenses of Richmond. In this campaign of the Wilderness the entire loss on both sides was about forty thousand men, fully three fourths of which was from Grant's army. Yet even this great loss was better than long sieges and the inevitable diseases incident to camp hfe. General U. S. Graxt. LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1861-1865) 303 390. Richmond Defenses Impregnable. — It did not take long for Grant to discover that the defenses of Richmond upon the north side of the city were well-nigli impregnable. He therefore determined to make another flank movement. His plan was to push his army southward and so cut off the railroads which brought supplies to Lee's army. He moved his army around Richmond on the east, crossed the James River, and attacked Petersburg. 391. Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley. — The most success- ful cavalry general in the Union army was the intrepid Phil Sheridan. Grant sent him and his brave cavalry into the Shenandoah Valley against General Early, who had gone down that valley on a raid to threaten Washington. Sheridan defeated Early at Winchester and Fisher's Hill, and Early retreated rai)idly up the Shenandoah Valley. Receiving reenforcements. Early re- turned and surprised the Union forces at Cedar Creek. Sheridan had been called to Washington for consulta- tion. He returned as far as Winches- ter, where he passed the night. The next morning (October 19), he started for Cedar Creek, and soon found stragglers on the road, hurrying to the rear. From them he learned that Early had attacked his forces and that a panic had ensued. He ordered them all to return and told them that they would whip Early and his army that day, and whip him badly. Still he continued to meet stragglers as he galloped along the road. "Turn, boys, turn," was his command; "we are going back to whip the rebels." The effect was magnetic. The men returned and, inspired by the presence of their General Sheridan. 304 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY commander, won a decided victory. Early returned to Richmond and the Shenandoah '\''alley was left in peace.* 392. Sherman before Atlanta. — Meanwhile Sherman and his great army of one hundred thousand men was in the far- away Southland. He first moved against the Confederates at Dalton, Georgia. His plan was to drive that brave and skillful general, Joseph E. Johnston, into one of his strong- holds and then flank him and push forward. His force was larger than that of his antagonist, but he was in the enemy's country and fighting upon the offensive. He struck heavy blows upon the Confederate army at Dallas, Resaca, Lost Mountain, and Kenesaw Mountain. Finally, near the mid- dle of July, 1864, at the head of his army, Sherman pre- sented himself before the city of Atlanta, within whose fortified walls the Confederate army had retired. 393. The Capture of Atlanta. — During the severe fight- ing all along the way from Dalton to Atlanta, Johnston had been kept most of the time on the defensive. He was just ' Sheridan's famous ride from Winchester has lieen immortalized in a poem by Thomas Buchanan Read: " Up from the South, at I)reak of day, Bringing to Winchester fresh dismay, The affrighted air with a shudder bore, Like a herald in haste to the chieftain's door, The terrible grumble, and rumble, and roar, Telling the battle was on once more, And Sheridan twenty miles away. He dashed do\Am the line, mid a storm of huzzas. And the wave of retreat checked its course there because The sight of the master compelled it to pause. With foam and with dust the lilack charger was gray ; By the flash of his eye, and the red nostril's play, He seemed to the whole great army to say : ' I have brought you Sheridan all the way From Winchester down to save the day.' " LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1861-1865) 305 preparing to move against Siierman when, by a special order from President Davis, he was removed from the command and General Hood put in his place. The Union officers were not displeased by this change. Their hope of success was greater than before and the courage of the entire Union army was strengthened. Sherman cut off completely Hood's hne of supplies. Then nothing could prevent the fall of Atlanta. The city was evacuated on the 2d of September, 1864. Sherman's policy through his entire march was to Sherman's Campaign in Geokgia. weaken the South and destroy, so far as possible, supplies for the army. Accordingly he here destroyed foundries, mills, and manufactories. 394. Sherman's Success. — Sherman had now been four months on his campaign. He had fought ten pitched bat- tles and many minor engagements. He had lost, in killed and wounded, twenty thousand men. He had, however, inflicted heavy losses upon the Confederate forces and had destroyed gre^t cjuantities of army stores. At Atlanta and other 306 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY towns in Georgia there had been large manufacturing es- tabhshnients, which had furnished the Confederates with wagons, harnesses, clothing, and various sorts of military necessities. Sherman had also cut off these sources of supplies. 395. Hood invades Tennessee. — By orders from Rich- mond, Hood made an unexpected move. He left Sherman and turned his entire force towards Nashville. The Union army had thus far received its supplies from Tennessee over a single line of railroad. It was thought by the authorities at Richmond that Hood's new movement would entirely cut oft" Sherman's communication and would prevent the Federal advance through Georgia. Moreover, it was beheved that Sherman would be compelled to turn and follow him, and that the seat of conflict would thus be transferred back to Tennessee. But in this the Confederate government was mistaken. Hood met General Schofield with four divisions Battle of of the Union army at Franklin, where a fierce Franklin, battle was fought, the Confederates losing four generals and nearly six thousand men. The Union loss, in killed, wounded, and missing, was a httle over two thousand. Schofield fell back to Nashville, destroying bridges and in various ways impeding the advance of Hood's army. Hood besieged Nashville, which was ably defended by Thomas. Thomas at It was already the first of December. After re- Nashville, sisting the siege for two weeks, Thomas marched his forces out of their entrenchments and for two days (De- cember 15 and 16) fought Hood's army, drove it from its l)osition, captured thousands of prisoners, and forced the remainder to a precipitate retreat. Hood's army was de- stroyed and it was never reorganized. The loss to the South was irretrievable. 396. Sherman's March to the Sea. — Sherman, mean- LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1861-1865) 307 while, had no intention of following Hood back to Nash- ville. On the 12th of November his communication with Nashville was broken. Cut loose from all supplies and confronted by no large military force, he at once divided his army into separate colunms for foraging, and took up his march through the fertile section of Georgia toward Savan- nah. He thus provided food for his army of sixty thou- sand men from the country through which he passed. He destroyed the railroads and whatever could be of service to the enemy's army. After a march of five weeks, covering a distance of three hundred miles, he reached the coast, and on De- cember 21, 1864, captured Savannah. He had now finished with entire success one of the most famous marches in all modern history. On the theory that the source of supplies for the opposing armies must be cut off, he had de- vastated a tract sixty miles wide and three hundred miles long, or eighteen thousand square miles, in the heart of the enemy's country. The authorities at Washington had had no news from Sherman's army since he left Atlanta. Now, however, Sherman sent a message to President Lincoln which reached him on Christmas eve. It read thus: "I beg to {^resent to you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah with one hundred and fifty heavy guns and plenty of ammuni- tion, also al:>out twenty-five thousand bales of cotton." He then spent the winter in Georgia and South Carolina, haras- sing whatever forces he could find, everywhere cutting off supplies for the Confederate army. 397. Mobile Bay. — The entire coast, as has been previ- ously stated, had been so successfully blockaded that only CIknkual iShkuman. 308 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY here and there a vessel succeeded in entering or leaving Southern ports. Mobile Bay, however, had constantly offered great opportunities for running the blockade. Here was stationed Admiral Buchanan, who had commanded the Confederate iron-clad Merrimac, in her fight with the Moni- tor at Hampton Roads. Buchanan had with him in the bay three gunboats and a ram. Moreover, the harbor was well })rotected at its entrance by three strong forts, — Admiral Gaines, Morgan, and Powell. Admiral Farragut, Farragut. with a fleet of fourteen wooden and four iron-clad vessels, attacked this fleet and these forts. The Confed- erate iron-clad ram Tennessee, a most formidable craft, was disabled and captured. The contest was severe and hazardous, for the air was so full of smoke that one vessel could not be seen from another. To get a clearer view of the operations. Admiral Farragut stationed himself in the vessel's shrouds above the dense smoke. His men remon- strated with him for thus exposing himself, and as he refused to leave the position one of his officers insisted on tying him to the shrouds, lest from a sudden lurch of the vessel, or from a wound received, he should fall into the water or upon the deck. The Confederate vessels were destroyed or forced to retreat. Fort Powell was abandoned, and Forts Gaines and Morgan surrendered. The contest lasted from August 5th to the 23d, 1864. 398. The Confederate Cruisers. — Early in the war the Confederate government authorized privateers to prey upon the merchant marine of the United States. This privateer- ing was carried on during the entire four years of the war. Several of these Confederate vessels were built and manned in England. The most important of them were the Florida, the Shenandoah, and the Alabama. These cruisers, car- rying British guns and l^^rgely manned by British sailors, LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1861-1865) 309 destroyed millions of dollars' worth of property and practically drove from the ocean vessels flying the Union flag. The year 1864 was an unfortunate one for these Confederate cruisers. In June the United States war-vessel, the Kear- sarge, sunk the noted Alabama off the coast of France. In August the Georgia was captured off Lisbon ; in October the ram Albemarle was destroyed by a torpedo in the Roanoke River; and the Florida was captured and finally sunk. 399. The Fall of Richmond (1865). — While Sherman was fighting his battles in Georgia and making his famous march to the sea, Grant was keeping Lee and the Army of Virginia busy around Petersburg and Richmond. So the winter wore away. Grant's army was constantly increasing. Lee's army was poorly clothed, scantily fed, and inevitably it was growing smaller. Late in March, Sheridan, with a large body of cavalry and a strong force of infantry, pushed out from Grant's left wing, on the south of Richmond, to cut off Lee's supplies. On the first of April he captured the garrison at Five Forks and took five thousand prisoners. Lee at once saw that he could no longer maintain his position. The next day, early in the morning, the Union army was put in motion along the entire line. Before noon the Confederate forts in many places were found to be deserted, and thou- sands of prisoners were captured. President Davis Flight of was at church when a messenger handed him a Davis. note informing him that Lee and his army were leaving Richmond. He at once left the church and hurriedly de- parted with his family and Cabinet from the city. That night the whole of the Confederate army left Petersburg and Richmond, and the next morning, Monday, April 3, 1865, the Federal troops marched into the Confederate capital. 400. Lee surrenders at Appomattox. — Lee pushed for- . ward toward Lynchburg, intending to make his way to North 310 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Carolina and join Johnston, who was then in command of the entire Confederate forces opposing Sherman. Grant at once moved to intercept him. Sheridan with his cavalry passed beyond and cut off Lee's retreat to Lynchburg. The brave Confederate general was practically surrounded. Nothing re- mained for him but to capitulate. The two great generals, in- deed one might say the two greatest generals of America, met, and Lee proposed to surrender the remnants of his army. The McLean House. Where the surrender tCKik place. So it came to pass that on the 9th of April, 1865, the soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia laid down their arms and turned their faces homeward. Nearly thirty thousand officers and soldiers surrendered. They were paroled not to take up arms against the United States until exchanged. Grant's terms were the following: "The officers to give their individual paroles not to take up arms against the government of the United States until pro])erly exchanged; and each company or regimental com- mander to sign a hke parole for the men of his command. The arms, artillery, and public property to be parked and LINCOLN'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1861-1865) 311 stacked and turned over to the officer appointed by me to receive them. This will not embrace the side-arms of the officers, nor their private horses nor baggage. This done, each officer and man will be allowed to return to his home, not to be disturbed b}'^ the United States authority so long as he observes his parole and the laws in force where he may reside." On the 26th of April Johnston surrendered his army to Sherman on the same terms as those on which Lee Johnston had surrendered his army to Grant. On May 4, Surren- General Taylor in Alabama surrendered to Gen- *^^''^' eral Canby. In like manner the other Confederate forces laid down their arms. 401. The End of the War. — Thus after four years of hard fighting the Civil War was at an end. The people of the reunited country returned to the natural and more attractive vocations of peace. We have followed the brave armies of Federals and Confederates through the various important battles of the war. The men of the North had fought to preserve the Union, and the men of the South for what they believed to be their rights based on the doctrine of state sovereignty. The North had the larger population, more wealth and greater resources, and it had conquered. The Union was preserved and we became again one nation, of which both sections were eventually to unite more closely than ever before in mutual respect and loyalty to the national government. The Civil War was indeed a mighty struggle, bravely fought by the men of both armies. But it was a costly con- test. By it nearly a million lives were lost, and the United States government was left with a national debt of almost three billion dollars. The war had aljsolutely impoverished the South. Nevertheless a new era of a larger and truer 312 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY prosperity was about to dawn upon the country. In the Dawn of North, especially in the Northwest, this pros- the New perity was already in progress; the advance there ^^^- in trade and agriculture was rapid. The South of course had to pass through a stage of painful and gradual reconstruction; then she too took her part in the general forward movement. It is indeed a fact that the gi'owth and development of the entire country during the next forty years has been unimralleled in the history of the world. 402. The Election of the President (1864). — Meanwhile, as the Civil War was drawing to a close, the time again re- turned for the ever recurring election of the President of the United States. In June, 1S64, the Republican Convention nominated Lincoln for reelection, and Andrew Johnson of Tennessee for Vice-President. The Democratic Convention met in August and named General George B. McClellan for President, and George H. Pendleton of Ohio for Vice-President. The election in November resulted in twenty-one electoral votes for McClellan and two hundred and twelve for Lincoln. This vote was interpreted as an expression of approval of the prosecution of the war for the preservation of the Union and the abolition of slavery within the United States. SUMMARY After the battle of Chancellorsville the Confederate army invaded the North. The battle of Gettysburg followed and Lee was obliged to retreat. Vicksburg fell the next day, and later the Confederates were driven from Chattanooga. The following year the two opposing armies of the East were concentrated around Richmond, while Sherman invaded the South, captured Atlanta, and marching through Georgia took possession of Savannah. The next spring Richmond fell and Lee surrendered. The other Confederate armies laid down their arms, and the Civil War was ended, SECTION IV.— THE NEW NATION CHAPTER XXXI LINCOLN AND JOHNSON'S ADMINISTRATION (1865-1869) 403. Inauguration. — Lincoln and Johnson were sworn into office on the 4th of March. So decided was the voice of the people that the feeling soon became general that the end of the war was near. It was nearer, however, than it seemed to many. President Lincoln made a hurried visit to consult with Grant. The Union army entered Petersburg April 3 and Grant sent for the President, who had already arrived at City Point. Mr. Lincoln hastened to meet Grant, and the two held an interview. The next day the President went to Richmond with Admiral Porter and a small company of marines. He entered the city on foot, escorted by six sailors in front and four in the rear. Be- tween these, without other escort, the President and his four companions marched to the late residence of Jefferson Davis. John G. Nicolay says: ''Probably never before, in the whole course of history, did the ruler of a great nation make so simple and unpretending an entry into a con- quered capital." The President then hurried back to Wash- ington. 404. The Flag Raised Over Fort Sumter. — The 14th of April was the anniversary of the fall of Fort Sumter. When full arrangements had been made, General. Robert Anderson 313 314 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY raised once more, amid the ruins of tlie fort, the identical flag which his own hands had been forced to haul down four years before. Interesting ceremonies took place and Henry Ward Beecher delivered an address which Mr. Nicolay describes as "filled with an earnest, sincere, and unboastful spirit of nationality; with a feeling of brotherhood to the South, prophesying for that section the advantages which her de- feat has in fact brought her; a speech as brave, as gentle, and as magnanimous as the occasion demanded." 405. President Lincoln Assassinated. — On the evening of April 14, 1865, an important Cabinet meeting was held and reconstruction was discussed. General Grant and Cap- tain Robert Lincoln, the President's son, were present. After the meeting the President went to see the play "Our Ameri- can Cousin," at Ford's Theater. During the progress of the play, John Wilkes Booth, a fanatical secessionist, shot the President in the head and escaped.^ Mr. Lincoln expired the next morning. Accomplices of Booth made attempts at the same time ui)on the life of Secretary Seward and of his son. Johnson took the oath of office and became President. The task that lay before him was, in some respects, the most difficult that ever confronted any President. It was nothing less than the reconstruction of a divided nation after four years of terrible civil war. 406. Jefferson Davis Arrested. — Meantime, President Davis had made his way to Georgia, where he was captured on the 11th of May. He was imprisoned for two years in Fortress Monroe and was then set at liberty. He lived till 1889, making his home in the state of Mississippi. He died in the city of New Orleans. ' Booth was finally shot in a ham to which he had hocn traced, about fifty niilofs from Washington, on the Rapj)ahannock River. Four of the conspirators were hanged and four others were imprisoned. LINCOLN AND JOHNSON'S ADMINISTRATION (1865-1869) 315 407. The Sanitary Commission. — During the entire war there existed in the Union an organization with many branches called the Sanitary Connnission, which furnished nurses, physicians, and attendants to look after the suffer- ing, the wounded, and the needy soldiers. Its duties were largely during and after battles. Its litters and ambulances were on the field before the battle was over. It provided hospitals, hospital cars, and hospital boats. The commis- sion received and expended five million dollars in cash, and contributions other than money variously estimated Caring for the Wounded on the Battlefield. from ten million to fifteen million dollars. Thus the entire cost of the work done by this commission was between fifteen miUion and twenty million dollars. A very large part of this money and of these supplies was raised by the women of the country. The Sanitary Fairs held everywhere, under the auspices of thousands of branches of this commission, strik- ingly illustrated the patriotism and the philanthropy of the people. 408. The Christian Commission. — Another channel of 316 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY aid to the soldiers of the Federal army was the Christian Commission. This organization supplemented the work of the Sanitary Commission. It gave to the soldiers the benefits and consolations of rehgion, which the overworked chaplains could not possibly give. The Christian Com- mission raised nearly five million dollars, and this money did an infinite amount of good among the sick and wounded soldiers of the army. Never before had such immense efforts been put forth to mitigate the sufferings incident to war. For the Southern army no such societies were formed. Heroism Individually, however, the people were as heroic in the and as self-sacrificing as any people could be. South. They did all in their power to lessen the sufferings incident to battles, marches, and garrison life. 409. The Great Review in the City of Washington. — The month of Mav, 1865, was the time appointed for the great bulk of the two Union armies under Grant and Sherman to l^e mus- tered out and to return to their homes. In celebration of this event, it was arranged that there should be a grand military review in Washing- ton. The procession was over thirty miles in length, and for two days it moved past the reviewing stand on Andrew Johnson. Pennsylvania Avenue, where were sta- tioned the President, Andrew Johnson, his Cabinet officers, and many senators and congressmen. More than one hun- dred and fifty thousand soldiers, many of whom had served in the army four full years, marched between throngs of people, who were jubilant that the war was ended, and who gave strong expression of their gratitude to these returning LINCOLN AND JOHNSON'S ADMINISTRATION (1865-1869) 317 veterans. It was a marvelous sight, such as had never before been seen in any country. 410. The Army Disbanded — Its Effect. — Great anxiety was felt by many lest these disbanded soldiers would not be able to return to their various industries and take up the quiet life they had led before the war. Such fears, however, were groundless. With very few exceptions the citizen- soldiers on both sides at once returned to their former occu- pations, and no disorders appeared in any part of the land. The mayor of one of the largest cities in the Eastern states certified that, in his judgment, 'Hhe service had no ill effect upon the character of our citizens who enlisted." Similar testimony throughout the different states was general. 411. The Results of the War. — Many were the results of the war, and they continue to appear. Of these, the freeing of more than four million slaves comes first, perhaps, to mind. This, however, was the secondary rather than the primary outcome of the war. The main question settled was that the United States is a nation ''one and indivis- ible," and that this nation takes rank as a leader among the world's powers, and not as two or more separate powers at enmity with one another. Because of the war, therefore, we are now in the front rank of the world's great nations. 412. A Nation of Readers. — One immediate effect of the war was to make of us a nation of readers. During the progress of the contest every family within reach of a daily newspaper bought one and read it, to see if any ill had be- fallen the loved one who had gone from that family to battle. The habit of reading the daily papers once adopted was not discontinued. The great increase of newspapers, of maga- zines, and of books can thus be traced as one of the results of the war. 318 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 413. Inventions and Industries. — The necessities and exigencies of the war stimulated inventions and industries of various sorts in all sections of the country. Previously the South had never engaged in manufacturing to any great extent, but since the war various industries have been fos- tered and encouraged until now the people of the South are formidable competitors with those of the North. The making of cotton cloth has become in some sections of the South a leading industry. 414. The Constitution Amended. — For more than sixty years no change had been made in the United States Con- stitution. In 1865 Congress proposed the Thirteenth Amend- ment, which provided that "neither slavery nor involuntar}^ servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." This amendment was adopted by the necessary three fourths of the states the same year that it was proposed. The Fourteenth Amendment was adopted in 1868. It defined citizenship, fixed provision for the representation in Congress, and established the validity of the public debt of the United • States. The Fifteenth Amendment, which secured sufTrage to the colored race throughout the country, was ratified in 1870. It specified that the right to vote should not be abridged, either by a state or the nation, — 1. On account of race. 2. On account of color. 3. On account of previous condition of servitude. 415. Reconstruction. — The reconstruction of the states which had l^een at war with the national government was a difficult problem; it had no precedent in history, and pro- vision was not made for it in the Constitution. The Presi- LINCOLN AND JOHNSON'S ADMINISTRATION (1865-1869) 319 dent had one theory for the reconstruction of the seceded states, and Congress had another. President Johnson, on May 29, 1865, issued a sweeping proclamation of amnesty, by which nearly all who had been warring against the Federal government were pardoned, indeed all except the leaders. He then appointed provisional governors who should set in motion state governments in the South. Congress, which met in December, ignored the work of the President and devised a new plan far more stringent. This included the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment by the several South- ern states. A bitter controversy between the President and Congress followed, tiU finally, in 1868, the House of Repre- sentatives voted to impeach the President. He was tried before the Senate and acquitted, the vote against him lack- ing one of the requisite two thirds. The vote of the Senate stood thirty-five for conviction and nineteen for acquittal. One by one the states which had seceded and formed the Confederacy accepted the plan which Congress proposed and were re-admitted. Tennessee was the first to regain its rep- resentation in Congress. This was in 1866. But not till 1870 did all the states accede to the terms proposed by Congress. 416. Carpet-Baggers. — Then followed the period when the freed slaves voted, and in some states controlled the government. They were oftentimes led by unscrupulous men from the North who were called "carpet-baggers."* ' The adventurers from the North were called " carpet-baggers " be- cause it was said that each one when he went to the South was able to carry all his property in a carpet-bag. They were aided by Southern white Republicans known as "scalawags." To oppose the unscrupulous schemes of the ignorant negroes and the carpet-baggers a secret society called the " Ku Klux Klan " was organized. The members, in disguise, made night raids and not only frightened the superstitious negroes, but also succeeded in driving many of the scalawags and carpet-baggers out of the South. 320 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY The results were scandalous. The state treasuries were plundered and the state debts were greatly increased. The ignorant negro voters were easily led into the corrupt busi- ness, but it was the carpet-baggers who generally managed to get the hon's share of the plunder. The political condition of the Southern states for a dozen On the Dog Trail in Alaska. years after the war was deplorable in the extreme. Gradu- Southern ally, however, affairs have been righting them- Politics. selves. The people there still have serious ques- tions to contend with. One of these difficult problems is that of the negro — his position, and his right to vote. But that whole section is rapidly gaining in strength, wealth, and industry. 417. Purchase of Alaska. — In 1867 William H. Seward, LINCOLN AND JOHNSON'S ADMINISTRATION (1865-1869) 321 secretary of state, made a treaty between our country and Russia, by which Russia rehnquished to us all her possessions in North America, and by which we agreed to pay her the sum of seven million two hundred thousand dollars. This added nearly six hundred thousand square mile to our terri- tory. Since then we have secured from that far-away coun- try of Alaska furs, fish, and lumber of a value much greater than the purchase money. 418. The Atlantic Cable. — Several attempts to lay a cable across the Atlantic Ocean had been made, and had proved failures. On the 27th of July, 1866, permanent communi- cation by sub-marine cable was opened between this country and Great Britain. This result was due to the persevering efforts of Cyrus W. Field, of New York, who had devoted himself to the project for more than a dozen years be- ' fore success crowned his labors. To-day there are fourteen lines in operation across the North Atlan- dc alone. 419. China and Mexico. — In the year 1868 China, through its agent, Anson Burlingame, negotiated a treaty with our government — the first treaty that China had made, of her own accord, with any foreign nation. By this treaty China accepted the principles of international law and granted important commercial advantages. She also gave many rights to Americans living in China. The government of France, under the emperor. Napoleon III, demanded the payment of certain Mexican bonds held by the French, and as Mexico could not pay. Napoleon sent over Cyrus W. Field. 322 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY an army, conquered Mexico, and placed Maximilian, archduke of Austria, upon the throne as emperor. This action was so contrary to the Monroe Doctrine, so called, that our gov- ernment could not submit to it. We waited, however, till after the close of the Civil War, and then sent General Sheri- dan with fifty thousand veteran troops into Texas. The French army was withdrawn, and a Mexican army captured the capital and took the emperor prisoner. Maximilian was executed and once more a republic was formed for Mexico. 420. Presidential Election (1868). — Reconstruction of the Southern states was the leading question at this time. The Republican party nominated for President Ulysses S. Grant, and for Vice-President Schuyler Colfax of Indiana. The Democratic party named for President Horatio Seymour, ex-governor of New York, and for Vice-President Francis P. Blair of Missouri. Of the two hundred and ninety-four electoral votes. Grant and Colfax received two hundred and fourteen and were elected. SUMMARY On the same day that the United States flag was again raised over Fort Sumter, President Lincoln was assassinated. He was succeeded by Vice-President Johnson, who was confronted by the great task of reconstructing the Southern states. The Union armies were disbanded and the soldiers quietly returned to their homes. The thirteenth amendment, which abolished slavery, was adopted, and this was followed by the fourteenth and by the fifteenth, which gave suffrage to the negroes. Serious disagreements occurred over the methods for recon- struction of the states which had seceded. Congress impeached the President but failed to convict him. During this administration Alaska was purchased, the Atlan- tic cable was successfully laid, and a treaty was made with China. Emperor Maximilian was executed in Mexico and the republic restored. GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION (1869-1877) 323 CHAPTER XXXII GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION (1869-1877) 421. The First Pacific Railroad. — During the Civil War the subject of a railroad over the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast was discussed. It was thought to be almost an impos- sibility. As early as 1862, however, an act was passed by Congress incorporating the Union Pacific Company, which built the road from Denver, Colorado, to Ogden, Utah. Later the government extended its aid until this company had re- ceived twenty-seven million dollars in money and twelve Building the First Trans-Continental Railroad. million acres of government land. Meanwhile the Central Pacific Company, which constructed the road from Ogden to the Pacific coast, received a subsidy from the government to the amount of twenty-seven million dollars and eleven mil- lion acres of land. On May 10, 1869, the road was open for transportation from the Altantic to the Pacific coast. To- day there are six through lines from the great central valley to the western coast. Still others are projected. 324 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 422. The Treaty of Washington and the Alabama Claims. — During the Civil War, as we have previously noted, several vessels built in England became Confederate privateers, preying upon American commerce. Great Britain, however, had declared neutrality in the war. The United States government therefore claimed that the British government was responsible for the damages to our commerce and our citizens. Representatives of the two governments met at Washington in 1871, and on the 8th of May a treaty was signed, referring all these matters in disi)ute to arbitration. Many of our statesmen, long before this, had felt that arbi- tration was a better method of settling international disputes Arbitrators than was an expensive and destructive war. The Appointed, arbitrators — five men — were to be appointed, one by each of the five countries, Great Britain, the Ignited States, Switzerland, Italy, and Brazil. These arbitrators met at Geneva in September, 1872, and after a full hearing of the case agreed that the British government should pay the United States fifteen and a half million dollars. 423. Our Northwest Boundary. — By the same treaty of Washington the emperor of Germany was made arbiter to determine another dispute between the United States and Great Britain in regard to our extreme northwestern boun- dary. Emperor William decided that the channel named in the treaty of 1846 was the one to the north and west of the island of San Juan (hob-iin'). This decision gave the island to the United States, in accordance with our ]irevious claims. Then, for the first time in our history, the entire boundary of the United States was undisputed. 424. The Fishery Dispute. — Since the War of 1812 there had been disagreement in regard to our fishing rights on the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador. By the treaty of Washington this dispute was referred to a commission of GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION (1869-1877) 325 three men, appointed as follows : one by the President of the United States, one by the Queen of England, and the third by the President and the Queen conjointly. Finally, though not till 1877, this commission met at Halifax and agreed that the United States should pay to Great Britain the sum of five milUon five hundred thousand dollars. Al- though the United States thought the amount exorbitant, yet it was paid and the principle of arbitration was sustained. An Indian Encampment on the Blackfuut Reservation. Here, then, as the results of a single treaty between the United States and Great Britain, we have three important questions settled by arbitration, and the verdict accepted and the requirements met by the two governments. 425, The Indians. — During Grant's administration we had serious difficulties with the Indian tribes of the great West. The Sioux Indians were for a long time troublesome; the Modocs of southern Oregon brought on the bloody General Modoc war, and the Sioux war of 1876 followed. Custer's General Custer and his brave band were all slaugh- ^ig^t. tered by a force of Sioux Indians, numbering ten times as 326 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY many as his own army. But these troubles finally passed. Now by a wiser treatment of the Indians, a more friendly feeling prevails throughout the entire Indian country. 426. Great Fires in Chicago and Boston. — The prosjjer- ous condition of our country is, shown by the way in which its cities have recovered from the effects of big fires. In October, 1871, the city of Chicago was swept by flames which destroyed more than two hundred million dollars' worth of property. In November of the next year Boston suffered a loss of seventy-five million dollars by a fire covering sixty acres, in the center of the business portion of the city. Each city began at once to rebuild on a more substantial basis, and in a singularly short time all signs of the fire had disappeared. Indeed the new buildings and the more modern improvements have greatly increased the business of each city. Other great fires in various cities have pro- duced similar results, so that these large conflagrations have seemed to prove blessings in disguise. 427. Grant's Reelection (1872). — The Republican party nominated Grant for reelection, with Henry Wilson of Mas- sachusetts for Vice-President. The Democrats and Liberal Republicans chose for their candidates Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, and B. Gratz Brown of Missouri. Grant and Wilson were elected. 428. Business Depression in 1873. — The country had passed through a period of great prosperity and the con- ditions led to unwise speculations. More railroads were built than the country needed or could well afford. Millions of capital were invested in enterprises which could not be pro- ductive for many years. The natural currents of business were disturbed, as they had previously been in 1837 and 1857. The depression lasted for several years, but by 18S0 the en- tire country was once more feeling the full tide of pros])erity. GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION (1869-1877) 327 429. The Centennial Celebration at Philadelphia. — In 1876 was held, in the city of Philadelphia, a World's Fair to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the Declara- tion of Independence. Ten million visitors from our own country and from all parts of Europe viewed the results of the world's industries, thereby gaining an education in the progress of the nations such as no other means could have furnished. 430. Weather Bureau. — By the year 1870 the Weather Bureau had been established. During; this administration it Fair Weather Rain or Snow. Storm warnings. h Temperatur hurricane warning. NE. winds ^E. winds. NW. winds SW. winds. Flags Used by the Weather Bureau. came into active service. At first this bureau was connected with the War Department, but in 1891 it was reorganized under the Department of Agriculture. At the present time the bureau has six hundred employees at about two hundretl stations, and from these stations it receives, twice a day, weather telegrams, on which are based, morning and evening, weather charts and forecasts for the next thirty-six hours. These forecasts are given to vessels about to sail, to news- papers and flag stations, and are spread abroad by these and other methods of communication. 328 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY AlKXAXDF.K r'.KAHAM l^KLL. 431. The Telephone. — In the year 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received letters patent for improvements in telesrai^ay, esi)ecially for the transmission of vocal sounds. Since that time the Bell Tele- phone has come into very gen- eral use all over this country and in foreign lands. Long distance telephones are now in successful operation, cover- ing distances of even a thou- sand miles, as, for example, between New York and Mil- waukee or St. Louis. 432. Admission of New States. — Since the jTar 1850 states have been admitted as follows: California in 1850; Minnesota in 1858; Oregon in 1859; Kansas in 1861; West Virginia in 1863; Nevada in 1864; Nebraska in 1867; Colo- rado in 187$ ; and to finish the list as it stood at the close of the century: North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Wash- ington in 1889; Idaho and Wyoming in 1890; and Utah in 1896. 433. Presidential Election (1876). — The Repubhcans nominated Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio, and William A. Wheeler of New York. The Democrats named Samuel J. Tilden of New York, and Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana. The election proved very close. The vote of three states was disputed — South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana. Tilden had one hundred and eighty-four elec- toral votes without these three states, but one hundred and eighty-five votes were necessary for election. If the votes of all three of these states should be counted for Hayes, he GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION (1869-1877) 329 would be elected. If any one of the three was counted for Tilden, he would be elected. The returning boards of these states gave certificates of election to the Hayes Election delegates, and the governors gave certificates to Contested, the Tilden electors. In Congress the House was Demo- cratic and the Senate was Republican. The question was how the votes should be counted. Neither party would yield. Intense excitement prevailed everywhere. There was danger of civil war. It was proposed by the Tilden advocates to raise an army to prevent the seating of Hayes. Many a national revolution has taken place under condi- tions far less serious. But the leading men of Congress of both parties had enough good sense to wish to avoid a revo- lution at all hazards. The two houses of Congress finally agreed to leave the decision to an Electoral Commission of fifteen, consisting of five members from the Senate, five from the House, and five from the United States Supreme Court. This Commission decided the question of all the three disputed states and also the case of one disputed elector from Oregon in favor of Hayes. Thus Hayes was elected by a vote of one hundred and eighty-five as against one hundred and eighty-four for Tilden. SUMMARY The principal events of Grant's administration were: the completion of the Pacific railroad; the settlement by arbitra- tion of the Alabama claims, of the Northwest boundary, and of the fishery dispute; Indian wars in the West; a great busi- ness panic; the Centennial Exposition; the formation of the Weather Bureau ; the invention of the telephone ; and the con- test over the presidential election. 330 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY CHAPTER XXXIII HAYES'S ADMINISTRATION (1877-1881) 434. Unusual Conditions. — Hayes entered the White House iiiider circuiiistances more adverse than any which had previously confronted a President. Party feeling ran high, and although the coimtry at large accepted the decision of the Electoral Commission, yet half the people felt that an injustice had been done. The new President, however, showed good judgment and broad statesmanship, and his term was productive of much good to the country, 435. Troops Withdrawn from the South. — Up to this time I'nited States troops had been kept in all the Southern states and the "carpet-bag" governments had been ujjheld in them. This meant that the leading men in the Southern states were not permitted to control their affairs, but that the government was carried on by carpet-bag- -Carpet- gers from the North and the Baggers. colored men of the South. It was RuTHEUKOHD B. Hayks. ^i^ij^^p^j ^hat, by thc influcuce of the army. Republicans were kept in office who were strongly opposed by a majority of the Southern white people. Presi- dent Hayes removed the United States troops, and the Southern states were left unhindered to work out their own problems. The Southern Democrats took control of affairs and before the close of Hayes's administration much of the ill-feeling against the national government had passed away. 436. Civil Service Reform. — Ever since the close of the war it had become more and more evident that a radical HAYES'S ADMINISTRATION (1877-1881) 331 reform was needed in the civil service. Since the time of Andrew Jackson, the pohtical motto had been "To the victor belong the spoils," but the true motto should have been "Public office is a public trust." The people declared that so long as government positions should be given as a reward for political activity or party service, so long would persons unfit to hold responsible positions get the appointments. They demanded a more businesslike method of managing public affairs. President Hayes did all he could to inaugu- rate and support this reform. 437. The Mississippi Jetties. — During this administra- tion an important industrial event occurred. The Mississippi River had for a long while been bringing down to its mouth a vast amount of sediment every year. As a result, the mouth of the river had become shallow and new channels had formed, so that the Mississippi had many outlets. Navi- gation was greatly hindered. In the year 1875 James B. Eads, a civil engineer who had already constructed the famous steel bridge across the river at St. Louis, undertook to build jetties to deepen the water at the mouth of the Mis- sissippi River. This he accomplished with entire success. The channel, which had been eight feet deep, became more than thirty feet in depth. Thus the largest vessels were able to enter it with perfect ease. The channel continues to maintain its full depth. These jetties were the means of saving millions of dollars, which otherwise would have been expended in dredging. They consist of stone walls on each side of the river, which confine the current to a narrower limit and thereby increase its rapidity. Since these walls extend a long distance beyond the land into the sea, the sediment is pushed through and out into the gulf. 438. Resumption of Specie Payments. — During the war the banks all over the country suspended specie payments, 332 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY that is, they were unable and hence refused to redeem their, paper money in coin. The national government also sus- pended specie payment; that is^ it refused to give gold or silver for its "greenbacks." However, coin enough was gradually accumulated in the treasury, and John Sherman, the secretary of the treasury, in accordance with an act passed by Congress four years before, advertised that on the first of January, 1879, the government would pay gold or silver for any and all "green- backs" which the people might present for payment. This announcement was carried out and specie payment was re- sumed all over the country. 439. The Election of 1880. — This year the Republicans nominated General James A. Garfield of Ohio, and Chester A. Arthur of New York. The Democrats chose General Win- field S. Hancock of New York, and William H. English of Indiana. A third party, the Greenback party, nominated James B. Weaver of Iowa, and a fourth candidate, Neal Dow of Maine, was put forward by the Prohibitionists. Garfield was elected by a vote of two hundred and fourteeii as against one hundred and fifty-five for Hancock. SUMMARY President Hayes showed his broad statesmanship by remov- ing the United States troops from the South and letting the people control their own affairs. He also inaugurated civil service reform. The Mississippi jetties were built during this period. Specie payments were resumed. GARFIELD AND ARTHUR'S ADMINISTRATION (1881-1885) 333 CHAPTER XXXIV GARFIELD AND ARTHUR'S ADMINISTRATION (1881-1885) 440. Party Feuds. — The opening months of the new administration were chiefly occupied with a struggle over appointments. There were two wings of the Repubhcan party. On one side were the "Stalwarts," as they were called, led by Senator Conkling of New York, and on the other side the "Half Breeds," under the leadership of Blaine James A. Garfield. Chester A. Arthur. and Garfield. The "Stalwarts" proposed certain appoint- ments which the President did not indorse. This led to heated political differences. 441. Garfield Assassinated. — Garfield had been in office not quite four months. He was overcoming these party difficulties, and matters were settling down to a proper work- ing order, when a shocking tragedy occurred, which startled the entire nation. The President had planned a pleasant outing. He was on his way to attend the commencement exercises at Williams College, of which he was a graduate, and from there he was to go to the American Institute of Instruction at St. Albans, Vt., and to the White Mountains, 334 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY On the morning of July 2, in company with Mr. Blaine, the secretary of state, he was standing in the Pennsylvania Railroad Station at Washington. There he was shot by a disappointetl office seeker. He lingered, a great sufferer, till on the 19th of September he died. The assassin was tried, convicted, and hanged. Garfield was the fourth President to die while in office; two of these four died by disease and two by the hands of assassins. 442. Arthur as President. — Vice-President Arthur was sworn in as President, and held office the remainder of the four years. He was a man of ability, though not widely known in political circles. During his term he showed good judgment, and was successful in the management of affairs. 443. The Anti-Polygamy Bill. — In 1882 a bill introduced into Congress by Senator Edmunds of Vermont passed both houses and was signed by the President, by which polygamy, which was still practiced by the Mormons in Utah and other territories, was prohibited. Some years later, wlien the law was enforced by the government, the Mormon Church an- nounced that it had abandoned polygamy and would, here- after, resj)ect and obey the law. 444. The Civil Service Bill. — The assassination of Presi- dent Garfield directed the attention of thoughtful persons all over the country to the evils of the "Spoils System," and two years after his death, Congress passed the Pendle- ton Civil Service Bill. By this bill it was enacted that the President should appoint commissioners to institute ex- aminations for the candidates for various jiositions. At first the examinations related to a few offices only, but tlie application of the law has been gradually extended till now it embraces a great variety of offices and is applied to many thousand pcM'sons. Tlu^ system has been adopted by several states. GARFIELD AND ARTHUR'S ADMINISTRATION (1881-1885) 335 445. Clocks and Watches. — Clocks and watches are the result of modern invention. In the colonial times our fore- fathers had but few timepieces of any description. In many places the farmers built their houses facing the south. For this there were two reasons. By this arrangement the living- rooms were on the south side and had the sunlight and heat. Moreover, at noon, which was the colonial dinner hour, the sunshine left the east end of the house and appeared on the west end, and by this sign the farmer and his hired man could tell the time and leave the field and go to dinner. Early in the last century clocks and watches became more common, and their use increased until hardly a family was without a timepiece. But the building of railroads and the interests of the traveling public made necessary another improve- ment in the keeping of time. 446. Standard Railroad Time. — In 1883 a standard of time known as railroad time was adopted and came into use all over the country. Thereby it was agreed to establish hour circles and to divide the country into four sections, keeping the time uniform throughout each of the sections.^ Thus there became an "eastern time," a "central time," a "mountain time," and a "Pacific time." When it is noon in the Atlantic states, it is nine o'clock a. m. on the Pacific slope; a traveler going from Bangor, Maine, to San Fran- cisco sets his watch back one hour at Buffalo, New York, another hour at North Platte, Nebraska, and once more at Ogden, Utah. 447. The Election of 1884. — The Democrats nominated Grover Cleveland of New York, and Thomas A. Hendricks 1 The sun travels over fifteen degrees of longitude in an hour. By the old method, the sun at noon regulated the time. Hence the time at any place fifteen degrees to the east of another place would be one hour later, and half that distance to the east, half an hour later. 336 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY of Indiana. The Republican candidates were James G. Blaine of Maine, and General John A. Logan of Illinois. The Greenback party nominated General Benjamin F. But- ler of Massachusetts, and A. M. West of Mississippi. The Prohibitionists chose John P. St. John of Kansas, and William Daniel of Maryland. Cleveland and Hendricks were elected, receiving two hundred and nineteen electoral votes to one hundred and eighty-two for Blaine and Logan. This was the first time a Democrat had been elected President since 1856. SUMMARY A division in the Republican party in regard to the filling of offices led to difficulties. The President was overcoming these party differences when, having been in office only four months, he was assassinated by a disappointed office seeker, and died after two months of suffering. As a result of this tragedy the Pendleton Civil Service Bill was passed. A stand- ard of railroad time was adopted and proved a great conven- ience to travelers. — -^^ — CHAPTER XXXV CLEVELAND'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1885-1889) 448. Civil Service Reform. — In spite of party pressure, Cleveland favored civil service reform, and kept in office many Republicans. Under his leadership, moreover, other classes of public offices not yet covered by the reform were brought under civil service rules. Though the Senate was Repubhcan and the House Demo- cratic, several important acts were passed and approved by President Cleveland. 449. Presidential Succession. — A bill was passed by Congress and approved by the President (1886) which pro- CLEVELAND'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1885-1889) 337 vided that in case of the death or disabihty of both President and Vice-President, the secretary of state should become President and hold office during the remainder of the four years. In case there be no secretary of state, or in -case of his disability, the office shall fall to the other members of the Cabinet in the order in which the several departments were cre- ated: viz., the secretary of the treasury, secretary of war, attor- ney-general, postmaster-general, secretary of the navy, secretary of the interior.^ This bill provides that, if any member of the Cabinet should not be qualified, his name be passed over and the presidential office be assumed by the next in order. 450. Electoral Count Bill. — A bill introduced by Senator Edmunds of Vermont was passed by Congress and became a law in 1887. It established in detail a method of counting the votes for President and Vice- President, and was designed to prevent in the future any such difficulty as occurred in 1876. 451. Interstate Commerce Bill. — The Interstate Com- merce Bill was adopted by Congress and became a law in 1887. Its object was to insure to all uniform passenger fares and freight charges. Hitherto there had been com- plaints that the large dealers had cheaper rates, or could procure rebates for their freight. Under the Interstate Grover Cleveland. 1 Two departments have been added since, viz.. Agriculture, and Commerce and Labor; but since these offices were not estabhshed when the law was passed the secretaries of these departments are not included in this succession. 338 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Commerce Law this discrimination was prohibited. A per- manent commission was appointed to oversee all railroads carrying passengei's and freight from one state to another. 452. Chinese Exclusion Act. — Since the treaty of peace with China in 1868, there had been a large and rapid immi- gration of the Chinese to America. At the time which we are considering, there were in this country more than one hundred thousand Chinamen, most of them in California. As their mode of living was very inexpensive, they could afford to work for lower wages than other laborers. It was held that this cheap labor was a positive injury to the coun- try. Hence the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed, forbidding the importation of any more Chinese laborers into this country. 453. The Election of 1888. — The campaign of this year turned principally on the tariff question. The people were called upon to decide between the Republicans, who favored the continuance of high ])rotective duties on importations, and the Democrats, who demanded a reduction of the tariff. President Cleveland was a candidate for reelection, with Allen G. Thurman of Ohio for Vice-President. The Repub- licans nominated Benjamin Harrison of Indiana, and Levi P. Morton of New York. Harrison and Morton had two hundred and thirty-three votes against one hundred and sixty-eight for Cleveland and Thurman. SUMMARY During this administration civil service reform was ad- vanced; presidential succession was provided for; a new system of counting the electoral votes was inaugurated; uniform inter- state railroad rates were established; and Chinese laborers were excluded. HARRISON'S ADMINISTRATION (1889-1893) 339 CHAPTER XXXVI HARRISON'S ADMINISTRATION (1889- 1893) 454. Oklahoma. — The condition of affairs in the Indian Territory more and more attracted the attention of the national government. In 1889, soon after President Harri- son took his seat, the government bought of the Creek and Seminole Indians a tract of about forty thousand square miles of land in the western sec- tion of the territory, thereafter called Oklahoma. This was opened to white settlers, by the proclamation of the President, on the 22d of April, and a flood of claim-seekers rushed in and chose their locations, so that be- fore night towns of tents and rough board shanties had sprung up as by magic. The principal town, Guthrie, afterwards made the capital, in less than six months had a population of four thousand, with banks, churches, schools, daily newspapers, and hnes of street cars. In 1890 the population of the ter- ritory had grown to over sixty thousand, and in 1900 to four hundred thousand. 455. New States Admitted. — In 1889 four new states, North and South Dakota, Montana, and Washington, wer^ admitted to the Union, and the next year Idaho and Wyoming were added. Since then Utah (1896) and Oklahoma (1907) have been admitted. The number of states is now forty-six. 456. Pan-American Congress. — From the early days of our repubUc, sympathy between us and the people and jg4_^ ;/|^^H IP Benjamin Harrison. 340 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY governments of Central and South America had been grow- ing. This sympathy was voiced long ago in the Monroe Doctrine. In the winter of 18S9-1890 a convention was held in Washington called the Pan-American Congress. To this body, assembled by the invitation of the United States, came representatives from seventeen countries. The object of the conference was to promote a stronger friendshij) between the different nations of the American continent, and to increase the commerce between them. Wliile no legis- lation grew directly out of it, yet the members of the congress recommended that in the future all disputes between the different governments be settled by arbitration rather than by a resort to arms. Since the meeting of this congress, the sentiment in favor of arbitration has had a wonderfully rapid growth, both in America and in Europe. The con- gress adjourned April 19, 1890, and after adjournment the members spent some weeks in visiting the larger cities of the United States. 457. International Copyright. — In 1891 Congress passed an act providing for international copyright. By this act the benefits of copyright in our country were extended to all foreign authors living in countries which permitted copy- right to American books. 458. Australian Ballot. — Dissatisfaction with the exist- ing modes of election brought about an important change in the matter of voting. One state after another tried the Aus- tralian ballot, which proved to be so successful that before the presidential election in 1892 thirty-seven of the forty- four states had adopted it. By this system complete se- crecy of voting is made ])ossible, and opjiortunities for bribery and intimidation of voters are greatly diminished. At the present time this method of voting is in nearly universal use in our country. CLEVELAND'S SECOND ADMINISTRATION (1893-1897) 341 459. Other Public Questions. — Congress legislated at different times on the question of gold and silver coin for money, on the tariff, and on reciprocity. Moreover, we had some difficulties to settle with foreign nations, notably those with Italy and with Chile. 460. The Election of 1892. — The campaign of 1892 was in most respects similar to that of 1888. President Harri- son was nominated by the Republicans for reelection, and Whitelaw Reid of New York, for Vice-President. Ex-Presi- dent Cleveland and Adlai E. Stevenson of Illinois were nominated by the Democrats. A new party, called the People's party, chose for its candidates James B. Weaver of Iowa, and James G. Field of Virginia. Cleveland and Steven- son were elected. They had two hundred and seventy-seven electoral votes, Harrison had one hundred and forty-five, and Weaver twenty-two. For the first time since 1861 the Democrats controlled all branches of the national govern- ment, SUMMARY The opening of Oklahoma to settlers was followed by a rush of claim-seekers; arbitration was advanced by the Pan-Ameri- can Congress ;. authors were aided by the passage of an inter- national copyright law; and fairer elections were furthered by the adoption of the Australian ballot. — 4j^ — CHAPTER XXXVII CLEVELAND'S SECOND ADMINISTRATION (1893- 1897) 461. The Bering Sea Case. — The catching of fur seals in the sea and off the islands of Alaska had become a profit- able business. But the wholesale slaughter of seals by the 342 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Canadians in what was termed tiie Bering Sea threatened to exterminate them. The United States claimed that by the privileges acquired from Russia in the purchase of Alaska she had the right to consider Bering Sea as a "closed sea," and that it was properly under her control, so far as the seal fisheries were concerned. Foreign vessels catching seals were seized by armed ships sent out by our government and the skins found on them were confiscated. Most of the cap- tured vessels were flying the British flag. The British gov- ernment remonstrated, and denied that the United States had any jurisdiction, claiming that the sea was an open sea, and that our government must pay damages. After much delay and various diplomatic moves, a treaty w^as concluded between the tw^o countries which jjrovided that the dis])ute should be settled by arbitration. This was Triumph another trium])h for the principle of arbitration, for Arbi- now lapidly gaining in ]:)ublic estimation. The tration. commission met in Paris in March, 1893, and in August following rendered its decision, which was unfavor- able to the United States. 0.ur government was obliged to pay to the Canadian ship-owners nearly half a million dollars. 462. Labor Troubles. — For several years workmen in various industries had been combining for the protection of their common rights, and various strikes and lockouts resulted. Occasionally mobs formed, and becoming law- less did serious injury to property and life. In 1886 the anarchist riots had occurred in Chicago, In 1892 came the labor troubles at Homestead, Pennsylvania; in 1894 there were strikes among the Pullman and railroad workers; even so recently as 1902 the great coal strike in Pennsylvania occurred. 463. World's Columbian Exposition. — The four hun- CLEVELAND'S SECOND ADMINISTRATION (1893-1897) 343 dredth anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus was fittingly celebrated by a naval parade of all nations in the harbor of New York, October 12, 1892, and by a World's Fair held in Chicago. This fair, on the 21st of October, dedicated its grounds and buildings for a great exhibit of the industries of all the nations, and was formally opened on the The Grounds of the Columbian Exposition. first day of May, 1893, with an address by President Cleveland. It continued for six months. In the number and excellence of the industries it exhibited, the beauty of its buildings and grounds, and in the multitude of its visitors, this exposition was far superior to that of 1876, and to all previous World's Fairs, The total admissions to the fair grounds numbered nearly thirty millions. 464. Financial Difficulties. — These four years were a 344 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY period of severe business depression in our country. In 1893 this depression amounted to a real panic. Manufactured goods of various sorts, cottons, woolens, and iron, could not be sold and must needs be piled up, waiting for a market. Busi- ness men could not borrow money and failures resulted. Great numbers of workmen were out of employment and they and their families suffered great hardships. The panic, however, was of short duration. Prosperity was soon restored. 465. Hawaii. — A revolution against the Queen of the Hawaiian (ha-wi' yan) Islands occurred on the 14th of Janu- ary, 1893. Two days later a Committee of Safety appealed to the United States for protection. In response to this request, and to protect American interests, a small number of troops landed from a United States cruiser stationed at Honolulu. The next day, a provisional government was set up "until," as it was stated at the time, ''terms of union with the United States of America should be negotiated and agreed upon." Following close upon these movements, a treaty providing for the annexation of these islands was negotiated and sent to the Senate February 15. It was not acted upon before President Harrison's term expired. President Cleveland with- drew the treaty, and began an investigation of the whole matter. We shall see later what was the outcome of all this. 466. Venezuela. — For many years Great Britain and Venezuela had had a dispute over the boundaries of British Guiana in South America. Venezuela had many times asked to have the question settled by arbitration, but Great Britain had refused. President Cleveland, fearing that England intended to fix the boundary by means of an armed force, informed the British premier that the Monroe Doctrine w^ould not permit England to increase her territory on the American continent in this manner. He then issued a CLEVELAND'S SECOND ADMINISTRATION (1893-1897) 345 message to Congress asking authority to appoint an arbitra- tion commission which should run the boundary. For a time it was feared that a war with England would follow, but England receded from her position, an arbitration commission was appointed, and the boundaries were finally fixed in accordance with the claims of Great Britain. 467. The Election of 1896. — In this sharply contested election, the currency question was the prominent issue. The Democrats declared for the "free and unlimited coinage of silver" at the rate of sixteen to one,^ and nominated for Presi- dent William J. Byran of Nebraska, and for Vice-President Arthur Sewall of Maine. The platform of the Republican party advocated a protective tariff and international bi- metallism. This party nominated for President William McKinley of Ohio, and for Vice-President Garrett A. Hobart of New Jersey. The Populists nominated for President Mr. Bryan, and for Vice-President Thomas E. Watson of Georgia. The "silver Republicans" ratified the Democratic ticket. A wing of the Democratic party, opposed to free silver, named General John M. Palmer of Illinois, and General Simon B. Buckner of Kentucky. The election resulted in two hundred and seventy-one votes for McKinley, and one hundred and seventy-six for Bryan. SUMMARY A dispute arose between the United States and Great Britain in regard to the seal fisheries in Bering Sea, and was settled ' By sixteen to one was meant that in coining money in the United States, sixteen ounces of silver would be equal to one ounce of gold, or that a silver dollar would he sixteen times as heavy as a gold dollar. The Republicans believed that since the principal European nations had gold only as the fixed standard for money, it would be unwise for the United States to have both gold and silver, unless all nations agreed to adopt bimetallism. 346 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY by arbitration. The country was disturbed by many strikes and riots and by a financial panic. The Columbian Expo- sition celebrated the discovery of America. The annexation of the Hawaiian Islands was proposed, but led to a difference of opinion in the United States and was postponed for further investigation. The presidential campaign was spirited, as the people were divided on the currency question. chaptp:r xxxmii McKINLEY'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1897-1901) 468. Troubles in Cuba. In early times Sj)ain was one of the stronji; powers of Eui'opc. About one hundred years ago she held a large portion of the American continent, which had been in her jiossession for two centuries. In 1821 she lost the control of Mexico, and soon all her other possessions on this continent slii)ped away from her. . In the West Indies, as early as 1825, Si)ain retained only Cuba, Porto Rico, and a few small outlying islands. Cuba and Porto Rico might have been of great valu(% had Si)ain given them just and liberal treatment. The soil was very fertile, large areas were covered by dense forests of timber, antl the mines were valuable. But the peoj^le were kept in poverty, while Spain profited by an exorbitant system of taxation. An intense hatred of everything Spanish soon possessed the minds of all the natives. In 1868 an insurrection broke out in Cuba, which lasted for ten years. After that, Spain broke her promises, and in 1895 another revolt followed. Spain sent over an army and a long war resulted. Captain- General Weyler issued what was known as his "reconcen- tration order." This was a command that all the people of each district should be collected at some place near the McKINLEY'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1897-1901) 347 Spanish troops and be kept under guard. Tlie ol)ject was to make it more difficult for the people to su[)i)ly the Cuban army with food, and for that army to get information of the Spanish military movements. It was reported that more than three hundred thousand persons were thus herded together.' Farmers and planters were driven from their homes and their industries, their houses were burned and their farms destroyed. The result was untold suffer- « ^H ^ m^. ■> h. "% 5^ rl \ '^'^iPmi:' tW - Sl ./#K ,1*..-w ,^, i^ Wj^ .,> ' -IPi #^S^' 1 .«««; 1 y MK ^ ^^^^^ promised reforms. The Cubans, how- fuses Inde- ever, could not trust these j^romises and insisted pendence. qj^ absolute independence. To this Spain would not consent. 470. The Destruction of the Maine. — In February, 1S98, the United States battleship Maine, lying in the harbor of Havana on a friendly visit, was blown up at night and moi-e than two hundred and fifty men j^erished. A Ignited States naval board of inquiry appointed by President McKinley re- ported that the ship was blown up by a mine placed under her by unknown persons. The Spanish government, how- ever, reported that the cause of the explosion was from within the vessel. The public feeling all over the United States was at fever heat against Spain. 471. President McKinley's Message. — Members of both houses of Congress were urging warlike measures, and in April the President sent a message to Congress, in which he said: "It is i)lain the insurrection cannot be extinguished by i)resent methods. In the name of humanity, in the name of civilization, in the behalf of endangered American interests, which give us the right and duty to speak and to act, the war in Cuba must stop." The message requested Congress to give him sufhcient power to adopt such measures as would stop the war in Cuba. 472. Congress Acts. — Congress acted at once, and on the 19th of April adopted the following resolutions: 1. That the people of Cuba are, and of right ought to be, free and independent. 2. That it is the duty of the United States to demand that Spain should give up Cuba and withdraw its forces from the island. 3. That the President is directed and empowered to use MCKINLEY'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1897-1901) 349 all the forces of the United States and to call upon the militia to carry out these resolutions. 4. That the United States disclaims any intention of con- trol over said island except for the pacification thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is accomplished, to leave the government and the control of the island to its people. Spain immediately gave passports to our minister at War Madrid. This meant Declared, war. Hence, on April 25, 1898, Congress formally de- clared war against Spain. 473. Beginning of the War. — Congress at once authorized the borrowing of two hundred million dollars. As soon as the loan was advertised, more than seven times that sum was offered. The President gave orders to blockade the coast of Cuba and to put in defensive condition our whole sea line, from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico. 474. Spain's Colonial Possessions. — Besides Cuba and Porto Rico, the principal colonial possession still belonging to Spain was the Philippine Archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, east of China. These islands contained a mixed population of perhaps eight million inhabitants. The largest island was Luzon (loo-zon') and its principal city was Manila, where was stationed a large Spanish fleet. 475. The War in the Pacific. — The United States Asiatic Squadron was lying off Hong Kong, China, under command of Commodore George Dewey. On receiving orders by William McKinley. 350 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY cable to "capture or destroy the Spanish fleet," Dewey and his squadron at once steamed away for Manila. Early on Sunday morning, May 1, 1898, they entered Manila Bay. Annihila- There the Spanish fleet lay, protected by the guns tion of of the batteries at Cavite (ka-ve' ta), a few miles Spanish distant. Then occurred a most notable naval en- ^^ ■ gagement. The cannonading was fierce and vig- orous, both from the fleets and from the forts. After two '^'^Waiij;^i^fe^^'!fagJ..<*iii — iBWifc>« The W kecked Spanish Squadron at Cavitk. hours of fighting Commodore Dewey witlidrew his ships, rested his men, gave them breakfast, and studied the ques- tion of ammunition. He then steamed back, and the can- nonading which followed was even more terrific than before. In a single hour the return fire, from both the Si)anish fleet and the forts, ceased. Livery shij) of the enemy was ])urned, sunk, or deserted- Theii- loss was reported four hundred McKINLEY'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1897-1901) 351 Admihal Dkwky, killed and six hundred wounded. The Spanish Asiatic Squadron was annihilated. The Americans on their part had not lost a man. Only six of their men were wounded and none of their vessels suf- fered serious injury. Dewey was made Rear Admiral and a sword was given him by Congress with a vote of thanks. The next year he was made Admiral. 476. Cervera's Fleet. — Sjjain had another strong fleet, which was lying in the neighborhood of the Cape Verde Islands. Soon after the war commenced, this fleet, under the command of Admiral Cervera (thar-va' ra), left these islands. Its destination was uncertain, and natu- rally enough the people on our Atlantic coast feared that it might suddenly appear and bombard their cities. The news that Cervera's ships had been seen on the southern coast of Cuba, and that they had anchored in the harbor of San- tiago-de-Cuba, quieted all this alarm. The whole American nation, however, anxiously awaited the movements of our North Atlantic Squadron, under Rear Admiral Sampson and Commodore Schley (sli). The delay was not long. Sampson and Schley quickly went to meet Cervera. Arrived before Santiago, they at once proceeded to blockade tlio hai'bor and iire])are for action. 477. Lieutenant Hobson and the Merrimac. — The entrance to Santiago harbor is a narrow winding passage, protected on both sides by fortified hills. The Americans proposed 352 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY to "bottle up" the Spanish fleet so that it could not pos- sibly get out into the open sea. This was to be done by sinking a vessel in the narrowest part of the channel. The plan was devised by Naval Constructor Richmond P. Hob- son, and to him the task was intrusted. In the early morn- ing Lieutenant Hobson with six brave volunteers, under a heavy fire, navigated the huge collier Merrimac through the channel. A shot from one of the forts carried away her rudder, so that she could not be moved to the exact spot that would blockade the channel. She was sunk, however, and her crew were now defenseless in the water. They were picked up by a Spanish vessel and made prisoners of war. Admiral Cervera himself was on the launch which rescued them. He was so moved by their bravery that he at once notified Admiral Sampson of the safety of the men. In this message he said: "Daring like theirs makes the bitterest enemy proud that his fellowmen can be such heroes." Hobson and his companions remained prisoners-of-war for several weeks and were then exchanged. 478. Cervera's Fleet Destroyed. — On the morning of July ;3d, Admiral Cervera, in obedience to positive orders from Spain, made a hurried and bold attempt to leave the harbor and take his vessels out to sea. The American fleet at once gave chase and opened fire upon the Spanish vessels, one by one. Cervera believed that his boats were swifter than the American vessels and that he could outsail them and escape. Here he was deceived. In less than four hours every Spanish ship was destroyed and every member of the Spanish crews was either killed or captured. The American loss was one man killed and three wounded. Several years afterwards, in an address to young men, Admiral Sampson said that two questions regarding this lestruction of the Spanish fleet were frequently asked him. McKINLEY'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1897-1901) 353 One was how had it happened that his guns could hit the Spanish vessels every time, while so few of the Sampson's Spanish shots struck our ships at all. The Admiral Explana- explained that the reason was very simple : he had *^°°- known that the Spanish crews had been practicing target firing while lying in the harbor of Santiago. They had been firing at the hull of an abandoned vessel, lying about a mile away. Sampson had, therefore, given orders to his fleet to get within half a mile of the enemy before firing. Thus it was easy to hit the Spaniards, but they, being used to a full mile distance, shot over our vessels. The other ques- tion was how could it happen that his shot would almost inevitably set the Spanish vessels on fire, while ours, even when hit, did not take fire. The Admiral showed that, the reason for this was easy also : before the battle he had ordered all cabinet work, which could be set on fire, to be stripped off and thrown overboard. Hence the Spanish shot reached nothing combustible. The Spaniards, however, had not thus prepared their vessels, which, therefore, easily took fire. 479. The Santiago Campaign. — Meanwhile hurried prepa- rations had been made to increase the regular army and to equip it for active service. The President had issued a call for one hundred and twenty-five thousand volunteers and later for seventy-five thousand more. Men from every walk in life, from the South as well as from the North, had im- mediately responded, and great camps had been formed, where these recruits were drilled by army officers. The first campaign was against Santiago-de-Cuba. Fifteen thou- sand troops, mostly regulars, under the command of General Shaffer, landed on the southern coast of Cuba. They then marched, sometimes under the hot tropical sun, sometimes in the pouring rain, over a rough, hilly country towards Santiago. On July 1st, El Caney was captured by Generals 354 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Lawton and fhaffee, and on the same day San Juan hill was taken by Colonel Roosevelt and his " Rouo;h Riders." The loss was heavy, foi- at all times the Americans were exposed to the guns of hidden Spanish soldiers. General Shafter was then able to place his lines about the city, which finally surrendered on the 17th of July. 480. Porto Rico Campaign. — General Miles now landed a strong force on the southern side of Porto Rico, where he was not expected, and with lit- tle opposition made a triumphant march through the island. The Spanish forces re- treated before him, and the inhabitants wel- comed our tro()|)s. The Americans took pos- session of the island. 481. Manila Sur- renders. — After the destruction of the Spanish Asiatic fleet at Manila, Admiral American (jUnneks in the Sea-Fight. Dewev continued to blockade the harbor, but he had not a sufficient land force to warrant an attack upon the city. Finally troops arrived from San Francisco, and Admiral Dewey and Major-General Mer- ritt together decided to make the attack. They were suc- cessful and Manila surrendered on the 13th of August. McKINLEY'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1897-1901) 355 General Miles. General Shafter. Admiral Sampson. Admiral Schley. 482. The Treaty of Peace. — Active hostilities had been carried on a Utile over three months when Spain sued for peace. Our Congress had declared war on the 22d of April, 356 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 1898, and on the 26th of July the French ambassador at Washington asked, in behalf of Spain, on what terms the United States would make peace. Two weeks later Spain signified her willingness to agree to our terms. Accordingly orders were given to cease hostilities. Before these reached the Philippines, however, the city of Manila had fallen. In October, Peace Commissioners met at Paris, and on the 10th of December the treaty of peace was signed. It em- bodied the following terms: 1. Spain to give up all claims upon Cuba. 2. Spain to cede to the United States Porto Rico, all her other small islands in the West Indies, and the island Guam in the Pacific Ocean. 3. Spain to cede to the United States also the entire group of islands east of the China Sea, called the Philippine Islands; and the United States to pay Spain twenty milhon dollars. The treaty did not specify for-what this sum was to be paid, but the inference seemed to be that it was to reimburse Spain for her public works in the Philippines, which were by the treaty turned over to the United States. 483. The Treaty Ratified. — The President sent the treaty to the Senate on the 4th of January, 1899, and that body ratified it by a vote of fifty-seven in favor, just one vote more than the re(iuired two-thirds majority. 484. Some Reflections Concerning the War. — The war was a remarkably short one. From beginning to end the United States forces were successful on land and sea. The direct cost of army and navy to our government was over one hundred million dollars. The other departments of gov- ernment had their expenditures greatly increased. The loss of life on our side from first to last was very small. We lost no flag, gun, or ves.sel, and no prisoners were taken except Lieutenant Hobson and his companions. The entire num- McKINLEY'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1897-1901) 357 ber of men enlisted in our army was nearly three hundred thousand. The losses in battle numbered about four hun- dred, and from disease nearly three thousand. The Red Cross Society did a noble work in caring for the wounded, the sick, and the suffering. Our decided and rapid success in the war clearly showed to the nations of Europe that the United States was a power to be respected, indeed one of the great world powers. 485. The Philippine Insurrection. — A portion of the people of the Philippine Islands were at war with the Spanish authorities before we obtained possession. Their leader and military commander was General Emilio Aguinaldo (a-ge-nal' do) . The insurrection against Spain, wdth Aguinaldo at its head, began in 1896. Spain, by the payment of a large sum of money, procured Aguinaldo 's exile from the islands. He went to Hong Kong. Two years later he re- turned to Manila for the purpose, it was said, of aiding the United States in the war against Spain. He soon raised another insurrection, and later organized a provisional gov- ernment, of which he was made president. The contest was mainly confined to the island of Luzon. A sort of guerrilla warfare continued for several years, until military forces of the United States had reduced his army to a mere body- guard, and in March, 1901, he was captured and brought to Manila. Ten days later he took the oath of allegianee to the United States. Under the control of the United States the industries of these islands have been rapidly developed and peveloo- the condition of the inhabitants has improved, ment Schools-have been established by the government, of the and many reforms undertaken. The military rule ^ *° ^" gave way to a civil government in 1901, and the first gover- nor was WilUam H. Taft. Four departments of government 358 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY have been organized, the Department of the Interior, of Commerce and PoUce, of Justice and Finance, and of PubUc Instruction. 486. The Hawaiian Islands. — These islands, formerly called the Sandwich Islands, are situated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in about twenty degrees of nortli lati- tude. They were discovered by Captain Cook, an L]nglish navigator, in 177.S. The government there was at first a Raising the United States Flag at Honolulu, 1898. monarchy. In 1893, however, the revolution occurred of which mention has already been made, a republican govern- ment was estabhshed, and Sanford B. Dole, the son of an American missionary, was elected president. The islands had then, as we know, asked to be joined to the United States, but their request had not been granted. Again they applied to be admitted to our republic, and in July, 1898, McKINLEY'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1897-1901) 359 were formally annexed to the United States by an Act of Congress. Later they were organized with a regular terri- torial government as the Territory of Hawaii (ha-wf e), which has a delegate upon the floor of the House of Repre- sentatives. A submarine cable was laid in 1903, from San Francisco across the Pacific, with offices in Honolulu, Guam, Submarine and the Philippine Islands. Cable. 487. Guam and Other Island Possessions. — Guam is the largest and the most southern of the Ladrone Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is some thirty-four miles long and one hun- dred miles in circumference, and is surrounded by coral reefs. The island has a population of about ten thousand. Our country took formal possession of it in February, 1899. Wake Island is a small island midway between Hawaii and Hong Kong. Our flag was raisea there in January, 1899. Tutuila (too' too-f la) became one of the possessions of the United States in 1899, in accordance with the treaty of Ber- lin. By this treaty Great Britain, Germany, and the United States agreed that the Samoan Islands should be divided between Germany and the United States, the latter taking Tutuila and several adjacent small islands, and Germany taking the rest of the group. This treaty was ratified by the Senate in January, 1900. Tutuila is valuable to our country both because it serves as a coaling station and also because it has a well-sheltered harbor called Pago-Pago, the finest harbor in the South Pacific Ocean. The island covers fifty-four square miles and has about six thousand inhabitants. It lies in the latitude of thirteen to fifteen de- grees south. 488. Our Possessions in the Torrid Zone. — Thus it may be seen that since the Spanish War we have acquired large possessions within the tropics. Formerly the territory of 360 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY the United States was entirely confined to the north tem- perate zone. To-day we have Porto Rico, the PliiUppines, Hawaii, Guam, Wake Island, and Tutiiila, with .several smaller islands, all lying within about twenty degrees of the equator. Hitherto all tropical fruits and other productions had to be imported from foreign countries. Now we can have them all from our own possessions. 489. The Status of Cuba. — At the beginning of the Span- ish War our government stated distinctly that we had no intention of annexing Cuba, but only of aiding her to secure her independence. After the war closed, we continued our military occupation of the island, but only to preserve order till the people could establish a government of their own. In February, 1901, the Cubans organized a I'epublic patterned largely after our own. They drew up a constitution, which provided for a ]oresident elected for four years by the people, who might be reelected once, and once only. This consti- tution provided also for a Congress of two houses, Hkeours, and a similar judiciary. As soon as this constitution had been adopted and officials elected under it, the island was turned over to the Cubans, and the new government went into effect in May, 1902. 490. The Hague Conference. — In May, 1899, delegates from twenty-six nations met at the Hague for a Peace Confer- ence. This movement was the result of a suggestion of Nicholas II, the Czar of Russia. Its object was to discuss the possibility of settling international disputes without resorting to war. One hundred delegates were present. The conference lasted about ten weeks. It was decided to recommend a permanent international Court of Arbitration, to which disputes between nations which could not be settled by ordinary diplomacy might be referred, and thus avoid the expensive and destructive McKINLEY'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1897-1901) 361 irbitrament of war. This conference voted that "the mili- tary burdens which now weigh so heavily upon the world" 3ught to be lightened. 491. A Permanent Court of Arbitration. — The tribunal :.hus recommended has been established and agreed to by i^arious nations of Europe and America. It is composed of Dersons eminent for their knowledge of international law, md chosen by the parties concerned from a permanent list )f arl^itrators nominated by the several nations. Upon )ccasion a special court may be organized in the following way: "Each party to the controversy chooses two arbitrators, either from the list of permanent members, or from persons ,vho are not members, and these choose an umpire." A per- nanent council is always on hand at the Hague. 492. Cases Already Before the Court. — The first case 5ettled by this court was a controversy between the United 5tates and Mexico in regard to the Pius Fund Claims, so called. Several other cases have already been determined )y this tribunal, and its permanence and success are to-day inquestioned. 493. The Chinese Insurrection. — In the spring of 1900 I wide-spread insurrection took place in China against oreigners and foreign influence. The fury of the mob was Drincipally against Americans and Englishmen, and to some extent against the French, Germans, and Russians. Many Nere murdered without provocation. Troops from our country, from England, and several European countries, Nere hurried to Pekin to protect the foreigners there. Wlien :he rioters were put down and terms were discussed for the settlement of damages, our government proposed a policy luite different from that advocated by the European powers, rhere was danger that a part of the territory would be de- nanded by the nations whose subjects had suffered. But 362 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY the United States firmly insisted that the territory of China should. remain intact; that China must pay a suitable indem- nity for property destroyed and lives lost, and nmst punish the instigators of the insurrection, but that she should lose no territory. This policy prevailed, and finally the whole affair was settled in accordance with the wishes of our govern- ment. An understanding had already been reached with those nations which had obtained territory in China that all ports should be opened to the trade of all nations. This ar- rangement, called the "open door," was a brilliant diplo- matic achievement. It was the work of John Hay, our secretary of state, whose course through- out all this difficulty with China reflected great credit upon our country. 494. The Election of 1900. The two most important ques- tions which divided the Ameri- can people in this campaign, were the free and unlimited coinage of silver at the rate of sixteen to one, and what was termed "anti-imperial- ism." The silver question was the same that divided the country four years before. The other, and the more impor- tant problem, had grown out of the treaty with Spain at the close of the war. It will be remembered that by that treaty Spain ceded to us the island of Porto Rico and the entire group of the Philippines. We had also annexed the Hawaiian Islands. The acquisition of an important island in the Atlantic John Hay. McKlNLEY'S FIRST ADMINISTRATION (i897-i90i) §63 and groups of islands in tlie Pacific Ocean occasioned a decided change in our national affairs. Were these islands to become states in our Union? Or were they, by the adop- tion of a colonial system, to become dependencies? Would the latter plan, called by some "imperialism," be con- imperial- sistent with our ideas of republican institutions? ism. Here arose a difference of political views. Many thought that "imperialism abroad would lead quickly and inevitably to despotism at home." The Democrats in their platform advocated "free silver"* and "anti-imperialism," and nominated for President Wil- liam J. Bryan of Nebraska, and for Vice-President Adlai E. Stevenson of Illinois. The Republicans advocated the gold standard, and ap- proved of the new system of island dependencies. They nominated for President William McKinley of Ohio, and for Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt of New York. Mc- Kinley had already served four years and had made himself a favorite in all parts of the country. Theodore Roosevelt was brilliant and popular. He had already had a broad and varied experience. He was a trained literary man, a volu- minous writer, had served in the New York legislature, had been national civil service commissioner, president of the New York police board, assistant secretary of the navy in McKinley's Cabinet, was colonel of the cavalry regiment of "Rough Riders" in the Spanish War, and at the time of this election was serving his second year as governor of the state of New York. The People's party, or Populists, nominated William J. Bryan for President, and Charles A. Towne for Vice-President. > By "free silver" is meant the free coinage of silver; that is, when individuals carry silver bullion to the mint, the government must make it into coin without expense to the owner. 364 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY The election was a decisive one. The electoral vote was two hundred and ninety-two for McKinley, and one hun- dred and fifty-five for Bryan. The total popular vote gave McKinley a plurality of about eight hundred and fifty thousand. This vote of the people determined the course of the United States in regard to the colonial policy. SUMMARY The sufferings of the Cubans in their struggles for indepen- dence had long enlisted the sympathies of the people of the United States, but no action was taken until after the destruc- tion of the Maine. Then war was declared against Spain. The conflict was sharp but decisive, and resulted in the destruc- tion of two Spanish fleets, the capture of Manila, the surrender of Santiago, and the occupation of Porto Rico. By the treaty of peace, Spain ceded to the United States all her American possessions, and the Philippines and other islands in the Pacific Ocean. Our territory was further enlarged by the annexation of Hawaii and Tutuila. An arbitration conference at the Hague resulted in the for- mation of a permanent International Court of Arbitration, which has already settled important international disputes. The policy of the United States in the Chinese insurrection against foreigners widened our influence with Asiatic as well as European countries. — -^ — CHAPTER XXXIX McKINLEY AND ROOSEVELT'S ADMINISTRATION (1901-1905) 495. The Census of 1900. — The twelfth census was taken this centennial year. It reported the population of the United States as 76,304,799, being an increase of more than twenty per cent over the number ten years before. It showed that the center of population had moved west- McKINLEY AND ROOSEVELT'S ADMINISTRATION 365 ward fourteen miles, and southward about two and a half miles. The central point is now near Columbus, Indiana. The United States now takes its place among the nations of the world as the richest, most prosperous, and most rapidly- progressive of them all. It has the broadest and America's most varied industries. No other country has place made such a rapid advance in so short a time, among the In intelhgence, in enterprise, in inventions, in ^ ^°"^* the comforts and luxuries of life, no nation excels us. But we have great responsibihties before us and difficult prob- lems to be solved. The outcome is uncertain and rests with coming generations. A century and a quarter is but a short time to determine whether a nation is to have perma- nent success. Yet certainly we may look toward the future with high hope and joyful expectation. 496. The Pan-American Exposition. — This exposition was officially opened at Buffalo, New York, on the 20th of May, 1901. It was designed to bring more closely together the various nations of America, by showing their progress in manufactures, the arts, and various industries. America had held many such exhibitions, and this was in many re- spects quite the equal of them all. In September President McKinley attended the exposi- tion, where he made an elaborate address, speak- jj^g ing in favor of liberal trade relations with other President's countries, and above all expressing the hope that Speech, peace would be maintained between all nations of the earth. 497. The President Assassinated. — The very next day after his delivery of this great speech, the President was shot by an anarchist, and died a week later, sincerely mourned by his own people and by all nations of the w^orld. On the day of the funeral, services were held in almost every village of this broad land and in nearly all of the large cities of the world. 366 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 498. President Roosevelt. — The Vice-President was quietly sworn into office, at Buffalo. Thus, for the fifth time in the history of our country, by the death of the President, and for the third time by the assassination of the President, the Vice- President became the chief executive officer of the nation. President Roosevelt pledged himself " to continue abso- lutely unbroken the policy of President McKinley, for the peace, prosperity, and honor of the country," and invited each and every member of the late President's Cabinet to remain. By this course he at once won the confidence of the people, and no financial disturbance followed his acces- sion to office. 499. The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty. ^ In the year 1850 our government had made a treaty with Great Britain called the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, which "guaranteed the strict neutrality of any interoceanic canal that might be built across the American Isthmus." This treaty agreed that "neither power was ever to obtain or maintain for itself an exclusive control over said ship-canal, or to occupy, or fortify, or colonize, or assume, or exercise, any dominion over Nica- ragua ... or any part of . . . Central America." This treaty was annulled and superseded by the Hay- Pauncefote Treaty, of December, 1901. The new treaty provided that the canal, when built, should be controlled by the United States, but that it should be opened to "vessels of commerce and of war of all nations on terms of entire eciuahty." Thus the way was opened for our government to under- take the building of a water route between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. At first the Nicaragua route was favored, but afterwai-ds authority was granted by Congress to buy the franchise of tlie French Panama Canal Com- pany for forty million dollars. A treaty was made with Mckinley and roosevelt's administration 367 Colombia, by which she was to cede to us all rights to the canal, and our government was to pay to her ten million dollars and an annuity of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, beginning nine years after the ratification of the treaty. The Colombian Congress refused to ratify the Treaty treaty. At that Panama rebelled and set up an with independent repubhcan government. The Repub- Panama. lie of Panama was recognized by our government, and a Used by courtesy of T. C. MuUer. At Work on the Panama Canal. treaty was made with it, by which we obtained the "use, occu- pation, and control of the zone of land, and land under water, for the construction, maintenance, operation, sanitation, and protection of said canal of the width of ten miles." We agreed to \)ny to Panama the sum of ten million dollars. This treaty was ratified by oui' Senate Fel^ruary 23, 1904. The building of the canal is now in the hands of a 368 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY commission of seven men, appointed by the President. The Building forty milHon dollars has been paid to the Panama the Canal, Canal Company, and the ten million dollars paid to the Republic of Panama. This important ship-canal will prove of immense advantage, not only to our country but to the commercial world. Used by courtesy of T. C. MuUer. CULEBRA, THE BiGGEST CUT ON THE CaNAL. 500. Tendencies toward International Peace. — The gen- eral trend of public sentiment among civilized nations is, each year, stronger toward peaceful means of settling inter- national difficulties. Many treaties have been made by which the nations concerned have agreed to refer to the Hague court such questions as they may be unable to deter- mine by the ordinary course of diplomatic procedure. At the present time there is a strong sentiment among many nations in favor of a regular, international advisory Con- Mckinley and roosevelt's administration 369 gress, which may help adjust important questions of inter- national law and propose needed legislation to the nations. 501. International Courtesies. — A friendlier spirit than has ever before been known now pre- vails among nations. The United States has had proof of this spirit, as shown in the various courtesies which she has received from foreign nations. In 1886 the Republic of France pre- sented to the United States a bronze statue called "Liberty Enlightening the World." It stands on Liberty Island, formerty called Bedloe's Island, in New York Harbor. It is more than one hundred and fifty feet in height and stands on a pedestal of granite, which is also more than one hundred and fifty feet high. In 1902 Prince Henry, of Prussia, visited the United States and went as far west as St. Louis. He received everywhere a most cordial welcome from the people. To commemorate this visit. Emperor William, in 1904, pre- sented to the LTnited States a fine bronze statue of Frederick the Great, who was friendly to the colonies during the Revo- lution. This beautiful statue has been placed in a conspicu- ous position in the city of Washington. Another French gift, a statue of Rochambeau (ro-shan-bo'), who commanded the French troops in our Revolution, was unveiled in Wash- ington in May, 1904. 502. Election of 1904. — We have already noted that Theodore Roosevelt was the fifth Vice-President called to the presidential chair by the death of the President. In The Statue of Liberty. 370 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY no one of the four preceding cases was the accidental Presi- dent elected for another term. The present case, however, was an exception to this rule. The Republican party nomi- nated Theodore Roosevelt for President, and Charles W. Fairbanks of Indiana, for Vice-President. The Democratic party named Alton B. Parker of New York, and Henry G. Davis of West Mrginia. Roosevelt received three hundred and thirty-six electoral votes and Parker one hundred and forty. The popular vote for Roosevelt was over seven mil- lion six hundred thousand, and the vote for Parker was a little over five million. It is worthy of note that in the forty-five states more than thirteen and one half million votes were cast. SUMMARY President McKinley was assassinated while attending the Pan-Amorican Exposition. He was succeeded by the Vice- President, Theodore Roosevelt, who continued his policy and won the confidence of the nation. By the adoption of the Hay-Pauncefote treaty, the United States was free to build a canal connecting the Ath^ntic with the Pacific. It was decided to build it across the Isthmus of Panama, and a treaty was made by which the United States came into possession of the strip of land required for its con- struction. — ^ — CHAPTER XL ROOSEVELT'S ADMINISTRATION (1905-1909) 503. The Inauguration. — On the 4th of March, 1905, Theodore Roosevelt was inaugurated President, and Charles W. Fairbanks Vice-President. The ceremonies connected with this inauguration were imposing; the procession from the White House to the Capitol was unusually long and ROOSEVELT'S ADMINISTRATION (1905 -) 371 brilliant; the concourse of citizens gathered near the east front of the Capitol to witness the President taking the oath of office and to listen to his inaugural address was very great ; the address was dignified and stately; it did not discuss the current questions of the day. 504. Proposed Arbitration Treaties. — Treaties with several of the leading nations of Europe had been framed by the State Department. By these treaties it was agreed to submit ques- tions in dispute to arbitration; in other words, to the Hague court. These treaties were sent to the Senate in March, 1905, for confirmation, but the Senate made some radical amendments which the President was un- willing to recommend to the several governments concerned. Hence they were not ratified. 505. Santo Domingo. — Serious troubles existed in the little republic of Santo Domingo and the government became deeply involved in debt. Its creditors were citizens of the United States and subjects of various European governments. To protect our citizens and to prevent foreign nations from interfering contrary to the Monroe Doctrine, a treaty was made between the Santo Domingan government and the United States, by which it was agreed that we should take charge of their custom houses, collect the revenue, and hold the same to be paid out, a part to sustain the government of the little republic and the rest to the foreign creditor^ whose claims could be proved. This treaty went to the Senate for Theodore Roosevelt. 372 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY ratification, but that body, disagreeing with the President, adjourned without taking action. 506. The Treaty of Portsmouth. — After the Chinese in- surrection (§493) had been put down and the country had become quiet, all the foreign nations that had sent troops to China to protect their citizens withch-ew their forces, according to agreement, except Russia. Japan feared that Russia intended to hold permanently the Chinese province of Manchuria. As this would seriously interfere with her commerce and development 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 therefore Japan declared war against Russia in February, 1904. The world is so closely bound together by treaties and common interests that whatever disturbs one country dis- turbs all. For a time it was feared that all the great European nations would become involved in the conflict. That the most terrible war of all time did not follow was due to the wisdom of the great diplomats, and as much, at least, to John Hay, our secretary of state, as to any other. The United States, through the efforts of President Roosevelt, was also instrumental in bringing the Russian-Japanese war to a close. In the summer of 1905, envoys from Russia and Japan met at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Terms of peace were drawn up, agreed upon, and finally ratified by the governments of the two nations. In 1900 Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Bill and the Meat Inspection Bill. These laws are intended to keep food products free from adulteration, and thus to safeguard the health of the public. In 1907 Oklalioma, embracing the entire area of the Okla- homa and Indian Territories, was admitted as the forty-sixth state. W A V , if^^^^'y _Jii, Louis iL<'^%V V • •'""'"' ^f '" " ^'■^«^ ..A* I ,. T c e f. n RT>L ...r/C^ ^ T f C K ^ ,^ ^ Vv_:ii^>--C icksburgp J ^' i f«„';a5om>->'J (i J :stoa o u L F " r 1 _pF CA_N0E5 •^Ac£ ^er 20. 1861. Six Southern States secede, January. Confederate States of America formed, Fel)ruary. Kansas admitted. 1861. Abraham Lincoln inaugurated, March 4. Fort Sumter evacuated, April 14. Call for troops i.ssued, April 15. Mob at Baltimore, April 19. Four more States secede. Great Britain recognizes Confederate States as Ijelligercnts, May Battle of Bull Run, July 21. Battle of Wilson's Creek, August 10. Capture of Fort Hatteras, August 29. Battle of Ball's Bluff, October 21. Capture of Port Royal, Novemlier 7. The Trent Affair, November S. 1862. Capture of Fort Henry, February 6. C'apturc of Roanoke Islaiul, February 8. Capture of Bowling Green, February 8. Capture of Fort Donelson, February 16. CHRONOLOGY 21 1862. Battle between the Merrimac and the Monitor, March 9. Capture of New Madrid, March 13. Battle of Shiloh, April 6, 7. Capture of Island No. 10, April 8. Capture of Fort Pulaksi, April 11. Capture of New Orleans, April 25. Capture of Yorktown, May 4. Battle of Williamsburg, May 5. Capture of Fort Pillow, June 4. Jackson's raid, June. Seven Days' Battles, June 25- July 1. Second Battle of Bull Run, August 29, 30. Battle of South Mountain, Septeml^er 14. Capture of Harper's Ferry, September 15. Battle of Antietam, September 17. Battle of luka, September 19, 20. Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, September 22. Battle of Corinth, October 3, 4. Battle of Perry ville, October 8. Battle of Fredericksburg, December 13. 1863. Emancipation Proclamation, January 1. Battle of Chancellorsville, May 2, 3. West Virginia admitted, June. Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3. Capture of Vicksburg, July 4. Capture of Port Hudson, July 9. Battle of Chickamauga, September 19, 20. Battle of Chattanooga, November 23-25. 1864. Grant made lieutenant-general, March. Battles of the Wilderness, May 5-7. Battle of Dalton, May 9. Battle of Resaca, May 13-16. Battle of Dallas, May 2.5-June 4. Battle of Kenesaw Mountain, June 9-30. Battle between the Kearsage and Alabama, June 19. Battle of Mobile Bay, August 5-23. Capture of the Georgia August. Capture of Atlanta, September 2. Battle of Winchester, September 19. Battle of Fi.sher Hill, September 22. Battle of Cedar Creek, October 19. Nevada admitted, Noveml)er. Sherman begins march to the sea, November 12. 22 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 1864. Battle of Franklin, November 30. Battle of Nashville, December 15, 16. Capture of Savannah, December 21. 1865. Battle of Five Forks, April 1. Petersburg captured, April 2. Fall of Richmond, April 3. Lee surrenders at Appomattox, April 9. Flag raised over Sumter, April 14. Death of President Lincoln, April 15. Johnston surrenders, April 26. Taylor surrenders. May 4. Capture of Jefferson Davis, May 11. Review of LTnion armies, May 23, 24. Thirteenth amendment ratified, December 18. 1866. Atlantic cable completed, July 27. 1867. Alaska purchased, March. Nebraska admitted. 1868. Impeachment of President Johnson. Fourteenth amendment ratified. Treaty with China. 1869. Ulysses S. Grant inaugurated. Pacific railroad completed, May 10. 1870. Fifteenth amendment ratified. Weather Bureau established. 1871. Treaty of Washington, May 8. Chicago fire, October. 1872. Geneva awards, September. Bo.ston fire, November. Modoc war. 1873. Beginning of business depression. 1875. Postal cards first used. 1876. Opening of Centennial Exhibition, May. Sioux war. Invention of the telephone. Colorado admitted, August. 1877. Electoral Commission, February. Rutherford B. Hayes inaugurated. United States troops withdrawn from the South. 1878. Bland-Allison Act passed. 1879. Resumption of specie payments, January. Mississippi jetties completed. 1881. James A. Garfield inaugurated, March. Death of President Garfield, September 19. CHRONOLOGY 23 1882. Anti-polygamy bill passed. 1883. Pendleton Civil Service bill passed, January. Postal rates reduced. Railroad time adopted. 1885. Grover Cleveland inaugurated. 1886. Presidential Succession bill passed. Anarchist riots in Chicago. Statue of Liberty presented by France. 1887. Interstate Commerce Act. Electoral Count bill. 1888. Chinese Expulsion Act. 1889. Benjamin Harrison inaugurated. Oklahoma territoiy opened. South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, and Washington admitted. 1889-90. Pan-American Congress. 1890. Idaho and Wyoming admitted. . Sherman Silver law. Difficulties with Italy and Chile. 1891. International Coypright Act. 1892. Homestead strike. Australian ballot adopted. Naval parade, October 12. 1893. Hawaiian revolution, January. Grover Cleveland inaugurated, March. Columbian World's Fair opened. May. Bering Sea decision, August. Business panic. 1894. Railroad strike. 1897. William McKinley inaugurated, March. 1898. The Maine blown vip in Havana, February 15. War declared with Spain, April 25. Battle of Manila, May 1. Merrimac sunk at Santiago, June 3. Destruction of Cervera's fleet, July 3. Hawaiian Islands annexed, July 7. Surrender of Santiago, July 17. Porto Rican campaign. Surrender of Manila, August 13. 1899. Treaty of peace ratified, February 6. Philippine insurrection. 1900. Treaty of Berlin ratified, January. Hawaii becomes a territory, April. Hague Peace Conference, May. 24 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY 1900. Chinese insurrection, June. President McKinley reelected, November. The Twentieth Century 1901. Aguinaldo captured, March. Pan-American Exposition, May 20. President McKinley assassinated, September 6. Theodore Roosevelt takes oath of office, September 14. Hay-Pauncefote treaty, December 16. 1902. Prince Henry visits the United States. Beginning of anthracite coal workers' strike, May 15. Cuba becomes an independent republic, May 20. " Pius Fund " decision rendered, October 14. 1903. Department of Commerce and Labor created, February 14. Spooner bill authorizing President to buy Panama canal route passed, June 28. Completion of Pacific cable, July 4. Alaskan Boundary Award, October 20. End of the coal miners' strike, October 24. Revolt of Panama, November 3. Commercial treaty with China, December 18. 1904. Treaty with Panama ratified by the Senate, February 23. Cuban reciprocity treaty ratified, March 22. Louisiana Purchase Exposition opened, April 30. Statue of Frederick the Great unveiled at Washington, November 19. 1905. Supreme Court declares the beef trust illegal, January 30. President Roosevelt inaugurated, March 4. Treaty of Portsmouth, September 5. 1906. Earthquake and fire destroy a large part of San Francisco, April 18-19. United States intervenes in government of Cuba, October 12. 1907. Jamestown Tercentenary Exposition opened, April 26. Philippine assembly opened by Secretary Taft, October 16. Oklahoma admitted as a State, November 16. American battleship fleet departs on trip around the world, Decem- ber 16. 1908. Conference of governors for conservation of natural resources, May 13-15. 1909. Williarn H. Taft inaugurated, March 4. Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition opened, June 1. Payne Tariff bill passed, August 5. 1910. Tri'aty with Japan. Nineteenth Census. Pure Food Law. 1911. Appalachian Forest Preserve. Bill providing for fortifying Panama Canal. APPENDIX C THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE In Congress, July 4, 1776. A DECLARATION BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THT5 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to-assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident: — That all men are created e(]ual ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organ- ising its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for Hght and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufTerable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accus- tomed. But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, piirsuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity that constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present king of Great Britain is 25 26 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having, in direct object, the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world. He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained ; and, when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would reUnquish the right of representation in the legislature — a right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, un- comfortable, and distant from the depository of thei» public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measure. He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people. He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining, in the meantime, exposed to all dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within. He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for the naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. He has kept among us in times of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to, the civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 27 to our constitutions, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation: For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us; For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states ; For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world; For imposing taxes on us without our consent; For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury; For transporting us beyond seas, to be tried for pretended offences ; For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing there an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies; For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our governments; For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection, and waging war against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. He has excited domestic insurrection amongst us, and has endeav- ored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress, in the most humble terms ; our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have we been wanting in our attentions to our British brethren. 28 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts by their legis- lature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the cireumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity; and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separation; and hold them, as W(! hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends. We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare: — That these united Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved ; and that, as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And, for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. APPENDIX D THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, estabhsh Justice, insure domestic Traucjuillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. ARTICLE I [Note. — The small figures in brackets are not in the original, but have been added subsequently, to mark the different clauses in a section. In reprinting the Constitution here, the spelling, punctuation, and capitalization of the original have been preserved.] Section 1. All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Section 2. f'^ The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature. ^'^^ No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. ••^^ Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, 29 30 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY and within every subsequent Term of ton Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for (>very Thirty Tlunisand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such eimmeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massa- chusetts eight, Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one, Con- necticut five, New-York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eifj;ht, Delaware one, Maryland six, \'irginia ten. North Carolina five, South Carolina five, antl (leorgia three. '■*! When vacancies happen in th(> Representation from any State, the ICxecutive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies. t^^ The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other oncers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment. Section 3. '^'^ The Senate of the United States shall be compo.sed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote. t-1 Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consecjuence of the first Election, they shall be divided as ecjually as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expi- ration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one-third may be chosen every second Year; and if \^acancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legis- lature, which shall then fill such Vacancies. f^^ No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. f"*! The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, bwt shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided. f^l The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the Absence of the Vice President, or w'hen he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States. f^^ The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 31 shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concur- rence of two thirds of the Members present. ^^^ Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and Disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honour, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law. Section 4. ^'^ The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the places of chusing Senators. ^'^^ The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day. Section 5. ^^^ Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide. f^^ h]ach House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member. ^^^ Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy ; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal. f*l Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting. Section 6. ^^^ The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, ex- cept Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest (luring their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or de- bate in either House, they shall not be (|uestioned in any other Place. 32 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY f'' No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, w^hich shall have been created, or the" Emolu- ments whereof .shall have been encreascd during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office. Section 7. ^^^ All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may i)roj)ose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills. ^■' Every Bill which shall have jjassed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to tlu> President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House* in which it shall have originated, who shall. enter the Objectiojis at large on their Journal, and jiroceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the othforc the Same shall take I'^ffect, shall be approved by him, or being disapi)roved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill. Section 8. The Congress shall have Power f'^ To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for tlie connnon Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and l*]xcises shall be uniform throughout the United States; ^^' To borrow Money on the credit of the United States; CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 33 [^1 To regulate Commerce with foi'eign Nations, and ainong the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; f'*' To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States; f^l To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures; f''l To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States; ^^^ To establish Post Offices and post Roads ; f*^^ To promote the progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries; f^^ To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court; ['"1 To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations; ^^^^ To declare War, grant letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water; f'^^ To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years; '-^^^ To provide and maintain a Navy; f^^^'To make Rules for the Goverimient and Regulation of the land and naval Forces; f^^^ To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; ^"'' To jM'ovide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the Discipline prescribed by Congress; ['■^J To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legis- lature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, Dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings ; — And ^^^' To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers^ and all other •Powers 34 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY vested by this Constitution in the (lovernnient of the United States, or in any Department or Offieer thereof. Section 9. '^'' The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think i)roper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or Duty may be imposed on sueh Im- jjortation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person. f"' The Privil(>geof th(» Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be susi)eii(le(l, unless when in Cases of RebeUion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. f^' No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed. f'*' No Capitation, or other direct. Tax shall be laid, unless in Pro- portion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken. f^^ No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State. [<'] No Preference shall be given by any Regulation of Conunerce or Reveinie to the Ports of one State over those of another: nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another. f^^ No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consecjuence of Appropriations made by Law; antl a regular Statement and Account of the Recei])ts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be pul)- lished from tinu; to time. f^^ No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the ('onscnt of the Congress, accept of any present, l<]molu- ment. Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. Section 10. ^^^ No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Maniue and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility. f^l No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be abso- lutely necessary for executing it's inspection Laws: and the net" Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 35 and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress. f^^ No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of Delay. ARTICLE II Section 1. ^^^ The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows f^^ Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Nu;iiber of Electors, ccjual to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress : but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector. * f^l The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a List of all the Persons voted for, and of the Number of Votes for each ; which List they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the Seat of the Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the Certificates, and the Votes shall then be counted. The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President, if such Number be a Majority of the whole Number of Electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such Majority and have an equal number of Votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately chuse by Ballot one of them for President; and if no Person have a Majority, then from the five highest on the List the said House shall in like manner chuse the President. But in cluising the President, the Votes shall be taken by States, the Representation from each State having one \'ote; a Quorum for this Purpose shall consist of a Member or Members *This clause has been superseded by the 12th amendment, see page 42. 36 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY from two thirds of the States, and a Majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. In every Case, after the Choice of the Presi- dent, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal Votes, the Senate shall chuse from them by Ballot the Vice President. f*l The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes ; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States. [5] -^Q Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States. f^l In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation, or InabiUty, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. f^J The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the ITnited States, or any of them. f^^ Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation : — "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Section 2. ^'^ The Presid(>nt shall be Connnander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of tlie Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the l^nitcHl States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 37 Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment. ^'^^ He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint' Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments. ^'^1 The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate,- by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session. Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress Infor- mation of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Considera- ation such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other pubUc Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the officers of the United States. Section 4. The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Mis- demeanors. ARTICLE III Section L The Judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their Contiiuiance in Office. Section 2. ''^ The Judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law 38 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Author- ity;— to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other pubUc Ministers and Consuls; — to all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction; — to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party; — to Controversies between two or more States; — between a State and Citizens of another State; — between Citizens of different States, — between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects. f^^ In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before men- tioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such lOxceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make. f"^' The Trial of all Crimes, except in C'ascs of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been connnitted; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall hv nt such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed. Section 3. '■'^ Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adlicriijg to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court. f"' The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted. ARTICLE IV Section 1. Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records, and Proceedings shall be ])roved, and the l';ffect tluMvof. Section 2. '''The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Innnunities of Citizens in the several States. f^' A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 39 Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, sliall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime. f^l No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due. Section 3. ^^^ New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislature of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. f^l The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Kules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property 1 K^onging to the United States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall |je so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State. Section 4. The United States shaU guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion, and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence. ARTICLE V The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Con- stitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate. 40 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY ARTICLE VI ^^^ All Debts contracted and Engagornoiits entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, siuill be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation. ^^' This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land ; and the Judges in every State shall l)e bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. f^' The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States. ARTICLE VII The Ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same. Articles in Addition to, and Amendment of, the Con- stitution OP' THE United States of America, Proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Lcyislatures of (he several States, pursuant to the fifth artiele oj the orii/inal Constittdion ARTICLIO I Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people jjcaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. ARTICLE II A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 41 ARTICLE III No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. ARTICLE IV The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. ARTICLE V No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infa- mous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War (u- public danger ; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled in any Criminal Case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use,' without just compensation. ARTICLE VI In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have Compulsory process for obtaining Witnesses in his favour, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence. ARTICLE VII In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the connnon law. 42 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY ARTICLE Mil Excessive bail shall not be reciuitcd, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. ARTICLE IX The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to denV or disparage others retained by the people. ARTICLE X Th(> ])()\v(Ms not (Iclegalod to the United States by the ('onstitution, nor prohibited by it to the Stales, are reserved to the States respec- tively, or to the people. ARTICLE XI The .ludicial power of the United States shaH'not be construed lo extend to any suit in law or e(iuity, conunenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State. ARTICLE XII The I'^vleclors shall meet in tluMi- respective states, and vote by ballot for I'residenI and \'ice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of tlie same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Mce-President, and they shall make chstinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the go\-ernment of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate; — The President of the Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted ; — The person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then fiom the persons having the iiighest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immechately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 43 by states, the representation from each state having one vote; a (|uorum for this purpose shall consist (jf a member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice- President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President. — The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-Presi- dent, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice-President ; a (juorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the w'hole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the ITnited States. ARTICLE XIII Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly con- victed, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. ARTICLE XIV Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States, according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for president and vice-president of the United States, representatives in 44 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for })articipation in rebellion or other crimes, the basis of representation shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens, twenty-one years of age, in such State. Section 3. No person shall be a senator or rei)reseiitative in Con- gress, or elector of president or vice-president, or hold any office, ci\il or military, under the United States or under any State, who having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the Ujiited States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the ('onstitu- tion of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebel- lion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each house remove such disability. Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States, nor any State, shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insur- rection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or eman(npation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void. Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce by appropriate legislation the provisions of this article. ARTICLE XV Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. APPENDIX E LINCOLN'S ADDRESS AT GETTYSBURG The short address made by President Lincoln, November 19th, 1S63, at th(! dedication of the National Cemetery on the battlefield of Gettysburg, has become a classic, and is justly entitled to be ranked as one of the choicest gems of literature in the English language. It embodies in brief the philosophy of the whole great struggle. Various reports have been made as to how, when, and under what circumstances the President wrote the address. In the note of invi- tation to the President, written November 2d by the master of cere- monies, occurs this sentence: "It is the desire that, after the oration, you, as Chief Executive of the Nation, formally set apart these grounds to their sacred use, by a few appropriate remarks." It was probable, therefore, that the President had given some thought to the subject before the day arrived, but there is conclusive evidence that the words of the address were not written out until after the Presidential party had arrived upon the ground. The following account of the writing of the address was received directly from the lips of ex-Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, who was present on the occasion and knew whereof he affirmed. Governor Curtin said that after the arrival of the party from Washington, while the President and his Cabinet, Edward Everett, the orator of the day. Governor Curtin, and others were sitting in the parlor of the hotel, the President remarked that he understood the committee expected him to say something and that he would, therefore, if they would excuse him, retire to the next room and see if he could write out something. He was absent some time, and upon returning to the company had in his hand a large-sized, yellow government envelope. The President sat down, and remarked that he had written something, and with their permission he would like to read it to them, and invited them to criticise it. After reading what he had written upon the envelope, he asked for any suggestions they might make. Secretary Seward volunteered one or two comments, which Mr. Lincoln accepted and 45 46 ESSENTIALS OF UNITED STATES HISTORY iii(()r])()r;it('(l. Then he said, "Now, gentlemen, if you will excuse me again, I will copy this off," and retiriiif;; again made a tVesh copy to read from. " Ah! " «aid Clovernor Curtin, " if I had begged that yellow envelope, which containetl the original draft of this justly famous speech, how valuable it would have proved for the fairs which were, soon, after, the order of the day." The following is a complete vopy of this famous address: — "Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created e(iual. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation .so con- ceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that w^ar. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense we caiuiot dedicate, we camiot consecrate, we cannot hallow, this ground. The l)rave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far abo\-e our j)oor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long i-emem- ber, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here haxc thus far so nobly advanced It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, • — that from these honored d(>ad we take inerease-} Q ^ Cl, k < H Q cc W H "> <^ 2: S s o a S * ?: a . ~ K 00 < "< '^ a C= d « Sf a ^ OD ** ua H Z s ?. 2 a 2 S ■< S & t>.C0C01O'-l CiT-i o c M ■ — ' 2:S CI "& Si > ^ C C ^ 1^ .5-- o -i^ .2 X >> g O rt C "S ■? "C ^^Ji— ! C c = o > *j *j -tJ -ft, ^ CO i' o rt o /^ Cm 23 CQ coo oeo (N 10 Tji Ttt co_Tt<^io (M O CO -* -o C^l Ci O --I : C-1 O ^ IM < COO_CO ^_< I O CO O O ! 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Adams, John Quinoy, administra- tion of, 223. Airships, 37G. Alabama, Confederate cruiser, 308. Alamance, 108. Alaska, purchase of, 320. Albany plan of Union, 92. Albemarle, Confederate cruiser, 309. Alien Law, 195. Andre, Major, 152. Andros, Sir Edmund, 54. Antietam, battle of, 283. Arbitration treaties propo.sed, 371. Arkan.sas admitted 183(3, 232. Arnold, Benedict, 139, 152; his trea- son, 152. Arthur, Chester A., administration of, 334. Atlanta, capture of, 304. Australian ballot, 340. B Bacon's rebellion, 34. Baltimore, Lord, 35. Bank, the United States, 230; Jackson removes deposits of, 230 Barton, Colonel William, 13(5. Bell, Alexander (iraham, 328. Bemis's Heights, battle of, 140. Bering Sea case, 341. Berkeley, Sir William, 34. Blanco, (Jeneral, 348. Block, Adrian, 57. Blockade in Civil War, the, 274. Bon Homme Richard, the, 149. ' Boone, Daniel, 146. Boston, John Winthrop, 48; gov- ernment, 49; Roger Williams, 49; riot, lOG; tea party, 109. Braddock, General, 93. Brandywine, battle of, 137. Bread riots in New York, 234. British troops in Boston, 106; leave Boston, 122. Brown, John, 259. Buchanan, James, administration of, 257. Buffalo, Pan-American exposition at, 365. Bull Run, battle of, 275. Bunker Hill, l)attle of, 118. Burgoyne, expedition of, 139; sur- render of, 140. Burlingame, Anson, 321. Burr, Aaron, 205, 206. Business depression in 1873, 326. Cable, the Atlantic, 321. Cabot, John, 14-16. Cabot, Sebastian, 16. California, adopts constitution, 248; gold discovered in, 247. Campbell, Colonel, 150. Capitol at Washington burned, 211. Carolinas, the, .38; early settlers, 38; North and South Carolina, 39; agriculture, 39; rice and cotton, 40. (Carpet-baggers, 319. (^artier, Jaccjues (zhak kar'tya'), SO. Cavite (ka-ve'ta), .3.50. Census, the first, 1790, 188j of 1900, 364 ; of 1910, 374. Centennial at Philadeiphia, 327. Cervera, Admiral (thar-va'ra'), ,351; his fleet destroyed, 352. Champe, .John, 1,53. Champlain, Samuel de, 80. Chancellorsville, battle of, 294. 50 INDEX 51 Chattanooga, battle of, 299. Cherokees in Georgia, 231. Chickamauga, battle of, 299. China, treaty with, 321. Chinese Exclusion Act, 338; insur- rection, 361. Christian Commission, 315. Civil Service bill, 334; reform, 330, 336. Civil War, 268-312; end of, 311; results of, 317. Clark, George Rogers, 147. Clark, William, 201, 203. Clay's compromise tariff, 229. Clermont, the, 206. Cleveland, Grover, first administra- tion of, 336; second adminis- tration of, 341. Clinton, DeWitt, 221. Clinton, General, at New York, 129. Clocks and watches, 335. Coligny, Gaspard de (ko-len'ye), 21. Colonial commerce, 101; industries, restriction on, 102. Columbus, Christopher, 10-14. Compromise of 1850, 249. Concord, battle at, 115. Confederate cruisers, Florida, Shen- andoah, and Alabama, 308; Geor- gia, Albemarle, 309. Confederate states, 269. Confederation, Articles of, 164; weakness of, 165. Connecticut, 51; the first constitu- tion, 52; New Haven, 52; Rev. John Davenport, 52; Theophilus Eaton, 52. Constitution framed, 167; adopted, 168; Preamble, 170; provisions for legislative power, 170, con- gress, 170, executive power, 172, President, powers and .duties of, 172, judicial power, 174; amend- ments of, 187, 318. Constitution, frigate, 210. Conway Calml, 142. Copyright, international, 340. Cornwallis, General, 158; surrender of, 160. Courtesies, international, 369. Cowpens, battle of, 157, Cuba, troubles in, 346; Congress acts on, 348. Cumberland Road, 221, 223. D Da Gama, Vasco da (vas'ko da ga'ma), 9. Dale, Thomas, 31. Dare, Virginia, 26. Davenport, Rev. John, 52. Davis, Jefferson, 269; arrested, 314. DeGrasse, Count (de-gras'), 159. DeKalb, 135. Delaware, 60. Delaware, Lord, 31. D'Estaing, Count (das'-tan), 144, 150. Dewey, Commodore, 349, 350. Donelson, Fort, 286. Dorr War, 238. Drake, Sir Francis, 23. Dred Scott Decision, 257. Duquesne, Fort, 92. E Eaton, Theophilus, 52. Electoral count bill, 337. Eliot, John, 88. Elsworth, Oliver, 187. Eniancipation, 292. Embargo act, 204. English explorers, 22. Erie canal, 221. Ether as an anaesthetic, 264. Eutaw Springs, battle of, 157. F Farragut, Admiral, 308; at New Orleans, 289. Federal convention of 1787, 166. Ferguson, Major. 151. Fillmore, Millard, administration of, 250. Fires in Chicago and Boston, 326. First Continental Congress, 111. Fi.shery dispute, 324. Florida admitted, 1845, 248. 52 INDEX Florida, Confederate cruiser, 308. Force bill, 229. Forest preserves, Appalachian, 375. Fox, Charles James, 157. Fredericksburg, battle of, 284. Freeman's P'arm, battle of, 140. Freesoil party, 248. French and Indian wars, 91; re- sults of, 100. French forts, 92. French in Canada, 79; Cartier, Jacques, SO; founding of Quebec, 80; Samuel de Champlain, 80; Jesuits, 81; Manjuette and Joliet, 81; La Salle, 83. French Revolution, 189. French settlements in North Amer- ica, 20-22. Froljisher, Martin, 22. Fulton, Robert, 206. G Gadsden Purchase, 245. Gag rule, 261. Garfield and Arthur's administra- tion, 333. Garfield assassinated, 333. Gaspee, burning of the, 108. Georgia, Confederate cruiser, 309. Georgia, royal province, 41. Germantown, battle of, 138. Gettysburg, iiattle of, 295. Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 23. Gold discovered in California, 247. Goodyear, Charles, 263. Gorges, Ferdinando, 53. Gourgues, Dominique de (do'me- nek' da goorg), 22. Grant, Ulysses S., 286, 298-303, 30t)-311; administration of, 323. Greene. General, in the South, 156. Grey, Captain, 239. Guam, .359. Guilford Court House, battle of, 157. H Hague conference, 360; court of arbitration, 361; cases before the court, 361. Hamilton, Alexander, 186, 190, 191, 205. Harrison, Benjamin, administration of, 339. Harri.son, William Henry, adminis- tration of, 236. Harrodsburg, fort at, 146. Hartford convention, 214. Hawaii (ha-\vI6'), 344, 358; terri- tory of, 359. Hawkins, Sir William, 22. Hawley, Joseph, for revolution and independence, 124. Hay, John, 362. Hay-Pauncefote treaty, 366. Hayes, Rutherford B., administra- tion of, 330. Hayne's and Webster's speeches, 227. Henry, Fort, 286. Henry, Patrick, 104, 112. Hessians, 133. Higginson, Francis, 47. Hilton Head, capture of, 284. Hobson, Lieutenant, 351. Hood invades Tennessee, 306. Howe and Clinton at New York, 129. Howe, Elias, 263. Howe, Robert, 150. Hudson, Henry, 56. Hull, Captain,'210. Iberville, LeniojTie (le-mwan' de'-bar-vel'), 85. Immigration, 26.5, 266. Indejicndence, trend towards, 123; declared by Rhode Island, 123; l)y^'irginia, 124; by Congress, 125. India rubljer, 262. Indian homes, 3; occupations, 4; women,* 5; religion, 6. Indiana admitted as a state, 1816, 216. Indians and the French, 87; and the English, 88. International copyright, 340. International peace, tendencies towards, 368. Interstate commerce bill, 337. INDEX 53 Iowa admitted 1846, 248. Iroquois, 89. Jackson, Andrew, administration of, 227. Jamestown, 29; difficulties at, 29; John Smith, 30; the starving time, 30; Lord Delaware, 31; Thomas Dale, 31; tobacco, 32; slavery, 33; the first assembly, 33; Bacon's reliellion, 34. Japan, treaty with, 375. Jay, John, 187, 190. Jefferson, Thomas, and the Decla- ration of Independence, 126; acquirements of 198; administra- tion of, 198. Jesuits, 81. Johnston, Albert Sidney, 285. .Toliet (zho'lya'), 81. Jones, Paul, 149. K Kansas border war, 254; Kansas- Nebraska act, 253. Kaskaskia captured, 148. Kentucky admitted 1792, 189; reso- lutions of nullification, 196. Key, Francis S., 213. King Philip, 89. King's Mountain, battle of, 151. Kosciusko (kos-si-ijs'ko), 135. Labor troubles, 342. Lafayette, General, 135. La Salle, 83. Laudonniere, Rene (lo'do'nyar') ,21. Lee, General Charles, disobedience of, 131; captured, 132. Lee, Major Henry, 149. Lee, Richard Henry, 125. Lee, Robert E., 281-284, 294-297, 301-303; surrender of, 309. Leslie, Colonel, at Salem, 113. Lewis and Clark expedition, 202. I^ewis, Meriwether, 203. Lexington and Concord, 114. Liberty Bell, 127. Life in the colonies, 65; the people, 66; social conditions, 66; Dutch patroons, 67; servants, 68; slaves, 68; cities, 68; travel, 70; houses, 71; utensils, 72; home industries, 73; amusements, 74; Sunday, 74; punishments, 75; schools, 77; colleges, 77. Lincoln, Abraham, first administra- tion of, 268; inaugurated, 271; call for troops, 273; second ad- ministration of, 313; assassinated, 314. Lincoln and Douglas debates, 258. Livingston, Robert R., 206. London Company, 27. Long Island, battle of, 129. Lousiana, under Spain and France, 200; purchase of, 200; admitted as a state, 1812, 216. M MacDonough, Commodore, 210. Madison, James, administration of, 208. Magellan, Fernando, 18, 19. Maine, the, destruction of, 348. Malvern Hill, battle of, 282. Manila surrenders, 354. Marietta, Ohio, 183. Marion, General, 150. Marquette (mar'ket'), 81. Marshall, John, 187. Maryland, charter, 35; settlement, 36; government, 36; religious toleration, 37. Mason and Slidell, capture of, 277. Mason, John, 53. Maximilian in Mexico, 322. Mmffiower compact, 45. McClellan, George B., 276. McCormick's reaper, 263. McKinley, William, first adminis- tration of, 346; .second adminis- tration of, 364; assas.sinated, 365. Men of letters, 265. Menendez de Aviles, Pedro (ma- nan'dath d.a a'vclas'), 21. Merrimac and Monitor, 278. Merritt, General, 354. 54 INDEX Mexico, war declared with, 243; treaty of peace with, 244. Michigan admitted 1837, 232. Miles, General, 354. Military review at Washington, 310. Minis, Fort, massacre at, 210. Mississippi River, opening of, 290; jetties, 331. Missouri Compromise, 219. Mobile Bay, battle of, 307. Money, coinage of, 188. Monmouth, battle of, 145. Monroe Doctrine, 219. Monroe, James, administration of, 217. Montcalm, the Marquis de, 95. Morgan, General, 156. Morris, Robert, 135. Morse, Samuel F. B., 127, 240. N Naval force on the Great Lakes, 221. Navigation laws, colonial, 101. New England, colonies, 43; United Colonies of, 53. New France, 84. New Hampshire, Ferdinando Gor- ges and John Mason, 53. New Haven, 52. New Jersey, 60. New Orleans, battle of, 213. New York, 57, 58; taken by the English, 59. Non-Intercourse Act, 204. Norse voyages, 7. North and South, population and advantages in 1860, 270. Northwest boundary, 324. Nullification, 228. O Oglethorpe (o'g'l-thorp), James Ed- ward, 40. Ohio, first settlement in. 184. Oklahoma, 372. Ordinance of 1787, 183. Oregon Country, 239. Pacific Railroad, 323. Pago-Pago, 359. Pakenham, Edward, 214. Panama Canal, 367, 375. Pan-American Congress, 339. Pan-American exposition, Buffalo, 365. Peninsular campaign, 280. Penn, William, 62; receives grant from the king, 62; founds Penn- sylvania, 63; his colony, 63; Indian receipt for land, 64. Pequots, the, 89. Perry, Oliver H., 210. Perry's treaty with Japan, 252. Petroleum, 264. Philanthropy, 376. Philippine Islands, 349, 354, 356; insurrection, 357. Pickens, Andrew, 1.50. Pickett's charge at Gettysburg, 297. Pierce, Franklin, administration of, 252. Pilgrims, in Holland, 44; their re- moval to America, 44; the voy- age, 45; Mayfiuivcr compact, 45. Pine-tree shilling, 54. Pitt, William, 94, 106. Plains of Abraham, 96. Plymouth Company, the, 28. Polk, James K., administration of, 242. Polygamy, Anti-, bill, 334. Pope, General John, 282. Porto Rico Campaign, 354. Portsmouth, Treaty of, 372. Postage rates, 261. Prescott, General, captured, 136. Presidential election, 1800, 197 1808, 207; 1812, 216; 1816, 216 1820, 217; 1824, 222; 1828, 226 1832, 229; 1836, 233; 1840, 235 1844, 241; 1848, 248; 1852, 251 1850, 256; 1860, 267; 1864, 312 186S, 322; 1872, 326; 1876, 328 1880, 332; 1884, 335; 1888, 338 1892, 341; 1896, 345; 1900, 362 1904, 369; 1908,373. Presidential Succession Bill, 336. Presidents, list of, 173. Princeton, battle of, 133. Pure Food Law, 372. INDEX 55 Q Quakers, the, 61. Quebec, battle of, 95. R Railroad, first in America, 1831, 232. Raleigh (ra'li). Sir Walter, 24. Read, Thomas Buchanan, poem by, 304. Reconstruction, 318. Republican party, 255. Revolution, 100-164; who first foresaw it, 112. Rhode Island, 51; declared her independence, 123. Richmond, fall of, 309. Roanoke Island, 24, 284. Rochambeau, Count (ro-shon'-bo'), 159. Roosevelt, Theodore, in Spanish War, 354; Vice-President, 363; President, 306, 370. Rutledge, John, 187. Saint Marys, 36. Salem, settlement of, 47; Francis Higginson at, 47. Sampson, Rear-Admiral, 351. Santo Domingo troubles, 371. Sanitary Commission, 315. Santiago campaign, 353. Schley (sll), Commodore, 351. Secession, 268. Sedition Law, 195. Separatists, 43. Sequoyah (se-quoi'ah), 231. Sewing-machine, 263. Shenandoah, Confederate cruiser, 308. Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, 303. Sherman, before Atlanta, 304; his march to the sea, 306. Shiloh, txittle of, 288. Sioux Indians, 325. Slater, Samuel, 179. Slave states and free states, 218. Slavery, end of, 293. Smith, John, 30. South Mountain, battle of, 283. Spain, treaty with, 1819, 218. Spanish settlements, 20. Specie circular, 234. Specie payment, resumption of, 331. Stafnp Act, 104. Star-Spangled Banner, 213. States admitted, California, Minne- sota, Oregon, Kansas, West Vir- ginia, Nevada, Nebraska, Co'o- rado, 328; North Dakot:i, i^otith Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, 328, 339; Oklahoma, 339, 372. (See also names of states.) Steamboat, the first, 206. Steuben, Baron, 135. Stewart, Peggy, the, 110. Stuart's portrait of Washington, 189, 212. Stuyvesant (sti've-sont), Peter, 58. Sub-treasuries established, 234. Succession Bill, Presidential, 336. Sumner beaten liy Brooks, 255. Sumter, Fort, 272; flag raised over, 313. Sumter, Thomas, 150. Supreme Court under Washington, 186. Surplus revenue distributed among the states, 231. Taft, William H., 357, 373, 374. Tariff of 1816, 220; of 1828, 225; of 1909, 374. Tarleton, Colonel, 157. Tax on tea, 105, 108. Taxation, American theory of, 103; English theory of, 102. Taylor, Zachary, in Mexican War, 242; administration of, 249; death of, 250. Tecumseh, 208. Telegraph, Morse's, 240. Telephone, the, 328. Temperance societies, 262. Tennessee admitted 1796, 189. 56 INDEX Texas, Republic of, 237; admitted, 1S45, 248. Time, standard railroad, 335. Tippecanoe, 208. Transportation, 375. Treaties, arbitration, proposed, 371. Treaty, between England and France, 1763, 98; with France, 143; of 1783, 1G1-I(i3; of 1814, 215; of Washington regarding the Alabama claims, 324; with Spain, 355; Hay-Pauncefote, 366; of Portsmouth, 372; with Japan, 375 Trent affair, the, 277. Tripoli, war with, 204. Troops withdrawn from the South, 330. Tryon, General, raided Connecticut, 149. Tunnels, New York City, 376. Turks in Europe, 8. Tutuila (too too-I'la), 359. U United Netherland company, 57. United States in 1790, 175; popula- tion, 176; how the people lived, 176; industries, 178; manufac- tures, 178; commerce, 180; fish- eries, 181; whaling, 181; wealth, 182; paper money, 182. United States in 1825, 223; indus- tries, education, church and state, 224; the Era of Good Feeling, 225. United States in the twentieth cen- tury, 377; extent of territory, growth in a century, 377; Mis- sis.sippi Valley, Pacific slope, 378; irrigation, 378; inuuigration, and foreign population, 379; indus- tries and inventions, the elevator, 380; trolley cars, education, 381. United States of America, name adopted, 128. Valley Forge, winter at, 141. .Van Ruren, Martin, administration of, 234. Venezuela, 344. Vermont admitted 1791, 189. Vespucci (v6s-poot'che), Amerigo, 16-18. Vicksburg, siege of, 298. Vincennes (vln-s6nz'), capture of, 148. Virginia, resolution of nullification, 196. W Wake Island, 359. Wald-semuller (viilt'za-miil-ler), 17. War, of 1812, 208; declared against Spain, 349; in the Philippine Islands, 349. (See also French and Indian, Revolution, Mexico, Civil.) Washington, at Fort Duquesne, 92; commander-in-chief, 121; crosses the Delaware, 133; administra- tion of, 186; first cabinet, 186; farewell address of, 192; death of, 196. Washington, capture of Fort, 131. Wayne, Anthony, 149. Weather bureau, .327. Weathersford, 210. Webster-Ashl)urton treaty, 237. Webster, debate with Hayne, 227; 7th of March speech of, 250. Weyler, General, 347. Wh'itman, Marcus, 239. ^\'hitney's cotton gin, 179. AMld-cat banks, 2.34. Wilderness, the, .301. Williams, Roger, 49. Wilmot Proviso, the, 246. Winter quarters, 1776, 134. Winthrop, John, 48. Wireless telegraph, 376. Wolfe, General James, 95. World's Fair, at London, 1851, at New York, 1853, 2.52; at Phila- delphia, 1876, 327; at Chicago, 342. Yorktown, 159. IP. A SHORT SKETCH OF THE HISTORY or INDIANA BY CYRUS W. :pODGIN, A.M. PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN EARLHAM COLLEGE SILVER, BURDETT AND COMPANY NEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO Copyright, 1906, by SILVER, BURDETT AND COMPANY CONTENTS I. A General View of the State II. The Native Inhabitants . . . * . III. European Claims to Indiana .... IV. Virginia captures the West .... V. Under Control of Congress .... VI. Early Settlements and Local Government VII. From Territory to State .... VIII. Indiana's Institutional Development . IX. Indiana's War Record 7 10 12 16 19 23 28 31 39 APPENDIX Indiana's Governors . Some Books on Indiana 45 46 A SHORT SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF INDIANA CHAPTER I A GENERAL VIEW OF THE STATE Location and Boundary. — What we call the state of Indiana is part of the great triangle of land bounded by the Great Lakes, the Ohio River, and the IMississippi. It is about midway be- tween the Mississippi and the western foot of the Alleghany Mountains, and extends from the Ohio River to the Great Lake Basin. The state of Michigan is on the north of it, Ohio on the east, Kentucky on the south, and Illinois on the west. Surface. — -The northern third of the state is level, and scattered over this section are numerous small lakes. The lakes of the eastern part are deep, with beautifully wooded shores and clear, pure water; those of the west are shallower, and have marshy margins. All abound in fish. The m.iddle third of the state is rolling, and the streams have deeper valleys, sometimes forming beautiful gorges or small caiions. The southern third is hilly, and is carved by deep, narrow valleys and ravines. The portion bordering the Ohio River is called the Knobs. In parts of this section there are many sinks in the surface, and a number of caves beneath the surface. Wyandotte Cave, in Crawford County, is the largest and finest of them. The extent of its chambers and avenues which have been explored is nearh' twenty-five miles. In some of the chambers there are very beautiful stalactites and stalagmites, which the owner of the cave has taken great care to preserve. 7 8 A SHORT SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF INDIANA The highest point in Indiana is Weed Patch Hill. Its sum- mit is 1140 feet above the sea level. The lowest point is in the southwest corner, in what is called the Pocket, 300 feet above sea level. The greatest length of the state, from north to south, is 276 miles; the greatest breadth is 176 miles. Indianapolis, the capital, is in the geographical center of the state. Drainage. — There are four distinct drainage slopes in In- diana. The first slope is that of Lake Michigan in the north, drained by the St. Joseph River, and the second, the Lake Erie slope in the northeast, drained by another St. Joseph River and the St. Marj^s, which together form the Maumee. The third drainage slope is the Ohio River slope with its three distinct parts: the section drained by the Wabash River and its tributaries, the waters of which enter the Ohio at the southwest corner of Indiana; the southern tier of counties, drained by short, swift streams directly into the Ohio; and the section in the southeastern part of the state drained by the Whitewater, which enters the Ohio with the Miami at the southeastern corner of the state. The Wabash and its tributaries drain three fourths of the state. The fourth slope is wedged in between that of Lake Michigan and the Wabash basin. It is a flat, marshy district through which the Kankakee and the Iroquois rivers make their sluggish way westward into Illinois. The Ohio River, on the southern border of the state, is a majestic stream. Its beauty was recognized by both the In- dians and the French. The former named it Ohio, meaning "the beautiful"; the latter called it La Belle Riviere, the beauti- ful river. Soil. — In the north, the soil is generally a rich sandy loam. The river bottoms are everywhere very fertile, and even the hills of the southern portion produce good grass, fair corn and wheat, and fine orchard fruits. The amount of waste land is exceedingly small. Prairies and Forests. — About one eighth of the state, in the central west and northwest, was originally prairie; the re- mainder was well wooded. In the Kankakee and the St. Joseph A GENERAL VIEW OF THE STATE 9 valleys the pine and tamarack abounded. The oak, hard and soft maple, walnut, tulip poplar, hickory, ash, beech, and a great variety of smaller trees and shrubs were widely distributed. In the southwest, the cypress, birch, persimmon, and catalpa were found. The greater part of the forests have now been cleared away. Mineral Resources. — About seven thousand square miles in the west and southwestern part of the state are underlaid with coal. The coal is all bituminous, but there are three distinct varieties — block coal, ordinary bituminous, and cannel coal. The block coal is especially valuable, since it can be used for smelting iron without having to be converted into coke. Petroleum, or coal oil, is found abundantly in the central eastern part of the state. Natural gas is also abundant. Its field is very nearly the same as that of the coal oil. In some localities the supply of both oil and gas is diminishing. Indiana has a number of varieties of excellent building stone, the most important of which is known as oolitic limestone. It is found chiefly in Putnam, Monroe, Lawrence, and Washing- ton counties. Indiana's state house is built of this limestone, as are some of the public buildings in a majority of the states of the Union. Sandstone of both a coarse and a fine quality is found; the former is much used for heavy piers and the abutments of bridges, and the latter, in the construction of dwellings and business houses. Clays for making brick, coarse pottery, and porcelain ware are abundant. The porcelain clay, called kaolin, is of excellent quality. Good sand is widely distributed. The quality that is used in building is most abundant. Molder's sand is found in Wash- ington and Morgan counties, while white sand, used for making glass, exists in Madison, Blackford, and Hamilton counties. In Clark County there is a kind of sand that is used in making the best plate glass. Although Indiana has no gold or silver mines, nor iron in 10 A SHORT SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF INDIANA paying quantities, the mineral resources of the state offer op- portunities for industrial development far more valuable to the people, and furnish employment and the means of living to larger numbers than would rich mines of gold and silver. With soil of great fertility and practically no waste land, with raw materials for supplying so many of the necessities of civilized life, and a supply of stored-up energy in the form of coal, gas, and petroleum for doing the hard work, Indiana furnishes a physical basis for the development of a material civilization surpassed by few states of the Union and by few countries of the world. CHAPTER II THE NATIVE INHABITANTS Mound-Builders. — In almost every county of Indiana there have been found various forms of earthworks. These were here when this country was first visited by white men, and are supposed by some students of history to have been built by a race preceding the Indians. Because of the large number of mounds among the earthworks, the name mound-builders has been applied to this race. Recent investigators, however, think that these people were not a distinct race, but were the ancestors of the Indians. Many human skeletons and earthen vessels containing corn and other articles of food, or the ashes of human bones, have been found in the mounds; also implements of stone, bone, and sometimes of copper; and a few specimens of cloth, showing skill in spinning and weaving. The earthworks were used for various purposes, such as burial places, watch towers for signal fires, altars of sacrifice, or for purposes of defense. When these mound-builders were here, whence they came, whither they went, are questions no one seems able to answer THE NATIVE INHABITANTS 11 with certainty. The works they have left behind them show how low they were in the scale of civilization as compared with the people occupying the same land now. The Indians. — The people found here when the white men came were the red men, who are called Indians. They were warriors, hunters, and fishers, who lived in scattered tribes. These tribes bore different names. In the north central part, where Marshall County is, were the Pottawottomies. In the northeastern part were the Miamis, with their chief center at Kekionga, where Fort Wayne now stands. The Weas were in the central western part, along the Wabash, about where Lafayette now is. The Delawares were along the White River, where are now Delaware and neighboring counties. In the south- west, around Vincennes, were the Piankishaws. These were the Indian tribes with whom the first explorers and traders in this region, and later the pioneer settlers of Indiana, had to deal. The Indians were not settled in their habits of life; they moved from place to place within their respective sections in search of game or to attack their enemies. Their women, the squaws, did most of the work of building the wigwams and moving them when the tribe went from one place to another. They prepared the food by cooking it in water-tight baskets; this was done by heating stones red hot, and dropping them into the baskets containing water and the venison or fowl or beans to be cooked. The squaws dressed the skins of animals and made them into garments; and they sometimes tilled the soil a little, raising beans, corn, and pumpkins in small quan- tities. They roasted the ears of green corn, and boiled the dried grains to make hominy. The Indian men were brave in war, cunning in the chase, resentful toward those who injured them, and never forgot those who showed them favors. 12 A SHORT SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF INDIANA CHAPTER III EUROPEAN CLAIMS TO INDIANA The Rival Claimants. — At the opening of the seventeenth century Spain, England, and France all laid claim to the great interior of North America; but at its close England and France were the only rivals. France had explored and partially oc- cupied the St. Lawrence Valley and the Great Lake Basin; and La Salle, the grsatest of the French explorers, had gone down the Mississippi to its mouth, had claimed the entire Mississippi Valley for France, and had named it Louisiana in honor of his king, Louis XIV. Indiana is in the eastern part of this claim. England's colonies were on the Atlantic seaboard, and had received grants of land extending westward, covering the same territory in the interior that had been explored by the French. Both the French and the English sought profit by trade with the Indians, but they pursued quite different methods. The English Method. — The English made comparatively close and continuous settlements from the shore line back to- ward the Appalachian Mountains, and between 1607 and 1733 planted thirteen colonies along the Atlantic coast. Most of the settlers came to these colonies to make homes, and therefore brought their families with them. The government gave them land and political privileges, which made them contented, patriotic, and enterprising. Wherever the English settled, they wished to use the natives for their own profit, but lived apart from them, treated them as an inferior race, and claimed their lands by right of discovery. This produced in the Indians a sense of wrong which grew into hatred, and brought on a number of cruel wars and bloody massacres. The French Method. — The French traders, soldiers, and missionaries scattered themselves widely but thinly over the country to the north and west of the English settlements. The EUROPEAN CLAIMS TO INDIANA 13 French government granted privileges of trade to large corpo- rations, but gave no land titles to individual settlers, and allowed them little or no political privilege. Under these restrictions men with families could not better their condition, and but few families came from France to the New World. The system, however, favored adventurers, and they came. Missionaries, traders, and adventurers all entered into intimate relations with the natives; they lived with them in their wig- wams, ate with them, joined them in the chase and in their French Fur Traders greeting the Indians. wars, and in many instances traders and adventurers married into the Indian tribes. But all Frenchmen opposed the found- ing of real colonies, such as the English had. This conduct won the hearts of the savages, and the French traders reaped a rich harvest of wealth from their fur trade. This wealth flowed to France. The English, too, gained wealth, but most of it remained in the colonies. La Salle makes Indiana French Territory. — La Salle saw that the nation which wished to control the trade of the West must control the land, and especially the streams. He traveled the length and breadth of what is now Indiana, encouraging 14 A SHORT SKETCH OF THE HISTORT OF IX DIANA the tribes to enter into a confederacy with the French against the English and their Indian allies of the East. La Salle's travels gave to France a more genuine claim to this territory than the English had yet acquired. The French governor-general of Canada extended his authority over the interior, and thus the region of Indiana came to be held as the possession of the French king. The Period of French Control. — Almost from the beginning of her control in America, France tried by two methods to main- tain her influence. The first method was by securing the al- legiance and friendship of the Indians. Thus the territory' of the Indians would be under French control; the Indian warriors could be used in the French army, and in a measure, the weak- ness in numbers of the French would be overcome. The second method was b}'^ controlling the routes of trade and travel. From the great interior of North America there are but two natural outlets — one by the St. Lawrence River and the other by the Mississippi. These two rivers and their tributaries, with the short portages, or carrjdng places, between their head- waters, were the only roads of the time in that region. Two of the connections between these great outlets crossed Indiana. One was from Lake Michigan up the St. Joseph River to its south bend, thence by portage across to the Kankakee, and down that river, through the Illinois River, to the Mississippi. The other route was from Lake Erie up the ]\Iaumee River to Fort Wayne, thence by portage to the Wabash, and down it and the Ohio to the Mississippi. There was also a portage from South Bend across to the Wabash, and one from Fort Wayne to the Kankakee. At the most desirable points for trade and defense along these lines, the French established their "posts," which were trading points, mission stations, and fortifications all combined. The important posts in Indiana were Kekionga (at Fort Wayne), Ouiatanon (near La Fayette), and St. Vincent (Vincennes). The French had similar posts in other parts of the Mississippi Valley, and by closely guarding these lines the French were EUROPEAN CLAIMS TO INDIANA 15 able, for about a century, to keep the English out of the interior. The English Policy. — The English were not willing to allow the French to take peaceable possession of this region, especially since they themselves had set up a prior claim to the same territory. It early became the policy of the English colonial governments to enter into alliances with the powerful Iroquois Indian Confederacy in New York, which, by a series of conquests from western tribes, claimed most of the land between the Ohio, the Mississippi, and the Great Lakes. By 1754 these Indians and their subject allies had placed themselves under the protec- tion of the English Crown, and had practically transferred to England their land claims on the west of the Alleghany Moun- tains. The Conflict. — France and England entered into a sharp conflict for the control of America, and four wars were fought at intervals between 1689 and 1763. These were called the Intercolonial Wars. The last, the French and Indian War, was the most important, as it resulted in the transfer to the English of all the French territory east of the Mississippi River. The French posts were soon occupied by English traders and soldiers, and the region then passed under control of the English king, George III. English Control. — Although England's colonies had loyally aided her to drive the French from the western lands, she began at once in a number of ways to treat them with unusual severity. They resisted by methods that angered the king and Parlia- ment. To retaliate upon the colonies, one means employed by the English government was to take from them the lands which their charters granted west of the Alleghanies, and to attach these lands to the Canadian province of Quebec. This took from the colonies all opportunity to expand westward, as they were planning to do. This was one of the causes of the Declaration of Independence and of the American Revolution. By this transfer of the lands, England secured the loyalty of the Canadian French, but the western Indians, who were never 16 A SHORT SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF INDIANA very friendly to the English, might be induced to join the Ameri- cans, as the colonists were now calling themselves. To prevent such an alliance, the British officers in the western posts were instructed to secure the aid of the Indians in crushing the colonists into submission. It was easy to make the Indians believe that the independence of the Americans would mean the rapid settlement of the West and the destruction of the natives' hunting grounds. It was not long, therefore, before the torch and the scalping knife were doing their destructive work all along the frontier. The colonists knew very well that, even though they should become independent, if the British still held the western lands their plans for western expansion could never be realized. They determined to do their utmost to capture the West for them- selves. Virginia had larger claims upon this territory than any other colony, and it was one of her young men who planned and carried out the campaign by which those lands were .seized and held at the close of the Revolutionary War as part of the United States. CHAPTER IV VIRGINIA CAPTURES THE WEST Clark's Campaign. — It was George Rogers Clark who snatched the coveted western territory from the British. He was only twenty-six years old at the time, but his experience as a surveyor and as a pioneer in Kentucky had fitted him for his task. He applied to Governor Patrick Henry and the legisla- ture of Virginia, and received such aid in men and money as they could give him. His little army consisted of less than two hundred men. They went down the Ohio River in boats to a point below the mouth of the Tennessee, and marched across southern Illinois to Kaskaskia; and on the night of July 4, 1778, they took the place by surprise, captured the British officer, and frightened the inhabitants into submission. These were VIRGINIA CAPTURES THE WEST 17 nearly all French. By kind treatment they were led to espouse the American cause, and a number of them joined Clark in taking Cahokia, another post farther up the Mississippi. The Capture of Vincennes. — The next point of importance was Vincennes, on the Indiana side of the Wabash. Father Gibault, a French priest, volunteered to go to Vincennes and secure that place for the Americans. He quietly gathered the French inhabitants at Vincennes into the church and explained On the March to Vincennes. what had happened at Kaskaskia. He also told them that the French king was assisting the Americans to gain their independ- ence. They then took the oath of allegiance to Virginia, as had been done at Kaskaskia. The British officer being absent, the French inhabitants raised the American flag, and Vincennes became an American post. Clark's rapid movements and uniform successes, together with the assistance of Father Gibault, made the Indians of all that region seek the friendshijj of the American leader. General Hamilton, the British commander at Detroit, hear- 18 A SHORT SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF INDIANA ing what Clark had done, came down the Wabash with a force of British and Indians, and on December 15, 1778, retook Vin- cennes for the British. Clark now marched with his force of one hundred and seventy \'irginians and French across the country', a distance of one hundred and seventy miles, to recover the old post. It was midwinter, and rain was falling most of the time. The streams were swollen beyond their banks, and the men had to wade through the cold water, sometimes up to their chins. They were almost without food and came near starving. When they reached the Wabash on the west side from Vincennes, they found the river four or five miles wide. They built some canoes, and picked up one on the river. With these they crossed the wide stream some distance below the town. The British gar- rison was taken completely by surprise, and was forced to sur- render, and on February 25, 1779, the American flag again floated over the fort. The story of Clark's campaign is not sur- passed in romantic interest, even by that of Hannibal's campaign into Italy, or the retreat of the ten thousand Greeks under Xenophon.^ The Effects of Clark's Work. — Neither Vincennes nor any of the other posts taken by Clark ever fell again into the hands of the British. At the close of the Revolutionary War, England was compelled to recognize the Mississippi River as the western boundary of the United States, although she had intended to place the boundaiy at the Alleghany Mountains. The people could then move westward without further interference from the British, except that sometimes they incited the Indians to make raids upon the white settlers. Virginia organizes a Government. — Immediately on hearing of Clark's success, the legislature of \'irginia organized the entire territory " on the western side of the Ohio River " as a county of Virginia, and named it Illinois County. The governor of Virginia was authorized to appoint certain officers for its ' The story has been told by Clark himself and can be read in Eng- lish's Conquest of the Northwest, or in Dillon's Notes on Indiana. UNDER CONTROL OF CONGRESS 19 government. The French inhabitants, who were about the only people there except the Indians, were allowed to keep their own laws and customs ; and their rights of religion and property were not to be disturbed. They were instructed to choose officers for their local government, but they were not accustomed to governing themselves, and consequently the plan devised by Virginia was not very successful. Land Cessions. — Between 1777 and 1781 there was much discussion concerning what should be done with the western lands. Maryland had no claims in the West and had refused to ratify the Articles of Confederation unless these lands were turned over to the United States for the good of all. Other states besides Virginia laid claim to this land. New York was one of these, and in 1780 she agreed to surrender her claims to the United States. In 1781 Virginia voted to do the same, and on March 1, 1784, Thomas Jefferson, acting for his state, gave a deed to the United States for Virginia's claim. Thus Indiana, in common with the rest of the territory northwest of the Ohio River, became the property of the people of the United States, and fell under the direct control of Congress. CHAPTER V UNDER CONTROL OF CONGRESS Ordinances of 1784 and 1785. — We have seen that Indiana was successively under the king of France, the king of England, and the legislature of Virginia. From 1784 to 1816 it was under control of the United States Congress. On the same day that President Jefferson gave to Congress the deed for the Northwestern Territory, he presented also a plan of government for that territory, which has been called the Ordinance of 1784. This bill was adopted by Congress, except that Jefferson's provision in it for excluding slavery from the territory was rejected. 20 A SHORT SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF INDIANA In 1785 Congress adopted the Land Ordinance, which pro- vided for surveying the Northwest into townships of thirty-six sections, each section to be one mile square. This ordinance set apart the sixteenth section of each township for the support of public schools. The Ordinance of 1787. — The Ordinance of 1784 attracted no settlers into the territory, and three years later another ordinance was adopted by Congress, This Ordinance of 1787 has become famous because of its excellent provisions, among which are those insuring to the settlers freedom of religion, and freedom of speech and of the press, and providing for a system of public schools and the exclusion of slavery. It also provided that the gov- ernment of the territory should at first be in the hands of a governor, a sec- retary, and three judges. When the population should reach five thousand free males of full age, the peo- ple might have a share in the government by electing a House of Representatives, which, with the Governor's Council of Five, chosen by Congress, should be the lawmaking body. This assemi:»ly had power to choose a dele- gate who should represent the territory in the United States Congress. Division of the Northwest. — At first the Northwest Territory was considered as one district for all purposes of government. In 1800 it was divided into two territories by a line starting op- posite the mouth of the Kentucky River, extending directly to Fort Recovery, Ohio, and from that point due north to Canada. The region east of the line was still called the Northwest Ter- \\ 1L1.1AM Henry Harrison. UNDER CONTROL OF CONGRESS 21 ritory. Its boundaries were soon reduced to the present limits of Ohio, which became a state in 1803. That to the west was now named Indiana Territory. Tlie latter included, besides the present Indiana, most of what is now Michigan. Illinois, and Wisconsin. The old French town of Vincennes was made the capital of Indiana Terri- tory, and William Henry Har- rison was appointed governor. In 1804 the Louisiana Pur- chase, excepting what is now the state of Louisiana, was attached to Indiana for pur- poses of government, but in 1805 it was given a territorial government of its own. In 1805 Michigan Territory was separated from Indiana, and in 1809 Illinois Territory, including Wisconsin, was set off, leaving Indiana Territory with nearly the present boundaries of the state. 22 A siionr sketch of the history of Indiana In 1813 the capital was removed from Vincennes to Corydon, in the southern part of the territory. Corj'don remained the capital until 1825, when the government was removed to In- dianapolis. When Indiana became a separate territory (1800), the land was nearly all claimed by the various Indian tribes inhabiting it. During Governor Harrison's administration numerous treaties were made with the Indians by which they surrendered most of the southern third of the territory', which was at once opened to white settlers. ft '*"^^ £^; •:■•:--.; i-^#;|^->,, '■ *' i^l-^/jj^i '' -z^^^ttBm ^j£|^s^%:.^' , ^ ^^g/^^^g^^^^^^\ ' C'lipi right, I'JIIL', hy Dttruit Pliuto^^raplur Company. The Battleground of Tippecanoe. The Slavery Question. — The Ordinance of 1787 forbade the existence of slavery in the Northwest Territory. This made it a desirable place for settlement by those who were opposed to slavery. Many such came from both North and South. North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky contained a goodly number of people who were glad to brave the dangers and hardships of the wilderness in order to be free from the influences of the system of slavery by which they were surrounded. But there were also slaveholders who wished to come to the Northwest with their slaves. The old French settlers already held slaves, EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 23 and they and the settlers from the South who favored slavery repeatedly sent petitions to Congress asking for a repeal or suspension of the antislavery clause of the Ordinance. The lovers of freedom also sent petitions begging Congress to main- tain the Ordinance. Congress listened to the latter, and slavery never became lawful in the territory, although slaves continued to be held in Indiana, even after it became a state. Territorial Governors of Indiana. — Indiana remained a territory from 1800 to 1816. During that time three men filled the office of territorial governor. General Harrison, the first, was honest and generally wise in his management of the affairs of the territory. By his skillful dealings with the Indians, he secured many favorable treaties with them, which, as we have seen, opened the southern part of the territory to white settlers. In 1811, when Tecumseh, a Shawnee Indian chief, attempted to form a confederacy of the western Indians to oppose the settlers, General Harrison led an army from Vincennes up the Wabash to the Tippecanoe River, where he decisively defeated the Indians. On the way up the Wabash, Harrison erected a strong fort near Terre Haute. This was named Fort Harrison. It was more than once a place of refuge for the settlers of the neighborhood in times of Indian attacks. In 1812 Governor Harrison entered the United States army and served in the War of 1812, and the vacancy in the governor- ship was filled for a few months by General John Gibson, the territorial secretary'. President Madison soon appointed Gen- eral Thomas Posey to the office, which he held until 1816, when Indiana became a state. CHAPTER VI EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT The French Settlement. — The first white settlers in Indiana, as we have seen, were French. They came by way of either Canada or Louisiana. They were a cheerful, easy-going people, 24 A SHORT SKETCH OF THE HISTOliY OF INDIANA who had been accustomed to having all government prescribed for them by authority of the king of France and administered by officers sent here for that purpose. There were some French traders and missionaries at Kekionga and Ouiatanon. but the only French community that could properly be called a settle- ment was founded about 1727, at Vincennes. In their local affairs the French settlers were governed by magistrates and laws over which they had no control. They were Roman Catholics in religion; they loved social pleasures; their most serious business was trading with the Indians, and, to a limited extent, they cultivated the soil. This old settlement was picturesque and interesting, but it contributed little to the later development of the state. The Clark's Grant Settlements. — After Clark's capture of the English posts in the West, Virginia, in 1783, gave to Clark and his military followers a grant of land on the north side of the Ohio River, mainly in what is now Clark County. It con- sisted of one hundred and fifty thousand acres. This same land had previously been deeded to Clark by the Piankishaw Indians. Clarksville was laid out in 1784, and was the first town in the grant. In 1802 Jeffersonville was founded. The ideas of its people concerning civil liberty and self-government may be inferred from the fact that they named their town for the author of the Declaration of Independence. Five years later, Charles- town, a few miles north of Jeffersonville, was settled by a band of pioneers who had first stopped in Kentucky, but who had moved on into Indiana because it was free soil. They were devotedly religious, and were of the Baptist and Methodist denominations. The Whitewater Settlements. — Into the valley of the White- water there had been coming a steady and rapid tide of im- migrants, largely Quakers, from the Carolinas. Many of them were of French Huguenot descent. Other settlers came from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. All of them had defi- nite views of political rights and duties, and in the organization of the state they furnished men and ideas of great value. In EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 25 1805 Richard Rue and George Holman, who had served in Clark's army, settled near Richmond, and the next year the first house was built where Richmond now stands. In the extreme south of this valley, at Lawrenceburg, the settlers represented a much more aristocratic element of society. They were in favor of slavery. The Swiss Settlement. — In 1803 a company of Swiss came into what is now Switzerland County, having journeyed from Vevay, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, in Switzerland. ^ . ^ ^^mmmm^^^^m ^^^H^^HH '^wi^^M ^HRRHHHHII^L. .•Sf^. »^^^^^^^| J^l Fort Harrison. Their journey to their new home was a novel one. After floating down the Rhone River through France to the Mediter- ranean Sea, they found a ship that brought them to America. Landing on the east coast, they employed freight wagons to take them across the Alleghanies. The women and children were weighed and put in with the household goods, and their trans- portation was paid for at the same freight rates as the goods. In 1813 these people laid out a town on the north side of the Ohio River and named it Vevay, in memory of their old home. It is not strange that they should have been attracted to this spot,, for 26 A SHOBT SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF INDIANA in beauty of scenery it is much like Switzerland itself. They and their ancestors for five hundred years had known the mean- ing of self-support and self-government. They were industri- ous and thrifty, and their settlement was successful from the first. The New Harmony Community. — In 1814 a community of intelligent, thrifty,, and well-to-do Germans settled in the Wabash Valley, where New Harmony now is. They purchased a large tract of excellent land, which they held as common property, and soon had it developed to a high state of cultivation. They P^ HB'^^ *' ''-ALjlia^-f ^^■PP pn '■\ From an tld print. Nkw Harmony. built a church and a public schoolhouse, planted orchards and vineyards, erected mills and conducted various mechanical industries. In religion they were followers of Luther, and were simple, frugal, and peaceable in their habits. The leading man among them was George Rapp, who was a very skillful business manager. In 1825 Robert Owen came from Scotland and purchased a large part of the land of the German colony, and Rapp and most of his associates returned east to Pennsylvania. Owen was devoted to social and industrial reforms. He gathered about him a group of remarkable people. Among them were some EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT 27 of the best scientists, educators, artists, and writers to be found in the United States. Indeed, men came from England, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland to study and work in the busy New Harmony community. The town became the seat of the greatest collection of geological, botanical, and other natural history specimens in the West. This museum was visited by scientists from far and near. To-day the town is distinguished chiefly for the long list of eminent people who lived and labored there. It was a center of influences that are still felt in the progress of the state. Pioneer Life. — It must be remembered that as these early settlements grew, and others were formed, a large majority of the people in them were Americans, who had come from the older states. Their native spirit of independence had been intensified by the stirring experiences of the Revolution and the organiza- tion of the government under the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. In order to appreciate the life of the pioneers, we must think of the conditions under which it existed. The long journey of the pioneer family over the mountains was very tedious; some- times they had to cut their road through the woods as they came; for days together they saw no house nor the face of a white man. But the tedium was relieved by a constant change of scenery, by the capture of a deer, the camping out, the watch for Indians, and the anticipation of what the new home would be. The monotony of the new settlement was now and then relieved by a house raising, a log rolling, or a wood chopping, when all the scattered families for miles around would come together. While the men were out at work, the women would have a sewing or a quilting bee, and the children would play games. A little later came the excitement of a camp meeting, a wedding, or a political campaign. The pioneer church and school became centers of social, intellectual, and moral develop- ment, and the industrial and political growth was steady and substantial. Thus were laid the foundations of the remarkable progress 28 A SHORT SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF INDIANA that has been made by Indiana and her sister states of the West. It would have been difficult to find in the entire countrv' a richer variety of the valuable traits of character, or better institutional possibilities, than existed in the thirteen counties of Indiana in 1816, when she ceased to be a territory and became a state. CHAPTER VII FROM TERRITORY TO STATE The Territorial Government. — The first form of territorial government for Indiana under the Ordinance of 1787 provided for county organization and, to some extent, for township or- ganization with the usual officers, such as sheriffs, coroners, constables, justices of the peace, and clerks and judges of courts. These officers were, however, not chosen by the people, but were appointed by the governor placed over them by Con- gress and the President. Later the provisions for territorial government were revised so as to allow the people to elect members of the territorial legislature, and still later the people were allowed a delegate to represent them in Congress. But even then, only those could vote who owned fifty acres of land. Petitions were frequently sent to the territorial governor and to Congress, asking for larger privileges of suffrage and greater legislative power. When the people saw that they could not further improve their condition under the territorial govern- ment, they sought statehood. Memorial to Congress. — According to the treaty which closed the War of 1812 with England, the northwestern posts still held by the British were to be given up to the United States. This being done, it was believed that Indian hostilities would cease, and a fresh tide of immigrants began to flow into Indiana. Everybody felt a new sense of security and independence, which stimulated the growing desire for more political privi- leges. The Ordinance of 1787 provided that when the territory had acquired a population of sixty thousand free inhabitants, it FROM TERRITORY TO STATE 29 might become a state. By 1815 Indiana had sixty-three thou- sand, and in December of that year a memorial was sent to Congress by the territorial legislature, asking that an election be held in the several counties of the territory on the 1st of May, 1816, for the choice of delegates to meet in a convention at Corydon, later in the year. This convention was to determine whether Indiana would "go into a state government," and if so, to form a state constitution. The memorial declared the opposi- tion of the people to slavery and their desire that the proposed new state should rest on the basis of freedom set forth in the Ordinance of 1787. The Enabling Act. — Congress then passed an act enabling the people, through the proposed convention, to form a con- stitution and government, provided they would make the new state republican and in harmony with the principles of the Ordinance of 1787. The election for choosing delegates w^as to be held on May 13, 1816. The notice of the election was sent to the peo- ple on May 2. It was short notice; but the principal ques- tion at issue was slavery, and it had been thoroughly dis- cussed. The parties favoring and oppos- ing slavery were ready for a vigorous campaign, each trying to secure a majority of the delegates. When the election was over, it proved a victorv' for freedom. The Convention. — The convention assembled in the state- house at Corj'don, June 10. Jonathan Jennings was chosen Indiana's First Capitol at Corydon. 30 A SHORT SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF INDIANA chairman. The delegates were plain, patriotic men, most of whom were farmers. They were accustomed to hard work, beginning at sunrise and continuing till it was dark. They went at the making of a constitution with their usual \'igor and in- dustry. The convention was divided into a dozen or more committees, to each of which was assigned the duty of preparing some part of the constitution. The delegates were all familiar with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, and a number of them had studied the con- stitutions of the older states. Work progressed rapidly, and in nineteen days their work was done — and it was well done. Congress did not require them to submit their work to the people, but it must be submitted to Congress. On December 11, 1816, Congress approved the constitution, and Indiana was at once declared a state of the Union. The Constitution of 1851. — The Constitution of 1816 con- tinued to be the fundamental law of Indiana without change or amendment for thirty-five years. But those thirty-five years produced great changes in the people and in their sur- roundings. In 1816 the population was about 64,000; in 1850 it was almost 1,000,000. In 1816 the value of taxable property was insignificant; in 1850 it was more than $13,000,000. In 1816 the roads were either the streams or old Indian trails and bridle paths blazed through the woods; in 1850 the state was checked all over with open state and county roads, and many miles of canals and a few short lines of railroad had been con- structed. In 1816 Vincennes University and its little library and the library in the German settlement at New Harmony were the only educational facilities above the crudest common schools; while in 1850 there were numerous academies and seminaries, besides ten or twelve reputable colleges. From the simple employments of frontier life, industry had become much more complicated, and methods and machiner}' were used of which no one had dreamed in 1816. With these facts in view, it does not seem strange that there should be a demand for corresponding changes in the frame of INDIANA'S INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 31 government. In 1850 a convention was called to make a new constitution. It met in Indianapolis, and continued in session one hundred and twenty-seven days. Its work, with slight amendments, has lasted until the present time. CHAPTER VIII INDIANA'S INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT Social Institutions.^ — The oldest and most important institu- tion of human society is the family. It lies at the foundation of all the other institutions. If the family life is pure and wholesome, the state, the church, business, and the school will be correspondingly pure and wholesome. The first settlers of Indiana came as families, and thus laid a good foundation for ' In every community the people possess a number of common ideas and purposes. These ideas and purposes are sure to assume the form of organizations which are called institutions. Institutions are classified according to the nature of the ideas and purposes that produce them, as social, religious, political, industrial, and educational. The social idea produces the family, the primitive and fundamental social institution. The religious idea produces the Church ; the industrial idea takes on the various forms of business; the political idea produces the institutions of government, while the educational idea appeal's in the school and other educational and cultural agencies. The history of a people is essentially their development along these five lines of progress. In the early stages of a people's growth their in- stitutional life is simple, but as progress advances it becomes more and more complex, and the five primitive institutions give rise to a number of assisting institutions. For example, the church is now assisted by the Sunday school, the prayer meeting, the various young people's so- cieties, the missionary society, and many others. Social relations, busi- ness, government, and education are none of them the simple affairs they once were. You can think out for yourselves many of the institutions that are related to the family, to business, to government, and to educa- tion. The text traces briefly the history of Indiana along each of these five lines of her progress. 32 A SHORT SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF IX DIANA the institutional life of the new state. In some countries, fami- lies and individuals are classified according to their rank, some claiming to be above others ; but there was no such classification among the pioneers of Indiana. Those who favored slavery were inclined to make a social division on the basis of color and labor, but social distinctions created by law were forbidden by both the Constitution of the United States and that of Indiana. Voluntary classifications are made on the basis of birth, wealth, culture, and the like, but these are constantly changing — no person is fixed in his class. There are many clubs, lodges, and other social orders. There are also certain institutions of a social nature that have been created by law; these are classified as correctional and charitable. The correctional institutions consist of prisons and reforma- tories. The state prison for men is at Michigan City; that for women, at Indianapolis. In each county there is a prison or jail. Most of the cities, also, maintain a prison of some sort. The reformatory for men is at Jeffersonville; that for boys, at Plainfield; that for girls, at Indianapolis. The charitable institutions consist of hospitals, schools, and homes. The five state hospitals for the insane are located one each at Indianapolis, Evansville, Logansport, Richmond, and Madison. The schools for the deaf and the blind are both at Indianapolis; that for feeble-minded youth is at Fort Wayne. The school and home for the orphans of Indiana soldiers and sailors is at Knightstown, and the state Soldiers' Home is at Lafayette. Provision has been made for the establishment of a village for the treatment, education, and employment of epilep- tics. It costs the state from one and a half to two million dollars a year to maintain all these institutions. The state does not assume the care of the poor; this is left to the local communities. Each of the ninety-two counties has a farm maintained by the county commissioners as an asylum for the poor. Each township trustee is the overseer of the poor of his township. In most towns and cities voluntary associations supply much relief to the needy. In many of INDIANA'S INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 33 the counties the commissioners maintain homes for orphan children. All correctional and charitable institutions in the state are under the supervision of a Board of State Charities. In each county there is a similar board, and also a Board of Children's Guardians. After the admission of Indiana to the Union, the northern portion of the state was rapidly settled by people who came mostly from the north and northeast portions of the original states. Those in the southern part, we have seen, were from the Southern states. The northern and southern sections of the state, therefore, present, in a measure, the social contrasts of the older Northern and Southern states. Religious Institutions. — The state constitution guarantees religious freedom, and forbids the passage of any law giving preference to any creed, religious society, or mode of wor- ship, or compelling any one to attend or support any place of worship against his consent. Under this provision many religious denominations have flourished in the state from its beginning. There are now at least fifty such denominations, with a membership of over seven hundred thousand, or about one in three of the population. Each denomination, as the demands upon it have increased, has organized new societies, auxiliary to itself, such as Sunday schools, missionary, temper- ance, charity, and young people's societies. In the early history of the state, the denominational and sectarian spirit was very strong; but in recent years the differ- ences are less emphasized, and the various bodies are working together for the accomplishment of common philanthropic, moral, and religious purposes. These religious organizations are all voluntary and entirely free from any legal connection with the state, yet they have exercised a strong and wholesome influence upon the private and public life of the state. Political Institutions. — The state of Indiana is a little re- public, but its sovereignty is limited by its relation to the govern- ment of the United States. The Constitution, laws, and treaties 34 A SHORT SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF INDIANA of the United States are the " supreme law of the land." The state is an organic part of the Union, and as such it has certain duties to perform. These it performs both within the state and at the national capital. The state officers conduct the elections for the choice of its thirteen representatives in Congress and its fifteen presidential electors. The state performs a part in national legislation through its representatives and its two United States senators, the latter chosen by the state legislature. Provision is made for the local government through county, township, city, and town organizations.^ ILLINOIS Terre Haul OHIO «S"' tf'"' I A""' s*" 0K ULIVKK r. JMuKTUN. 42 A SHORT SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF INDIANA troops Governor Morton said, " Not a single regiment, battery, or battalion from the state has brought reproach upon the national flag, and no disaster of the war can be traced to the want of fidelity, courage, or efficiency of any Indiana officer." The people of the state contributed freely of their means for the cause of the Union, from twenty to thirty millions of dollars, most of it by voluntary subscription. Scores of patriotic women gave their services in caring for the sick and wounded soldiers on the battlefield and in the hospitals. The Spanish-American War. — For generations the inhabit- ants of Cuba, a possession of Spain, had been protesting against Spanish tyranny. Receiving no redress, they revolted, hoping to achieve their independence. The people of the United States sympathized with the Cubans, and on April 19, 1898, Congress passed resolutions favoring forcible intervention in their be- half. President McKinley, although declaring his wish to avert war and his belief that Cuban independence could be secured by diplomacy, yielded to the pressure of Congress, and, on April 23, issued a call for one hundred and twenty-five thousand volunteers. On the evening of the 25th Governor James A. Mount re- ceived from the Secretary of War a call for Indiana's quota. The governor at once commanded the Indiana National Guard to report without delay at the State Fair Grounds at Indianap- olis. At five o'clock next morning they began to arrive, and before the close of the day about forty companies were in Camp Mount, as the Fair Grounds were at once named. In a few days they were mustered into the service of the United States. A month later another call came for additional troops, and they were promptly furnished. They were all ordered to Tennessee and Virginia, to await the orders of the War Depart- ment. The total number of Indiana troops enlisting for this war was 7301. The efficiency of the navy in destroying the Spanish fleet at Santiago, Cuba, on July 3d, resulted in the surrender of the Spanish troops in that vicinity; and the American occupation INDIANA'S WAR RECORD 43 of Porto Rico at about the same time practically closed the war. The only Indiana troops that were sent to the front con- stituted one of the batteries which had landed in Porto Rico The Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument at Indianapolis. and had taken position ready for engaging the enemy when the order came for the cessation of hostilities. Soldiers' Monuments. — In most of the cemeteries through- out the state there are memorials of some kind erected to the 44 A SHORT SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF INDIANA memory of Indiana soldiers, and at many of the county seats there are more elaborate monuments. But the most beautiful and elaborate of all such memorials in the state, and one of the finest of its kind in the world, is the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monu- ment in the center of Indianapolis. It is two hundred and eighty-four feet in height and is crowned by a bronze statue of Victory thirty-eight feet high. It is dedicated to " Indiana's Silent Victors " of the War for the Union, War with ]\Iexico, Indian and British War, battle of Tippecanoe, and the capture of Vincennes from the British. It was begun in 1888, and was so nearly completed in 1898 that it was then unveiled. Its fcost, when complete, will be about half a million dollars. APPENDIX INDIANA'S GOVERNORS Since it became a state twenty-seven different men have served Indiana as governors. 1. Jonathan Jennings, 1816 to 1822. He was serving his second term when he was 'elected a member of Congress. 2. Ratliff Boone, September 12 to December 5, 1822. He was lieutenant-governor, and filled the unexpired term of Governor Jennings. 3. William Hendricks, 1822 to 1825. He was elected to the United States Senate, and resigned the governorship February 12, 1825. 4. James B. Ray, 1825 to 1831. He filled the unexpired term of Governor Hendricks, and was elected governor for two terms. 5. Noah Noble, 1831 to 1837. Served two terms. He was actively interested in the internal improvements of the state. 6. David Wallace, 1837 to 1840. He was deeply interested in the road and canal system, and was the first of our governors to appoint a Thanksgiving Day. 7. Samuel Bigger, 1840 to 1843. 8. James Whitcomb, 1843 to 1848. Elected United States Senator before the expiration of his second term. He was very useful in helping the state out of the financial embarrassment arising from its compMcated schemes of internal improvement. He was an advocate of a public school system and of charitable and reformatory institutions. 9. Paris C. Dunning, 1848 to 1849. As lieutenant-governor he filled out the unexpired term of Governor Whitcomb. 10. Joseph A. Wright, 1849 to 1857. Governor Wright served under both the first and the second constitutions of the state. By the Consti- tution of 1851 the term of office was made four years instead of three. Governor Wright was a man of much ability, and filled a number of positions under the national government. 11. Ashbel P. Willard, 1857 to 1860. Died in office. 12. Abram A. Hammond, 1860 to 1861. As lieutenant-governor he filled out the unexpired term of Governor Willard. 13. Henry S. Lane, January 14 to January 16, 1861. At the very opening of his term Governor Lane was elected to the United States Senate. 14. Oliver P. Morton, 1861 to 1867. He filled the unexpired term of Governor Lane, was reelected in 1864, and in 1867 was sent to the United States Senate. His part as Indiana's war governor has been mentioned on page 41. 45 46 APPEXDIZ 15. Conrad Baker, 1867 to 1873. He filled the unexpired term of Governor Morton and was reelected. 16. Thomas A. Hendricks, 1873 to 1877. In 1884 Governor Hendricks was elected Vice President of the United States. 17. James D. Williams, 1877 to 1880. Died in office. 18. Isaac P. Gray, 1880 to 1881. He filled the unexpired term of Governor Williams. 19. Albert G. Porter, 1881 to 1885. 20. Isaac P. Gray, 1885 to 1889. 21. Alvin P. Hovey, 1889 to 1891. Died in office. 22. Ira J. Chase, 1891 to 1893. As lieutenant-governor he filled the unexpired term of Governor Hovey. 23. Claude Matthews, 1893 to 1897. 24. James A. Mount, 1897 to 1901. 25. Winfield T. Durbin, 1901 to 1905. 26. J. Frank Hanly, 1905 to 1909. 27. Thomas R. Marshall, 1909 to SOME BOOKS ON INDIANA Dillon's History of Indiana. Dillon's Notes on Indiana, mostly original documents of much value. Dunn's History of Indiana — A Redemption from Slavery. W. H. English's Conquest of the Northwest and Life of George Rogers Clark.' 2 vols. Papers of the Indiana Historical Society. 3 vols. These papers are largely original documents and other materials concerning various phases of Indiana's History not accessible to the general reader. Mrs. T. A. Hendricks's Popular History of Indiana. Mrs. Julia S. Conklin's Yoimg People's History of Indiana. W. W. Woollen's Biographical and Historical Sketches of Early Indiana. Maurice Thompson's Stories of Indiana. W. H. Glascock's Young Folks' Indiana William Dudley Foulke's Life of Oliver P. Morton, contains much interesting history of Indiana. Oliver H. Smith's Early Indiana Trials and Sketches; S. C. Cox's Recollections of the Early Settlement of the Wabash Valley; Baynard R. Hall's The New Purchase; and W. C. Smith's Indiana Miscellany, are works on the history of special phases or localities. Meredith Nicholson's The Hoosiers is both literary history and his- torical literature of Indiana. R. G. Boone's History of Education in Indiana is the only work of its kind on Indiana, and is thorough and accurate. MAH 29 1911 One copy del. to Cat. Div. MAR 29 19n