9 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HoUinger pH8.5 E 333 •"'•■' Studies in American History Copy 1 FOR GRAMMAR QRADBS. The Louisiana Purchase N, C, HEIRONIMUS, Price, 10 Cents. / / TYPE STUDIES IN AMERICAN HISTORY FOR GRAMMAR GRADES. Tlie Stamp Act. The Missouri Compromise. The Louisiana Purchase. Foreign Relations, 1793-1797. In preparation. Nullification of 1832. To follow. Improvement of Means of Communication. To follmv. Ten Cents per Copy. N. C. HEIRONIMUS, Richmond, Ind. A TYPE STUDIES IN AMERICAN HISTORY FOR GRAMMAR GRADES. THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE ^t or HEIRONIMUS. RICHMOND, IND.: M. CULLATON & CO., BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS. 1900. 80079 48110 Library Of Conyres. ""wo Copies Reciiveo SEP 17 ]900 Copynght entry SECOND COPY. OHbii{ ^VISION, L SjP 20 1900 Copyright, 1900, by N. C. Heironimus. THE LOUISI;^]:^A PUECHASE. mTEODUCTION. The Mississippi valley is today the most impor- tant part of the United States. The traveler who sees its wonderful resources, its busy life, and its ever increasing prosperity, no longer wonders that it was the cause of so much strife and conflict among rival European natioxis. Indeed, he is more inclined to wonder that this great region was not seized upon and developed earlier in the history of American colonization. The Spaniards were the first to make discoveries here. The romantic wanderings of Ferdinand De Soto (1539-1541) through the lower part of the val- ley, his discovery of the great river, his death and lonely burial beneath its waters, are as a familiar story to American school children. But the Spanish did not follow up the work of De Soto, and the prize passed to their neighbors, the French. The claim of this latter nation was based on the explorations of Joliet, Marquette, Hennepin and numerous other French traders and missionaries who pressed into the region from Canada. Unlike the Spaniards, the French fortified their claims by settlements at Mo- bile, New Orleans, and other places which seemed to b THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. offer advantages for trade or for holding the country. They gave the valley the name Louisiana. At this time Louisiana, as claimed by the French, included the whole of the Mississippi valley, extend- ing on the southwest to the Rio Grande, and on the southeast to what is now Florida. The Spaniards, while acknowledging French ownership of the valley proper, denied that the region afterward known as Texas was any part of the French province. Meanwhile the English, basing their claims on the discoveries of the Cabots, were calmly granting charters to colonies which were described as extend- ing directly across Louisiana and on westward to the Pacific Ocean. As long as the activity of the English was limited to the Atlantic coast plain no serious trouble arose from these wide claims; but when pioneers began to push over the Alleghenj^ Mountains to the upper Ohio valley the French hastened to build a line of forts as a barrier to this movement. Then followed the decisive struggle known as the French and Indian War, which broke the power of France in America and gave England the leadership in the race for empire. At the close of the French and Indian War France divided Louisiana, giving England all lying east of the Mississippi except the island of Orleans, and to Spain all west of the river and also this island on the east; the portion ceded to Spain was all that retained the name of Louisiana. Florida was at THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. 7 this time transferred to Enpjland by Spain. This ar- rangement of territory continued until the English colonies became the United States. By the treaty of 1783 the limits of the United States were declared to be the Mississippi on the west and the parallel of thirty -one degrees north latitude on the south. Spain had joined France in war against England, had prac- tically conquered Florida, and she now was permitted to retain that territory. In 1762 England had been assured the free navigation of the Mississippi; and Article YIII. of the treaty of 1783 declared "the navigation of the Mississippi river, from its source to the ocean, shall forever remain free and open to the subjects of Great Britain, and the citizens of the United States." The use of the Mississippi river was very impor- tant to those Americans who had crossed the moun- tains to find new homes in the fertile plains of the Mississippi valley. Without it the rapidly growing settlements in Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee would be without a market for their products, since the mountains made it practically impossible to reach the cities of the Atlantic coast. The wording of the treaty of 1783 was plain enough, but that was made with England, while Spain now owned both banks of the river below the thirty-first parallel. The Americans claimed that since England possessed the right of navigation throughout the whole length of the river by treaty with France and Spain in 1763, THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. she could and did transfer the same right to the United States in 1783 ; they further argued that since the United States owned the left bank of the river above the thirty-first parallel they were naturally entitled to the use of the lower portion of the stream. Spain refused to recog«nize the American claim and closed the river to American commerce; the western settlers threatened war against Spain, rebel- lion against the United States, and trouble general!}' unless their wrongs were redressed. At last the United States sent Thomas Pinckney to Spain to try to settle this and other disputes between the two nations. This he succeeded in doing in 1795. The treaty then made secured the free use of th-e Missis- sippi for the citizens of the United States, and, for three years, the right to deposit goods at the port of New Orleans in order to transfer them from river boats to ocean vessels ; this right of deposit was to be continued after the three years either at ]^ew Orleans or at some equally convenient spot on the lower Mississippi. This quieted for a time all dis- turbance arising from this question. No further trouble occurred until 1800. In that year Spain gave Louisiana back to France. The treaty was a secret one and the Spanish officers con- tinued in authority at New Orleans, but news of the transfer reached America and great excitement was aroused. It was thought that it would be much more threatening to have France as our neighbor THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. 9 than to have Spain ; the X. Y. Z. incident was still fresh in memory. Besides Spain was weak while France, at that time under Napoleon, was thought to be the greatest military power in Europe. Eeports came from time to time of the great preparations the French were making to strengthen their hold on the province as soon as the formal transfer should be made; an army of twenty-five thousand men was to be sent, settlers were to be encouraged, and money was to be freely spent. Suddenly the Spanish officer- in charge at New Orleans declared that since the Pinckney treaty of 1795 was limited to three years the Americans should no longer have the right of de- posit at New Orleans. This practically deprived us of the use of the lower Mississippi, and the excitement in the United States became doubly great. Many openly urged a declaration of war against Spain and the seizing of New Orleans before France could take possession. The Spanish government disavowed the action of its representative at New Orleans, and our rights there were restored; but the idea constantly grew that the question must be given a final settlement. Accord- ingly President Jefferson ordered our minister at Paris, Mr. Edward Livingstone, to try to buy of the French government the island of Orleans and some portion of the neighboring territory. Later, 1803, Mr. Monroe was sent to assist in bringing about the purchase. 10 THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. THE PUECHASE. When Mr. Monroe reached France he found that Mr. Livingstone had reached an important point in the negotiation. After many evasive replies to his attempts to purchase enough of Louisiana to secure the use of the lower Mississippi, Il^apoleon's minister had startled him by asking, "What will you give for the whole of it?" So large a purchase was more than Mr. Livingstone had thought of, or had author- ity to make; but after sorfie consideration he deter- mined to make it if possible. Mr. Monroe at once agreed that so great an opportunity was not to be lightly thrown away, and the two Americans set to work to secure the best terms possible. The French at first demanded a sum equal to $20,000,000 ; Mr. Monroe and Mr. Livingstone protested that this was altogether too much; finally a sum equal to $15,- 000,000 was agreed on as the price and the treaty of transfer was written out. The question of area and boundaries at once became very important. On these points the treaty was indefinite, merely describing the territory as the same which France had received from Spain ; this in turn was described as the same which Spain had received from France in 1762. The area, as given by the United States land commis- sioner, is 883,073 square miles. The boundaries may be roughly given as Canada on the north, the Mis- sissippi river on the east, the Gulf of Mexico and THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. 11 Mexico on the south, and Mexico and the Eocky Mountains on the west. Parts of this boundary were the subjects of disputes, which we may now briefly consider. The kind lying east of the Mississippi, below the thirty-first parallel and west of what is now Florida, was known as West Florida. Since this was at first (1682-1763) held by France as a part of Louisiana, the United States claimed that it was included in her purchase. Spain, however, claimed that since this territory, known as West Florida, passed into the hands of England in 1763, and was held by that nation until conquered by Spanish arms during the American Eevolution, it could not reasonably be con- sidered any part of what Spain had received from France in 1762 and had given back to France in 1800; hence it could not be sold by France to the United States in 1803. The United States pressed her claim, and in 1810 seized the territory; Spain continued to protest until 1819, when she ceded all her possessions in America east of the Mississippi to the United States. Our government has always held that West Florida came to us with Louisiana; the most careful investigators, however, argue that we got no claim worth mentioning at that time, and never had a really good title until 1819. The northern boundary of our purchase was the water-shed between the tributaries of the Mississippi and the rivers flowing to Hudson Bay. This irregu- 12 THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. lar line was satisfactory to neither Great Britain nor us, hence in 1818 the two nations agreed on the line of forty -nine degrees north latitude as the boundary from Lake of the Woods to the Eocky Mountains. Another dispute related to Texas on the south- west. The United States claimed the land to the Eio Grrande as a part of Louisiana, but Spain denied that it extended beyond the Sabine. This dispute continued until 1819, when it was agreed that the line between the Spanish possessions and the United States should run as follows : To begin at the mouth of the Sabine and follow that stream to the latitude 32 degrees north ; from that point directly north to the Eed Eiver; up the Eed Eiver to longitude 100 degrees west from Greenwich ; north on the meridian of 100 degrees to the Arkansas Eiver; up the Ar- kansas Eiver to its source ; from that point due north to the forty-second parallel of north latitude, and west on that parallel to the Pacific Ocean. Thus we gave up our claim on Texas, but in return we re- ceived Spain's claim on the Oregon country. Eecent investigations in the papers of the French govern- ment go to show that our claim to Texas was well founded, and that we gave up too easily this vast region which we were afterwards so anxious to get. Some writers have claimed Oregon as a part of Louisiana, but the best historians and statesmen agree that the water shed along the Eocky Moun- tains marked the western limits of the latter. THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. 13 DISPUTE OVER THE PURCHASE. Livingstone and Monroe had been ordered to purchase the month of a river; they bought an area greater than that of the whole Union at the time when they were commissioned. Can we wonder that the people were surprised? But knowing as we do the value of this land now* we can scarcely believe that the purchase of it was bitterly opposed by many statesmen of the day. The first line of opposition was that of Constitu- tionality. Jefferson, it will be remembered, was the leader of a party who believed in very strictly follow- ing the wording of the Constitution. Unless power to do any act which might be proposed could be plainly shown to be granted to the government by the Constitution, this party held that the government must refuse to undertake it. Their opponents, — the Federalists, — had stood up for a more liberal inter- pretation and claimed that the government possessed many powers not expressly mentioned in the Con- stitution. ISTow there is not a single clause or phrase in the Constitution which, in direct language, gives the government power to acquire territory. Jeffer- son hesitated to conclude the purchase and wished to have an amendment made to the Constitution giv- ing the government this power. But his party were in control, an amendment would cause delay and be troublesome, so they determined to adopt for once 14 THE LOUISIANA PUECHASE. the arguments of their opponents and claim the power by construction. But other than constitutional arguments were made use of by the opponents of the purchase. New England statesmen feared that the West would grow away from the East, that the price to be paid would drain the country of mone}^, in short that nothing but evil would come from the purchase. On this pro- fessor McMaster says : " Some were worried lest the East should become depopulated, lest a great emigration should set in, lest old men and 3^oung men, abandoning homes and occupations, should cross the Mississippi and perhaps found there a republic; that no common ties of in- terest could ever bind together under one government men who fought Indians and trapped bears around the head waters of the Missouri, and men who built ships and caught fish in the harbors of the Atlantic coast. Some aifected the language of patriots and lamented the enormous increase the purchase would make in the national debt. This, indeed, became a favorite theme, and soon Federal writers and printers all over the land were vicing with each other in at- tempts to show the people what an exceedingly great sum of money fifteen million dollars was. "Fifteen million dollars! they would exclaim. The sale of a wilderness has not usually commanded a price so high. Ferdinand Gorges received but twelve hundred and fifty pounds sterling for the THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. 15 province of Maine. Williani Penn gave for the wilderness that now bears his name but a trifle over five thousand pounds. Fifteen millions of dollars! A breath will suffice to pronounce the words. A few^ strokes of the pen will express the sum on paper. But not one man in a thousand has any conception of the magnitude of the amount. Weigh it, and there will be four hundred and thirty three tons of solid silver. Load it into wagons in a line, giving two rods to each, and they will cover a distance of five and one third miles. Hire a laborer to shovel it into carts, and, though he load sixteen each day, he will not finish the work in two months. Stack it up, dollar on dollar, and supposing nine to make an inch, the pile would be more than three miles high. It would load twenty-five sloops ; it would pay an army of twenty -five thousand men forty shillings a week each for twenty -five years; divided equally among the population of the country, it would give three dollars for each man, woman, and child. All the gold and all the silver coin in the Union would, if collected, fall vastly short of such a sum. We must therefore create a stock, and for fifteen years to come pay two thousand four hundred and sixty -five dollars interest each day. Invest the principal as a school fund, and the interest will support forever, eighteen hundred free schools, allowing fifty scholars and five hundred dollars to each school. For whose benefit is this purchase made? The South and West."' 16 THE LOUISIANA PURCUASE. There were some who did not hesitate to call the purchase worthless. Eepresentative Griffin of Yir- ginia feared that it "would prove a cemetery for the bodies of our citizens." Others expressed forebod- ings little less gloomy, but fortunately most states- men took a more hopeful view and the purchase was completed. \^iewed in the light of to-day we wonder how there could have been any hesitation; in the words of Mr. Adams, "As a matter of diplomacy it was unparalleled, because it cost almost nothing." GOYER^ING THE TERRITORY. Having settled the question as to whether or not we should accept the purchase, it was next necessary to arrange for its government. A difficult problem confronted Congress at the very outset, namely, what pDwer had it over the territory? Was its power limited by the Constitution as in the case of the States? Or did the power to purchase territory carry with it the power to govern what was purchased as Congress saw fit? Did the clause of the Constitution which says, "The Congress shall have power to * * * make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other propert}^ belonging to the United States," apply to Louisiana? Or did that clause refer only to the territory held when the Constitution was adopted? How these questions were answered ma}^ best be seen by noticing the plan of government finally adopted. THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. 17 The Si^anish plan was adopted temporarily, the President being given the same authority as had been held by the king of Spain. All officers for the territory were to be appointed by the President alone, not even the consent of the Senate being re- quired. It was very plain that this was not accord- ing to American ideas of government, nor according to the plan outlined in the Constitution. If Congress had the power to pass such laws as this,, then its power over the territory was clearly unlimited by the Constitution. Senator Benton said of this law, " It was a startling bill, continuing the existing Span- ish government. >!< * * Nothing could be more incompatible with our own Constitution than such a government." But this was merely a temporary arrangement, to continue only till Congress could find time to work out a plan of its own. In March, 1804, a law was passed which divided the territory into two parts. All lying north of what is now the State of Louisi- ana was joined to Indiana territory, and thus came, for a time, under the ordinance of 1787. The south- ern portion, which contained nearly all the inhabit- ants, was named the "Territory of Orleans;" and it is with the plan of government provided for it that we are most interested. A most striking thing is that the people of the territory, almost fifty thousand in number, had absolutely no voice in their govern- ment. All the officers, — governor, secretary, legis- 18 THE LOUISIANA PUECHASE. lature, judges, — were appointed by the President. It is also interesting to notice the stand taken by the national government in regard to slavery. It will be remembered that the Constitution forbade Con- gress to prohibit the importation of slaves into the states before 1808. But according to the law of 1804, no slaves were to be admitted into this territory from abroad, and none from the slave states except such as were brought by persons moving into the territory as settlers. It is easy to sec that Congress did not think it was bound to consider the Constitution at all in plan- ning a government for the territory. Some held that the power to act thus came from the clause referred to above, which gives Congress the power to make all needful "rules and regulations" for territories. Others claimed that the power to buy territory neces- sarily carried with it the power to govern. Our Supreme Court has since held that Congress could fairly claim the power in either way. This power assumed by our government in regard to our first acquisition of territory is of special inter- est now, when we seem to be just entering on a new period of territorial expansion. Many questions are heard as to whether, under our Constitution, Con- gress and the President have the power to set up and operate colonial governments. Any intelligent an- swer to these questions must be based on what has been done in that line. THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. 19 HISTORICAL SICiNIFIGANCE. " We have lived long; but this is the noblest work of our lives." Thus spoke Mr. Livingstone to Mr. Monroe and the French ministers when they had signed the Louisiana treaty, and posterity judges that he spoke truly. Mr. Adams declared that, " The annexation of Louisiana was an event so portentous as to defy measurement; it gave a new face to poli- tics, and ranked in historical importance next to the Declaration of Independence and the Adoption of the Constitution — events of which it was the logical outcome." An event of such high rank deserves careful analysis so that the elements which go to make it great may be appreciated. The first point to notice is that the completion of the purchase seems to have settled the question as to constitutionality of acquiring territor3^ Since that time there has been no serious doubt but that the government may acquire territory by either purchase or conquest. The Supreme Court has several times decided that such action is perfectly constitutional. Furthermore this transaction had a very decided influence in bringing about a broader construction of the Constitution in general. The fact that the power to purchase territory could safely be held to belong to the government, although nothing is said about it in the Constitution, very naturally inclined states- men to think other powers could be claimed for the 20 THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. government in the same way. This has gone on until many things are done by our government to- day, without any question as to power, which would have been considered beyond its powers by even Federal statesmen of the early years of the republic. The exchange of positions by the Eepublicans and Federalists in their arguments on constitution- ality introduces a very interesting, and sometimes very confusing, fact of American politics. The chief difference between parties in the United States has always been found in their idea of the Constitution. One party has stood for broad construction, while the other has insisted on narrow or strict construc- tion. But the strict construction party, when in power, is frequently tempted to justify some of its actions by a broader construction than it usually approves. On the other hand, the broad construc- tion party, when out of power, is equally tempted to adopt strict construction views and declare such action unconstitutional. Thus there is often danger of mistaking the principles of the two parties if only one struggle between them is noticed. It should always be remembered that the party in control of the government tends toward a broader construction than it usually approves, while the party in opposi- tion almost invariably becomes more narrow in its views of the Constitution. Another interesting point to notice is that the government, from the very first, treated the pur- THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. 21 chased territory as if it were not subject to the Con- stitution at all. For instance the treaty promised that the French and Spanish ships coming directly from France or Spain should be admitted to the port of New Orleans on equal terma of the ships of the United States. This was not true in ports along the Atlantic coast, yet the Constitution plainly says, "No preference shall be given by any regulation of com- merce or revenue to the ports of one state over those of another;" and in another section, "All duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States." In setting up a government for the new territory there was, as we have seen, no pretence of arranging it according to the Constitution. In fact some of the laws made were directly contrary to its provisions. Thus it was made a law that ho criminal was entitled to a jury trial unless accused of a capital crime; while the sixth amendment to the Constitution says, "In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury." Finally we may notice that it was this purchase which assured the stability and greatness to the United States. While we were barred from the full use of the Mississippi and shut away from the gulf of Mexico, we were far from independently situated. Speaking of the relation of the purchase to our present standing as a nation Judge Cooley says: "The United States of to-day stands as it does in 22 THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. the first rank of nations, strong and self-centered, and without threatening diversity of interest among the states, because Mr. Jefferson, in 1803, without constitutional justification as he then believed, as- sumed on behalf of the Union to make a purchase of foreign territory. The jmrchase, therefore, stands out on the pages of history as one of those significant and mighty events that distinguish the epochs of occurrence." ACQUISITIONS SINCE 1803. FLOEIDA. The peninsula now known as Florida was dis- covered and named by the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon in 1513. After several bloody Indian wars and a struggle with the French, who also wished to form colonies in that region, the Spaniards succeeded in making permanent settlements. Florida remained a Spanish province until the close of the French and Indian War in 1763, when it was ceded to Ens*- land. England held it until the close of the Eevolu- tion in 1783, and then returned it to Spain, in whose possession it remained until purchased by the United States in 1819. Our country was scarcely assured of independence before we desired Florida. A glance at the map will show that to have a natural boundary we needed it very badly. It would be very dangerous to have the peninsula in the possession of a country with which we were at war; it would endanger our control of the Gulf of Mexico. During the war of 1812 Eng- land made use enough of it to show how dangerous it might become. But there were other reasons why we were anx- ious to get control of this territory. The Spaniards 24 ACQUISITIONS SINCE 1803. had never made many settlements in Florida, and after the Eevolution run -away slaves from onr south- ern states found refuge with the Indians who lived among the swamps and lakes in the interior of the peninsula. These escaped slaves and the Indians among whom they lived would organize raids against the towns and plantations on our side of the bound- ary, destroying property, murdering citizens, and leaving ruin and desolation behind them. When fol- lowed they would retreat to the everglades, as the swamps of central Florida are called, and there defy pursuit. Very naturally our citizens objected to this, and finally in 1818 Greneral Jackson was sent to that section to punish the invaders. He went after them in his usual energetic fashion, followed them to their retreat, and practically conquered the whole penin- sula. Spain seems to have decided that if we were com- pelled to conquer it a second time we might not be willing to give it up again. She therefore consented to sell it to us, and in 1819 a treaty was made by which we were to have Florida in return for the pay- ment of $5,000,000. Our Senate ratified the ti'eaty at once, but the Spanish government found excuses for delay so that the transaction was not completed until 1821. On July 10th of that year the American flag replaced the flag of Spain at St. Augustine, an American garrison took charge of the fort at that place, and Florida was ours. ACQUISITIONS SIXCE 1803. 25 The United States government has always claimed that we purchased only land which now forms the state of Florida: But Spain claimed that she also sold us the land east of the Mississippi, south of the thirty-tirst parallel, and west of the state of Florida, except the island of Orleans. The treaty merely stated that we were to have all the possessions of Spain east of the Mississippi. Thus was settled the dispute as to who owned West Florida, for that land was now ours in either case. The Florida we claimed to have bought contained 59,268 square miles; the Florida Spain claimed to have sold contained 69,749 square miles. It was by this same treaty that we gave up to Spain all claim on Texas, and she in return gave us her claim on the Oregon Country. TEXAS. Ko part of the United States has had a more romantic history than the state of Texas. It was discovered by Spanish explorers in the sixteenth century, but no settlements were made till long after. In 1684 the greatest of French explorers, La Salle, attempted to found a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi. Having missed the river, he landed on the coast of Texas and established his settlement there. His colony lived only a few years, but France claimed Texas as a part of Louisiana until 1762, 26 ACQUISITIONS SINCE 1803. Spain at the same time claiming it as a part of Mex- ico. From 1762 to 1801 Spain owned both Louisiana and Mexico, and there was no chance for dispute. In 1801 Louisiana was given back to France, and two years later it was sold to the United States. We at once claimed that Texas was ours, because, accord- ing to France, it had been a part of Louisiana. Spain refused to recognize our claim, and the dispute went on till, by the treaty of 1819, the boundary line was established as described on page 12. But Spain was not long to enjoy the possession of this country for which she had so long contended. In 1821 Mexico threw off the Spanish yoke and be- came an independent republic, of which Texas was a state. The new republic was anxious to develop its resources, and offered land to settlers on easy terms. Many persons in the southwestern portion of the United States took advantage of the liberal offers of the Mexican government and removed to Texas. Mexico forbade slavery, but these settlers from the United States disregarded the law, or man- aged to evade it, and made Texas a slave state. In return, Mexico ceased to offer such inducements to settlers, and interfered considerably with the local government of the state of Texas. The Americans in Texas believed as thoroughly in local self-government as did their forefathers of Eevolutionary fame, and proceeded to rebel. Many volunteers flocked to their aid from the United States, ACQUISITIONS SINCE^1803, 27 and in 1836 Texas became an independent republic. But independence was not what the Texans reall}^ aimed at; they wished to be annexed to the United States. The people of our Southern states were anxious to obtain Texas, for they thought it would be made into several slave states, and thus add to their power in Congress. Many Northern people objected to its annexation because they feared this very thing would happen. In the presidential cam- paign of 1844 the Democrats declared boldly for annexation, while the Whigs tried to be on one side of the question in the North and on the other side in the South. As a consequence, Henry Clay, the Whig candidate, was defeated, James K. Polk, the Democratic candidate, was elected, and Texas became a state of the Union in 1845. Mexico considered our annexation of Texas as an unfriendly act, and her anger was increased by a dispute which arose about the boundary line. We claimed that Texas was bounded on the south and west by the Eio G-rande and a line drawn from the source of that river due north to the forty-second parallel. Mexico insisted that the boundary on the south and west was Nueces Eiver from its mouth to its source, and then an irregular line along the hills or highlands some three hundred miles. east of the boundary we claimed. The dispute led to war be- tween the United States and Mexico, in which the former was victorious, gaining not only the disputed 28 ACQUISITIONS SINCE 1803. territory, but also a large area to the west of the Eio Grrande. At the close of the war with Mexico the United States found another boundary dispute on hands. New Mexico, which then belonged to the United States, insisted that her eastern boundary was along the hills east of the Eio Grrande, while Texas still claimed the Eio Grande as the line. Strange to saj^ our government was by no means so certain as when the dispute was with Mexico, and hesitated to settle the trouble. Texas threatened to seize the disputed territory by military force, and matters seemed to be coming to a crisis. To avoid trouble Congress passed the compromise of 1850, one provision of which was that Texas was to give up all claims outside her present boundary and receive in return $10,000,000 from the national treasury. OEEaON. While the dispute with Mexico as to the boundary of Texas was at its height, a long standing dispute in another quarter was brought to a close. The land lying west of the Eocky Mountains and between California and Alaska was long known as the Oregon Country. At the close of the eighteenth century four nations, — Spain, Eussia, The United States, and England, — laid claim to this land. Spain claimed that different Spanish explorers had gone along the coast northward from California, ACQUISITIONS SINCE 1803. 29 thus giving her a claim to the land back to the mountains. The Eussian explorer Behring sailed south along the coast from Alaska in 1728, and again in 1740, and therefore asserted a claim to the terri- tory in dispute. Captain Eobert Gray of the United States entered the great river of the region in 1792, and gave it the name of his vessel, the Columbia ; on this our claim was founded. Shortly after the dis- covery of Captain Gray, Captain Van Couver car- ried the British flag up the Columbia, and the next year (1793) Alexander Mackenzie crossed from Hud- son Bay to the Pacific Coast; the work of these two men gave England her claim, although she. sometimes referred back to the supposed exploration of the coast by Sir Francis Drake in the latter part of the sixteenth century. It is interesting to notice how these conflicting claims were gradually adjusted un- til the territory was finally divided between England and the United States. After the purchase of Louisiana in 1803, President Jefl'erson sent out Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition. Their exploration of the Columbia and some of its tributaries strengthened our claim on the Oregon Country, and the settlement of Astoria in 1811 by the John Jacob Astor Fur Company began our occupation of it. By 1818 it had become neces- sary for England and the United States to come to some understanding to 2:)revent serious trouble. In that year a treaty was made which provided that 30 ACQUISITIONS SINCE 1803. either of the two countries might make and control settlements in the disputed territory; this treaty was to last for ten years. At the end of that time (1828) the treaty was renewed, and this time it was to con- tinue in force until one of the two countries gave notice, a year in advance, that it would no longer abide by it. Meanwhile Spain and Eussia had given up their claims. By the terms of the treaty of 1819 Spain gave up the contest in our favor. In 1821 the Czar of Eussia, claiming the land down to 51 degrees north, issued a proclamation warning all other nations to keep out pf the Pacific Ocean above that parallel. We were not willing to admit Eussia's claim, and in 1823 President Monroe gave warning that we would not do so in his famous message containing the " Monroe Doctrine." As a consequence of this warn- ing of President Monroe, a treaty was made between the United States and Eussia in 1824, according to which no settlements were to be made by the United States above 54° 40' N., and none below that parallel by Eussia. In 1825 Eussia and England agreed upon the same line between their claims. England and the United States were thus left to end the contest between themselves. The treaty of joint occupation made in 1818 and renewed in 1828 was continued, and settlers from both countries went to Oregon. The English, however, wished to keep the country a wilderness in which to carry on the ACQUISITIONS SINCE 1803. 31 fur trade, while the Americans desired to clear away the forests and make farms. In 1835 Dr. Marcus Whitman went out as an American missionary to that region. He saw that the country was very valuable and that more American settlers must be persuaded to go there if we were to hold any part of it. He accordingly went to the capital and other eastern cities, interested the President and others in the matter, and returned to Oregon at the head of a com- pany of three hundred emigrants. Other emigrants followed, and at last our interests there became so important that notice was given Great Britain that we could no longer consent to continue the joint oc- cupation agreement. In 1846 a treaty was made by which it was agreed to continue the boundary line on the forty-ninth parallel to the Pacific. This gave the United States about seven-twelfths of the land in dispute. Another dispute arose some years later as to the ownership of the San Juan Islands. The treaty of 1846 said the boundary should follow the forty-ninth parallel to the middle of the channel between Van Couver's island and the mainland, and then follow the middle of the main channel to the ocean. But the question arose as to what was the main channel. Our government claimed that the main channel lay beyond the San Juan group, thus giving the islands to us. The English claimed that the channel this side of the islands was referred to, thus giving them 32 ACQUISITIONS SINCE 1803. the group. In the treaty of Washington, 1871, it was agreed that this dispute should be left to Emperor William of Germany to decide. He examined the evidence of both sides, and then announced that the islands belonged to the United States. MEXICAN CESSIONS. At the close of the Mexican War California and ]^ew Mexico were in our possession, and we were disposed to keep them. Mexico was helpless, and so consented that we should do so. We in return paid her $15,000,000, and assumed debts due American citizens by the Mexican government to the amount of about $3,000,000. This gave us the territory roughly bounded as follows: on the north by 42° N., on the east by the Eio Grande and a line running due north from its source to 42° N., on the south by the Gila river and lines joining its source and mouth with the Rio Grande and the Pacific respectively, and on the west by the Pacific. The southern boundary was questioned, and it seemed as if more trouble was to follow. To end this new dispute our minister to Mexico, Mr. Gadsden, purchased, in 1853, the land lying between the Gila river and our present southern boundary. We gave $10,000,000 for this piece of territory; it contains about 45,000 square miles. Since the purchase was made- by Mr. Gadsden the land is often referred to as the Gadsden purchase. ACQUISITIONS SINCE 1803. 33 ALASKA. The northwestern part of the continent was dis- covered by an exploring expedition from Eiissia under Vitus Behring in 1728. Russia made but slight effort to colonize the land thus gained, and while it re- mained in her possession it was left to a great Russian fur company. In 18G7-this land, known as Alaska, was sold to the United States for $7,200,000. There was much opposition to the purchase of Alaska, and many congressmen consented to it only because of the friendship Russia had shown to the United States during th^ Civil War. It is well known that the sympathy of the English government was with the South during that war, and sometimes it seemed as if the Confederate government would receive aid from the mother country. At one time when there seemed great probability that England would interfere in favor of the South, a fleet of Rus- sian war vessels called at New York on a friendly visit. Since Russia and England are very jealous of each other, it did not take a very slirewd statesman to guess that the Russian fleet had made this call so as to beat hand to help us if England persisted in taking part with the South. Fortunately England did not go so far as that, but Russia's willingness to help us was remembered. When she wished to sell us Alaska we could scarcely refuse to take it, and the purchase was concluded. Since the discoveries UtfCi 34 ACQUISITIONS SINCE 1803. of gold in that region the territory is considered more valuable. There is a dispute about the boundary of that part of Alaska extending southward along the coast. Efforts are now being made to end it (1899), but as yet there does not seem to be much hope of immediate settlement of the question. The dispute arose as follows: This part of the boundary is described in our treaty with Eussia and in treaties between Eus- sia and England, as following the range of mountains running parallel to the coast. If this range was found to be more than thirty miles from the coast at any place, then the boundarj^ was to run parallel to the coast and thirty miles from it. Now there are no mountains which answer the description of the treaties, but there are various scattered ranges of hills and mountains which might possibly be meant. Nat- urally our government contends for those farthest from the shore, up to the thirty mile limit, while the English government claims those nearer the shore as the line. There is also some dispute as to what is to be considered as the shore line. The numerous bays, inlets, islands, etc., which are found along the coast, make it difficult to determine from what points to measure the thirty miles. England maintains that many of these smaller islands are really to be con- sidered a part of the mainland and that the true coastline lies beyond them ; our government contends for a line within all the islands. ACQUISITIONS SINCE 1803. 35 HAWAII. The Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands lie in the Pacific Ocean about 2,100 miles southwest of San Francisco. There are twelve islands in the group, only eight being inhabited. They were discovered by the celebrated English navigator. Captain James Cook, in 1778. No claim of the islands was made in consequence of this discovery, and they remained practically independent until annexed to the United States in 1898. The inhabitants of the different islands were at first under separate kings or chiefs, but the chief of the largest island conquered the others and obtained control of the whole group. After 1820 Americans began to go to the islands, and in 1844 the govern- ment was changed from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy. This form of government continued un- til 1893, in which year a rebellion took place, chiefly under the leadership of Americans. July 4, 1894, a republic was proclaimed. This new government at once began negotiations for annexation to the United States. July 16, 1897, a treaty of annexation was signed, but as it was found the treaty could not com- mand a two-thirds vote in the United States Senate it was dropped. Congress then passed a joint resolu- tion of annexation, and on July 12, 1898, the formal transfer of authority was made, In 1900 Congress provided a territorial form of government for the 36 ACQUISITIONS SINCE 1803. islands, giving the people a large degree of self-gov- ernmet. Hawaii is chiefly valuable because of its sugar plantations and as a naval station. The foreign com- merce of the islands is the greatest in proportion to the population (about 100,000) of almost any country in the world, SPANISH CESSIONS OF 1898. Spain at one time owned the larger portion of the two American continents and the West India islands. Her last possessions on the main land were lost be- tween 1820 and 1830. The inhabitants of the Span- ish West Indies engaged in numerous unsuccessful attempts to gain their freedom. Finally the people of the United States decided that the last war in Cuba was carried on with so much cruelty that it was time to interfere. President McKinley ordered the Spanish government to withdraw from Cuba, and when they refused to do so Congress declared war against Spain, April 25, 1898. After a short contest, during which two Spanish fleets of war vessels were destroyed, Spain sued for peace. Commissioners from the two countries met at Paris, and on December 10, 1898, signed a treaty w^hich was promptly ratified by both governments concerned. By this treaty the United States received Spain's claims to Porto Rico, Gruam, and the Philip- ACQUISITIONS SINCE 1803. 37 pines. Cuba was to remain under the control of the United States until her people could arrange a gov- ernment of their own. Porto Eico is one of the West India islands, lying seventy miles east of Hayti. Its area is 3,668 square miles, and its population is probably a little less than one million. It is valuable chiefly for its agriculture, tobacco, rice, cotton and sugar being the most import- ant products. Guam is the largest of the Ladrones, a group of small islands in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and the Philippines. This island was held as a naval station. The Philippines are a large group of islands lying off the southeastern part of Asia. A rebellion was going on against the authority of Spain when the Spanish-American war broke out. After the cession of the islands to the United States the insurgents turned their arms against the Americans, and are as yet (1900) not wholly subdued. There are probably a thousand islands in the group, with a population of nearly eight millions. The islands are very fertile and are supposed to contain rich but undeveloped deposits of minerals. Their possession will be of importance to the United States as a basis for com- merce with Asia. (^m IX J3S # 8 Z09 L62 110 >10N0D do Aduaan