^-* "^ AT * 
 
 
 
 
 i"-nj.. 
 
 
 
 "> 
 
 
 o°^'^<^>'\ .**\.-:^,V /.'^i.'^°o -'* 
 
 ^:-o^ 
 
 ■I o 
 
 
 -^oV* 
 
 "°^*^"''/ *^,'-^\/ ^-^-'^o' \'' 
 
 • • » \ ' ^_> 
 
 ^o 
 
 •<:*°' cv j.0^ .'VC.^ -^^ 
 
 
 
 0^ cV'. ^c 
 
 
 
 >°-n^. 
 
 
 
J' % 
 
 V o*' . • • • . "^b A* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 > 
 
 
 .^^^^^ 
 ^ ^ 
 
 ^^v 
 
 *^, 
 
 **.»-.•' ^0 
 
 S^-t, 
 
 ^V .. 
 
 <J> *o.o' ^V 
 
 v^ 
 
 A^ - • • • f . <> 
 
Baron Stouben. Gov. St Clair 
 
 Samuel A. Otis, 
 
 Roger Sherman, Gov. Geo. Clint^.n, 
 
 Chaiict^Uiir Liviiiffstim, George Washington, John Adams, General Knox 
 
 WASHINGTON TAKING THE OATH AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 
 April 30, 1789, on the site of the present Treasury Building, Wall Street, New York CitK- 
 
FIRST LESSONS IN 
 AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 BY 
 
 S. E. FORMAN 
 
 AUTHOR OF "a HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES," "ADVANCED 
 
 AMERICAN HISTORY," "tHE AMERICAN REPUBLIC," 
 
 "advanced CIVICS," ETC. 
 
 WITH MORE THAN 
 250 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 73<^- 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THE CENTURY CO. 
 
 1916 
 
r/7f 
 
 Copyright, 1916, by 
 The Century Co. 
 
 JUL 17 1916 
 
 ©CI.A433761 
 
 nit ( , 
 
PREFACE 
 
 In this text I have told the story of America as I think it ought to 
 be presented to beginners. Since children are always interested in 
 the lives of the great, I have treated the subject on its biographical 
 side. The story centers around the men who have been leaders in 
 American life. But the book is more than a mere series of bio- 
 graphies ; it is in a true sense a history of our country's growth. 
 
 While preparing the Lessons I received valuable criticisms and sug- 
 gestions from William B. Guitteau, Superintendent of Schools, To- 
 ledo, O. ; George L. Aldrich, Superintendent of Schools, Brookline, 
 Mass.; W. A. L. Beyer, State Normal School, Normal, III; Oscar 
 H. Williams, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind. ; and Mrs. Frances 
 W. Marshall, Assistant Editor of the St. Nicholas Magazine. For 
 the assistance rendered by these gentlemen and by Mrs. Marshall I 
 wish to express my sincere thanks. 
 
 S. E. FORMAN. 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 July, 1 91 6. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 LESSON 
 
 I 
 
 II 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 V 
 
 VI 
 
 VII 
 
 VIII 
 
 IX 
 
 X 
 
 XI 
 
 XII 
 
 XIII 
 
 XIV 
 
 XV 
 
 XVI 
 
 XVII 
 
 XVIII 
 
 XIX 
 
 XX 
 
 XXI 
 
 XXII 
 
 XXIII 
 
 XXIV 
 
 XXV 
 
 XXVI 
 
 XXVII 
 
 XXVIII 
 
 XXIX 
 
 XXX 
 
 XXXI 
 
 XXXII 
 
 XXXIII 
 
 PAGE 
 
 EUROPE FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO 3 
 
 AMERICA FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO p 
 
 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS I4 
 
 JOHN CABOT AND AMERICUS VESPUCIUS 21 
 
 FRANCIS DRAKE 26 
 
 SIR WALTER RALEIGH 32 
 
 CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH 38 
 
 SAMUEL CHAMPLAIN. HENRY HUDSON 45 
 
 PLYMOUTH: WILLIAM BREWSTER AND WILLIAM BRADFORD . . 53 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS: JOHN WINTHROP ^g 
 
 HOOKER, WILLIAMS, AND WHEELWRIGHT 64 
 
 THE OLD DOMINION AND HER NEIGHBORS 70 
 
 THE MIDDLE COLONIES. WILLIAM PENN 77 
 
 OUR COUNTRY IN 1750 83 
 
 LIFE IN THE COLONIES 88 
 
 LIFE IN THE COLONIES (CONTINUED) g^ 
 
 CHILD LIFE IN THE COLONIES gc) 
 
 MARQUETTE AND LA SALLE ■• • • • I04 
 
 THE QUARREL BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND THE ENGLISH . . .no 
 
 THE FRENCH ARE DRIVEN OUT OF AMERICA II7 
 
 OVER THE MOUNTAINS: DANIEL BOONE • • I24 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE COLONIES QUARREL. SAMUEL ADAMS . . .130 
 THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. THOMAS JEFFERSON . . 137 
 THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. GEORGE WASHINGTON . . . .145 
 THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. GEORGE WASHINGTON 
 
 (CONTINUED) 153 
 
 SIX UNHAPPY YEARS: 1783-1789 161 
 
 PRESIDENT WASHINGTON 167 
 
 IN THE DAYS OF JOHN ADAMS . . . .' 174 
 
 PRESIDENT JEFFERSON AND PRESIDENT MADISON 181 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. ROBERT FULTON 189 
 
 ELI WHITNEY. ANDREW JACKSON 196 
 
 THE LAND BEYOND THE MISSISSIPPI 202 
 
 PRESIDENT MONROE 207 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 LESSON PAGE 
 
 XXXIV IN THE DAYS OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 214 
 
 XXXV JACKSON AND HIS TIMES 222 
 
 XXXVI THE WINNING OF THE FAR WEST 227 
 
 XXXVII WESTWARD HO! 234 
 
 XXXVIII MC CORMICK, MORSE, AND HOWE 240 
 
 XXXIX WEBSTER, CLAY, AND CALHOUN 246 
 
 XL STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS 253 
 
 XLI ABRAHAM LINCOLN 258 
 
 XLII OUR COUNTRY IN i860 265 
 
 XLIII PRESIDENT LINCOLN 270 
 
 XLIV GENERAL GRANT AND GENERAL LEE 276 
 
 XLV GENERAL GRANT AND GENERAL LEE (CONTINUED) 283 
 
 XLVI ANDREW JOHNSON 289 
 
 XLVII IN THE DAYS OF PRESIDENT GRANT 296 
 
 XLVIII PRESIDENT HAYES, PRESIDENT GARFIELD, AND PRESIDENT 
 
 ARTHUR 301 
 
 XLIX THE AGE OF ELECTRICITY; EDISON; BELL 306 
 
 L PRESIDENT CLEVELAND AND PRESIDENT HARRISON .'. . . .311 
 
 LI PRESIDENT MCKINLEY; THE WAR WITH SPAIN 317 
 
 LTI PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT 32; 
 
 LIU PRESIDENT TAFT AND PRESIDENT WILSON 330 
 
 INDEX 337 
 
FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN 
 HISTORY 
 
FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 LESSON I 
 
 EUROPE FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO 
 
 What does the word century mean? In what year did the first century begm? 
 In what year did it end? In what century were you born? In what century was 
 your father born? A man was born in the year 1798 and died in the year 1902; 
 In what three centuries did this very old man live? Locate Paris, Venice, Berlin, 
 London, Petrograd. What is a baron? What is a peasant? What is a serf? 
 What is a parish? What is a pillory? What is a gallows? What is a vehicle? 
 
 Where American history begins. You are now to study the 
 history of the United States and are to learn how this great country 
 of ours has come to be what it is. The story of our country begins 
 at a time when there were no white men in the Western World. The 
 first white men who ever lived in America came here from Europe 
 about four hundred years ago. Since this is so, we shall do well to 
 begin our study by learning what kind of a place Europe was at that 
 time. Let us then in this lesson turn our eyes to the far-off land 
 across the Atlantic, and try to see Europe as it was in the sixteenth 
 century. 
 
 The countries of Europe in the sixteenth century. If you had 
 lived four hundred years ago and had traveled through Europe, you 
 
 3 
 
4 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 would have found most of the countries bearing the same names that 
 they do to-day. The leading countries in Europe in the sixteenth 
 century were England, Spain, France, Austria, Italy, Germany, and 
 Russia; and, as you know, they are the great nations of to-day. 
 
 The cities. But while you would have found that the countries 
 themselves were almost the same four hundred years ago, you would 
 have found everything else strangely different. To-day, if you 
 should visit all those countries, you would see nearly a hundred large 
 cities. If you had made exactly the same journey in the sixteenth 
 century, you would have seen only two or three cities that would now 
 be called large. Two of the largest places you would have found 
 were Paris and Venice, but these were not very big. There were not 
 as many people living in Paris as in our city of St. Paul, Minnesota, 
 and Venice was not as large as Richmond, Virginia. London, now 
 the greatest city of Europe, was about the size of Hartford, Con- 
 necticut. You would hardly have cared to visit Berlin in the sixteenth 
 century, for Berlin was then only a village where some fishermen lived. 
 You certainly would not have visited Petrograd, for as yet there was 
 no such place ; the spot on which Petrograd now stands was a swamp. 
 So, when thinking of the Europe of the sixteenth century, try to for- 
 get the great cities of to-day, and picture in your mind a Europe in 
 which the people lived in the open country and in towns and villages. 
 
 Country life in Europe in the sixteenth century. On this 
 journey of four centuries ago you would have found everywhere that 
 the chief occupation of the people was farming. Most of the farms 
 were very large, some of them containing many thousands of acres. 
 The owner of a great estate was often known as a baron or a lord, 
 and he lived in a castle or in a manor-house. If you had visited a 
 castle, you would have found that it was large and roomy, but that it 
 was a very uncomfortable place in which to live. You would have 
 
EUROPE FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO 
 
 "-^^SH'* 
 
 Serfs at work. 
 
 found no pipes for running water, no tub for taking a bath, no stoves 
 for heating, no good lamps for Hghting. If you had walked over one 
 of the large estates, you would have seen the peasants working in the 
 fields ; and it is likely you would have 
 pitied them, for usually the peas- 
 ants were treated very badly. They 
 worked hard for the lord, but they re- 
 ceived little pay for their labor. In 
 some of the countries the men who 
 worked for the lord were serfs. The 
 lot of the serf was*even harder than 
 the lot of the peasant, for the serf was 
 almost a slave. The peasant could move from place to place, but the 
 serf was compelled to remain on the estate where he was born and 
 work all his life for the lord. 
 
 City life in the sixteenth century. When the traveler left the 
 open country to visit a city, he found the city surrounded by a high 
 wall, built to protect the people from the attacks of an enemy. At 
 several places in the wall were large gates through which people came 
 into the city. At night the gates were locked, and no one was allowed 
 to pass in or out. 
 
 When our traveler entered the city, he found the streets very nar- 
 row, very dirty, and very poorly paved. As he walked along, he was 
 annoyed by cows and pigs and ducks and chickens running about the 
 streets. Near the center of the city stood a fine church with pointed 
 spires. The church was always a Catholic church, for you must know 
 that nearly everybody in Europe in the early part of the sixteenth 
 century was a Catholic. Near the church was a parish school in 
 which a few children learned the catechism and a little reading, writ- 
 ing, and arithmetic. But there were no fine public schools such as 
 
6 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 would be seen to-day. In those times only a very small number of 
 people enjoyed the blessings of an education. 
 
 As our traveler wandered through the city, he saw some things 
 which to-day are no longer seen. Here a poor fellow who had done 
 something wrong was standing in a pillory, his head and hands held 
 fast by a block of wood. There a woman who had scolded her neigh- 
 bors too much was sitting on a ducking-stool and was being ducked in 
 a pool of water. At another place there dangled from a gallows the 
 body of a man who had committed theft. 
 
 An old time street scene in Europe. 
 
 The traveler gladly turned his eyes from these unpleasant sights 
 and watched the people as they went about their daily work. And 
 what a beehive of industry the city was ! There was spinning and 
 weaving, the tanning of hides, the making of shoes, and the forging 
 of iron. But the traveler saw no great factories such as we see to-day. 
 Almost everything was made in little shops where only two or three 
 workmen were employed and where almost every kind of work was 
 done by hand, for men had not yet learned the uses of steam. And 
 
EUROPE FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO 
 
 the traveler saw no great stores in which many different kinds of 
 things could be bought, for goods were sold at the same little shops 
 in which they were made. Out on the street in 
 front of the shops were tables on which articles for 
 sale were spread. On one table there were shoes, 
 on another table, gloves, on another table, clothes. 
 Travel in the sixteenth century. There was 
 another thing you would not have seen on the 
 streets of a city four hundred years ago. You 
 would not have seen a vehicle in which you could 
 take a comfortable ride. You would have seen 
 no street-cars, or automobiles, or light-running 
 carriages. You might by chance have seen a 
 heavy, slow-moving coach, but even coaches were 
 scarce in those days. In 1550 there were but ^^"'^^"^ ^" '^' p"^°'^- 
 three coaches in Paris, and in London there was but one. 
 
 Traveling was done on horseback or in clumsy two-wheeled carts. 
 Carriages like ours would have been of little use, for in almost every 
 part of Europe the roads were very bad. On some of them there 
 were holes so deep that it was impossible for any kind of vehicle to 
 pass, while in wet weather the mud was so deep that horses some- 
 times would sink into it up to their knees. Of 
 course, traveling was very slow. If one made 
 four miles an hour he was lucky. 
 
 Europe of the sixteenth century com- 
 pared with the Europe of to-day. Thus you 
 see that Europe four hundred years ago was 
 not the kind of place it is to-day. The popu- 
 lation was small and most of the people lived scattered on farms or 
 in villages and towns. To-day in Europe there are hundreds of mil- 
 
 An old time coach. 
 
8 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 lions of people, most of them living in crowded cities. In the six- 
 teenth century a city of Europe was a place of narrow, ugly streets, 
 and mean little houses and shops. To-day a city of Europe has wide, 
 beautiful streets, tall factories, and beautiful shops. Four hundred 
 years ago there were in Europe large numbers of peasants and serfs, 
 who were treated almost as badly as if they were slaves. To-day there 
 are no serfs in Europe and men are free and are treated as free men 
 ought to be treated. 
 
 1. Why should we begin the study of United States history with a study of 
 Europe ? 
 
 2. What were the leading countries in Europe in the sixteenth century? 
 
 3. What can you say about the leading cities in Europe in the sixteenth century? 
 
 4. Describe country life in Europe in the sixteenth century. 
 
 5. Describe city life in Europe in the sixteenth century. 
 
 6. What kind of vehicles and roads did they have in Europe four hundred years 
 
 ago 
 
 7. Compare the Europe of the sixteenth century with the Europe of to-day. 
 
.1 
 
 '■'^^W •''■> *-»-"** -4'',, 
 
 OUR COUNTRY BEFO; 
 
E WHITE MAN CAME 
 
LESSON II 
 
 AMERICA FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO 
 
 Bound the United States. Name the great mountain-ranges of our country and 
 also the great rivers and the great lakes. Name all the principal rivers that flow into 
 the Atlantic Ocean. What is a prairie? Name the races of mankind according to 
 their color. What is a squaw? What is a moccasin? 
 
 You learned in the first lesson what kind of a place Europe was at 
 the time when white men first began to leave that continent and come 
 to America. In this lesson you are to learn what kind of a place 
 America was when the white men from Europe began to land upon 
 our shores. You may be sure our country at that time was strangely 
 different from what it is to-day. 
 
 Our country a great forest. The double-page map found be- 
 tween pages 8 and 9 will give you an idea of how our country 
 looked about the year 1500. On the map you see the same natural 
 features, the same coast-lines, mountains, valleys, lakes, and rivers 
 that you see on a map of the United States to-day, but otherwise it 
 looks strange indeed. It shows, you observe, a country almost en- 
 tirely covered with trees. Toward the west, it is true, there are open 
 spaces here and there upon which no trees are standing. These 
 are the prairies. The prairie lands were robbed of their trees by 
 great forest fires which swept over the western country many ages 
 before the white man came. Everywhere, except upon the prairies, 
 it was trees, trees, trees. So you must bear this fact in mind when 
 studying our early history, and try to think of our country as being 
 a vast, dense, dark forest. 
 
 9 
 
10 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Animals and birds. The map shows that this great forest was 
 aHve with animals and birds. There were rabbits, squirrels, racoons, 
 foxes, bears, wolves, panthers, deer, elk, and buffalo. Many of the 
 animals, such as the badger, the wolverine, the beaver, the otter, and 
 the sable, were excellent for their fur. In the branches of the trees 
 there were eagles, hawks, owls, pigeons, and wild turkeys. The 
 wild turkeys were very large. A single turkey sometimes weighed 
 as much as three or four such as we have on our tables to-day. The 
 wild pigeons were seen in great numbers ; sometimes in flocks so large 
 that they darkened the sky in their flight. The smaller birds, such as 
 wrens, robins, jays, thrushes, mocking-birds, made such a din with 
 their chattering and singing that a person walking through the forest 
 could scarcely hear his own voice. In the streams that ran through 
 the forest there were plenty of fish — perch, pike, trout, salmon, shad, 
 bass. *' In New England," a writer tells us, " I myself at the turning 
 of the tide have seen such multitudes of sea bass that it seemed to me 
 that one might go over their backs dry-shod." 
 
 The red men. But far more interesting and important than the 
 birds or the animals were the human beings who roamed through the 
 forest. These were the red men, or Indians.^ The map shows that, 
 when our history began, Indians were found in all parts of our coun- 
 try. Where the Indians came from and how long they had lived 
 here, we do not know. We only know they were here when the white 
 men came and were the only human beings in the Western World. 
 
 The dress of the Indians. What kind of people were these 
 Indians? What kind of a life did they lead? Five hundred years 
 ago most of the Indians who lived in what is now the United States 
 were wild and uncivilized. They were clad in the coarsest kind of 
 garments or in the skins of animals. They decorated themselves with 
 
 1 Why the red men were called Indians you will learn hereafter (p. 19). 
 
AMERICA FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO 
 
 II 
 
 feathers, beads, and porcupine-quills. The squaws wore their hair 
 long", but the men cut off all their hair except a small tuft at the top, 
 known as the scalp-lock. This was left upon 
 the head as an emblem of defiance. The scalp- 
 lock seemed to say, " Take me if you can." 
 And it was surely taken if the enemy fell in 
 battle, for the Indians always cut off the scalp- 
 locks of their foes and carried them away as 
 trophies of war. 
 
 Dwellings and food of the Indians. The 
 house of the Indians was usually a rude dwell- 
 ing called a wigwam. The frame of the wig- 
 
 A squaw carrying her child. ^^^ ^^g j^^Jg l^y planting polcS iu thc grOUUd 
 
 in the form of a circle, and bending them toward each other and fas- 
 tening them together at the top. This was covered with the bark 
 of trees or with the skins of animals. The wigwam had no windows 
 and was a smoky, dirty 
 place in which men, women, 
 and children were huddled 
 together. The Iroquois In- 
 dians lived in long, low 
 houses which resembled an 
 arbor over a garden walk. 
 Some of these houses of 
 the Iroquois were more 
 than two hundred feet in 
 length. 
 
 For food the Indian did 
 not suffer, for in the forest he could find plenty of game and in the 
 streams he could catch plenty of fish. With little trouble he could 
 
 A long house of the Iroquois. 
 
12 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 An Indian warrior. 
 
 raise maize (Indian corn), beans, and pumpkins. Then all around 
 him were nuts and wild berries which he could have without labor 
 and without price. But although the Indians had plenty of food, 
 they did not know how to cook it well. They had no stoves, and they 
 
 could cook only by roasting the food over a 
 flame, or by boiling it in water heated by 
 stones. 
 
 Workers and fighters. Most of the 
 work done among the Indians was per- 
 formed by the women. Besides attending 
 to their household duties, the squaws tilled 
 the fields, made baskets and moccasins, and 
 wove the coarse garments that were worn. 
 While the women worked, the men spent in 
 idleness the time not devoted to hunting and 
 fishing, for you must know that the red man was a lazy fellow. He 
 would sleep, gamble, or play games while his wife was working like 
 a slave. 
 
 The Indian did not like to labor, 
 but he liked to fight, and much of 
 his time was spent in warfare. 
 The different tribes fought among 
 themselves, and when the white 
 man came, they waged war upon 
 him also. Their chief weapons 
 were arrows, which they shot from 
 
 long bows, and a kind of battle-ax called the tomahawk. The Indians 
 were brave in battle, but they were very cruel. They would not only 
 scalp the enemies they killed, but would often torture a captive until 
 he died. 
 
 Bow and arrows. 
 
AMERICA FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO 13 
 
 The number of Indians. When the white man came, there were 
 altogether about three hundred Indian tribes in this country. Some 
 of these were very small, containing less than a hundred 
 members. No tribe was very large, the largest contain- 
 ing only a few thousand people. All the tribes put together 
 numbered only about 300,000, which is about the population 
 of one of our smallest States. So while it is true that the 
 white man found Indians wherever he went, it is also true 
 that he nowhere found them in great numbers. In some 
 parts of the country one could travel for days and weeks 
 without seeing a single human being, whether red or white. tomlhTwk. 
 
 1. To what extent was our country a forest in the days before the white man 
 came ? 
 
 2. What animals and birds were found in this great forest? 
 
 3. In what part of the country did the Indians live? 
 
 4. Describe the dress of the Indians; describe their dwellings; describe their 
 food. 
 
 5. What were the duties of an Indian woman? 
 
 6. Give an account of Indian warfare. 
 
 7. What can you say about the number of Indians who were here when the white 
 man first came? 
 
LESSON III 
 
 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 
 
 Where is Genoa? Palos? San Salvador? Where are the Canary Islands? 
 How could you go from Genoa to China, traveling partly on land and partly on 
 v^ater? How could you go from Genoa to China, traveling entirely by water? 
 About how far is it from Palos to San Salvador? About how far is it from 
 San Salvador to China? What does the word Orient mean? Name some of the 
 precious stones. What is a navigator? What is a prior? 
 
 The boyhood of Christopher Columbus. In the year 1492 some 
 white men from Spain crossed the Atlantic Ocean and landed on a 
 little island in the West Indies. The leader of the 
 white men was Christopher Columbus. Although 
 Columbus was one of the most remarkable men that 
 ever lived, we know very little about his early life. 
 It is thought that he was born in Genoa in the year 
 1446. We are told that his father was a poor 
 wool-comber, who was unable to support his fam- 
 
 Christopher Columbus. . , . . , . , , . 
 
 ily, and that Christopher, m order to earn his own 
 living, went to sea and learned how to be a sailor. One writer tells 
 us that at the early age of fourteen Christopher had become the mas- 
 ter of a ship. Whether this is true or not, it is certain that by the time 
 he reached manhood he was a brave and skillful seaman. 
 
 The trade routes closed by the Turks. About the time Colum- 
 bus was learning to sail a ship, the merchants of Europe who traded 
 with Persia, India, and China were being badly treated by the Turks 
 in Asia Minor. For many centuries these merchants had been ac- 
 
 14 
 
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 
 
 15 
 
 customed to send their goods to the countries of the Orient by land 
 routes which led eastward from the Mediterranean Sea across Asia. 
 But about the middle of the fifteenth century the Turks began to 
 prevent them from using these routes, and by the end of the century 
 they were completely closed. 
 
 Columbus decides on a westward voyage. As soon as the land 
 routes to the Orient could no longer be used the sailors of Europe 
 began to try to find a way to reach these eastern countries by water. 
 Columbus was one of those who took part in this search. Most people 
 at that time thought that the earth was a great flat body of land con- 
 sisting only of Europe, Asia, and Africa. They believed that the only 
 way to go by water from Europe to India and China was to sail down 
 the east coast of Africa and cross the Indian Ocean. But Columbus 
 believed that the earth was a globe and that men could travel entirely 
 around it, just as a fly can walk around an apple. If that was so, then 
 India could be reached by sailing directly 
 west across the Atlantic Ocean. So while 
 he was yet a young man, he decided that he 
 would try to reach India by making this 
 westward voyage across the Atlantic. 
 
 Columbus attempts to get ships and 
 men. But ships and men and money were 
 needed for such a voyage, and to get these 
 was no easy task. In 1485 he went as a 
 stranger to a Spanish convent of La Ra- 
 bida, near Palos, and told the prior who 
 he was and what he hoped to do. This 
 
 - - 1 , , . . Columbus and the prior. 
 
 prior was a wise man, and he looked with 
 
 favor upon Columbus and his plans. He tried to have Ferdinand and 
 
 Isabella, the king and queen of Spain, see Columbus and hear his plans. 
 
i6 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 But they were very busy at this time, and Columbus could not be re- 
 ceived at once. Indeed, a very long time passed before he was given 
 a hearing. Now for one reason and now for another he was kept 
 waiting. These years of waiting tried the patience of Columbus 
 sorely, for he was eager to start on his voyage and reach India before 
 it was reached by some other navigator. 
 
 Columbus appears before the king and queen of Spain. In 1491 
 Columbus was at last allowed to appear before Queen Isabella and 
 King Ferdinand and explain his plans. He showed the queen his 
 charts, and told her of the riches of India and of the glory that would 
 come to Spain if a Spanish ship should be the first to reach the Orient 
 by a westward route. Columbus spoke so earnestly that the queen be- 
 came deeply interested in the proposed voyage. Isabella referred the 
 matter to a council of wise men and asked them for their opinion. 
 The council reported that Columbus was crazy, that he was a dreamer, 
 that India could not be reached by a westward route, and that the 
 voyage across the Atlantic was foolish and ought not to be undertaken. 
 Columbus gets the ships and the men and starts on the voyage. 
 Columbus was sadly disappointed by the report of the council, but 
 
 he had a stout heart and did not lose 
 hope. In 1492 he appeared before the 
 king and queen and again explained his 
 plans. He was now more earnest than 
 ever. As he spoke, he became so elo- 
 quent that his tongue seemed touched 
 with flame, and the face of Isabella 
 seemed to beam like the face of an 
 angel. The king's heart, too, was 
 thrilled by the words of the sailor. He decided that Columbus ought 
 to have the assistance for which he asked. But the king was in need 
 
 He sailed in command of three ships. 
 
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 
 
 17 
 
 of money at this time, and he was not sure that he could spare enough 
 to fit out the ships that would be needed. The good Isabella, how- 
 ever, promised the king that, if it was necessary, she would sell her 
 jewels in order to get the money for the voyage. So it was agreed 
 that Columbus should have the ships and the men and that he should 
 be made the Admiral of the Ocean. 
 
 Columbus prepared for the voyage as fast as he could, and it was 
 not long before he was ready to start. On the third of August, 
 1492, he sailed out of the harbor of Palos in command of three ships 
 
 ^^¥3, 
 
 T^YSt yjy^--'-\X_ Columbus 
 
 The first voyage of Columbus. 
 
 and about one hundred and twenty men. His vessels would have 
 seemed mere toy boats if they could have been compared with the great 
 ships of to-day. His own ship, the Santa Maria, was a little craft 
 about sixty feet long and could carry a burden of only about one hun- 
 dred tons. 
 
 Columbus sails westward across the Atlantic and discovers land, 
 Columbus sailed first to the Canary Islands, which had often been 
 visited by European ships before. From the Canaries he steered 
 directly west, out on the broad Atlantic, and soon his vessels were 
 
i8 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 plowing along in waters which had never before been seen by man. 
 Day after day passed, and evening after evening the sun set in the 
 west, yet no land appeared. The sailors became frightened and wished 
 to turn back. They were afraid that, if they went on and on, they 
 would at last be destroyed by the monsters of the sea, for in those days 
 it was believed that the sea was full of strange looking beasts which 
 would sometimes rise out of the water and swallow ships and men. 
 But Columbus calmed the fears of his men. He told them there was 
 no danger ahead and promised them that, if they would only go for- 
 ward, they would soon reach India, where they would see great cities 
 and load their vessels with gold and silver and fine silks and precious 
 stones. 
 
 After holding a westward course for many days, the sailors were 
 at last encouraged by signs of land. Birds began to visit the ships, 
 and green plants came floating by. On the eleventh of October a 
 carved stick was picked up by the sailors, and they saw floating on 
 the water a hawthorn branch upon which were some fresh berries. 
 There was now much excitement among the sailors, for they felt sure 
 that they would soon reach land. And they were not disappointed, for 
 at ten o'clock on the night of the eleventh of October a light was seen 
 moving in the distance, and about two o'clock on the morning of the 
 twelfth a gun fired from one of the ships announced the joyful news 
 that LAND was in sight. 
 
 At sunrise a landing was made on a little island, which was given 
 the name of San Salvador. Columbus leaped upon the shore, fell upon 
 his knees, and kissed the ground. His eyes filled with tears of joy, 
 and his heart gave thanks to God for bringing him and his men safely 
 to the land of India, as he believed it to be. He drew his sword, 
 lifted up the flag of Spain, and took possession of the island in the 
 name of Ferdinand and Isabella. 
 
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 
 
 19 
 
 He took possession in the name of Ferdinand 
 and Isabella. 
 
 Columbus thinks the new found land is India. Inhabitants of 
 the island gathered around the newcomers and gazed upon them in 
 wonder and awe. The poor crea- 
 tures thought that the Spaniards were 
 superior beings who had come down 
 from the skies. The Spaniards, in 
 their turn, looked in wonder upon the 
 natives, for they were indeed strange- 
 looking beings, by no means the kind 
 of people Columbus expected to find 
 in India. Yet he gave them the name 
 of Indians, because he thought they 
 were inhabitants of India. 
 
 Columbus looks for Gold. Columbus learned from the natives 
 that toward the south there was an island on which much gold could 
 be found. So he soon left San Salvador to search for the gold. He 
 sailed along the coast of the island which we now call Cuba and landed 
 on the island which we now call Haiti, but he found no gold. After 
 searching some time in vain for the precious metal Columbus decided 
 to return to Spain. On the fifteenth of March, 1493, after an absence 
 of more than seven months, he sailed into the port of Palos. 
 
 Columbus returns to Spain. There was great rejoicing in Spain 
 when the news spread that Columbus had returned after a successful 
 voyage. Honors were heaped upon the Admiral, and he was treated 
 with almost as much respect as if he had been a king. Why were 
 the Spaniards so glad? Because they thought that Columbus had 
 surely been to India and that, in the long search for a new route to the 
 Far East, Spain had at last won the prize. They did not know that 
 India was many thousands of miles away from the islands which 
 Columbus had discovered, and they did not know — nobody knew — 
 
20 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 that just beyond these islands there lay a vast continent — a Western 
 Hemisphere — a NEW WORLD. 
 
 1. Give an account of the boyhood of Columbus. 
 
 2. In what way did the Turks interfere with the merchants of Europe? 
 
 3. Why did Columbus decide to make a westward voyage to India? 
 
 4. Tell about the efforts which Columbus made to get help for his voyage. 
 
 5. Give an account of his voyage across the Atlantic. 
 
 6. When and where did he make his first landing? 
 
 7. Tell what he did and describe what he saw at San Salvador. 
 
 8. Where did he go after he left San Salvador? 
 
 9. Give an account of his return to Spain. 
 
LESSON IV 
 
 JOHN CABOT AND AMERICUS VESPUCIUS 
 
 What is the meaning of adventurous? adventurer? Name the largest islands of 
 the West Indies. What language is spoken on these islands? What countries of 
 Europe are nearest to America? Locate Bristol, England, How far is it from 
 Bristol to Newfoundland? What places in the United States are named after 
 Columbus? Trace three routes by which a boat could sail from Bristol, England, to 
 China, During what years was Henry VH the King of England? 
 
 The men who followed in the wake of Columbus. On his first 
 voyage Columbus did not lose a single man. Sailors, therefore, were 
 no longer afraid to cross the Atlantic. So the great voyage of 1492 
 was followed quickly by others. Columbus himself made three more 
 voyages to the newly found lands. Many bold and adventurous 
 men from Spain followed in his wake. Among these were Ponce de 
 Leon, who discovered Florida (15 13) ; Balboa, who crossed the Isth- 
 mus of Panama and discovered the Pacific Ocean; Magellan, who 
 not only visited the Western Continent, but made a voyage all the way 
 around the world ; Pizarro, who conquered Peru and carried off great 
 sums of gold; Cortez, who made himself master of Mexico; and De 
 Soto, who explored the southern part of North America and dis- 
 covered the Mississippi River. 
 
 The Spaniards in the New World. The countries visited by 
 the early Spanish adventurers were claimed as possessions of Spain 
 and soon were settled by the people of that country. The Spaniards 
 who came to the New World continued, of course, to live as they had- 
 lived at home. The towns which they built looked like Spanish tor the 
 
 21 
 
22 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 the customs which they followed were Spanish customs, the laws 
 which they obeyed were Spanish laws. So one of the results of the 
 voyages of Columbus was to cause many Spaniards to go to the New 
 World and live there and build up the Spanish power. Within thirty 
 years after the coming of Columbus in 1492, Spain made herself 
 the mistress of the West Indies, of Mexico, of Central America, and 
 of the greater part of South America. 
 
 England sends sailors to the newly found world. Spain claimed 
 all the Western World except Brazil, which was claimed by Portugal, 
 But Spain's right to all these great possessions was not agreed to by her 
 neighbors. As soon as it became known throughout Europe that 
 Spain was finding new islands by sailing westward across the Atlantic, 
 other nations began to send out ships to the newly found world. 
 Foremost among these nations was England. 
 
 John Cabot makes a voyage. The first sailor to take an English 
 ship across the Atlantic was John Cabot. But Cabot was not an Eng- 
 lishman. Like Columbus he was an Italian, and like Columbus he 
 also was a native of Genoa. Cabot's voyage was made five years 
 after the first voyage of Columbus. In 1496 Henry VII, the English 
 king, gave Cabot and his three sons the right to sail east, west, and 
 north, and to discover islands and countries, and to claim them in the 
 name of England. 
 
 Cabot started on his w^estward voyage from the town of Bristol, 
 England, in the spring of 1497. I^ the summer of that year he landed 
 on a strange coast which he thought was the coast of China. Just 
 where he landed is not known, but it is thought that the landing 
 place was somewhere between Labrador and Nova Scotia. Cabot 
 hoped to find gold, but in this he was disappointed. Indeed he 
 found nothing of any value, for it was a barren shore to which he had 
 The waters of the region, however, abounded in fish which 
 
JOHN CABOT AND AMERICUS VESPUCIUS 
 
 23 
 
 John Cabot in London. 
 
 were very large and which, according to the story of Cabot, sometimes 
 swam in such great shoals that they would stop a ship. Cabot took 
 possession of the coast he had discovered in the name of King Henry 
 VII, planted an English flag on the 
 shore, and sailed back to Bristol. 
 Thus you see that England began to 
 claim a part of the New World within a 
 very few years after it was discovered. 
 Cabot discovers a new continent. 
 When Cabot returned to England, he 
 was treated with great honor. He 
 dressed in fine silks, and, as he passed 
 along the streets, the people followed 
 him in crowds. They believed that he 
 had reached India, and they rejoiced 
 because they felt that England was to have a share in the trade of 
 the Orient. Of course he had not reached India any more than Co- 
 lumbus had reached it. He had, however, discovered a continent 
 upon which no white man before him had ever placed his foot, for 
 Columbus did not reach the mainland until about a 
 year after it was found by Cabot. 
 
 Americus Vespucius makes a voyage to Amer- 
 ica. How did the continent which was discovered 
 by Columbus and Cabot receive its name ? Why was 
 the New World called America? Why was it not 
 named after Columbus and called Columbia? Or 
 why was it not called Cabotia after Cabot? The 
 great continent which Cabot reached in 1497 ^^'^^ which Columbus 
 reached in 1498 was named after Americus Vespucius, a native of 
 Florence in Italy. In 1501 Vespucius, while in the service of the 
 
 Americus Vespucius. 
 
24 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 king of Portugal, made a voyage to the coast of what is now Brazil. 
 When he saw the strange people and the strange animals and birds 
 of the country, he felt that he was on a new and unknown continent. 
 He did not think he was in Asia, as Cabot thought when he landed 
 upon the coast of North America, or as Columbus thought when he 
 landed upon the coast of South America. Vespucius wrote an inter- 
 esting letter about this voyage of 1501, and in this letter he called 
 the Brazil country a " new world." This is the first time, it seems, 
 that it ever occurred to any one that Columbus had really discovered 
 a new country. 
 
 The name Americus is given to the newly found world. The 
 letter of Vespucius fell into the hands of a German professor, who 
 at the time was writing a book on geography. In this book the author 
 said that the country described by Vespucius, that is, the Brazil coun- 
 try, ought to be named the land of Americus (America) in honor of 
 the man who had visited it and had described it so well. And people 
 began to call it America. The professor meant that Brazil only should 
 be called America, but the name spread northward and southward, 
 and soon all parts of the newly found continent came to be known 
 as America. Thus the New World was named America after 
 Americus Vespucius. So it was an Italian, Columbus, that discovered 
 the New World; an Italian, Cabot, that first reached the mainland 
 of the New World; and an Italian, Americus, that gave the New 
 World its name. 
 
 The story of Leif Ericson. When you are told that Cabot was 
 the first white man that landed on the mainland of the Western 
 World, you ought also to be told that many people believe that Leif 
 Ericson came to the New World hundreds of years before Cabot was 
 born. Leif Ericson was a brave sailor of Norway. About the year 
 1000 he left Norway and sailed to Iceland. The story is that after 
 
JOHN CABOT AND AMERICUS VESPUCIUS 
 
 25 
 
 he reached Iceland he steered his ship in a southwesterly direction and 
 sailed along the coast of North America as far south as the shores of 
 what is now Rhode Island. Here, if we are to believe the story, Leif 
 landed and made a settlement which was called Vinland. But we do 
 not know where Vinland was, and we are not even sure that Leif 
 
 Leif Ericson's ship. 
 
 ever landed on the shores of Rhode Island. Indeed, we are not sure 
 that Leif ever came to America at all. If he really did come, then of 
 course the honor of having discovered America belongs to him, for 
 his voyage was made nearly five hundred years before the voyage 
 of either Columbus or Cabot. 
 
 1. Name some of the Spaniards who went to America soon after it was discovered 
 ^ by Columbus. 
 
 2. Of what part of the New World did Spain take possession? 
 
 3. Tell the story of the voyage made by John Cabot. 
 
 4. Explain how the New World came to be called America. 
 
 5. What can you say of Leif Ericson? 
 
LESSON V 
 
 FRANCIS DRAKE 
 
 What is a pirate? Locate Plymouth, England. Trace the route made by a ship 
 starting from Plymouth, England, and sailing generally in a westwardly direction 
 until it comes back to Plymouth, When was Queen Elizabeth born? When was 
 she crowned as queen? How long was she queen? What is a knight? Where is 
 Cadiz? What does the word invincible mean? What does the word armada mean? 
 
 Why England was slow to make settlements in America. The 
 
 Spaniards, as you have learned, began to make settlements in the 
 New World almost as soon as it was discovered. But more than a 
 hundred years passed before a permanent English settlement was 
 made in America. Why did not England at once take possession of 
 North America? Why did she allow so many years to pass before 
 sending settlers there? Because she was afraid of Spain, for you 
 must remember that Spain also claimed North America. Now in 
 the days of Cabot, England was a small and weak nation, while Spain 
 was rich and powerful. England had but few soldiers, and her navy 
 was very small, while Spain could muster a large army and could 
 send out upon the seas ships much swifter and larger than those of 
 the English. So if England in the early years of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury had tried to take possession of North America, she would almost 
 certainly have been driven away by Spain. 
 
 England builds up a strong navy. But England was to see 
 better days. As the years rolled on, the population of England be- 
 came larger and her wealth increased. Then, too, her navy began to 
 
 26 
 
FRANCIS DRAKE 
 
 27 
 
 grow in strength. This was due in part to the voyage of Cabot. 
 You remember that Cabot brought back to England a wonderful 
 story of the excellent fish that could be caught in the waters of 
 the country which he visited. This story of Cabot's excited the 
 hopes of English fishermen, and, before many years had passed, 
 their boats were making trips to Newfoundland. The vessels that 
 went out to these distant fishing-grounds had to be strongly built, 
 and the sailors who manned the boats had to be brave and skilful, 
 for the waters of that part of the Atlantic are rough and dangerous. 
 So the fishing voyages led to the building of better ships and to the 
 training of better sailors. And 
 they led to the building up of a 
 stronger and larger navy. By 
 1550 England was beginning to 
 have a navy of which she was 
 proud. Her ships were big and 
 strong, they carried heavy guns, 
 and her seamen were as bold 
 and hardy as any that could be 
 found upon the ocean. One of 
 her ships, the Great Harry, was manned by seven hundred men. It 
 could carry a burden of a thousand tons, and was the wonder of the 
 world. With such ships as this why should England any longer be 
 afraid of Spain? 
 
 ' England and Spain quarrel about the trade of the West Indies. 
 The time soon came when England had use for big ships and trained 
 seamen. In the second half of the sixteenth century Spain and Eng- 
 land began to quarrel with each other, and the quarrel ended in war. 
 One of the causes of the trouble between Spain and England was the 
 trade of the West Indies. These islands belonged to Spain and she 
 
 The Great Harry. 
 
28 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 wanted all the profits of that trade for herself. At last Philip II, the 
 king of Spain, forbade English sea-captains to trade in the West In- 
 dies and threatened to hang them as pirates if they were caught doing 
 so. This made the English sea-captains very angry. They said that 
 if they were to be treated as pirates, they would act as pirates. So 
 they boldly defied the king of Spain. They not only dared to trade in 
 the West Indies, but they went there with their fighting ships and 
 plundered towns and robbed vessels and carried away all the treasure 
 they could lay hands on. 
 
 Sir Francis Drake. The man who gave the Spaniards the most 
 trouble was Francis Drake. This sea-king was born in Devonshire, 
 England, about the year 1540. Drake's whole life 
 was spent upon the water. His hours of play 
 were spent upon a river that ran by his father's 
 door. At the age of nine he began to serve as a 
 sailor boy. In his early teens he was the mas- 
 ter of a vessel. At the age of twenty-eight he 
 was the commander of a fleet and was famous the 
 world over as a seaman. Drake was not very tall, 
 but his body was well-knit and powerful. His 
 face, like his body, was short and square. His 
 eyes were gray and were as clear and as sharp as 
 an eagle's. His mouth and chin were firmly set, 
 and well they might be, for his will was as strong and as hard as iron. 
 Drake attacks the Spaniards. Drake fought the Spaniards 
 wherever he could find them, whether in the old world or in the 
 new, but it was in the new world that he gave them the heaviest blows. 
 In the West Indies and along the coast of South America he sacked 
 so many towns and sank so many ships that he was called by the Span- 
 iards the Dragon and was feared by them as if he were Satan himself. 
 
 Sir Francis Drake. 
 
FRANCIS DRAKE 29 
 
 Once, in 1573, he went to the Isthmus of Panama and fell upon a band 
 of Spaniards who were crossing the Isthmus with large quantities of 
 gold and silver which they had brought up from Peru. As the mules 
 were moving along with the treasure upon their backs, they were sud- 
 denly seized by Drake and his companions and the gold and jewels and 
 silver bars were carried off. 
 
 Drake makes a voyage around the world. While Drake was on 
 the Isthmus waiting for the mule train to come along, he climbed 
 to the top of a tall tree and in the distance saw the golden water 
 of the Pacific Ocean. As he gazed upon the great sea, a longing came 
 over him to sail upon it. So, before he came down from his lofty 
 place in the tree, he made a vow that some day he would venture 
 upon the Pacific. 
 
 And he fulfilled his vow. In September, 1577, he started from 
 Plymouth, England, upon a voyage that did not end until he had sailed 
 entirely around the globe. He passed through the strait of Magellan 
 and swept up the western coast of South America, capturing towns 
 as he went and robbing the Spaniards of vast sums of gold and silver. 
 
 When California was reached, Drake went ashore. He was met 
 by some Indians, who treated him kindly and 
 crowned him as their king. He gave the coun- 
 try the name of New Albion and took posses- 
 sion of it in the name of Elizabeth, the queen of 
 England. 
 
 From California Drake sped westward across 
 the broad Pacific. He passed the Cape of Good 
 Hope and turned the prow of his good ship, the 
 Pelican, toward England. In September, 1580, Q^een Elizabeth. 
 
 he sailed into Plymouth harbor. Everybody at Plymouth was sur- 
 prised when the Pelican appeared, for she had long been given up for 
 
30 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 lost. Drake was now a greater hero than ever, for he had done what 
 no Englishman had ever done before — he had made a voyage around 
 the world. In honor of the voyage and of Drake a feast was held 
 on board the Pelican. Queen Elizabeth attended and made Drake a 
 
 knight; plain Francis Drake became 
 Sir Francis Drake. In the hold of 
 the Pelican were the riches — the 
 gold and silver and precious stones — 
 which Drake had taken from the 
 Spaniards. One of the jewels taken 
 as plunder was given to Elizabeth, 
 
 She made Drake a knight. ^yho plaCcd it iu hcr CrOWU. 
 
 Drake " Singes the beard " of the Spanish king at Cadiz. The 
 queen was delighted by what Drake had done, but the Spaniards 
 were greatly displeased. Indeed, Elizabeth was plainly told that 
 the conduct of Drake would lead to war between England and Spain. 
 This proved to be true, for in the end Philip II fitted out a fleet to send 
 against England. In the harbor of Cadiz he had a hundred ships 
 ready to sail. When Drake heard of what the king was doing he 
 was quick to act. With a fleet of twenty ships he hurried to Cadiz, 
 entered the harbor, captured or destroyed every vessel of the Spanish 
 fleet, and sailed away without the loss of a man or a boat. He did 
 not do this, he said, as an act of war; he did it simply to " singe the 
 king's beard." 
 
 Drake defeats the Invincible Armada. But Drake had more to 
 do than to singe the king's beard, for Philip quickly fitted out another 
 and a greater fleet. This time he had 130 ships and 30,000 men. 
 He called his mighty fleet the Invincible Armada. In 1588 he sent 
 the Armada against England with the purpose of crushing the Eng- 
 lish navy and bringing the English people to their knees. But Eng- 
 
FRANCIS DRAKE 
 
 31 
 
 land was ready for the fight. Her navy met the Armada in the 
 EngUsh Channel. Drake in his ship Revenge led the attack. The 
 Spaniards had three times as many ships as the English, but the 
 English vessels were twice as swift as those of the Spaniards, and 
 
 j.^' 
 
 
 
 The Invincible Armada. 
 
 their guns could fire twice as fast. The fighting was furious and 
 the struggle lasted three days. In the end Drake and his companions 
 won. Many of the Spanish ships were destroyed, and many that es- 
 caped from the battle were lost in a terrible storm. Thus Drake and 
 his brave companions destroyed Spain's power on the sea. 
 
 1. Why was England slow in making settlements in America? 
 
 2. What led to the building up of a strong English navy? 
 
 3. Why did England and Spain quarrel ? 
 
 4. Give a sketch of the early life of Francis Drake. Describe him. 
 
 5. Tell about Drake's attacks upon the Spanish. 
 
 6. Describe his voyage around the world. 
 
 7. How was Drake received when he returned to England? 
 
 8. When and where and in what way did Drake singe the King's beard? 
 
 9. Tell about the defeat of the Invincible Armada. 
 
LESSON VI 
 
 SIR WALTER RALEIGH 
 
 What is a colony? What are colonists? What does the word colonial mean? 
 What does the word colonization mean? When speaking of colonists, what is meant 
 by the Mother Country? Name some of the things that colonists must take with 
 them when they are going to a wild, uncivilized country ? What are the first things 
 that colonists must do when they make a settlement? What are some of the hard- 
 ships of colonial life? What kind of a place would you choose for planting a 
 colony? With a map before you, point out some places on the east coast of 
 North America that were suitable for planting colonies. Locate Roanoke Island. 
 
 Sir Walter Raleigh. After the defeat of the Armada England 
 began in earnest the work of planting colonies in the wilds of America. 
 
 Indeed, she began the work even before the 
 Armada went down in defeat. The leader in 
 English colonization was Sir Walter Raleigh. 
 This famous hero of English history was 
 born about 1552 in Devonshire, the same 
 county in which Drake was born. He was a 
 cousin of Drake, and when as a boy he drank 
 in the tales of his kinsman's brave deeds and 
 wonderful adventures, he too longed to go to 
 sea and fight the Spaniards and capture ships 
 laden with silver and gold. But he did not 
 go to sea, for at the age of fourteen he was 
 Here he learned to love books almost as 
 When he was seventeen, he left Oxford 
 32 
 
 Sir Walter Raleigh. 
 
 sent to college at Oxford, 
 much as he loved the sea. 
 
SIR WALTER RALEIGH 
 
 33 
 
 *t *5'g2'-'i'-f-» 
 
 The queen trod gently over, clean and dry. 
 
 and went to France, where he spent several years as a soldier. At 
 thirty he was back in England, doing service in the court of Elizabeth 
 and standing high in favor of the queen. 
 
 Raleigh was six feet in height and as handsome a man as there 
 was in all England. His clothes were the finest that money could 
 buy. His cloak of white satin was 
 embroidered with pearls, and even his 
 shoes were adorned with costly gems. 
 He was bright and witty and very po- 
 lite. Once Elizabeth, when taking a 
 walk, stopped at a muddy place in the 
 road, fearing to go further lest she 
 should wet her dainty feet. Raleigh, 
 who was standing near by, sprang for- 
 ward and spread upon the ground his 
 new cloak of plush and ermine, " whereon the queen trod gently over, 
 clean and dry." No wonder such a gallant gentleman stood high in 
 the favor of the queen. 
 
 Raleigh's first attempt to plant a colony in America. While 
 Raleigh was still a young man, his mind turned toward America. He 
 believed that a nezv England should arise in North America to match 
 the new Spain that was rising in South America. So he asked 
 Elizabeth to give to his half-brother. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, the right 
 to go to America and make settlements. The queen granted the re- 
 quest, for she was always glad to do what she could to help Raleigh 
 in his plans. Eleven ships were fitted out to carry the settlers across 
 the ocean, and Raleigh himself was the captain of one of them. The 
 fleet started on the voyage, but it did not go far before it was attacked 
 by the Spaniards and driven back. So the first expedition ended in 
 failure. "^ 
 
34 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Raleigh makes a second attempt. In 1583 another attempt was 
 made. This time Gilbert had a fleet of five ships. Raleigh owned 
 one of the vessels, and he wanted to sail with Gilbert. But the 
 queen would not let her favorite go, for she was afraid ill-fortune 
 might overtake him. So the fleet sailed without Raleigh. Four 
 vessels reached Newfoundland in safety. Gilbert went ashore and 
 took possession of the island in the name of the queen. Thus Eng- 
 land at last actually held the land upon which Cabot had raised her 
 flag more than four score years before. 
 
 Things did not go smoothly in the Newfoundland settlement. 
 The sailors quarreled with each other, fever broke out among them, 
 one of the ships was wrecked, and the men begged to be taken home. 
 So Gilbert decided to go back to England. But he never saw his 
 native land again, for his ship was caught in a gale and disappeared 
 beneath the waves. Gilbert and all his men were drowned. As the 
 ship was sinking, Gilbert called cheerily to his men, saying : " Be 
 of good heart, my friends ; we are as near Heaven by sea as by land ! " 
 
 Thus the second expedition ended in 
 failure more disastrous than the 
 first. 
 
 Raleigh sends Amidas and Bar- 
 low to explore the American 
 coast. Raleigh was grieved and 
 disappointed, but he did not lose 
 heart. He resolved to carry for- 
 ward the work begun by his half- 
 brother. In 1584 he sent out two captains, Philip Amidas and Arthur 
 Barlow, to explore the southern part of the American coast. These 
 two men were not to make settlements, but were simply to visit the 
 country and bring back an account of what they saw. They landed 
 
 (Qf^^ r- 
 
 The house in which Raleigh was born. 
 
SIR WALTER RALEIGH 35 
 
 on the coast of what is now North Carolina and were charmed with 
 the dehghtful cHmate and the beautiful country. It seemed to them 
 to be a garden of sweet-smelling flowers and delicious fruits. The 
 Indians seemed gentle, loving, and faithful. " Surely," they said, 
 '' this is the best soil under heaven ! " 
 
 Amidas and Barlow returned to England and told Raleigh what 
 they had found. Raleigh carried the news to the queen. Elizabeth 
 was greatly pleased and called the country Virginia, a name that for 
 a long time was applied to all that part of the American coast which 
 lies north of Florida. Elizabeth encouraged Raleigh to make a 
 settlement there and promised to help him in e\'ery way she could. 
 She would not, however, let him go out to America in person. She 
 was having a great deal of trouble with Sp?in at the time, and she 
 needed him at home. 
 
 Raleigh sends a colony to Roanoke Island. Raleigh could not 
 go to Virginia himself, but he hastened to send others. In 1585 
 he sent out about one hundred men to make a settlement in the 
 " earthly paradise " which had been visited by Amidas and Barlow. 
 A place was chosen on Roanoke Island. The governor of this colony 
 was Ralph Lane. 
 
 If Raleigh had been present to direct affairs, all might have been 
 well, but under Lane's management things did net prosper. The set- 
 tlers quarreled among themselves and they quarreled with the Indians. 
 More than this, their supply of food gave out. They expected mere 
 from England, but none came. One day, when their provisions were 
 nearly all gone and they w^ere facing starvation, a fleet commanded 
 by Drake suddenly appeared in the harbor. The colonists by this 
 time were thoroughly disheartened. They begged Drake to take them 
 home, for he was en his way to England. He granted their request, 
 and turning their backs on Roanoke Island, they sailed away. Thus 
 
36 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Lane's colony was broken up, and for the third time Raleigh, who 
 had looked forward to planting a successful colony on the American 
 coast, was disappointed. 
 
 Most men would have lost hope and given up in despair, but 
 Raleigh resolved to try again. In 1587 — the year before the Armada 
 — he sent out another colony, consisting of one hundred and fifty 
 persons, seventeen of whom were women. The governor of this 
 
 colony was John White. Roanoke was 
 again chosen as the place for settlement. 
 When White landed upon the island, he 
 found the houses built by Lane's settlers 
 still standing. In one of them a deer 
 was making its home. The buildings 
 were repaired, and the work of clearing 
 the ground and planting grain was begun. 
 But before the crops were ready to be 
 harvested, the food began to run low. So 
 White returned to England to get a fresh 
 supply. He left behind him a daughter, 
 Eleanor Dare, and a new-born grand- 
 deer was making child, Virginia Darc, the first child born 
 
 its home. ' ^ ' 
 
 of English parents on American soil. 
 Raleigh's colony at Roanoke is lost. When White reached 
 England, he found his country straining every nerve to defend itself 
 against the terrible Armada. Raleigh was of course very busy with 
 public affairs, but he found time to lend a helping hand to his colony. 
 He gave White two ships laden with food, and with these White 
 started back to Roanoke. On the way he fell in with pirates and 
 was forced to return to England. So the colonists at Roanoke were 
 left to take care of themselves. 
 
 .^^/ 
 
 In one of the hoi 
 
SIR WALTER RALEIGH 37 
 
 Four years passed before White was able to return to his colony. 
 At last the ship on which he sailed anchored off Roanoke. A trum- 
 pet was sounded, and familiar English tunes were played. But only 
 the great trees of the forest heard the music. No human voice 
 made answer. Not a soul was on the island. The colony was lost. 
 Raleigh sent ships again and again, trying to find the missing settlers, 
 but no trace of them was ever discovered. 
 
 After the second failure at Roanoke Raleigh sent out no more 
 colonists. He would gladly have done so, but he did not have money 
 to fit out the ships. The expeditions had already cost him nearly 
 a million dollars, and he could spend no more. But he did not lose 
 his faith in the plan. He still believed that England ought to plant 
 colonies in America, and that some day this would be done. " I 
 shall yet live," he said, " to see an English nation in America." In 
 the next lesson you will learn that he did live to see his hope fulfilled. 
 
 1. Give a sketch of the early life of Sir Walter Raleigh. Describe him. 
 
 2. Give an account of Raleigh's first attempt to plant a colony in America. 
 
 3. Tell the story of Sir Humphrey Gilbert. 
 
 4. What report did Amidas and Barlow make of their visit to America? 
 
 5. Give an account of Ralph Lane's colony. 
 
 6. Tell the story of John White's colony. 
 
 7. Why did Raleigh plant no more colonies? 
 
LESSON VII 
 
 CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH 
 
 What is a shire? Locate Lincohishire, England. What is the value of a shilling 
 in United States money? Who is the sultan? Where is Chesapeake Bay? Locate 
 Jamestown. During what years was James I king of England? What is an idol? 
 What is a representative? 
 
 The early life of Captain John Smith. When Raleigh said he 
 would Hve to see an English nation in America, he foretold truly 
 what came to pass, for, eleven years before he died, there was planted 
 on the American coast a colony that lived and flourished. This 
 colony was Jamestown, which was founded in 
 1607. The man to whom the colony at James- 
 town owes most was John Smith. This hero 
 was born in Lincolnshire, England, in the year 
 1580. At the age of thirteen he decided to run 
 away from home. He sold his satchel, his books, 
 and all his belongings in order to get some money 
 to take with him. When he was on the point of 
 setting out for London, his father suddenly died. 
 So the boy did not run away, but remained in 
 Lincolnshire and lived under the care of a guardian. For a while 
 he served as a clerk in a store. But such a life was too dull for thi 
 restless lad. He wanted to see the great world, and he made up his 
 mind that he would see it. He went to his guardian and told him 
 that he would be a clerk no longer. Then, with ten shillings in his 
 pocket, he started off to see the^ world. 
 
 38 
 
 Captain John Smith. 
 
CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH 
 
 39 
 
 Smith's Adventures. Smith wrote an account of his travels and 
 adventures, and, if we can beheve what he says, his Hfe must have 
 been full of wonderful incidents. Once, while at sea, he was thrown 
 overboard by the sailors, because they thought he was a second Jonah, 
 who was bringing ill-luck to their vessel. But he swam to a desert 
 island and was rescued by some pirates. At another time he fought 
 against the Turks and with his own hand killed three of their best 
 fighters. Later he was captured by the Turks, sold as a slave, and sent 
 to the daughter of the sultan as a present. The young woman fell in 
 love with him and treated him very kindly. But he thought only of 
 his freedom and of how he could make his escape. Once, when he 
 was threshing wheat, he was struck by the overseer who had charge 
 of the slaves. Smith turned upon the overseer and killed him with 
 the flail which he had in his hand. He then filled a sack with 
 wheat, mounted the overseer's horse, and galloped away. After long 
 wanderings through Europe 
 he reached England about 
 the year 1605. 
 
 The beginnings of 
 Jamestown. Just at this 
 time some merchants in Lon- 
 don were preparing to send 
 out another colony to Vir- 
 ginia. Smith heard of their 
 plans and eagerly joined with 
 them in their undertaking. 
 He felt that America was 
 exactly the right place for 
 him, for he loved excitement 
 and adventure. 
 
 Jamestown and vicinity. 
 
40 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 In December, 1606, the three ships that were to take the new colony 
 to Virginia sailed from England. On board were about 120 per- 
 sons, Smith being one of the number. In May, 1607, the colonists 
 landed on an island a few miles from the mouth of a river which 
 flows into Chesapeake Bay. Here the settlers began their work. 
 They quickly built a fort to protect themselves against the Indians, 
 for out in the forest they could see " savages creeping on all fours, 
 like bears, with bows in their mouths." While some were working 
 on the fort, others were cutting down trees, making the woods ring 
 with the sound of their axes; some were building rude cabins for 
 dwellings, and others were breaking the ground with hoes and spades 
 and planting the seeds for future crops. In a short time the fort 
 was built and the foundation of the colony was laid. The settlement 
 was called Jamestown in honor of James I, who was now the king 
 of England. 
 
 Smith saves the colonists from starvation. For two or three 
 months things at Jamestown went along smoothly, and the people 
 
 were contented and happy. 
 But in August the food sup- 
 ply gave out, and there came 
 a time of ' great distress.* 
 The colonists, it is true, had 
 planted some corn, but they 
 had to wait till it grew and 
 was fit to eat. At one time 
 it seemed that they would all 
 die of starvation. But Smith 
 was determined that the 
 colonists should not starve. 
 He knew that the Indians had corn, and he said he would get some of 
 
 Wilt 
 
 *'*i»''!SPv'' ' 
 
 
 
 « 
 
 ,kC 
 
 i>xOTSL.-r- -^ ,; i^ -jL-_^.^ 
 
 Smith trading with the Indians. 
 
CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH 41 
 
 it. He would buy the corn if he could; but if he could not buy it, he 
 would take it from them by force. 
 
 So he went among the Indians with a small company of men and 
 tried to buy the corn. But they would not sell. Then Smith tried 
 force. He ordered the men to fire their muskets. This they did, 
 and at the same time charged upon the Indians and drove them pell- 
 mell out of their village. Smith then captured the " Okee "of the 
 Indians. This was the idol which the savages worshiped as their 
 god. It was made of skins stuffed with moss. Smith told the In- 
 dians that he would give them back their Okee, and would also 
 give them some beads and hatchets as presents if they would fill one 
 of his boats with corn. This they agreed to do. They brought not 
 only the corn, but also some venison and wild fowl. As they came 
 down to the boat, they sang and danced as if in friendship. Thus 
 by the bold action of Smith the colonists were saved from starvation. 
 
 The story of Smith and Pocahontas. A few months after this, 
 Smith went among the Indians again, but this time he met with bad 
 luck. While he was exploring the Chickahominy River, he was at- 
 tacked by the Indians, two of his men were killed, and he himself 
 was captured. For six weeks the savages kept him as their prisoner. 
 Then they took him before Powhatan, their king. Here he passed 
 through a terrible experience. We will let Smith tell in his own 
 words what happened : 
 
 " At my entrance before the king all the people gave a great shout. 
 The queen brought me water to wash my hands. Another brought 
 me a bunch of feathers, instead of a towel, to dry them. Having 
 feasted me in the best barbarous manner they could, a long consulta- 
 tion was held, but the conclusion was that two great stones were 
 brought before Powhatan. Then as many as could laid hands on me, 
 dragged me to the stones, and thereon laid my head. When they 
 
42 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 were ready with their ckibs to beat out my brains, Pocahontas, the 
 king's dearest daughter, when she found she could not save me by 
 
 praying for my life, got my 
 
 head in her arms and laid her 
 own upon me to save me from 
 death. Whereat Powhatan was 
 content that I should live." 
 
 This story has been doubted, 
 but, whether it is true or not, 
 it is certain that Smith escaped. 
 It is also certain that Pocahon- 
 
 Pocahontas saves the life of Captain John Smith. 
 
 tas became a true friend of the colonists. Many a time did the young 
 princess bring food to Jamestown, and often, when the Indians were 
 plotting against the settlers, did she warn them of their danger. 
 
 Smith is made president of the colony. Later Smith w^as made 
 the president of the colony. And a better ruler could not have been 
 found. Many of the settlers were lazy and did not like to work. 
 Smith knew that a new country w-as no place for idlers. So he made 
 a rule that any man who refused to work should have nothing to eat 
 and should be set adrift in the forest, where he would be at the mercy 
 of the wild beasts and the Indians. This rule had a good effect. 
 The idlers now began to chop wood, and dig in the ground, and 
 help in the building of houses. 
 
 Besides teaching the colonists to work, Smith did much to keep 
 the peace with the Indians. He went among them, traded with 
 them, and made them his friends. Smith remained at Jamestown 
 until 1609, when he met with an accident and was compelled to return 
 to England for treatment. He afterwards visited the coast of New 
 England, but he never returned to Jamestown. 
 
 The colonists prepare to leave Jamestown. The colonists were 
 
CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH 
 
 43 
 
 sorry when Smith left, and they missed him very much. In less 
 than six months after he went away the people of Jamestown were 
 starving, but there was no one who could go among the Indians and 
 get the food that was so much needed. The distress was so great 
 that the colonists decided, in 1610, to return to England. They all 
 embarked in a small boat, said farewell to Jamestown, and started 
 down the river on the homeward voyage. But as they were about 
 to sail out upon the bay, they met three ships coming from England, 
 bringing food enough to last the colony for a year. When the set- 
 tlers saw that they were no longer in danger of starving, they gave 
 up the plan of returning to England and went back to their deserted 
 homes in Jamestown. They never again thought of leaving Virginia. 
 
 The cultivation of tobacco. Soon after Smith left Jamestown 
 the colonists began to raise tobacco. John Rolfe shipped a cargo of 
 tobacco to England and sold it there at a good 
 price. This same John Rolfe married the Indian 
 princess, Pocahontas, and took her to England as 
 his bride. After Rolfe had proved that money 
 could be made by raising tobacco, every man who 
 had a piece of land began to plant this new crop, and 
 it was not long before tobacco was to be seen grow- 
 ing even in the streets of Jamestown. 
 
 Slavery in Virginia. The raising of so much 
 tobacco required many laborers, and there were not 
 enough white men to do the work. The Virginians 
 would gladly have hired the Indians to help them, but the red men, as 
 we have seen, were not fond of work. 
 
 In 1619 there came to Jamestown a Dutch ship which had on board 
 twenty negroes who had been captured in Africa. They were bought 
 l^y the planters and set to work in the tobacco-fields. They proved 
 
 The tobacco plant. 
 
44 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 to be the kind of laborers that were wanted. So more negroes were 
 brought to Virginia, and, before many years had passed, slavery 
 was firmly established in the colony. 
 
 The first law-making body. In the same year in which the first 
 negroes were brought to Jamestown the people of Virginia elected 
 representatives to make laws for the colony. In July, 1619, these 
 representatives met in the little wooden church at Jamestown. This 
 was the first law-making body that ever met in the New World. 
 
 
 The negroes were bought by the planters. 
 
 By this time the Jamestown colony was fairly on its feet, and it 
 was growing in population and in wealth. Smith could well be 
 proud of the colony for which he had labored so hard, for Jamestown 
 was the first permanent English settlement in America. It was the 
 beginning of the great State of Virginia, and it was the beginning of 
 the United States. 
 
 1. Give an account of the early life and of the adventures of John Smith. 
 
 2. Tell the story of the founding of Jamestown. 
 
 3. How did Smith save the colonists from starvation? 
 
 4. Tell the story of Smith and Pocahontas, 
 
 5. What were some of the things done by Smith while he was president of the 
 colony? 
 
CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH 45 
 
 6. Why did the colonists prepare to return to England? Why did they turn 
 back? 
 
 7. Tell about the culture of tobacco in Jamestown. 
 
 8. When and why was slavery established in Virginia? 
 
 9. When and where did the first law-making body in America meet? 
 
LESSON VIII 
 
 SAMUEL CHAMPLAIN. HENRY HUDSON 
 
 Describe the St. Lawrence River. Wliere is Quebec? Where is Lake Champlain? 
 Where is the Richelieu (or Sorel) River? What does the word demoraHzed 
 mean? Where is New York Bay? Describe the Hudson River. Where is Albany? 
 Where is Manhattan Island? Bound Holland. What is the capital of Holland? 
 What is the difference between a Dutchman and a German? Define the word magic. 
 Name some of the best of the fur-bearing animals. 
 
 Early attempts of the French to make settlements. There were 
 now two settlements of white men on the coast of North America; 
 the English settlement at Jamestown, and a little Spanish settlement, 
 called St. Augustine,^ on the coast of Florida. But England and 
 Spain were not the only nations that wished to plant colonies in the 
 New World. France felt that she had as gocd a right to do this 
 as Spain or England had, and she soon began to send out colonists to 
 the American coast. 
 
 In 1534 Jacques Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence and took 
 possession of the country along the banks of the beautiful river in 
 the name of the king of France. Six years later a company of French 
 noblemen, soldiers, and laborers tried to make a settlement on the 
 banks of the St. Lawrence, but most of them fell sick and died, and 
 the colony was broken up. In 1564 some Frenchmen, under the lead- 
 ership of Jean Ribault, made a settlement in Florida at the mouth 
 of the St. John's River, but they were attacked l\v the Spaniards 
 
 1 St. Augustine was founded in 1565. It is the oldest town in the United States. 
 
 46 
 
SAMUEL CHAMPLAIN. HENRY HUDSON 47 
 
 and all were killed. After this it was a long time before the French 
 sent out another colony. 
 
 Samuel Champlain. The first permanent French settlement in 
 America was made by Samuel Champlain. Of the many bold and 
 brave men who left Europe to seek their for- 
 tunes in America, Champlain was one of the 
 bravest and boldest. He was born in 1567 
 in a little town on the coast of France. His 
 father was a sea-captain. In his boyhood, 
 Samuel learned how to sail a ship, and by the 
 time he was grown, he was an excellent sea- / 
 man. — 
 
 Champlain makes a settlement at Que- samuei champiain. 
 
 bee. Like so many other young men of his time, like Drake and Ra- 
 leigh and Smith, Champlain looked to America as the place where 
 glory could be won and a fortune made. His great work in Amer- 
 ica began in Canada at about the time that Captain John Smith 
 and his men were building the first homes in Jamestown. In July, 
 1608, Champlain, with two ships and one hundred and twenty men, 
 sailed up the broad St. Lawrence and landed where the city of 
 Quebec now stands. Some of the men began at once to cut down 
 trees; others sawed beams and planks; others dug a cellar. Soon a 
 house was erected, and a French flag was waving over the building. 
 This was the beginning of a settlement, which was called Quebec. 
 
 It was not long before the new settlers were attacked by disease, 
 and they suffered almost as much as the people of Jamestown. At 
 one time it seemed that all would die and that Quebec would perish 
 as had the other French colonies. But Quebec did not perish; some 
 of the settlers lived. They increased in numbers, and in the course 
 of time the struggling little settlement grew to be an important city. 
 
48 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Thus a permanent French colony was at last established in the wilds 
 of America. 
 
 Champlain defeats the Iroquois Indians. Champlain wished 
 France to have as much land in the New World as possible, so he ex- 
 plored the country around Quebec. Wherever he went, he raised 
 the French flag. With a few white companions and some Huron 
 Indians, he went by canoe up the Richelieu (Sorel) River until he 
 came to the peaceful waters of a large lake. The beautiful body of 
 
 " I aimed straight at one of their chiefs. 
 
 water delighted Champlain, and he was proud to have it called Lake 
 Champlain. One evening, while paddling along the western shore 
 of the lake, Champlain and his companions were startled by a sudden 
 war-whoop! It was the yell of the Iroquois Ihdians. Champlain 
 knew that the Hurons and the Iroquois were bitter enemies, and when 
 he heard the war-whoop, he prepared for trouble. Soon the two 
 bands of savages were rushing toward each other. We wiH let 
 Champlain himself tell what happened: 
 
SAMUEL CHAMPLAIN. HENRY HUDSON 49 
 
 " Our men opened into two ranks and put me at the head, about 
 twenty paces in advance. When I was about thirty paces from the 
 enemy, the latter suddenly perceived me. They halted and stared. 
 I put my arquebus [musket] to my cheek and aimed straight at one 
 of their chiefs. At the shot, two fell dead. I had put four balls 
 into my gun. The Iroquois were dumbfounded that two of their 
 number should have been killed so promptly. As I was re-loading, 
 one of my companions fired a shot from the woods. This so demoral- 
 ized them that they lost their heads completely and took to their heels." 
 
 Champlain and his Huron Indians won the battle ag'ainst the 
 Iroquois, but it was a victory that cost the French dearly; for after 
 that battle on the shore of Lake Champlain, the Iroquois became 
 their lasting and bitter enemies, doing them all the harm they could. 
 They prevented the French from coming down and taking possession 
 of what is now the State of New York. By doing this, they kept the 
 French from extending their power in a southerly direction. If 
 Champlain had not fired his gun, a large portion of what is now the 
 State of New York might have been taken by the French and made 
 a part of Canada. 
 
 Champlain explores the country around the Great Lakes. But 
 although the French lost this valuable prize, they nevertheless rapidly 
 gained for themselves a vast amount of territory. Champlain pushed 
 out into the mighty forests in every direction. He made his way 
 westward as far as the Great Lakes, and, before many more years 
 passed, the French flag was waving in the far-off wilds of Michigan 
 and Wisconsin. Truly, Champlain could feel before he died (in 1635) 
 that the dream of his youth had been fulfilled: that a New France had 
 risen in America. 
 
 Three nations of Europe had now established themselves in Amer- 
 ica : Spain at St. Augustine ; England at Jamestown ; and France at 
 
50 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Quebec. About the time the settlements at Jamestown and Quebec 
 were fairly under way, a fourth nation came forward and began to 
 send out colonists to America. That nation was Holland. 
 
 Holland sends colonists to America ; Henry Hudson. The first 
 Dutchmen — as the people of Holland are called — who came to 
 America were led by Henry Hudson. This 
 famous sailor was an Englishman by birth, but 
 he gave his services to the Dutch. In 1609 
 Hudson entered New York Bay in his good ship 
 the Half Moon and sailed up the river that bears 
 his name. 
 
 Manhattan Island in the days of Hudson. 
 To-day, as you sail from New York Bay into 
 Henry Hudson. ^^^ Hudsou Rivcr, you scc a wildcrncss of ships 
 
 and great buildings, but how unlike the New York of our times 
 was the scene which greeted the eyes of Hudson and his men ! 
 " The Island of Manhattan," says Irving, " spread before them like 
 some sweet vision of fancy or some fair creature of magic. Its 
 hills of smiling green swelled gently one above another crowned 
 with lofty trees, some pointing their tapering foliage toward the 
 clouds, others bowing their branches to the earth, which was covered 
 with flowers. On the hills were the dogwood, the sumach, and the 
 wild briar whose scarlet berries and white blossoms glowed brightly 
 among the deep green of the surrounding foliage. As they stood 
 gazing upon the scene before them, a red man, crowned with feath- 
 ers, issued from one of the glens, sounded the war-whoop, and 
 bounded back into the woods like a wild deer." 
 
 Hudson explores the Hudson River. Hudson did not tarry long 
 at the lovely island of Manhattan. He had been sent out from 
 Holland to search for a short route to China. He had been told 
 
SAMUEL CHAMPLAIN. HENRY HUDSON 
 
 51 
 
 by Captain John Smith that the Hudson River would lead him 
 to the Pacific Ocean if he would but follow the stream far enough, 
 and that, after reaching the Pacific, he could, of course, sail straight 
 a-cross to China. In high hopes of finding China, Hudson went 
 up the river to a point a little above where the city of Albany now 
 stands. Here the Half Moon ran ashore and stuck fast in the mud. 
 Hudson was now convinced that, if he was ever to reach China, he 
 must turn back and take a fresh start. So when he got his ship 
 off the mud-bank, he turned her around and sailed back to Holland, 
 taking with him a good load of furs which he had bought from the 
 Indians. 
 
 The Dutch trade with the Indians ; the settlement at New Am- 
 sterdam. Although Hudson had failed to find China, he had found 
 
 The Dutch buying Manhattan Island. 
 
 a country where furs could be bought cheap ; and that was a most 
 important discovery, for furs were used in olden times a great deal 
 more than they are now. Three hundred years ago the floors of 
 houses were covered with furs and bed-coverings and garments were 
 made of them. The merchants who sent Hudson out were glad to 
 learn that he had found a country rich in furs, and it was not long 
 
52 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 before the Dutch were on the Hudson trading with the Indians, 
 giving them rum and trinkets and hatchets for the skins of otter and 
 beaver. 
 
 In 1 614 the Dutch began to make settlements on Manhattan Island. 
 T\xelve years later the Indians sold the island to Peter Minuit, who 
 bought it for a Dutch trading-company. The price agreed upon for the 
 island was about one hundred dollars. This was not paid in money, 
 however, but in clothing and ribbons and beads. Soon after the 
 island was bought, a Dutch settlement was made on it and called New 
 Amsterdam. Thus the voyage of Hudson brought people from Hol- 
 land to live on the American coast. This settlement of the Dutch grew 
 larger and larger and at last became the greatest city in the New World, 
 for New Amsterdam was the old name for the City of New York. 
 
 New Amsterdam. 
 
 1. Give an account of the first attempts of the Dutch to make settlements in 
 America. 
 
 2. Sketch the early life of Samuel Champlain. 
 
 3. Tell the story of Champlain and Quebec. 
 
 4. Tell the story of Champlain and the Iroquois Indians. 
 
 5. What regions were explored by Champlain? 
 
 6. What four nations sent colonists to America? 
 
 7. Who was Henry Hudson? 
 
 8. Descril^e Manhattan Island as it looked in the days of Hudson. 
 
 9. Tell about Hudson's trip up the Hudson River. 
 
 10. Why were the Dutch glad to trade with the Indians for furs? 
 
 11. Give the early history of New Amsterdam. 
 
LESSON IX 
 
 PLYMOUTH : WILLIAM BREWSTER AND WILLIAM BRADFORD 
 
 What States border on the Atlantic between Cape Cod and the Delaware River? 
 By what name is the Church of England known in the United States? What is a 
 pilgrim? Trace on a map of the world a journey extending from Scrooby, Eng- 
 land, to Leyden, Holland, to Southampton, England, to Provincetown, Massachu- 
 setts, to Plymouth, Massachusetts. Define pious, conscientious, conscience. 
 
 Plymouth. The Dutch claimed all the Atlantic coast from Cape 
 Cod to the Delaware River, but England also claimed this part of the 
 coast and she was not willing that another nation should have it. 
 Even before the fort at New Amsterdam was finished, colonists from 
 England were taking possessioxi of some of the land claimed by the 
 Dutch. These colonists were the Pilgrims, who in 1620 began a set- 
 tlement called Plymouth on the spot where the town of Plymouth, 
 Massachusetts, now stands. 
 
 William Brewster and William Bradford. The leaders of the 
 Plymouth settlers were William Brewster and William Bradford. 
 These two leaders were not bold, dashing heroes, like Drake and 
 John Smith, but they had clear minds and brave hearts, and they did 
 not shrink from a task because it was hard. They led pious lives 
 and thought' that religion was the most important thing in the world. 
 
 About the time Brewster was growing into manhood, many people 
 in England were becoming dissatisfied with the Church of England 
 (the church to which all the Protestants in that country belonged), 
 because it did not allow them as much freedom in religious matters 
 as they wished. They wanted the privilege of choosing their own 
 
 53 
 
54 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 pastor, and they wished to sing, and pray, and preach in their own 
 way. But they were not permitted to do this. They were compelled 
 to worship according to the rules laid down for them by the Church. 
 Brewster and Bradford were among those who wanted to worship 
 God in their own way, and they joined with those who were growing 
 tired of the Church of England. 
 
 The church at Scrooby. About 1605 some church-members at 
 Scrooby, in Nottinghamshire, broke away and formed a congregation 
 
 of their own; and among them 
 were Brewster and Bradford. 
 But the members of the Scrooby 
 church soon found that they 
 would not be allowed to have 
 their own services and worship 
 as they pleased. Some of them 
 \vere sent to prison, and others 
 had their houses watched day 
 and night by officers of the law. 
 Such treatment caused them to feel that they must leave England and 
 go to a country where the people could worship God in whatever man- 
 ner they wished. They had heard that Holland was such a country, 
 so they resolved to go there. 
 
 The Pilgrims in Holland. The members of the Scrooby church 
 left England in 1607, and, after passing through many hardships and 
 moving from place to place, settled at last in Leyden, Holland, in 1609, 
 just about the time Henry Hudson sailed up the Hudson River in the 
 Half Moon. The Pilgrims, as the roving folk from Scrooby were 
 called, built a church and some houses in Leyden and prepared to 
 make the city their permanent home. Brewster found employment 
 as a teacher, while Bradford worked as a silk weaver. 
 
 Scrooby. 
 
PLYMOUTH: WILLIAM BREWSTER. WILLIAM BRADFORD 55 
 
 In Leyden the Pilgrims could worship as they wished, and for a 
 while they liked their new surroundings. But as the years passed, 
 they found that life in a strange land was not pleasant. After they 
 had been in Holland about ten years, they began to grow restless and 
 to long for their old home in England. But the King of England 
 would not let them return. Where, then, could they find a place to 
 live? To what country could they go? Their thoughts turned to 
 America. There, in the wilderness of the New World, they could 
 worship God as they pleased and could live and die as Englishmen. 
 So in July, 1620, the Pilgrims bade Holland farewell and started on 
 the long journey to America. 
 
 The Pilgrims leave England in the Mayflower. They sailed 
 first to Southampton, in England, where a stout ship, the MayUower, 
 was waiting to take them across the Atlantic. In September, 1620, 
 the Mayflower sailed with one hundred and two passengers on board, 
 Brewster and Bradford being among the number. Brewster was now 
 a preacher and was the regular pastor of the Pilgrim band. Another 
 leader on board the Mayflower was Miles Standish, as brave a soldier 
 as ever drew sword. 
 
 ■ " Short in stature he was, but strongly built and athletic, 
 
 Broad-shouldered, deep-chested, with muscles and sinews of iron." 
 
 The Pilgrims land first at Provincetown and then at Plymouth. 
 
 After a long and stormy voyage, the Mayflozver, on the 9th of No- 
 vember, came in sight of Cape Cod. It was the plan of the Pilgrims 
 to settle on the coast somewhere between the Hudson and the Dela- 
 ware; but when they saw the shores of Cape Cod, they decided to go 
 no farther south. So the Mayflower sailed into what is now the har- 
 bor of Provincetown, Massachusetts, where a landing-place was 
 found. Before going on shore the Pilgrims gathered in the cabin 
 
56 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 In the cabin of the Mayflower they signed 
 a compact. 
 
 of the Mayflozver and signed a com- 
 pact by which they agreed to be gov- 
 erned. They chose John Carver as 
 their first governor. 
 
 The Pilgrims soon found that Prov- 
 incetown was not a good location for 
 a settlement. So Miles Standish, 
 Bradford, and several others were sent 
 out in a small boat to look for a better 
 place. On December 21, 1620, they landed on the shore of the bay 
 called Plymouth Harbor. The landing was made near a great boul- 
 der to which was givea the name of Plymouth Rock. In a few days 
 Standish and his men returned to the Mayflozver and reported that 
 the shore around Plymouth Harbor would be a good spot. So the 
 Mayfloiver left Provincetown and sailed to Plymouth. As they 
 landed, they stepped on Plymouth Rock. The first person to step on 
 the rock was a little girl named Mary Chilton — 
 
 "The first on Plymouth Rock to leap 
 With heart of Christian fortitude 
 And light heroic on her brow." 
 
 They begin the work of settlement at Plymouth. It v^as in the 
 dead of winter. A very hard winter it was when the Pilgrims landed 
 at Plymouth, and they suffered 
 greatly from the cold. Still, 
 they went to work with right 
 good will. First they built a 
 fort for protection against the 
 Indians. Then they began to 
 build the houses which they 
 were to use as dwellings. As . ^, , , , ^, ^ ^ „, ,, ^ , 
 
 ^ As they landed they stepped on Plymouth Rock. 
 
PLYMOUTH: WILLIAM BREWSTER. WILLIAM BRADFORD 57 
 
 
 fast as one was built, a family from the Mayflozver moved into it, 
 bringing their household goods — the high-backed chairs, the wooden 
 bedsteads with their tall posts, the pewter dishes, the brass candlesticks, 
 the great iron kettles. Soon they had to build a rude hospital for the 
 sick, for many of the Pilgrims, weakened by the long voyage, were 
 unable to stand the hardships of the first winter. Many were over- 
 taken by disease and many died. Among them was John Carver, 
 and Bradford was at once chosen governor in his place. 
 
 The Pilgrims and the Indians. After the long terrible winter 
 came the pleasant spring, and with it came better times for the colo- 
 nists. As soon as it was warm enough, 
 the Pilgrims began to plant their corn. 
 While they were at this work, there came 
 into Plymouth an Indian named Squanto. 
 This Indian had been captured by white 
 men some years before, and while he was 
 with the white men he had learned to 
 speak English. Squanto was friendly 
 with the Pilgrims, and he was useful to 
 them in many ways. He taught them 
 when to plant their corn, and how. They 
 rnust plant it, he said, when the leaf of the oak was as big as a mouse's 
 ear; and, if they wished a good crop, they must drop one or two her- 
 rings in each hill along with the seeds of corn. 
 
 One day an Indian from a tribe near by brought into the settlement 
 a bundle of arrows wrapped in the skin of a snake. Squanto told the 
 Pilgrims that the arrows were a threat of war. As a reply. Governor 
 Bradford filled the snake's skin with powder and bullets and sent it 
 back to the chief of the tribe from which it came with the message 
 that, if the Indians wanted war, he was ready for them. 
 
 There came^ an Indian named 
 Squanto. 
 
58 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 But it was many years before there was any trouble between the 
 people of Plymouth and the Indians, for Governor Bradford dealt 
 kindly with the red men and made friends of them. Once, it is true, 
 the Indians entered into a plot to kill all the Pilgrims, but Bradford 
 heard of it and sent eight men under Miles Standish against the 
 guilty ones, who were severely punished. 
 
 The growth of Plymouth. Governor Bradford proved to be the 
 right man in the right place, and for more than twenty years he 
 served as governor of Plymouth. Under his wise rule the colony at 
 Plymouth year by year grew larger and larger. In 1632 a new town 
 named Duxbury was formed north of them, and before Governor 
 Bradford died, in 1644, seven more towns had been built around 
 Plymouth. In 1643 the colony had a population of nearly 3,000. 
 The people by this time were making a good living and were con- 
 tented and happy. So Bradford and his fellow Pilgrims were re- 
 warded for their toil and suffering. In America they found what 
 they had sought — a home where they could live in peace and where 
 they could worship God as they wished. 
 
 1. When and where did the Pilgrhns make a settlement? 
 
 2. What can you say of William Brewster and William Bradford? 
 
 3. Why did the members of the Scrooby Church leave England? 
 
 4. Give an account of the Pilgrims in Holland. 
 
 5. Describe the voyage of the Mayflower. 
 
 6. Tell the story of the settlement at Plymouth. 
 
 7. How did the Pilgrims get along with the Indians? 
 
 8. What can you say of the services of Bradford as governor? 
 Q. Give an account of the growth of the Plymouth colony. 
 
 I 
 
LESSON X 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS: JOHN WINTHROP 
 
 Where is Massachusetts Bay? Boston Bay? What streams flow into Massa- 
 chusetts Bay? Locate Salem, Massachusetts. Locate Boston; Lynn. Where is 
 Charlestown, Massachusetts? Give the meaning of the following words: doctrine, 
 purify, plight, emigrant. During what years was Charles I the King of England? 
 
 Salem. By the time the little settlement at Plymouth was well 
 on its feet, another English colony began to rise on the New England 
 coast not many miles away. This was the colony of Massachusetts 
 Bay, which was soon to swallow up the Plymouth colony and which 
 in time became the great State of Massachusetts. The first settle- 
 ment was made at Salem, w^hen, in 1629, six vessels, one of which 
 was the Mayflower, brought from England about 400 persons, 140 
 head of cattle, 40 goats, and a large supply of food, arms, tools, and 
 other things needed to make homes in the wilderness. 
 
 The Puritans. The colonists who landed at Salem were Puri- 
 tans. And who were the Puritans? They were Englishmen who 
 belonged to the Church of England, but who did not like the way in 
 which the services of that church were conducted. The Puritans 
 were very much like the Pilgrims in their ideas about religion. They 
 desired plain, simple forms of worship and a pure doctrine. Because 
 they wished a pure doctrine they were called Puritans. But they did 
 not want to break away entirely from the Church of England as the 
 Pilgrims had done. They preferred to remain in the church, and 
 purify it from within. 
 
 59 
 
6o 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 John Winthrop. 
 
 John Winthrop. The first governor of the colony at Salem was 
 John Endicott. When he had served for about a year, John Win- 
 throp was chosen governor. Winthrop was born near Groton, Eng- 
 land, in 1588, the year of the great Armada. When he was a youth 
 
 he joined the Puritans, and remained faith- 
 ful to them all his life. He was a brave, un- 
 selfish man, and, like William Bradford (page 
 53), he looked upon religion as the most 
 important thing in the world. In his conduct 
 he was guided by the words of the Bible and 
 by the voice of his conscience. Whenever his 
 conscience told him to do a thing, he was sure 
 to do that thing. His chief purpose in com- 
 ing to America was to help the Puritans to 
 build up a strong Puritan church. At that 
 time he was in the prime of life, and for twenty years he was the 
 leader in the Massachusetts colony. He worked so long and so hard 
 for its welfare and did so much for it that he was rightly called *' the 
 father of Massachusetts." 
 
 Winthrop leads a band of Puritans to America. It was in 1630 
 that Winthrop left England and sailed to America to begin his duties 
 as governor. With him came seven hundred other Puritans, the 
 largest party of Englishmen who had yet crossed the Atlantic. When 
 Winthrop reached Salem he found the colony in sad plight. Many 
 of the settlers had died, and many of those who were still living were 
 weak and sick. He decided that Salem was not a good place for a 
 settlement, and looked for a better one. He chose the shores of what 
 is now Boston Harbor as the best place for his new colonists to land, 
 and soon they were building their houses on the banks of the streams 
 that flow into Boston Bay. They did not, however, form a single 
 
MASSACHUSETTS: JOHN WINTHROP 
 
 6i 
 
 Coddington built the first good house. 
 
 closely built settlement. " Some were best pleased here, others there, 
 
 and in the end each settled where to him seemed best." 
 
 Governor Winthrop and a few of the colonists built at Charlestown. 
 
 Another small group chose the banks 
 
 of the Saugus River and founded 
 
 Lynn. Still another group drew 
 
 their boats up to the shore where 
 
 the Charles River empties into the 
 
 bay. Here the colonists beheld a 
 
 little pensinsula that was blessed 
 
 with sweet and pleasant springs, 
 
 safe pastures, and a soil that promised rich corn-fields and fruitful 
 
 gardens. Of course this beautiful spot was immediately chosen. 
 
 Anne Pollard, in youthful frolic, was the first to leap ashore. Wil- 
 liam Coddington built the first good house, 
 and because he had lived in Boston, England, 
 the settlement on the peninsula was called 
 Boston. It grew rapidly into a town, and 
 soon it became the capital of the colony and 
 the heart of Massachusetts. 
 
 Why the Puritans came to America. 
 Why did these Puritans leave England ? Be- 
 cause they were being badly treated there on 
 account of their religion. The king of Eng- 
 land, Charles I, wanted all his subjects to be- 
 long to the Church of England, and he com- 
 manded his officers to punish any persons who 
 
 did not attend that church. The Puritans refused to do so, and they 
 
 were severely dealt with. Some of them were imprisoned, while 
 
 others had their ears cropped or their noses slit. It was to escape treat- 
 
 Puritans. 
 
62 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 ment of this kind that the Puritans left their pleasant homes in their 
 old country and sought refuge in the forests of New England. So, 
 you see, both the Pilgrims and the Puritans came to America in order 
 that they might have greater freedom in matters of religion. 
 
 Life in the Massachusetts colony. For two or three years the 
 Puritans did not find Massachusetts a very pleasant place in which to 
 live, for it was a wilderness to which they had come, and they could 
 
 not hope to escape its hardships. 
 In six months after their arrival 
 about two hundred of their num- 
 ber had died. Still, life in the 
 colony during the first years was 
 much more pleasant than it was 
 at Jamestown or at Plymouth. 
 One of the Massachusetts colo- 
 nists, when writing to a friend in 
 England, said that any one who 
 might come to the colony for the 
 purpose of leading a religious life 
 would not be disappointed. Such 
 a person, the writer of the letter 
 said, would find materials for 
 building a house, fuel to burn, 
 ground to plant, seas and rivers 
 to fish in, pure air to breathe, 
 good water to drink. In addi- 
 
 Settlements around Massachusetts Bay. ^j^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^-^^^^^ ^^^ 
 
 Puritans had the Pilgrims as neighbors upon whom they could call 
 when in trouble. When a physician was needed, they had only to 
 send to Plymouth for Doctor Fuller, and he would come promptly. 
 
MASSACHUSETTS: JOHN WINTHROP 63 
 
 If there was trouble with the Indians and a good soldier was needed, 
 Miles Standish was ready to fight as bravely for the Puritans as he 
 fought for the Pilgrims. 
 
 Growth of the Massachusetts colony. Under the leadership of 
 Winthrop the colony of Massachusetts Bay grew more rapidly than 
 any other that yet had been founded. In 1633 Puritans began to 
 come to it in streams. As boat-load after boat-load of immigrants 
 arrived, towns around Boston sprang up as if by magic. In less than 
 ten years the population of the Massachusetts Bay colony was over 
 15,000. This was greater than the population of Virginia and 
 Plymouth put together. Surely by 1640 a nezv England was begin- 
 ning to rise on the American coast. 
 
 1. When and where were the first settlements in Massachusetts made? 
 
 2. Who were the Puritans? 
 
 3. Tell the story of John Winthrop and his band of Puritans, 
 
 4. Why did the Puritans leave England and come to America? 
 
 5. What can you say of the life of the Massachusetts colonists in the early days? 
 
 6. Give an account of the growth of the Massachusetts colony. 
 
LESSON XI 
 
 HOOKER, WILLIAMS, AND WHEELWRIGHT 
 
 Where is Cambridge, Massachusetts ? Describe the Connecticut River. Where is 
 the Mystic River? Locate Hartford, Connecticut. Locate New Haven, Connecticut. 
 What do you understand by the word constitution ? Locate Providence, Rhode 
 Island. What does the word "providence" mean? Locate Newport, Rhode 
 Island. Locate Dover, New Hampshire. Locate Exeter, New Hampshire. What 
 do you understand by the words " religious conviction " ? What do you under- 
 stand by the words " dangerous doctrine " ? 
 
 Thomas Hooker and his band settle in the Connecticut Valley. 
 
 After 1630 the colonists from England settled around Massachusetts 
 Bay in such numbers that it was not long before all the best land 
 along the coast was occupied. So the settlers began to push west- 
 ward into the wilderness, where there was plenty of room and plenty 
 of good land. In 1636 Thomas Hooker, the pastor of the church of 
 Newton, now Cambridge, led his congregation to the banks of the 
 Connecticut River. He left Massachusetts because he did not like the 
 manner in which the Puritans governed their colony. Besides, he 
 knew that the rich valley of the Connecticut was an excellent place 
 for a settlement. With Hooker went about one hundred men, women, 
 and children. As Hooker and his band moved slowly through the 
 great forest they rejoiced in the singing of birds and in the foliage 
 and flowers, for the journey was made in June, when nature was wear- 
 ing its loveliest dress. 
 
 After working their way westward about one hundred miles, the 
 emigrants came to the Connecticut Valley. They were charmed by 
 
 64 
 
HOOKER, WILLIAMS AND WHEELWRIGHT 
 
 65 
 
 Hooker led his band to the banks of 
 the Connecticut. 
 
 the scene which lay before them, for in June this is one of the most 
 beautiful valleys in the world. Hooker and his flock were glad to find 
 a home on the banks of the Connecticut, 
 choosing the spot where the city of Hart- 
 ford now stands. Here the foundations 
 of a new colony were laid, the colony of 
 Connecticut. 
 
 The Connecticut settlers have a war 
 with the Pequots. It was several years 
 before the pioneers were allowed to 
 live in peace. The Indians in the val- 
 ley felt that the white men were taking 
 their lands away from them, and they 
 
 treated the settlers as enemies. The Pequots gave the most trouble. 
 Pequot warriors would hide in the woods and attack any of the whites 
 who dared to go about alone. When a settler was captured he was 
 cruelly tortured. 
 
 But the Pequots were made to 
 suffer for their cruel deeds. In 
 1637 about a hundred armed men, 
 led by Captain John Mason, 
 marched against them and attacked 
 them in their fort on the Mystic 
 River. As Mason and his men 
 were creeping quietly to the fort, 
 a dog barked. Instantly an In- 
 dian shouted '' OzvaniLv! Owa- 
 nnxf' ["Englishmen! English- 
 men!"] and Mason ordered his men to shoot. There was a fierce 
 battle, and for a time it seemed that the white men would be de- 
 
 The settlers attacking the Pequot fort. 
 
66 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 feated. But Captain Mason shouted, '' We must burn them ! " So 
 the fort was set on fire, and those who did not perish in the flames 
 were shot. After this, many years passed by before the white men 
 of Connecticut were again troubled by the Indians.^ 
 
 The Connecticut settlers draw up a plan of government. After 
 the defeat of the Indians the Connecticut Valley began to fill up with 
 whites. Within two years from the time that Hooker and his band 
 settled at Hartford, two other towns, Wethersfield and Windsor, had 
 sprung up in the Connecticut Valley. It was necessary to have a 
 government. As they did not care to be governed by Massachusetts, 
 they set up a government of their own. In 1639 the freemen, or 
 voters, of the three towns came together, and drew up in writing a 
 plan of government which they called the " Fundamental Orders." 
 This plan was what we should now call a constitution. It was the 
 first written constitution that was ever drawn up by a body of men 
 for their own government. 
 
 The New Haven colony. While Hooker and his followers were 
 building the towns along the banks of the Connecticut, a new settle- 
 ment was formed on the north shore of Long Island Sound. This 
 was the colony of New Haven. Its leaders were John Davenport, a 
 preacher from London, and Theophilus Eaton, a London merchant. 
 They were strong Puritans, and they did everything they could to 
 make New Haven a Puritan colony. 
 
 In June, 1639, the New Haven settlers met in a large barn and they, 
 too, drew up a constitution for their colony. One of its rules was 
 
 1 In 1675 the Indians, under the leadership of a chief known as King Philip, 
 attacked the town of Swansea in Rhode Island and killed eight men. This was 
 the beginning of an Indian uprising which was called King Philip's War. Philip and 
 his warriors burned many towns and killed many white men. The colonists, how- 
 ever, joined their forces, and before the end of the summer of 1676 the Indians 
 were defeated, and Philip himself was captured and slain. 
 
HOOKER, WILLIAMS AND WHEELWRIGHT 
 
 67 
 
 Connecticut and Rhode Island. 
 
 that none but church members should be able to vote or to hold office. 
 Another rule was that the words of the Bible should be accepted as 
 law. For this reason the New 
 Haven colony was called the 
 Bible Commonwealth. But the 
 New Haven colony did not 
 have a very long life, for in 
 1662 it united with the Connec- 
 ticut River settlement and the 
 two became known as Connec- 
 ticut. 
 
 Roger Williams. In the 
 same month in which Hooker 
 and his followers had settled on the banks of the Connecticut, an- 
 other preacher from Massachusetts began to lay the foundations of a 
 colony on the shores of Narragansett Bay. This man was Roger 
 
 W^illiams, and the colony was Rhode 
 Island. 
 
 Williams was driven from Massa- 
 chusetts on account of his religious be- 
 liefs. He left the colony in the win- 
 ter of 1636. For fourteen weeks he 
 traveled through the wilderness. The 
 season was bitter cold, yet for days 
 at a time he was without fire or food. 
 Often at night his bed was the hollow 
 of a tree. His only friends were the 
 Indians. From these, at times, he re- 
 ceived food and shelter. He made his way alone until he came to the 
 shores of the Seekonk River, where he was joined by five companions. 
 
 Roger Williams in the wildernes 
 
68 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 With these he embarked in a frail canoe and made his way to the 
 mouth of the stream. Here, in June, 1636, on the shore of Narra- 
 gansett Bay, he made a settlement. He called the place Providence, 
 in gratitude for God's merciful providence to him in his distress. 
 
 Williams becomes the founder of Rhode Island. This was the 
 beginning of the colony of Rhode Island. Here no person was dis- 
 turbed on account of his religious belief. Puritans, Pilgrims, He- 
 brews, all were welcome. Because of this freedom many who suf- 
 fered on account of their religious convictions went to Rhode Island to 
 live. Among these was Mrs. Anne Hutchinson. This excellent 
 woman had held meetings in her home in Boston, and had taught doc- 
 trines that the Puritan preachers thought were dangerous. Because 
 of this teaching she was driven from Massachusetts. She was invited 
 by Williams to come to Providence. So Mrs. Hutchinson and some 
 of her followers settled in Rhode Island. New settlements were soon 
 made in the neighborhood of Providence and it was not many years 
 before Rhode Island was a prosperous, well-governed colony. 
 
 John Wheelwright settles in New Hampshire. By the time 
 Connecticut and Rhode Island were beginning to grow strong and 
 prosperous, still another colony was growing up in the wild region 
 which lay north of Massachusetts. This colony was New Hamp- 
 shire. The first settlement was made at Dover in 1623. At about 
 the same time a fishing-station was built near the spot where the city 
 of Portsmouth now stands. 
 
 One of the leaders of the New Hampshire colony was the preacher 
 John Wheelwright, who for a while lived in Boston. He was the 
 brother-in-law of Mrs. Hutchinson, and like Mrs. Hutchinson he was 
 driven from Massachusetts on account of his religious beliefs. In 
 1638 Wheelwright with nine companions moved up into New Hamp- 
 shire and began to build the town of Exeter. The towns of New 
 
HOOKER, WILLIAMS AND WHEELWRIGHT 69 
 
 Hampshire governed themselves in their ov^n way until 1643, when 
 they w^ere made a part of Massachusetts. But New Hampshire did 
 not remain a part of Massachusetts, for in 1691 it was made a sepa- 
 rate colony again with a government of its own.^ 
 
 The three offshoots of Massachusetts. Thus, before John Win- 
 throp died, in 1649, ^^ had seen three Puritan preachers go out from 
 Massachusetts and lay the foundations of three colonies that in time 
 became States : Thomas Hooker had laid the foundations of Connecti- 
 cut; Roger Williams had laid the foundations of Rhode Island; and 
 John Wheelwright had laid the foundations of New Hampshire. 
 
 1. Tell the story of Hooker and the settlement of Connecticut. 
 
 2. Tell the story of the Peqiiot War, 
 
 3. In what way did the settlers of Connecticut provide a government for them- 
 selves ? 
 
 4. Give the history of the New Haven colony. 
 
 5. Tell the story of Roger Williams and the settlement of Rhode Island. 
 
 6. Who was Anne Hutchinson? 
 
 7. Tell the story of John Wheelwright and the settlement of New Hampshire. 
 
 8. Name three colonies that were the offshoots of Massachusetts. 
 
 1 In the same year in which New Hampshire was taken away from Massachusetts 
 the region which is now the State of Maine was given to Massachusetts and was 
 known as the district of Maine. 
 
LESSON XII 
 
 THE OLD DOMINION ^ AND HER NEIGHBORS 
 
 What is a rebel? What is a rebellion. What do you understand by the words 
 "religious freedom" ? During what years was Charles II the King of England? 
 Describe the course of the Potomac River. Define rival. Locate Albemarle Sound. 
 Describe the Ashley River. Locate Charleston, South Carolina. 
 
 Our story now takes us back to Virginia, where we left the colo- 
 nists (page 44) building their homes along the banks of the rivers and 
 creeks that flow into the Chesapeake Bay. 
 
 Life in the Old Dominion. After the Virginians began to make 
 their own laws, the colony flourished as never before. Larger fields 
 of tobacco were planted, and a greater number of slaves were brought 
 over from Africa. Sometimes a single planter owned hundreds of 
 slaves and thousands of acres of land. Almost every family lived 
 within sight of a river, and many of the planters had their private 
 wharves where ships from England could land their cargoes. The in- 
 coming ship would bring to the planter mahogany furniture, rich car- 
 pets, fine cloth and silks, and take away tobacco in payment for these 
 goods. In this way many of the Virginia planters managed to live 
 in comfort and ease, and many of them grew rich. So more and 
 more the Old Dominion became a place in which it was pleasant to 
 live. Land was cheap, and everybody who would work could make 
 a living. The creeks and rivers abounded in oysters and fish, the 
 forests were alive with game, and hogs in great numbers ran at large 
 
 1 The colony of Virginia was often called the Old Dominion. 
 
 70 
 
THE OLD DOMINION AND HER NEIGHBORS 
 
 71 
 
 in the woods. By 1675 the population of Virginia was nearly 50,000 
 and the colony was the best '* poor man's country " in the world. 
 
 Bacon punishes the Indians. But life in the Old Dominion was 
 not always pleasant and peaceful. One night in January, 1676, the 
 Indians attacked some new settlements that had just been made on the 
 outskirts of the colony and murdered about fifty persons. The peo- 
 ple of Virginia demanded that the savages be punished for this out- 
 rage, but the governor, Sir William Berkeley, would not send any 
 soldiers against the Indians. Berkeley was not a good governor. He 
 ruled in a harsh manner and he gave too much attention to his private 
 affairs. So he was greatly disliked by the people. When he refused 
 to punish the Indians the colonists became very angry. They de- 
 clared that, if the governor would not defend them, they would de- 
 fend themselves. They armed themselves and chose a brave young 
 man, Nathaniel Bacon, to lead them. Bacon with his little company 
 of white men marched against the Indians and punished them in a 
 manner that they did not soon forget. 
 
 Bacon's Rebellion. This action of Bacon greatly pleased the 
 people of Virginia but it angered 
 Governor Berkeley, who declared 
 that Bacon was a rebel because 
 he had attacked the Indians 
 against the wishes of the gov- 
 ernor. So Berkeley and Bacon 
 began to quarrel. Bacon marched 
 with his men against Jamestown 
 and burned the state-house, the 
 church, and many of the best 
 
 dwellings. Then he drove Governor Berkeley from the colony. 
 Bacon was now the most powerful man in Virginia ; but just when he 
 
 Ruins of the church burned by Bacon and his 
 
 followers. 
 
^2 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 was at the height of his power, he fell sick of a fever and died. His 
 followers disbanded, Berkeley returned, and there was peace again in 
 the Old Dominion. 
 
 George Calvert. About the time the colony of Virginia began 
 to grow strong the colony of Maryland was planted. Its founder 
 was George Calvert, an English nobleman, who held 
 the title of Lord Baltimore. Calvert was a Cath- 
 olic. He was devoted to his church, but the laws 
 of England were as severe against the Catholics as 
 they were against the Puritans (page 6i), and did 
 not allow him to use the forms of worship that 
 he desired. So Calvert, like Bradford, Winthrop, 
 and others, looked to America as a place where he 
 could enjoy religious freedom. He went with his 
 family to Newfoundland, where he hoped to found a colony. But 
 the climate was too cold. From there he went to Jamestown, but 
 he found that Catholics were treated as badly in Virginia as they 
 were in England. So he went to Charles I, who was his warm per- 
 sonal friend, and asked for a tract of land upon which he could found 
 a colony of his own. The king granted his request, making him a 
 grant of territory in the region of Chesapeake Bay. The land granted 
 to Lord Baltimore was called Maryland. 
 
 The beginnings of Maryland. George Calvert died before the 
 actual settlement was begun. His son, Cecil Calvert, however, car- 
 ried out the plans which had been so dear to the heart of his father. 
 He sent about two hundred settlers to Maryland to begin the 
 work of building houses and planting the fields. The governor of 
 the colony was Leonard Calvert, the brother of Cecil. The Ark and 
 the Dove, the two ships which brought the Maryland colonists, crossed 
 the ocean in safety and sailed into the Potomac River in March, 1634. 
 
THE OLD DOMINION AND HER NEIGHBORS 73 
 
 A landing was made on the bank of a small stream which flows into 
 the Potomac. The settlers, most of whom were Catholics, took two 
 trees and made a large cross which they erected as a sign of the Chris- 
 tian religion. Two days later Calvert purchased from the Indians a 
 large tract of land, giving in return axes, hoes, and knives. He then 
 began building a settlement near the 
 mouth of the Potomac .River. This 
 was called St. Mary's. 
 
 Life in early Maryland. The 
 colonists of Maryland did not un- 
 dergo such hardships as were ex- 
 perienced by the Jamestown and 
 
 Plymouth settlers. The Indians The settlers took^two trees and made a large 
 
 were friendly, and they helped the 
 
 settlers in many ways. They sold their lands willingly and at a cheap 
 price. They also helped the whites to plant their corn, and taught 
 them how to make bread called '' pone " with corn-meal and how to 
 prepare hominy from unground corn. The first corn crop raised 
 by the Maryland colonists was so large that they could supply their 
 own needs and still have some to sell. But the chief crop was 
 tobacco, and this proved to be as profitable in Maryland as it was in 
 Virginia. 
 
 The growth of Maryland. Maryland rapidly became a rich and 
 prosperous colony. Her fields were fertile, and her orchards pro- 
 duced excellent fruit. In the waters of the Chesapeake Bay there was 
 sea-food of almost every kind — crabs, clams, oysters, and terrapin. 
 Along the shores of the bay there flew thousands of canvasback ducks. 
 Sometimes a flock of ducks would be a mile wide and several miles 
 long. All this brought settlers in large numbers. In less than thirty 
 years after the landing of Calvert Maryland had a population of 
 
74 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 nearly 15,000. So by 1665 the Old Dominion had a northern neigh- 
 bor which was fast becoming her rival. 
 
 North Carolina. By this time, also, the Old Dominion was be- 
 ginning to have some neighbors at the south. One of them was North 
 Carolina. As early as 1650 settlers from southern Virginia began to 
 go across the border and make homes for themselves along the shores 
 of Albemarle Sound, where there was good farming land and plenty 
 
 of grass for their cattle. So 
 many people moved down into 
 the Albemarle country that it 
 soon became necessary for them 
 to have a government. So in 
 1665 they held an assembly con- 
 sisting of a governor, a coun- 
 cil, and twelve delegates. This 
 meeting was the beginning of the 
 colony of North Carolina. 
 
 South Carolina. Another 
 neighbor of the Old Dominion 
 Along the Carolina coast. ^^g South Carolina. This col- 
 
 ony had its beginning in 1670, w^hen three ship-loads of Englishmen 
 landed at the mouth of the Ashley River and built a village, which 
 they called Charlestown in honor of the king, Charles II. But the 
 settlers did not like the location at the mouth of the Ashley River, 
 so they soon began to leave it and move up to the point of land which 
 lies between the Ashley and the Cooper Rivers. Here they built a 
 new Charlestown (now Charleston). The colonists of South Caro- 
 lina raised rice and indigo. The rice-swamps were so unhealthy that 
 white men did not like to work in them, so they were cultivated by 
 negro slaves. The owners of the rice plantations lived in Charles- 
 
THE OLD DOMLVION AND HER NEIGHBORS 
 
 75 
 
 town. So life in South Carolina centered in that town, which grew 
 so rapidly that it soon became one of the largest and most beautiful 
 cities on the American coast. 
 
 Indians and pirates. Life in the two Carolinas in the early days 
 was not so pleasant and peaceful as it was in Maryland. In North 
 Carolina the colonists suffered from the attacks of the savages. 
 In 171 1 the Tuscarora Indians, in the darkness of the night, rushed 
 upon the settlers along the Roanoke River and cruelly killed nearly 
 two hundred persons. The whites in revenge sent a small army 
 against them, defeated them in battle, destroyed their forts, and cap- 
 tured about 800 of their w^arriors. 
 
 In South Carolina there was trouble with the pirates. These sea- 
 rovers lived on the sounds and inlets along the coast. Whenever they 
 saw a helpless ship passing by, they would dart 
 out from their hiding-place and capture it. 
 Sometimes all on board the ship were put to 
 death. The leader of the pirates was known as 
 Blackbeard, although his real name was Ed- 
 ward Teach. This terrible man, it is said, 
 would twine wax candles in his great mustache, 
 and go into battle with the candles burning. 
 For many years Blackbeard kept the Carolina 
 coast in a state of terror. But at last he was 
 captured and was punished for his crimes. Yet, 
 in spite* of the Indians and pirates, both North 
 Carolina and South Carolina passed through the 
 
 trying years in safety, and in time became strong and flourishing 
 colonies. 
 
 JJlackbeard. 
 
 1. What can you say about life in the Old Dominion? 
 
 2. Give an account of the troubles with the Indians. 
 
^d FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 3. Tell the story of Bacon's Rebellion. 
 
 4. Who was George Calvert? What efforts did he make to found a colony in 
 America? 
 
 5. Give an account of the settlement of Maryland. 
 
 6. What can you say of the life in Maryland in the early days, and what of 
 the growth of the colony? 
 
 7. Give the early history of North Carolina. 
 
 8. Give the early history of South Carolina. 
 
 9. What trouble did the settlers of North Carolina and South Carolina have with 
 the Indians? 
 
LESSON XIII 
 
 THE MIDDLE COLONIES. WILLIAM PENN 
 
 Name the Middle States. Locate Elizabeth, New Jersey. Locate Philadelphia. 
 Define prosperous, prosperity. What are some of the blessings of free govern- 
 ment? Locate Wilmington, Delaware. What do you know about the Quakers as a 
 religious society? Where in the United States do a great many Quakers live at 
 this time? What is the area of Pennsylvania in square miles? If Pennsylvania 
 were sold for $80,000, how much would that be an acre? 
 
 The surrender of the Dutch at New Amsterdam. About the 
 time the first homes were being built in North CaroHna great things 
 were happening in the Dutch colony at New Amsterdam. In 1664 
 Charles II of England decided that the Dutch rule in America should 
 come to an end. He sent four vessels and about three hundred fight- 
 ing men to New Amsterdam. When the English fleet reached New 
 Amsterdam, the commander, Sir Robert Nichols, sent to the Dutch 
 governor, Peter Stuyvesant, a letter demanding the surrender of the 
 town. Stuyvesant had a wooden leg, and he stamped it firmly when 
 he read the letter from Nichols, and swore he would never sur- 
 render. But, in spite of his oath, he was compelled to do so, for 
 the English were too strong for him. The Dutch flag which waved 
 over the fort was hauled down, and the English flag was run up in its 
 place. 
 
 Thus New Amsterdam passed out of the hands of the Dutch into 
 the hands of the English, and the Dutch colony in America became an 
 English colony. You ought to remember the date, 1664, for with 
 
 17 
 
78 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 the surrender of New Amsterdam the whole sea-coast from Nova 
 Scotia to Florida was brought under the control of the English. 
 The beginning of New Jersey. Even before the surrender, 
 
 Charles II had given to his brother 
 James, the Duke of York, all the 
 land in America held by the Dutch. 
 The Duke, therefore, became the 
 owner of all the territory now in- 
 cluded in the States of New York, 
 New Jersey, and Delaware. He 
 kept New York for himself, but he 
 gave New Jersey to two of his 
 friends, Sir George Carteret and 
 John Lord Berkeley, a brother of 
 Sir William Berkeley of Virginia. 
 
 Philip Carteret, a cousin of Sir 
 George, was appointed as the first 
 governor of New Jersey. He came 
 over in the summer of 1665 with 
 some thirty colonists and landed at 
 the point now known as Elizabeth- 
 port. A spot several miles inland 
 was chosen as the place for a settle- 
 ment. The colonists marched to it 
 with Governor Carteret at their head 
 carrying a hoe on his shoulder to sig- 
 nify that labor was to be no disgrace 
 in New Jersey. The settlers went to 
 work in earnest and soon there arose a cluster of houses which Car- 
 teret called Elizabethtown in honor of his wife. 
 
 Early settlements in New York and New- 
 Jersey. 
 
THE MIDDLE COLONIES. WILLIAM PENN 
 
 79 
 
 carried a hoe on his shoulder to 
 signify that labor was to be 
 no disgrace. 
 
 The governor had the power to rule the colonists pretty much as 
 he pleased, but he ruled them kindly and well. He gave them 
 lands to cultivate for themselves, and he let them make their own laws. 
 Under his management New Jersey grew 
 rapidly in population. Settlers came to the 
 colony, not only from old England, but 
 also from New England and New York. 
 All w^ho came fared well. They enjoyed 
 the blessings of a free government, and 
 they were allowed freedom in matters 
 of religion. They also shared in the 
 general prosperity, for in New Jersey in 
 early times a poor person was seldom ^^ 
 found. 
 
 Hudson's trip on the Delaware Bay. We now come to the 
 settlement of Delaware. The story of this State takes us back to the 
 time of Henry Hudson ; for, when Hudson crossed the Atlantic in the 
 Half Moon, he first entered Delaware Bay. He believed that on the 
 waters of this bay he could sail to the Pacific Ocean. But he was 
 disappointed, for after a sail of only a few hours his vessel ran upon 
 mud-banks, and he had to turn back, just as he did a few^ months later 
 when his vessel grounded in the shallow water near Albany (page 51 ). 
 This trip of Hudson up the Delaware was important, because it led 
 the Dutch to claim the land on both sides of Delaware Bay. 
 
 The Swedes in Delaware. But soon, in 1638, there came to the 
 Delaware country some colonists from Sweden, who settled at 
 Christiana, near the spot where the city of Wilmington now stands. 
 They bought some lands from the Indians, and began to till the soil 
 and carry on a trade in furs. But the Dutch claimed that Delaware 
 belonged to them, and they decided that the Swedes should not take 
 
8o FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 possession of it. In 1655 Governor Stuyvesant sailed into Delaware 
 Bay with six hundred men and compelled the Swedish settlement to 
 surrender. But the Dutch themselves were not allowed to hold Dela- 
 ware very long; for when New Amsterdam was given to the Duke of 
 York, Delaware also came under his control. It remained so until 
 1682, when it was granted to William Penn. 
 
 William Penn and the Quakers. The name of William Penn 
 brings us to the story of Pennsylvania, the great colony of which he 
 was the founder and the father. Penn was one 
 of the greatest and most interesting of the 
 colonial leaders. He was born in London in 
 1644. While still at college, Penn began to at- 
 tend the meetings of the Quakers, and soon he 
 became a Quaker preacher. 
 
 Penn's father disliked the Quakers very 
 much, and he tried to get his son to leave them. 
 This Penn would not do, and on account of his 
 
 William Penn. 
 
 religious belief he suffered many hardships. He 
 was turned out of college and driven from his father's house. Later 
 he was arrested for preaching at Quaker meetings, and was fined for 
 not removing his hat in the presence of the judges. Once he was 
 thrown into prison and told that, if he did not give up his religion, he 
 would never be set free. But this did not frighten him. He re- 
 mained faithful to the Quakers and at last he was released. 
 
 Pennsylvania is granted to Penn. When his father died, 
 William Penn came into possession of a large fortune. A part of his 
 estate was a claim against King Charles II for a sum of money 
 amounting to about $80,000. This was more money than the king 
 could spare. So, instead of paying the debt in cash, he paid it in land, 
 giving to Penn a great tract of land in America lying west of the Dela.- 
 
THE MIDDLE COLONIES. WILLIAM PENN 
 
 8i 
 
 ware River. Since the land was covered with forests, Penn named it 
 Sylvania, after sylva, the Latin word for forest. In front of this 
 word the king wrote Penn. So 
 the territory given to Penn was 
 called Pennsylvania. 
 
 Penn and the Indians. In 
 1682 Penn went to his new pos- 
 session, taking with him about 
 one hundred colonists, most of 
 them Quakers. The work of 
 settlement was begun on the 
 banks of the Delaware, where 
 there quickly arose a city which 
 Penn called Philadelphia, the 
 City of Brotherly Love. 
 
 One of the first things done by 
 Penn was to buy the land from 
 the Indians. Although he held 
 a title to it from the kine 
 
 he 
 
 Delaware River and Delaware Bay. 
 
 nevertheless felt that the true owners were the Indians, and he would 
 not call an acre of it his own until he had first bought it at a fair price 
 from the red men. 
 
 Penn did everything he could to secure the friendship of the In- 
 dians. He walked with them, sat with them on the ground, and ate 
 
 with them, sharing with them their meals of 
 acorns and hominy. This kindliness and 
 Treaty belt made of wampum, given fricndliness of manner plcascd the Indians 
 
 to Penn by the Indians. . , 1 ,1 ,1 
 
 very much and encouraged them to be 
 kindly and friendly in return. In the spirit of good fellowship they 
 began to show Penn how they could hop and jump. At this Penn him- 
 
82 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 self began to hop and jump and showed that he could beat them 
 all. 
 
 In 1683, beneath a great elm-tree, Penn met the chiefs of seventeen 
 tribes of Indians and made a treaty of peace with them. In this treaty 
 it was agreed that the English and the Indians should live together in 
 love and friendship as long as the sun gave light. This agreement 
 was sacredly kept for nearly seventy years. 
 
 The growth of Pennsylvania. In a very short time Penn's 
 colony was in a happy and prosperous condition. The soil of Penn- 
 sylvania was rich, the climate was mild and agreeable, and the great 
 forest was alive with deer and other wild animals. Settlers came to 
 the country by hundreds and by thousands. Within twenty years 
 after Penn landed on the banks of the Delaware the colony of Penn- 
 sylvania had a population of 20,000 and Philadelphia had grown to be 
 a city of 10,000 souls. By the year 1700 Pennsylvania was one of the 
 largest and most flourishing colonies in America. 
 
 1. Give an account of the surrender of the Dutch at New Amsterdam. 
 
 2. What was the early history of New Jersey? 
 
 3. Give an account of Hudson's trip on Delaware Bay. 
 
 4. Tell about the Swedes in Delaware. 
 
 5. Tell the story of Penn and the Quakers. 
 
 6. Why was Pennsylvania granted to Penn? 
 
 7. Tell the story of Penn and the Indians. 
 
 8. What can you say about the growth of Pennsylvania? 
 

 OUR CO 
 

 N 1750 
 
LESSON XIV 
 
 OUR COUNTRY IN I75O 
 
 Name the States that border on the Atlantic Ocean. Which of these States ex- 
 tend westward as far as the mountains? Where is the Cumberland Valley? Where 
 is the Shenandoah Valley? Locate Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Harrisburg, Penn- 
 sylvania ; Winchester, Virginia ; Worcester, Massachusetts ; Newark, New Jersey ; 
 Trenton, New Jersey ; Richmond, Virginia ; Norfolk, Virginia ; Savannah, Georgia, 
 Define the following words : poverty, accomplish, frontier, civilize, civilization, wharf, 
 immigrant. 
 
 Georgia. After the colony of Pennsylvania was founded in 
 1682, many years passed before another English colony was planted 
 on the American coast. Yet there was plenty of room for another 
 colony, for the long stretch of country which lay between Florida and 
 South Carolina was still wild and unsettled. The English wanted 
 this part of the coast for themselves, and in 1733 they planted a new 
 colony there. This was called Georgia in honor of 
 George II, who was then king of England. 
 
 James Oglethorpe. The leader of the Geor- 
 gia colony was James Oglethorpe. This kind- 
 hearted man lived in London, where he saw around 
 him a great many poor men who could not pay their 
 debts and who suffered much because of their pov- 
 erty. He believed these poor people would be hap- 
 james Oglethorpe. pj^^. j^^ America, whcrc there was plenty of land and 
 where everybody who would work could make a living. So he gath- 
 ered together a band of about one hundred persons, and sailed with 
 
 S3 
 
84 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 them to America. They landed at the mouth of the Savannah River. 
 Here they buih a town, called Savannah. 
 
 Oglethorpe wanted Georgia to be one of the best colonies along the 
 coast and he worked hard for its success. With his own hands he 
 helped to clear away the trees, to build the houses, and to till the fields. 
 By setting a good example he encouraged others to do their best. 
 Georgia grew rapidly and in a few years became an important colony. 
 
 The thirteen colonies. There were now^ thirteen English colo- 
 nies in North America : New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode 
 Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, 
 Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 
 Y'ou do not find the name of Plymouth in the list because that colony 
 was joined to Massachusetts in 1689, and at that date the separate 
 life of the Plymouth colony came to an end. 
 
 How did our country, with its thirteen colonies, look about the year 
 1750? By that date Englishmen had been in America nearly one 
 hundred and fifty years. What had they accomplished during these 
 long years of hard labor? 
 
 The Frontier Line. The double-page map between pages 88 and 
 89 will help you to answer the questions just asked. You will ob- 
 serve on it a heavy black line, running generally north and south, 
 but at different distances from the seacoast. In some places the line 
 is only a few miles from the coast, in others it is as much as a hundred 
 miles back from the coast. This heavy black line is the Frontier 
 Line. It is so called because it marks the front, or edge, of the white 
 man's settlements. In other words, the Frontier Line marks the west- 
 ern boundary of the settled country. 
 
 East of the Frontier Line we see the country that by 1750 had been 
 brought under the white man's control. East of the line there was 
 civilized life; there were cities and towns, and fine houses and well- 
 
OUR COUNTRY IN 1750 85 
 
 tilled fields, churches and schools. West of the line we see the great 
 dark forests in which lived only the red men and the wild beasts. 
 As our story proceeds, you will find the Frontier Line moving farther 
 and farther to the west; and if you wish to understand our country's 
 growth, you must follow the westward movement of the Frontier 
 Line. 
 
 Our country in 1750 compared with our country before the 
 white man came. As your eye runs over the double-page map 
 between pages 88 and 89, you cannot help seeing that between the 
 days of John Smith and the days of Oglethorpe mighty changes took 
 place in America. The portion of the map east of the Frontier Line 
 shows you what kind of a place our country was in 1750. Compare 
 this with what you see on the map between pages 8 and 9, which 
 shows what kind of a place our country was before the white man 
 came. You will notice that, by 1750, the forests along the coast had 
 nearly all been cleared away, and the wild animals had been driven 
 out. You will observe, too, that along the coast the wigwams of the 
 Indians had disappeared and the houses of the white man had taken 
 their place. 
 
 The Scotch-Irish. The map shows you that by 1750 in Penn- 
 sylvania and Virginia the houses of the white man had been built as 
 far west as the Alleghany Mountains. Many of the settlements in the 
 western part of Pennsylvania and Virginia were made by the Scotch- 
 Irish. The Scotch-Irish were Scotchmen who in the seventeenth cen- 
 tury left Scotland and settled in Ireland. 
 
 But the Scotchmen grew tired of Ireland, and in the eighteenth 
 century many came to America. By 1730 they were landing on the 
 wharves at Philadelphia in such numbers that the people already living 
 there were afraid the newcomers would take possession of their city. 
 Ten thousand of these immigrants came to Philadelphia in one year. 
 
86 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 But they did not all remain there. Many of them pushed out into the 
 forests of Pennsylvania and settled wherever they could find good 
 land. As the years went by, they moved farther and farther west, 
 and by 1750 they had carried their settlements to the Cumberland Val- 
 ley and far down into the Shenandoah Valley. 
 
 The Pennsylvania Dutch. There were other settlers in these 
 valleys — the so-called Pennsylvania Dutch. These people were not 
 Dutch at all, but Germans, who had left their homes in Germany 
 because they were badly treated. They began to come to America 
 even sooner than the Scotch-Irish, for as early as 1692 some settled 
 near Philadelphia and built the town of Germantown. In 1700 they 
 founded the town of Lancaster. By 1730 these Pennsylvania Dutch 
 had pushed as far west as Harrisburg and were making settlements 
 in the Cumberland Valley. In 1732 a Pennsylvania Dutchman named 
 Joist Hite built a home near the present town of Winchester, Vir- 
 ginia, and, before many years had passed, there were large numbers 
 of Pennsylvania Dutch in the Shenandoah Valley. 
 
 The important cities and towns in 1750. The map between 
 pages 88 and 89 shows that by 1750 many cities and towns had been 
 built along the coast and on the banks of the rivers that flow into the 
 Atlantic. You see on the map the names of such places as Boston, 
 Providence, Hartford, Albany, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore, 
 Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah. Some of these places were hardly 
 more than villages in 1750, but many of them were good-sized towns. 
 Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston were large enough 
 to be called cities. Philadelphia had a population of more than 20,- 
 000, and was the largest city in North America. 
 
 ^y 1750 all the colonies were growing rapidly in wealth and popu- 
 lation. We do not know the exact number of people living here in 
 1750, for a careful count was not made in those days as it is now, but 
 
OUR COUNTRY IN 1750 87 
 
 it is certain that more than a million white men were then living in 
 the colonies. 
 
 1. When was the colony of Georgia founded? 
 
 2. What can you say of James Oglethorpe ? 
 
 3. What is meant by the Frontier Line? 
 
 4. What kind of a place was our country in 1750 when compared with our coun- 
 try before the white man came? 
 
 5. Who were the Scotch Irish? Where did they settle? 
 
 6. Who were the Pennsylvania Dutch? Where did they settle? 
 
 7. Name the important towns along the Atlantic coast in 1750. 
 
 8. What was the population of the colonies in 1750. 
 
LESSON XV 
 
 LIFE IN THE COLONIES 
 
 Name the thirteen English colonies which were planted between 1607 and 1733. 
 Which of these colonies had no seacoast? Which of them extended as far west as 
 the Alleghany Mountains? Define site, mansion, flint, tinder, trencher. How do 
 people in these days obtain their clothing? Did you ever see a loom? 
 
 In the lessons that have gone before, you have learned how Eng- 
 land, between the years 1607 and 1733, took possession of the Atlantic 
 seaboard and planted thirteen English colonies in the eastern part of 
 North America. In this and the next two lessons you are to learn 
 how the people in these colonies lived: how they built and furnished 
 their homes, how they made their living, how they worshiped, how 
 they educated their children, how they amused themselves. 
 
 The wildness of colonial life. If you wish to understand the life 
 of the colonists you must keep in mind the fact that every one of the 
 settlements was planted in a forest and that for many years the peo- 
 ple lived with woods all around them. It is true that along the coast 
 the forests were gradually cleared away; but after this was done 
 there still lay back of the settlers the great dark woods (page 9) in 
 which roamed wild animals and savages. So you must think of life 
 in the colonies as being the hard life of the wilderness and one full 
 of dangers. Even the towns were not much better. In the town of 
 New York, as late as 1670, chickens and goats ran about in the 
 streets, and the rooting of the pigs on Broadway so tore up the ground 
 as to make it impossible for wagons and carts to pass along. 
 
 88 
 
LIFE IN THE COLONIES 
 
 89 
 
 He built himself a log cabin. 
 
 The colony a place for hard work. Where everything was so 
 wild and rough and new there was a vast amount of hard work to be 
 done. Before food could be raised, trees had to be cut down to make 
 a clearing where grain could be planted. Every road leading from 
 one part of the colony to another had to be 
 made by cutting a path through the forest 
 and building bridges over streams. So the 
 life of the colonists was a life of toil. Day 
 in and day out, from sun up till sun down, it 
 was work, work, work. 
 
 The houses of the colonists. One of 
 the first tasks of the colonist was to build himself a house in which 
 to live. The forest gave him all the lumber he wanted and more. 
 He had no sawmills, but he had a sharp broadax with which he could 
 cut and hew logs. So he built himself a log-cabin, filling with clay the 
 cracks between the timbers. Sometimes the cracks were not filled and 
 the occupants of the cabin were exposed to the wind and the weather. 
 
 We are told of a settler w^ho while asleep 
 was scratched on the head by the teeth of 
 a wolf who had thrust his nose into the 
 space between the logs of the cabin. 
 
 The log-cabin, at its best, was very 
 uncomfortable, and it was not long be- 
 fore there arose on the site of the cabin 
 with its single room a neatly built frame 
 house with several rooms. As the colo- 
 nists grew wealthier, their homes grew larger and more comfortable. 
 In the large towns, such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, there 
 were houses of considerable size, while on the great plantations in the 
 South there were mansions of remarkable beauty. 
 
 Houses grew larger and more 
 comfortable. 
 
90 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Cooking, making a fire, heating, lighting. The most important 
 room in the colonial house was the kitchen, and the most important 
 part of the kitchen was the big fireplace. Here all the cooking was 
 done. Above there was an iron bar to which were fastened iron 
 hooks — called pot-hooks. Upon these were hung the pots and ket- 
 tles, while beneath blazed the great log-fire which cooked the food, for 
 the colonists had not learned the use of coal. 
 
 If by bad luck or carelessness the fire was allowed to die out, it 
 was very hard to start it again, for there were no matches. One could 
 
 J/V/ "V I '.I •<. ' 
 
 In the South there were beautiful mansions. 
 
 make a spark by striking fiint upon steel. By letting the spark fall 
 into a dry substance called tinder they could, by blowing very hard, 
 cause the tinder to burn. But this was not easy to do. Sometimes 
 the fire-maker had to work for an hour before he could get a flame. 
 
 The kitchen was important not only because it was where the cook- 
 ing was done, but also because it was the only room in the house that 
 was heated. Nowhere in the world had man yet learned to heat by 
 means of stoves or furnaces or steam. In cold weather even the 
 kitchen was a cold place, for the heat of the log-fire could be felt only 
 
LIFE IN THE COLONIES 
 
 91 
 
 a few feet away. One writer tells us of the ink freezing on his pen 
 as he wrote beside the chimney. 
 
 The houses were lighted as poorly as they were heated, for the 
 colonists never so much as dreamed of an electric light or a gas-light. 
 Indeed, they did not even have a good oil-lamp. In many homes the 
 only light was a burning knot, or stick, of pine. Many a book was 
 read, many a lesson was studied, and many a garment was sewed by 
 the smoky light of a pine-knot. In some houses candles made of wax 
 or tallow were burned, but candles were very costly, and only the 
 well-to-do could afford to buy them. In many Puritan households 
 evening prayers were said in the dark, for the Puritans prayed a long 
 time, and it was very expensive to keep the candle burning while the 
 prayers were being said. 
 
 The colonial dining-room. Besides being poorly heated and 
 poorly lighted the houses were poorly fur- 
 nished. The dining-table was simply a long J|| 
 board about three feet wide with trestles at 
 each end to support it. On each side was a 
 long, narrow bench upon which the grown- 
 up people sat when they ate. The children, as a rule, were not allowed 
 to sit at the table; they either stood behind the grown people and 
 ate, or took their meals by themselves at a little side- 
 table. 
 
 Most of the dishes were made of wood. Instead of 
 plates there were wooden bowls called trenchers. But 
 there was not a separate one for each person at the 
 table, for as a rule two ate out of the same trencher. 
 Nor did each have his own tumbler or drinking-vessel. 
 There was a common drinking-vessel called the tankard. This was 
 usually made of wood, and was passed from hand to hand. All who 
 
 Wooden trenchers and spoons. 
 
 A tankard. 
 
92 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 sat at the table drank from it. There was no china, no glassware, no 
 covered dishes. But there were plenty of napkins. The early colo- 
 nists had no forks, and, since the food had to be held in the fingers, 
 the napkin was a most useful article. 
 
 The food of the colonists. Though the colonists had but few 
 dishes, their tables Were heavily laden with food. And why should 
 they not be when a thirty-pound turkey could be bought for a shilling, 
 and pigeons for a penny a dozen, and when fish could be caught as 
 fast as they could be hauled in with the line? Because everything 
 was so cheap, the colonists enjoyed a great variety of eatables. One 
 writer tells us of a dinner he had in Philadelphia, and this is what was 
 on the table : duck, ham, chicken, beef, pig, tarts, custard, jelly, float- 
 ing-island, beer, porter, punch, wine ! There were many hardships in 
 the life of the colonists but seldom did the colonists have to suffer the 
 hardship of hunger. 
 
 The colonial home a scene of industry. The home in colonial 
 times was a scene of patient and untiring industry. Besides cooking, 
 
 sweeping, washing, ironing, and mending, 
 there were done in a home a great many things 
 that are now done in factories or shops or 
 mills. The farmer raised wool, out of 
 which the clothes of his family were made. 
 His wife and daughter spun the wool into 
 
 Colonial furniture. ^^^^ . ^^^^ y.^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ j^^^ StOCkingS aud 
 
 mittens, or wove the woolen threads into cloth; and out of the cloth 
 they made the clothes which they wore. Thus the farmer who cut 
 the wool from the back of his sheep wore the very same wool on his 
 own back. 
 
 Spinning and weaving. Spinning and weaving required the 
 labor of many hands. Alice Morse Earle draws this pleasing picture 
 
LIFE IN THE COLONIES 
 
 93 
 
 of a colonial family engaged at the task of spinning and weaving: 
 " Often by the bright firelight in the early evening every member of the 
 household might be seen at work on the various stages of wool manu- 
 facture. The old grandmother at 
 light and easy work such as card- 
 ing the wool into fleecy rolls. The 
 mother spins the rolls into woolen 
 yarn at the great wheel. The oldest 
 daughter sits at the stick-reel. A lit- 
 tle girl at a small wheel is filling quills 
 with woolen yarn for the loom. The 
 father is setting fresh teeth in a wool- 
 card, while the boys are whittling hand-reels and loom-spindles." In 
 the colonial household every member of the family had some useful 
 task to perform. There was no place for drones. 
 
 The colonial home a scene of industry. 
 
 1. Describe the wildness of colonial times. 
 
 2. Why were the colonists compelled to work hard? 
 
 3. How did the colonists build their homes? 
 
 4. Give an account of colonial cooking, heating and lighting. 
 
 5. Describe the colonial dining-room. 
 
 6. What can you say of the food of the colonists? 
 
 7. How did the colonists provide themselves with clothing? 
 
LESSON XVI 
 
 LIFE IN THE COLONIES (CONTINUED) 
 
 Do the members of your family help your neighbors in the performance of their 
 tasks? Do your neighbors help your family in the performance of its tasks? Where 
 is the neighborly spirit strongest, in the country or in the city? Do you know 
 many people who do not attend church regularly? What tasks are performed 
 on the Sabbath in these days? In what amusements do people indulge themselves 
 in these days? How long would it take to travel from Boston to Philadelphia on 
 an express-train? How long would it take to travel the same distance on horse- 
 back, the horse going at the rate of seven miles an hour? 
 
 The colonists as neighbors. As busy as the members of a 
 colonial household were, they were never too busy to help their neigh- 
 bors when help was needed. If there was sickness or death, the neigh- 
 bors always lent a helping hand. When a farmer fell sick at harvest 
 time, others would come and cut his grain and charge him nothing 
 for their services. If a family was known to be suffering and lacked 
 the necessaries of life, kindly neighbors were quick to send clothing 
 and baskets of food. When a housewife made some apple-butter or 
 jelly that was unusually good, she sent small portions called " tastes " 
 to the people round about. In Pennsylvania every year, when a 
 farmer made his sausage-meat, he sent each of his neighbors a great 
 dish heaped with eight or ten pounds of it. 
 
 Those who lived in the same settlement often joined their forces 
 in a manner that was both profitable and pleasant. When there was a 
 wedding in a family, the women of the neighborhood met at the home 
 of the bride and joined in the work of preparing the wedding feast. 
 If two housewives each wished to make a rag-carpet, one would visit 
 
 94 
 
LIFE IN THE COLONIES 
 
 95 
 
 A colonial church. 
 
 the home of the other, and the two would work together until one of 
 the carpets was finished. Then the visit would be returned, and the 
 second carpet would be made. When a farmer was to build a new 
 house or barn, all the strong men in the 
 neighborhood turned out to help. The 
 frame of one side of the building was fas- 
 tened together on the ground, and was 
 then lifted into place by forty or fifty men 
 and boys pulling on a rope. Sometimes 
 the women and girls pulled too, to show 
 that they were willing to help as much as 
 they could. 
 
 The colonists as church-goers. The colonists were also very 
 faithful in attending to their religious duties. At nine o'clock on 
 Sunday morning a bell rang, or a horn blew, and called the people to 
 worship. In some places a man stood on the roof of the church and 
 beat a drum while the people gathered. Everybody, old and young, 
 answered the call, for everybody w^as compelled 
 to go. Any one who stayed away was liable to be 
 punished. Sir Thomas Dale, of Virginia, even 
 went so far as to make a law that any one stay- 
 ing away from church should be punished by death, 
 although the cruel law was never strictly en- 
 forced. In new settlements where the Indians were 
 still troublesome the men carried guns and swords 
 to church as well as their Bibles and hymn-books. All the men and 
 boys sat on one side of the church, and all the women and girls on 
 the other. 
 
 And a most uncomfortable place the church was ! The seats were 
 without cushions, the pews had very high backs and were separated 
 
 They carried their guns 
 as well as their Bibles. 
 
96 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 from each other by a wall so high that the occupants of one pew 
 could not see their neighbors in the next. In winter the worshipers 
 almost froze, for the church was not heated in any way. Sometimes 
 a man would bring his dog to church, and the dog would lie on his 
 master's feet and keep them warm. 
 
 But the cold did not interfere with the services, which were very 
 long indeed. The sermon lasted two or three hours, and the prayer 
 for one or two. It is said that a minister at Woburn, Massachusetts, 
 once preached a sermon five hours in length. If any one went to sleep 
 during the sermon, he was waked up by the tithing-man. This was 
 an officer who moved about the church and kept order. He carried 
 a stick, on one end of which was a knob and on the other a fox-tail. 
 When a boy laughed or whispered, he was tapped on the head with 
 
 the knob end of the stick; and if any one 
 went to sleep, he was tickled in the face 
 with the fox-tail. 
 
 The Sabbath in colonial times. Sun- 
 day in the colonies was looked upon as a 
 holy day, and everybody was expected to 
 keep it holy. On Sunday no one was al- 
 lowed to fish, or shoot, or work on the 
 farm, or indulge in any kind of amusement. 
 People were not supposed to be seen on the 
 street on Sunday, unless on their way to 
 church. Even then they had to walk along with serious and sober 
 faces. Once a little boy who was on his way to church with his grand- 
 father pointed in delight to a squirrel running across the road and said, 
 " O Grandfather, look at the pretty squirrel ! " The old man twisted 
 the ear of the little boy, saying sharply, " Squirrels are not to be 
 spoken of on Sunday ! " 
 
 A Sabbath breaker sitting in the 
 stocks. 
 
LIFE IN THE COLONIES 
 
 97 
 
 Any one guilty of breaking the Sabbath was severely punished. 
 In New England such a person was often set in the stocks. In 
 New York, three boys who broke the Sabbath were confined in a 
 cage. In New Haven, the colony which was called the Bible Com- 
 monwealth (page 6y), there was a law that any one profaning the Sab- 
 bath " proudly and with a high head against the authority of God 
 should be punished with death." 
 
 One horse often carried two persons. 
 
 Travel in colonial times. The colonists were a stay-at-home 
 people. They could not make long journeys, because the roads were 
 so bad. Where they could travel on water, they went from place 
 to place in the light and graceful birch-bark canoe which '' floated on 
 the river like a yellow leaf in autumn." On land, the settlers at first 
 followed the paths or trails which had been made by the Indians. 
 The trail was too narrow for a carriage, but it was wide enough 
 for a horse. Most of the land travel, therefore, was on horseback. 
 One horse often carried two persons. Sometimes four persons would 
 
98 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 make a journey with only one horse to carry them. Two of the 
 travelers would begin the journey on foot. The other two, mounted 
 on the horse, would overtake the foot travelers and ride ahead of 
 them for some distance. These two riders would dismount, tie the 
 horse, and walk on. When the two who had started on foot came 
 up to the horse they would mount and ride until they were a mile or 
 two ahead of the two who were walking. Then they would tie the 
 horse and walk on. Thus both the animal and the feet of the travelers 
 had some rest. 
 
 The horse had to carry freight as well as persons, for goods were 
 carried from place to place on the backs of pack-horses. Where a 
 great quantity of freight was to be moved, many horses, of course, 
 were necessary, for a single horse could carry only two or three hun- 
 dred pounds. The pack-horses moved along one in front of another 
 in single file, and often the train was much longer than the longest 
 of our railroad trains. 
 
 1. Describe the neighborly life of the colonists. 
 
 2. In what ways did neighbors join hands and help each other? 
 
 3. What can you say of the colonists as church-goers? 
 
 4. Describe a Sabbath day in colonial times. 
 
 5. What can you say of travel in colonial times? 
 
LESSON XVII 
 
 CHILD LIFE IN THE COLONIES 
 
 Describe a well-built, comfortable schoolhouse. Are most schoolhouscs in these 
 days well-built and comfortable? If you should wish to teach school, how would 
 you show that you were prepared for teaching? What are some of the subjects 
 taught in the schools now? What are some of the punishments inflicted upon 
 school-children in these days? Name some of the children's books that you have 
 an opportunity to read if you wisii. What do you understand by " child-labor laws "? 
 Name some of the toys with which children amuse themselves and some of the 
 games they play. Define fee, crude, catechism, luring. 
 
 In the last two lessons you learned about the kind of life the people 
 led in colonial times, but what you learned in those lessons was chiefly 
 about grown people. In this you are to learn about the life which the 
 children led in the same period. 
 
 Schools and schoolhouses. First let us learn about their educa- 
 tion. The colonists were very anxious that their children should be 
 educated. " Child," said a New England mother, *' if God make thee 
 a good Christian and a good scholar, 't is all thy mother ever asked 
 for thee." In almost every colony there were schools of some kind. 
 In the northern colonies, especially in New England, there were many 
 very good ones. As early as 1647 there was a law in Massachusetts 
 that every town of fifty families should have a school where children 
 might learn to read and write. But the schools were not free as they 
 are to-day; a fee had to be paid for each child. If, however, there 
 were children in a town who were too poor to pay the fee, the town 
 paid it for them. 
 
 99 
 
100 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 In the southern colonies schools were few in number. In Virginia 
 and in the Carolinas it was sometimes necessary for pupils to travel 
 ten miles or more in order to reach a schoolhouse. Sometimes 
 several planters would join and employ a teacher, who would teach a 
 
 few months in a tobacco-shed or in some 
 iT .^^a. other kind of shabby building. 
 
 But it was not onlv in the South that chil- 
 ^M dren were taught in shabby buildings. In all 
 the colonies schoolhouses were poorly built. 
 .n r^-^ — .^:::^K ^-^^^^T ~^ They were nearly always built of logs, and 
 "" '^ often had only a dirt floor. Sometimes the 
 
 A colonial schoolhouse. 
 
 dirt of the floor would become dry, and mis- 
 chievous pupils would stir up the dust to annoy the teacher and dis- 
 turb the school. 
 
 Teachers in colonial times. Teachers in colonial times were not 
 much better than the schoolhouses in which they taught. Too often 
 the teacher was an idle, drunken fellow, who had very little education 
 and was unfit in every way for his task. It was 
 not necessary for him to be highly educated, for the 
 only subjects taught were reading, writing, and 
 arithmetic. They were often pronounced '' readin', 
 'ritin', and 'rithmetic," and so were known as the 
 three R's. The girls were taught reading and writ- 
 ing, but seldom arithmetic. 
 
 The teacher of those days had other duties to per- ^ pllU'^on "aStV^' 
 form besides teaching the three R's, however. He 
 was expected to act as janitor of the schoolhouse and as sexton of 
 the church. He rang the church-bell on Sunday and swept the church 
 floor. If he could sing, he was expected to lead in the singing of the 
 psalms and hymns. For his many services the teacher received one 
 
CHILD LIFE IN THE COLONIES loi 
 
 hundred or one hundred and fifty dollars a year. Of course good 
 teachers could not be secured when they were paid so little. 
 
 School punishments. One of the schoolmaster's most impor- 
 tant duties was to punish the pupils who failed to learn their lessons 
 or were guilty of misconduct. This was a duty which the master never 
 neglected. He walked among them with a rod, or ferule, or bunch 
 of birch twigs in his hand, and, whenever a pupil was caught break- 
 ing the rules, he was sure to be flogged and often very cruelly. Flog- 
 ging was not the only punishment. A common punishment for idle 
 and dull pupils was to make them stand on the dunce-stool and wear 
 dunce-caps. 
 
 The catechism and the Bible. Besides learning the three R's, 
 every child was compelled to study the catechism and read the Bible. 
 In New England children were required by law to learn the '' Shorter 
 Catechism," which contained more than one hundred questions and 
 answers. One of the duties of the terrible tithing-man (page 96) was 
 to visit children in their homes and hear them recite the catechism. 
 The book that was read most by the colonial child was the Bible. In- 
 deed, few of them read any other, for children's books were very 
 scarce. But many read the Bible through three or four times, and 
 we are told of one boy who had read it a dozen times before he was 
 sixteen years old. 
 
 The tasks of the children. Only a small part of the life of the 
 children was spent at school. Most of their time was spent in work- 
 ing. There were no child-labor laws then. Children were sometimes 
 set to work when they were only five or six years of age. Little girls 
 did w^eaving and spinning, or knitted stockings and mittens. On small 
 hand looms the older girls wove garters, hat-bands, and belts. The 
 little boys were seldom idle, for the colonial boy was taught that idle- 
 ness was one of the worst of sins. He rose at daybreak, sawed and 
 
102 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Boys spent a great deal of time 
 hunting. 
 
 chopped the wood, and brought in the logs for the great fireplace ; he 
 cut potatoes for the sheep ; he fed the hogs ; he gave the horses water ; \ 
 he picked berries ; he helped to make cider ; he threshed out the grain 
 with a flail. 
 
 Boys as hunters. The boys, too, spent a great deal of time in , 
 hunting. In these days hunting is looked upon as a sport, but then 
 
 it was a necessary task. Wolves and 
 bears and foxes had to be driven from 
 the forests in order to protect the cattle 
 and sheep ; and to clear the forests of ■ 
 wild animals required much hard labor. 
 But the boys, armed with guns, no doubt 
 enjoyed themselves while they were lur- 
 ing wild turkeys into pens, or catching the wolves in traps, or bring- 
 ing down the bears with their rifles. They often found profit as well 
 as amusement in hunting, for in many places the one who brought 
 back from the hunt the greatest number of birds' heads and animals' 
 tails was given a prize. 
 
 Toys, games, and sports. Although children worked hard in 
 these far-off days, their life was not without its pleasures and joys. 
 They had their toys, their games, and their pas- 
 times as they do now. But their toys were very 
 few. Girls, it is true, had their dolls, as they have 
 had them in all ages, but a colonial doll was a 
 crude and ugly thing compared with the lovely doll of to-day. The 
 boy seldom had any toys at all, except such as he made with his jack- 
 knife — if he was fortunate enough to be the owner of one. With a 
 jack-knife he could make pop-guns, kites, whistles, windmills, water- 
 wheels, bows and arrows, or, if he was very skilful as many boys were, 
 he could make a wooden doll for his sister. 
 
 Jack-knives. 
 
CHILD LIFE IN THE COLONIES 
 
 103 
 
 But if their toys were few, the children knew a great many games, 
 indeed, more than they do now. They played hop-scotch, tag, cat's- 
 cradle, blindman's-buff, leap-frog, cricket, trap- 
 ball, and other games with which young folks 
 have been amusing themselves for thousands of 
 years. In colonial days boys and girls moved 
 around in circles and sang, ** Here we go round the 
 mulberry bush " and " Ring around a rosy," just as 
 boys and girls do to-day. ,, , . , , , 
 
 •^ ° -' Colonial skates. 
 
 1. Describe the kind of schoolhoiises in which colonial children were taught. 
 
 2. What can you say of the colonial teacher? What subjects did he teach? 
 
 3. What were some of the punishments inflicted upon colonial children? 
 
 4. Tell about the study of the catechism and the reading of the Bible in colonial 
 times. 
 
 5. What were some of the tasks of girls in colonial times? What were some of 
 the tasks of boys? 
 
 6. What can you say of the colonial boy as a hunter? 
 
 7. Name some of the toys and some of the games and amusements in colonial 
 days. 
 
LESSON XVIII 
 
 MARQUETTE AND LA SALLE 
 
 Name the chief rivers of the Mississippi Valley. What States are in the Missis- 
 sippi Valley? What is a missionary? Can you go in a boat from Quebec to 
 New Orleans by following the water-courses of the Mississippi Valley? During 
 what years was Louis XIV the King of France ? Locate Mackinac, Peoria, Natchez, 
 New Orleans. 
 
 You have learned that by 1750 the English settlers had worked their 
 way westward as far as the Alleghany Mountains. When they came 
 to these mountains, they wished, of course, to cross them and make 
 settlements on the other side, in the Mississippi Valley. But by 1750 
 this great valley was a possession of France. In this lesson you are 
 to learn how the French gained possession of the Mississippi Valley. 
 
 The French enter the Mississippi Valley. You remember that 
 under the leadership of Champlain the French began to make settle- 
 ments in Canada about the same time that the English settled at James- 
 town (page 47). But they were not satisfied with Canada, for it was a 
 bleak and barren land. Its soil was poor and was covered with snow 
 for half the year. So the French soon began to push their way west- 
 ward and southward into the Mississippi Valley, where the climate was 
 warm and there were millions of acres of excellent land. 
 
 The Jesuits. The men who led the French into the w^estern 
 country were missionaries of the Roman Catholic Church, and most 
 of them were Jesuits; that is, they were members of the Society of 
 Jesus. The purpose of these Jesuits was to convert the Indians to the 
 Christian religion. The Jesuits were highly educated men, and some 
 
 104 
 
MARQUETTE AND LA SALLE 105 
 
 of them belonged to noble families. Yet, in order to carry the Gospel 
 to the Indians, they left their beautiful France, with its enjoyments 
 and comforts, and plunged into the great forests of America, where 
 they suffered all the hardships of savage life. They lived with the 
 savages, ate with them, hunted with them, and often followed them in 
 their wars. In this way they were able to reach the hearts of the 
 Indians and win them to the Christian faith. 
 
 The remarkable journey of James Marquette and Louis Joliet. 
 Among the Jesuits who pushed their way out into the western coun- 
 try was Father James Marquette. Marquette, in 
 company w'ith Louis Joliet, started from Mackinac, 
 Michigan, upon a journey of exploration which led 
 to the discovery of the Mississippi River. We will 
 let Marquette tell us of this wonderful voyage in his 
 own words : " I embarked with Joliet and five 
 other Frenchmen in two bark canoes. Our food was 
 some Indian corn and smoked bacon. We drew a ^'''''' Marquette. 
 map of the country through which we passed. We embarked upon 
 the Wisconsin River. The country through which this river flows is 
 beautiful. The groves are full of walnut, oak, and other trees un- 
 known to us in Europe. We saw roebuck [deer] and buffaloes in 
 great number. 
 
 " After having roamed 120 miles from the place where we started 
 we came unto the Mississippi River the 17th of June, 1673. Behold 
 us then upon this celebrated river! As we drifted down the river, we 
 met from time to time monster fish which struck so violently against 
 our canoes that they almost upset us. We saw also a hideous monster 
 whose head was like that of a tiger and whose nose was like that of a 
 wild-cat. When we threw our net out Into the water we caught an 
 abundance of fish. 
 
io6 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 " We continued to drift down the river, not knowing where we were 
 going. We went three hundred miles without seeing a human being 
 — ■ nothing but wild beasts and birds. At night we landed, made a 
 fire and cooked our supper. As we went down the river, we saw high 
 rocks with hideous monsters painted upon them. They are as large 
 as a calf, and have a head and horns like a goat, beard like a tiger, and 
 a face like a man. 
 
 *' As we were going down the river talking of these monsters, we 
 heard a great rushing and bubbling of water and saw small islands 
 
 of floating trees coming from the mouth 
 of the Missouri River. The water of the 
 river is so muddy that we could not drink 
 it. We judged that the Mississippi flowed 
 into the Gulf of Mexico. We would have 
 liked it better, how^ever, if it had flowed 
 into the South Sea [Pacific Ocean] or into 
 
 Marquette on the Mississippi. thc Gulf of California. 
 
 '' Having satisfied ourselves that we could reach the Gulf of Mexico 
 in three or four days, we returned home, for we did not want to fall 
 into the hands of the Spaniards and be sold into slavery. So, having 
 followed the Mississippi for nearly five hundred miles, and having 
 preached the gospel to the Indians, we turned our course at the mouth 
 of the Arkansas and went back up the river. We ascended the Missis- 
 sippi with great difficulty, for the current bore strong against us. 
 When we reached the Illinois River, we entered the stream and 
 followed it to Lake Michigan." 
 
 La Salle takes possession of the Mississippi Valley in the name 
 of France. Marquette and his followers were the pathfinders who 
 showed other Frenchmen the way into the Mississippi Valley. 
 Among the explorers who followed Marquette the greatest was Robert 
 
MARQUETTE AND LA SALLE 
 
 167 
 
 Robert La Salle. 
 
 La Salle. This brave and daring Frenchman wanted 
 his country's flag to float over the Mississippi Valley, 
 and he was willing to go out into the wilderness and 
 plant the flag in new places. Even before Marquette 
 discovered the Mississippi La Salle had plunged into 
 the wild country south of Lake Erie and had found 
 his way to the banks of the Ohio River. In 1680 he 
 built a fort on the Illinois River near the place where 
 the city of Peoria now stands. 
 
 In 1682 La Salle and a party of twenty-three white men with a 
 few friendly Indians embarked in canoes at the mouth of the Illinois 
 River and started on a voyage down the Mississippi. When he came 
 to the mouth of the Arkansas, the point where Marquette turned 
 
 back, he raised the cross and took 
 possession of the country in the name 
 of his king, Louis XIV of France. 
 'He did not turn back as Marquette 
 had done, but continued on down the 
 river and explored the Mississippi to 
 its mouth. Here on a hill that rose 
 from one of the banks of the stream 
 l^^fetJSiBi^^^y^'V'^li ^^ Salle, with his companions gath- 
 
 I ^MiPMilMk/ L.Ti k\ gred around him in a circle, made a 
 
 speech in which he took possession of 
 the Mississippi Valley in the name of 
 Louis XIV and called it Louisiana 
 in honor of his king. Although La 
 Salle's voice was heard only a few 
 rods from where he stood, he yet 
 La Salle taking pos^^^ssion of the Mississippi claimed for his bclovcd France " the 
 
io8 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 vast basin of the Mississippi from its frozen northern springs to the 
 sultry borders of the Gulf; from the wooded ridges of the Alle- 
 ghanies to the bare peaks of the Rocky Mountains." 
 
 What La Salle did for France. La Salle wished to make French 
 settlements and build up the French power in Louisiana, but his 
 plans were brought to an end by his death. In 1687 he was cruelly 
 murdered by the hand of one of his own men. He died while he 
 was still a young man, but he did much for his country and for the 
 world. He discovered the Ohio River; he established the French 
 power in the Illinois country; he led the first party of white men 
 from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico; he gave Louisiana to France. 
 
 The French settlements and forts in the Mississippi Valley. 
 Although La Salle died before any French settlements were made in 
 Louisiana, the work was taken up by those who came after him. 
 In 17 16 a Frenchman named Bienville planted a colony on the 
 Mississippi River at the place where the city of Natchez now stands. 
 This was the oldest settlement in the Mississippi 
 Valley south of Illinois. Two years after Natchez 
 was founded, streets were laid out for the town of 
 New Orleans. 
 
 Besides building towns, the French built forts at 
 important points throughout the valley — on the 
 Mississippi, on the Illinois, on the Wabash, and on 
 the Great Lakes. Between New Orleans and Mon- 
 Frenchmen burying the trcal thcrc was 3. loug liuc of morc than sixty forts 
 
 leaden plates. 
 
 over which waved the French flag. The French 
 also at many places buried in the beds of streams leaden plates upon 
 which were engraved words claiming the stream and country round 
 about for France. 
 
 In 1749 an officer of the French army, named Celeron, went 
 
 i 
 
MARQUETTE AND LA SALLE 109 
 
 through the Ohio Valley and took possession of the country by bury- 
 ing plates bearing these words : " We have placed this plate here 
 to show that we have established our power in the country which is 
 claimed by us on the Ohio River and on its tributaries to its source." 
 Thus by 1750 the French felt that they were the lawful owners not 
 only of the Ohio Valley, but of the entire valley of the Mississippi. 
 
 1. Why did the French want to make settlements in the Mississippi Valley? 
 
 2. Who were the Jesuits, and what did they wish to do in America? 
 
 3. Give an account of the journey of Marquette and Joliet. 
 
 4. Tell how La Salle took possession of the Mississippi Valley. 
 
 5. What things did La Salle do for France? 
 
 6. What settlements did the French make in the Mississippi Valley? 
 
LESSON XIX 
 
 THE QUARREL BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND THE ENGLISH 
 
 What do you understand by a " border line " ? Where is Schenectady? Where is 
 Deerfield? Describe the Ohio Valley? What States and parts of States are sit- 
 uated in the Ohio Valley? Locate Pope's Creek, Northumberland County, Virginia. 
 What is a surveyor? What is an adjutant-general? Locate Pittsburgh. 
 
 In the last lesson you learned how La Salle and other Frenchmen 
 went into the Mississippi Valley and took possession of it in the name 
 of France. But the English claimed that this great valley belonged 
 to them, because it was a part of the continent which had been dis- 
 covered by Cabot (p. 23). Here were two great nations, France 
 and England, claiming the same territory. Since the valley could not 
 have two owners, the two nations began to quarrel with each other 
 about its possession. In this lesson we are to learn how this quarrel 
 between France and England arose. 
 
 Warfare along the border line. Trouble between the French 
 and the English in America began soon after La Salle took possession 
 of Louisiana. In 1689 war broke out in Europe between England 
 and France, and for many years there was strife between these two 
 countries. The war spread to America, and soon the colonists of 
 the two nations began to fight with each other. Much of the fight- 
 ing was done in New York and New England along the border which 
 separated the English and French settlements. In this border war- 
 fare the Indians of Canada fought on the side of the French, while 
 
 no 
 
THE QUARREL BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH in 
 
 the Iroquois Indians of New York fought on the side of the English. 
 During the long years of strife on the border there were no great 
 battles fought by large armies, but many outrages were committed, 
 many innocent people were killed, and many defenseless settlements 
 were burned. 
 
 In 1690, in the dead of winter, about a hundred Frenchmen and 
 Indians came down from Canada and attacked the town of Schenec- 
 tady, New York. About midnight, when everybody was asleep, the 
 Indians raised the war-whoop and the work of destruction began. 
 The houses were set on fire, and men, women, and children who were 
 not burned to death were shot as they ran out of their houses. 
 xAbout sixty persons were killed and about a hundred captured. A 
 few of the inhabitants escaped and made their way through the snow 
 to Albany. 
 
 The story of Hannah Dustin. In the history of the border war- 
 fare between the French and the English we are told of many heroic 
 deeds. One of the most thrilling stories is that of Hannah Dustin, 
 the wife of a farmer. This brave woman, her infant, her nurse Mary 
 Neff, and a small boy were captured by the Indians and carried away 
 from her home, which had been set on fire. They had not gone far 
 before the babe was killed by an Indian who snatched it from its 
 mother's arms. The other three were told that they would be car- 
 ried far into the wilderness, kept as prisoners for several months, 
 and then put to death by torture. But the captives planned to escape. 
 The boy learned from one of the savages how to strike a blow with 
 a tomahawk in such a way as to produce instant death, and he, in 
 turn, taught the two women. So the three agreed that they would 
 kill their Indian masters, of whom there were twelve — ten warriors, 
 a squaw, and a child. One night, when the Indians were all sound 
 asleep by the camp-fire, Mrs. Dustin, Mary Neff, and the boy arose 
 
112 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 without making any noise and armed themselves with tomahawks. 
 
 With swift and well aimed blows they killed ten of the sleepers. 
 
 The squaw and the child were stunned, 
 but were not killed. The three captives 
 then made their way in safety to the 
 nearest white settlement. 
 
 The French forts. The cruel war 
 
 along the New England border came to 
 
 an end in 1748, for in that year peace 
 
 ^ „ ^ ^, was made between Eng^land and France, 
 
 With swift and well-armed blows *=* 
 
 they killed ten of the sleepers. 1^^^^ ^^^j. g^^j^ ]^^.^^^ ^^^^ jj^ aUOthcr plaCC. 
 
 In a few years the French and English in America began to 
 fight for the possession of the country west of the Alleghanies. The 
 trouble started iii 1750 when settlers from Virginia crossed over the 
 mountains and made their homes in the Ohio Valley in places where the 
 French had buried the leaden plates (p. 109). This movement of the 
 English stirred the French to action. They at once began to build 
 a chain of forts along the western border of Pennsylvania, manning | 
 them with French soldiers and Indians, who were given orders to 
 drive back any English colonists who undertook to enter the Ohio 
 Valley. 
 
 George Washington. The building of the forts greatly excited 
 the people of Virginia. In 1753 Dinwiddle, the governor of the 
 colony, sent a message to the commander of one of the forts inform- 
 ing him that the French were on land that belonged to England and 
 forbidding him to fortify it any more. The bearer of the message 
 was a young man of whom we shall hear a great deal in this lesson 
 and in many lessons to follow : it was George Washington. 
 
 This hero of American history was born on the 22nd of February, 
 1732. His birthplace was Pope's Creek, Northumberland County, 
 
THE QUARREL BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH 113 
 
 Virginia. When George was eleven years of age his father died, 
 leaving a widow and five children. George was soon taken from 
 school, where he had been taught to read and write and to work 
 examples in arithmetic. Before long he learned the art of surveying, 
 or measuring, land. Reading, writing, arithmetic, and surveying 
 were about the only subjects he ever studied. But he studied these 
 few subjects well. His copy-books show us that he took pains to 
 write clearly and neatly. On one of his note-books he wrote down 
 
 A page from Washington's notebook showing his first lesson in surveying. 
 
 the rules of conduct which he felt that he himself ought to obey. 
 Here are a few of them : 
 
 1. Every action in company ought to be with some sign of respect 
 to those present. 
 
 2. In the presence of others sing not to yourself with a humming 
 noise, nor drum with your fingers or feet. 
 
 3. Be no flatterer. 
 
 4. Read no letters, books, or papers in company. 
 
114 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 5. Show not yourself glad at the misfortunes of another, though 
 he were your enemy. 
 
 6. Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial 
 fire called Conscience. 
 
 Washington begins his career as a soldier. In his boyhood 
 Washington lived on a plantation where he became accustomed to 
 outdoor life. He was a good shot with a rifle, and he was fond of 
 hunting. He was tall, and his body was well knit and strong. He 
 could outswim, outrun, and outride any of his companions. As a 
 little child he liked to play soldier, and, as soon as he was old 
 enough, he learned how to fence and to use a sword. At the age of 
 nineteen he began his career as a real soldier, for in 1751 he was 
 appointed adjutant-general and was given the title of major. The 
 first important service of Major Washington was to bear the mes- 
 sage of Dinwiddle to the commander of the fort in the far-off wilder- 
 ness of western Pennsylvania. 
 
 A journey full of danger. When Washington reached the fort, 
 
 he was received politely by the com- 
 mander and was given a letter, which 
 was a reply to the message sent by Din- 
 widdle. With this letter in his pocket 
 he made his way back to Virginia. His 
 journey homeward carried him over 
 rugged mountains and ice-bound rivers 
 and through hundreds of miles of 
 gloomy forests. Twice he nearly lost 
 his life: once when he was shot at by an Indian, who fired when 
 he was only a few feet away ; and once when he fell overboard from 
 a raft into the foaming waters of the Allegheny River. But his 
 life was saved for a great work which lay before him. 
 
 He was shot at by an Indian. 
 
THE QUARREL BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH 115 
 
 The French build a fort at the Forks of the Ohio. In January, 
 1754, Washington delivered to Dinwiddie the reply of the French 
 commander, which was that the French would go on building as many 
 forts as they pleased ; and there was a hint in the reply that Governor 
 Dinwiddie had better attend to his own business and let the French 
 alone. Of course this reply meant that if the English were to be 
 the real owners of the Ohio Valley, they would have to fight for it. 
 So Dinwiddie prepared for a fight. He promptly sent Washington 
 with a few hundred men to the Forks of the Ohio — the junction of 
 the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers — where another company of 
 Virginians were at work building a log fort. But, before Wash- 
 ington could reach the Forks, the French had attacked the Vir- 
 ginians there and had driven them away. The victors finished the 
 fort which had been begun by their enemies and called it Fort 
 Duquesne. On the site of it the city of Pittsburgh now stands. 
 Finding the fort lost, Washington and his men returned to Virginia. 
 
 Washington's first battle. Before they reached home, how- 
 ever, they had met the French in battle and had done some hard 
 fighting. In July, 1754, Washington was attacked by about a thou- 
 sand French and Indians at a place called Great Meadows. The 
 Virginians numbered only about three hundred men, but they de- 
 fended themselves bravely. From ten o'clock in the morning until 
 dark Washington held the enemy at bay. But the force against 
 him was too strong; he was compelled to yield. But the surrender 
 was made on honorable terms. The soldiers kept their arms and 
 marched away with drums beating and colors flying. Neverthe- 
 less, the battle at Great Meadows was a defeat for the Virginians. 
 This was the first time Washington surrendered, and we shall see 
 that it was the last. 
 
 The battle of Great Meadows was important because it was the 
 
ii6 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 first battle in a war known as the French and Indian War. It was 
 called the French and Indian War because in this struggle the Indians 
 generally fought on the side of the French. An account of this con- 
 flict will be given in the next lesson. 
 
 1. Describe the warfare which was carried on along the border between the 
 French and English. 
 
 2. Tell the story of Hannah Dustin. 
 
 3. Tell about the building of the French forts. 
 
 4. Sketch the early life of George Washington, and describe him as he was when 
 he was a youth. 
 
 5. What message did Washington carry to the French and what reply did 
 he bring back? 
 
 6. Describe the journey back to Virginia. 
 
 7. What happened at the Forks of the Ohio? 
 
 8. Give an account of the first battle in which Washington fought. 
 
LESSON XX 
 
 THE FRENCH ARE DRIVEN OUT OF AMERICA 
 
 What does the word union mean? What are local afifairs? Define independence. 
 What is a treaty? Locate Alexandria, Virginia; Niagara, New York; Cape Breton 
 Island. 
 
 The lack of union among the colonies. The defeat of Wash- 
 ington at Great Meadows alarmed not only Virginia, but the other 
 colonies as well, for the quarrel of Virginia was the quarrel of all; 
 every English colonist wished that the French might be driven out 
 of the Ohio Valley. It would have been easy to drive them out if 
 the colonies had joined their forces and helped each other, for there 
 were more than ten times as many Englishmen in America as there 
 were Frenchmen. But each colony was independent of its neighbors 
 and cared very little for them. It was willing to fight its own bat- 
 tles, but not to help the others in fighting theirs. Yet it was plain 
 that some sort of union among them was necessary. If the English 
 were to be the masters in America, their colonies must join their 
 forces and throw their whole strength against the French, 
 
 Benjamin Franklin. Among those who believed that the colo- 
 nies ought to be united was Benjamin Franklin, of Pennsylvania. 
 Franklin was born in Boston in 1706. His father was a candle- 
 maker and soap-boiler. As a boy, Benjamin was not very indus- 
 trious. We are told that when swimming he would lie on his back 
 and have himself drawn along in the water by a kite which he 
 invented and which served as a kind of sail. But he grew up to 
 
 117 
 
ii8 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Benjamin Franklin. 
 
 be a very industrious man. Indeed, few 
 men ever worked harder or employed their 
 time better. 
 
 Benjamin helped to make candles and 
 soap until he was thirteen years of age. 
 Then he learned the printer's trade. He 
 was very fond o-f books and would often 
 spend most of a night in reading. 
 
 At the age of seventeen Benjamin left 
 Boston and went to Philadelphia. When 
 he reached that city, he had very little 
 money in his pocket. He bought three rolls 
 of bread, and sticking one roll under each arm, he ate the third as he 
 walked along the street. As he passed a house on Market Street, a 
 young girl in a doorway looked at him and laughed. No wonder she 
 laughed, for Franklin himself says he made '' a most awkward and 
 ridiculous appearance." But Deborah Read, the girl in the doorway, 
 never forgot the awkward young stranger who ate his breakfast as 
 he walked along the street, and in 
 after years she became his wife. 
 
 In Philadelphia Franklin found em- 
 ployment as a printer, and soon he 
 was the owner of a newspaper. He 
 always took an active part in public 
 affairs, and in time became one of the 
 best-known men in America. 
 
 Franklin draws up a plan for 
 uniting the colonies. In 1754 
 Franklin drew up a plan for uniting 
 the colonists under a single govern- 
 
 .^e^^ 
 %"-^ 
 
 Young Franklin and Deborah Read. 
 
THE FRENCH ARE DRIVEN OUT OF AMERICA 
 
 119 
 
 ment. Under his plan each colony was to manage its own local 
 affairs, but those matters that concerned all the colonies were to be 
 managed by a general government. But the colonies were so jealous 
 of each other, and they loved their independence so much, that they 
 would not adopt Franklin's plan. If it had been adopted, troops from 
 all the colonies would have been sent against the French and they would 
 have been quickly defeated. 
 
 The four things which the English wished to do. When Gover- 
 nor Dinwiddie found that Virginia would have to fight the French 
 by herself, he called upon England for aid. 
 England was quite willing to help him, for 
 she did not wish to see the French hold the 
 Ohio country. So in 1755 she sent General 
 Braddock and about a thousand well-trained 
 English soldiers to assist the Virginians. 
 
 Braddock landed his troops at Alexan- 
 dria, Virginia, where he met Washington 
 and Franklin and other leading men. They 
 held a conference at which it was decided 
 that four things must be done: first, the 
 French must be driven from Fort Duquesne, 
 so that the English might be free to enter the Ohio Valley; second, 
 Louisburg, a great French fortress on Cape Breton Island, must be 
 taken, in order that the English might be masters of the sea-coast; 
 third, the French fort at Niagara must be captured, thus securing 
 control of the water routes between Canada and the Mississippi Val- 
 ley; fourth, the city of Quebec must be taken. Braddock and the 
 other leaders believed that, if these four things were done, the French 
 would be so badly crippled that they would give the English no further 
 trouble. 
 
 The French Forts and Brad- 
 dock's campaign. 
 
120 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Braddock's defeat. In June, 1755, Braddock left Alexandria 
 and marched against Fort Duquesne. With him went Washington, 
 who was made a member of Braddock's staff. The army had to 
 make its way over high mountains and through woods where there 
 were no roads, and it had to cross rivers over which there were no 
 bridges. So its progress was very slow. 
 
 When Braddock had reached a point about eight miles from Fort 
 
 Braddock's Defeat. 
 
 Duquesne, suddenly an Indian war-whoop rang out, so loud that it 
 seemed to come from a thousand throats, and all at once hundreds 
 of Frenchmen and Indians were seen running hither and thither 
 among the trees. The French and Indians quickly took their places 
 behind rocks and trees and opened fire upon the English. The Eng- 
 lish returned the fire, but their bullets did little else than break the 
 bark of the trees. 
 
 Braddock did not know how to fight in a forest. Instead of 
 letting his men fight from behind trees he held them drawn up in 
 
THE FRENCH ARE DRIVEN OUT OF AMERICA 121 
 
 regular ranks, where they were exposed to the enemy's fire. The 
 result was that they went down like grass before a scythe. Brad- 
 dock was brave, and he fought like a lion. Four horses were killed 
 under him. While mounted on the fifth, he was shot through the 
 lungs and wounded so severely that he "could no longer direct the 
 battle. 
 
 Washington was in the thick of the fight. Four bullets passed 
 through his clothing, and two of the horses he rode were shot. 
 After Braddock was wounded, Washington took charge of the troops 
 and led them out of the deadly trap into which they had fallen. 
 Three days later poor Braddock died and was buried in the forest, 
 Washington reading the funeral service. The battle is known as 
 Braddock's defeat. And an awful defeat it was! Nearly eight 
 hundred of his little army were either killed or wounded. After this 
 disaster the English withdrew and left Fort Duquesne in the hands 
 of the French. 
 
 The capture of Louisburg and Fort Duquesne. But it did not 
 remain there long. The English were determined to do the four 
 things they had set out to do, and they kept on fighting. For two 
 or three years they met with losses, but in 1758 they began to win vic- 
 tories. In that year they captured the great fortress at Louisburg. 
 They also sent another army against Fort Duquesne. This army, 
 when it reached the fort, was under the command of Washington, 
 who now held the rank of colonel. But Colonel Washington did 
 not have to give battle, for, on the day before he arrived, the French 
 had set fire to the fort and its surrounding buildings and marched 
 away. When Washington came up with his troops there was only 
 a heap of smoking ruins, but he raised the English flag over them, 
 and at once built a new fort, which was named Fort Pitt. Thus, in 
 1758, the English did two of the four things which they had planned 
 
122 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 to do: they captured Louisburg, and they drove the French out of 
 Fort Duquesne. 
 
 The capture of Niagara and Quebec. The next year the EngHsh 
 finished their work. In July, 1759, Sir WilHam Johnson, with the aid 
 of some Iroquois Indians, marched against Fort Niagara and captured 
 
 Scene of the French and Indian War. 
 
 it. There was now only one more thing to be done — Quebec was 
 to be taken. The last task was the most difficult of all, for Quebec 
 stood on a rock nearly two hundred feet high and so steep that it 
 seemed almost impossible for soldiers to scale it and take the city. 
 Yet the English were equal to the task. One night in September, 
 
THE FRENCH ARE DRIVEN OUT OF AMERICA 
 
 123 
 
 1759, the brave General Wolfe, at the head of an army climbed up 
 the rocks, and before daylight he had five thousand men ready for 
 battle, in front of Quebec, on a level piece of ground known as the 
 Plains of Abraham. The English were met by a French army under 
 General Montcalm, an officer as brave as Wolfe himself. The two 
 armies fought with all their might, but in the end the English won 
 and Quebec was taken. 
 
 End of the war and the treaty between France and England. 
 With the capture of Quebec the English had accomplished all 
 they had planned to do, and were 
 masters not only of the Ohio Val- 
 ley, but of Canada also. Soon 
 after the fall of Quebec the French 
 and Indian War came to an end. 
 In 1763 a treaty between France 
 and England was made at Paris. 
 In this treaty France agreed to 
 give up every foot of land she had 
 
 in America except two little islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. All 
 the country west of the Mississippi River was given to Spain. Thus 
 the war which Washington began at Great Meadows resulted at last 
 in driving the French entirely out of America. 
 
 1. What can you say of the lack of union among the colonies? 
 
 2. Tell the story of the early life of Benjamin Franklin. 
 
 3. What was Franklin's plan for uniting the colonies? 
 
 4. What were the four things which England wished to do in order to defeat 
 the French? 
 
 5. Tell the story of Braddock's defeat. 
 
 6. Give an account of the capture of Louisburg and Fort Duquesne. 
 
 7. Tell the story of Niagara and Quebec, 
 
 8. What can you say of the treaty which England made with France in 1763? 
 
 Quebec. 
 
LESSON XXI 
 
 OVER THE mountains: DANIEL BOONE 
 
 What is a conspiracy? Define the word pioneer. Describe the Yadkin River. 
 Where is the Cumberland Gap ? Describe the CHnch River. Describe the Kentucky 
 River. Can you find Harrodsburg on the map of Kentucky? Describe the Watauga ' 
 River, Define courage ; self-reHant ; hardy. 
 
 Pontiac's conspiracy. After the French and Indian war was 
 over, the EngHsh colonists could cross the AUeghanies and make 
 their settlements in the Mississippi Valley without any fear of being 
 
 disturbed by the French. But there 
 were still many Indians in the valley. 
 The red men did not want the English- 
 men to settle among them, for they 
 knew that they would drive them from 
 their hunting-grounds. So in 1763 the 
 Indians in the Ohio Valley entered into 
 a plot, or conspiracy, to drive every Eng- 
 lishman out of their country. 
 
 The leader was a brave and bold 
 chieftain named Pontiac. He went out 
 into the forest, and for two years lived 
 all alone, thinking over a way to strike 
 a deadly blow at the English. His plan was this : at a certain change 
 of the moon in the month of May, 1763,- Indians in all parts of the 
 western country were to rise up against the English and kill everybody 
 
 124 
 
 Pontiac brooding over his plans to drive 
 out the white man. 
 
OVER THE MOUNTAINS. DANIEL BOONE 
 
 125 
 
 who was nearest at hand. No one was to be spared; men, women, 
 and children, all were to be slaughtered. 
 
 When the day came for striking the blow, many of the whites 
 saved themselves, for they had heard of the plot and were on their 
 guard. But hundreds of families who had moved out into the Ohio 
 Valley were murdered, and hundreds of their homes were burned. 
 Nearly every fort held by the English in the valley was attacked by the 
 red men, and only Fort Pitt and Fort Detroit were able to save them- 
 selves from destruction. Pontiac 
 even threatened to march eastward 
 over the Alleghanies and attack the 
 colonies themselves. But he was 
 not allowed to do this, for in 1764 
 a strong force was sent against him, 
 and he was defeated. 
 
 Daniel Boone. After the defeat 
 of Pontiac pioneers pushed out into 
 the western country in greater num- 
 bers than ever before. The leader 
 of these pioneers was Daniel Boone. 
 Boone was born in Pennsylvania in 
 1735- When he was seventeen, he 
 moved with his parents to North 
 Carolina. His new home was on 
 the Yadkin River, where there were mountains and great forests all 
 around him. Boone was happy in his forest home, for he was very 
 fond of hunting. Many a day and many a night, too, did he hunt 
 the deer that ran through the great wilds. Sometimes his hunting- 
 trips would last for several weeks and carry him a hundred miles 
 away from home. 
 
 Daniel Boone. 
 
126 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 There is a story that one night, when he was out hunting by the 
 light of a torch, he saw in the bushes a pair of shining bright eyes. 
 He thought they were those of a deer, for the eyes of a deer shine 
 very bright at night. He raised his rifle and took aim, but, before 
 he fired, he discovered that the eyes at which he was about to 
 shoot belonged not to a deer, but to a young woman named Rebecca 
 Bryan. Whether this story is true or not, it is certain that Boone 
 married Rebecca Bryan. 
 
 Boone's trip to Kentucky. In 1769 Boone left his wife and chil- 
 dren behind him and with five companions started on a trip to the 
 far-off land of Kentucky. Each man was mounted on a good horse 
 and was armed with rifle, tomahawk, and hunting-knife. After a 
 journey of five weeks Boone and his men came to a high place in a 
 mountain from which they could see a vast tract of land spread out 
 before them. As Boone's eyes swept over the landscape, he saw 
 hills and valleys, forests, rivers, and creeks, and great herds of buffalo 
 and deer. He was astonished and delighted, and well he may have 
 been, for the broad country which lay before him was the beautiful 
 blue-grass region of Kentucky. 
 
 Boone liked the Kentucky country so well that he decided to make 
 it his home. In 1773 he said good-by to his friends and neighbors 
 in the Yadkin settlement, and with his wife and six children started 
 on the long and dangerous journey over the mountains. Before the 
 Boones had gone far, they were joined by about forty other persons. 
 They carried some household goods on pack-horses, and drove ahead 
 of them a few cattle. At night they camped in the open forest, 
 sheltered only by bed-canvas stretched between upright poles. When 
 the weather was good, the journey was pleasant enough ; but when 
 the storms came, the travelers suffered great hardships. 
 
 About the time that Boone and his company reached an opening 
 
OVER THE MOUNTAINS. DANIEL BOONE 
 
 127 
 
 in the mountains called the Cumberland Gap, an awful calamity over- 
 took them. One night, seven of the party, while asleep, were at- 
 tacked by the Indians and killed. One of the slain was Boone's 
 eldest son, a fine lad of seventeen. After this terrible disaster most 
 of the company were afraid to go farther. Boone wished to go on, 
 and he begged his companions to continue the journey. But their 
 fears were too strong. They turned and went back to a settlement 
 on the Clinch River, in Virginia, where the Indians could not harm 
 them. So Boone's first attempt to make a settlement in Kentucky 
 failed. 
 
 Boonesborough. 
 
 The first settlement in Kentucky. By this time, other pioneers 
 besides Boone were pushing out into the Kentucky country. In 1774 
 James Harrod and fifty settlers from Virginia floated down the 
 Ohio River in flat-boats to the mouth of the Kentucky River, and 
 then ascended that river until they came to the place where the present 
 town of Harrodsburg stands. Here they built log-cabins and began 
 a settlement which they called Harrodstown. This was the first per- 
 manent settlement made in Kentucky. 
 
128 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Boone did not lose courage because of his failure in 1773. His 
 heart still yearned for the beautiful blue-grass country, and he was 
 determined to go there and live. With two or three other pioneers 
 he made his way out to the Kentucky River, and on the banks of 
 that stream built a fort which he called Boonesborough. In 1775 he 
 brought his family to the fort, and here he settled down and lived. 
 So the restless pioneer gained at last what he had wished for so 
 long — a home in Kentucky. Boone has the honor of being the 
 founder of Kentucky. It is true Harrod made the first settlement, 
 but it was Boone who first led the way into the far-off Kentucky 
 country. 
 
 The beginning of Tennessee. At the time Boone and his 
 settlers were pushing over the mountains into Kentucky, pioneers 
 from Virginia and North Carolina were beginning to move into the 
 Tennessee country. About 1772 James Robertson and John Sevier, 
 with a company of friends, settled on the banks of a little river known 
 as the Watauga. Other pioneers joined them, and in a short time the 
 settlement had a population of several hundred people. This was 
 the beginning of the State of Tennessee. Thus, within a few years 
 after the French were driven out of the Mississippi Valley, pioneers 
 from the English colonies had forced their way over the mountains 
 and begun the settlements which in time grew to be two great States 
 — Kentucky and Tennessee. 
 
 Life in the backwoods. The pioneers who went out over the 
 mountains and began the settlement of the western country lived the 
 life of the backwoods in a world by themselves. They had little to 
 do with the older colonies, because there were no roads which led 
 to the seaboard. They were forced to depend upon themselves for 
 almost everything they needed. Most of the articles in daily use 
 were made by their own hands. The settler's cabin was of un- 
 
OVER THE MOUNTAINS. DANIEL BOONE 129 
 
 hewn logs; his table was a great clapboard set on four wooden legs; 
 
 for seats, there were only 
 
 three-legged stools. The hides 
 
 of animals were used as the 
 
 covering of his bed, and much 
 
 of his clothing was made of 
 
 skins. 
 
 The life of the backwoods- 
 man was indeed very simple, 
 and it was also full of danger. 
 
 /T^i ,1 T 1' 1 Inside the cabin of the backwoodsman. 
 
 there were the Indians, who 
 
 were always lurking around the settlements, and there were the wild 
 beasts — panthers which crouched in the trees, and bears and wolves 
 which roamed about in the woods. But this wild life was good in 
 many ways for these pioneers. It made them self-reliant and hardy, 
 bold and brave. We shall see that some of our greatest men spent 
 their early days in the far-off backwoods country of Kentucky and 
 Tennessee. 
 
 1. Tell the story of Pontiac's conspiracy. 
 
 2. Sketch the early life of Daniel Boone. 
 
 3. Give an account of Boone's trip to Kentucky and of his first attempt to make 
 a settlement there. 
 
 4. When, where, and by whom was the first settlement in Kentucky made? 
 
 5. When and where did Boone make a settlement in Kentucky? 
 
 6. What was the early history of Tennessee? 
 
 7. What can you say of life in the backwoods ? 
 
LESSON XXII 
 
 ENGLAND AND THE COLONIES QUARREL. SAMUEL ADAMS 
 
 What is a parliament? What is a representative? What is a tax? What is 
 meant by " repealing a law " ? What is a legislature ? Define representation ; 
 taxation; defiance; document; deeds; receipts; almanac; patriot. What is a pound 
 sterling ? 
 
 England decides to tax the colonies. At the time Boone and 
 Robertson were building the first cabins in the far-off wilds of Ken- 
 tucky and Tennessee, the colonists along the seaboard were engaged 
 in a very bitter quarrel with England. The quarrel arose over a 
 question of taxation. You remember that in the French and Indian 
 War England sent soldiers to America and helped the colonists to 
 defeat the French. To do this cost a great deal of money, and 
 much of the money was paid out of the pockets of the English people. 
 After the war was over, the English government decided that in 
 future the money that was necessary for governing the colonies and 
 protecting them would have to be paid by the colonists themselves. 
 That is to say, England decided that she would tax the colonies in 
 order to get money to meet their expenses. 
 
 Parliament passes the Stamp Act. England took the first step 
 in her plans for taxing the colonies in 1765. In that year, Parlia- 
 ment passed a law known as the Stamp Act. This law provided that 
 the colonists should place stamps on certain documents such as bonds, 
 deeds, promissory notes, receipts, and the like. It also provided that 
 stamps should be placed on playing-cards, books (except those used 
 
 130 
 
ENGLAND AND COLONIES QUARREL. SAMUEL ADAMS 131 
 
 The colonists were 
 required to buy 
 stamps. 
 
 in schools), newspapers, almanacs, and some other articles. The 
 
 price of the stamps was in some cases as low as a penny (two cents), 
 
 and in some cases as high as ten pounds sterling (fifty 
 
 dollars). The stamps were to be sold by officers of the 
 
 English government. If any person who was required 
 
 by the law to buy the stamps and use them refused to 
 
 do so such person was to be arrested and punished. 
 
 " No taxation without representation." When 
 the colonists heard that Parliament had passed the 
 Stamp Act they became very angry. They did not want Parliament 
 to tax them, for they felt it had no right. The only taxes the colo- 
 nists had ever paid were those that they themselves had agreed to pay, 
 or that had been imposed by the legislatures of the different colonies. 
 They were willing to pay these taxes because they were represented 
 in the legislatures by men whom they themselves had elected. But 
 in the English Parliament they had no representatives, and they w^ere 
 
 unwilling to be taxed by a law- 
 making body in which they were 
 not represented. So when Par- 
 liament passed the Stamp Act, 
 the cry '' no taxation without 
 representation '' was soon heard 
 far and wide. 
 
 The colonists refuse to buy 
 the stamps. In every colony 
 there was bitter opposition to 
 the Stamp Act. In Virginia, 
 the great orator Patrick Henry 
 made a speech before the legislature and persuaded that body to pass 
 a resolution which declared that the people of Virginia need not pay 
 
 Patrick Henry made a great speech. 
 
132 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 any tax that was not ordered to be paid by their chosen representa- 
 tives. In Boston the people showed their opposition to the Stamp 
 Act in a very ugly fashion. A mob of men tore down tHe little house 
 which was to be used as a stamp-office, and entered the home of the 
 officer and broke up his furniture. 
 
 The Stamp Act was to go into effect on the first day of November, 
 1765. But before that date the colonists had made up their minds 
 not to pay the tax. When the first of November arrived, the people 
 in all the colonies refused to buy the stamps. The opposition to the 
 stamp tax was so strong that England decided that it was of no 
 use to try to enforce it. In 1776 Parliament repealed the hateful 
 law. So the colonists after all were not compelled to buy the 
 stamps. 
 
 The Paint, Glass, and Paper Act. But England still claimed 
 that she had the right to tax the colonies, and she did not give up her 
 
 plans for taxing them. In 1767 — the very 
 next year after the repeal of the Stamp Act 
 — Parliament passed a law that when paint, 
 glass, paper, or tea was brought into the 
 colonies from abroad, the merchant bring- 
 ing the article in should pay a tax on it. 
 The Paint, Glass and Paper Act — as the 
 law was called — was as hateful to the colo- 
 nists as the Stamp Act had been, and was 
 opposed by them as bitterly. 
 ^ tlHwl^^^ Samuel Adams. A great champion of 
 
 the colonists in their quarrel with England 
 
 Samuel Adams. 
 
 was Samuel Adams, of Boston. At the time 
 the quarrel arose, Samuel Adams was over forty years of age, and 
 his hair was turning gray. Although he had already reached the 
 
ENGLAND AND COLONIES QUARREL. SAMUEL ADAMS 133 
 
 prime of life, he had as yet accomplished very little. After graduat- 
 ing at Harvard College, Adams entered a law office with the purpose 
 of becoming a lawyer. But he did not like the law and gave it up. 
 He then went into business for himself, but he was unable to make 
 any money, so he gave up business also. For several years he held 
 the office of tax-collector in the town of Boston, but he was not 
 even successful in this, for he was careless with his accounts. In 
 fact, he seemed to fail in everything he undertook. He did not even 
 support his family properly, and it has been said that his children 
 would have become objects of charity if his wife had not worked 
 hard and helped to meet the expenses of the household. 
 
 Samuel Adams becomes the leader of the Patriots. But if 
 Samuel Adams did not know how to make money, he knew how to 
 lead men. When the quarrel with England arose, he stepped for- 
 ward as the leader of the Patriots, for those colonists who were 
 opposed to paying the taxes soon took the name of Patriots. In the 
 fight with England, Massachusetts led the colonies, Boston led Massa- 
 chusetts, and Samuel Adams led Boston. 
 
 When the Paint, Glass and Paper Act was passed, Samuel Adams 
 opposed the law with all his might. He wrote to the king, George 
 III, a strong letter asking that the law might be repealed. . He went 
 among the people and told them not to buy English-made goods, 
 especially paint, glass, paper, and tea. The people took his advice, 
 and soon the English merchants found they were not selling as 
 many goods in America as they had been accustomed to sell. This 
 loss of trade frightened England, and soon (in 1770) Parliament 
 thought it wise to repeal the Glass, Paint, and Paper Act. The taxes 
 on paint, glass, and paper were taken off, though the tax on tea re- 
 mained. So Samuel Adams did not lead the fight in vain against the 
 Paint, Glass, and Paper Act. 
 
134 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 The Boston massacre. 
 
 The Boston Massacre. But there was still work for Adams to 
 do. The day that Parliament took the tax off paint, glass, and paper 
 
 there was great excitement in 
 Boston, for on that day 
 (March 5, 1770) some Brit- 
 ish soldiers, who had their 
 headquarters in the town, 
 fired into a crowd and killed 
 four men. The soldiers were 
 not entirely to blame, for the 
 crowd had pelted them with 
 balls of ice and had dared 
 them to fire. 
 
 This affair, known as the 
 Boston Massacre, caused the 
 people of the town to fly into a rage. The drums beat, and men, 
 women, and children rushed into the streets crying, " Revenge ! Re- 
 venge ! " Three thousand citizens flocked to Faneuil Hall, where 
 angry speeches were made. They demanded that the troops be re- 
 moved from Boston, and sent Samuel Adams to the governor to 
 make known their wishes. 
 
 Adams went before the governor and demanded in the name of 
 the people that every British soldier should be removed from the 
 town at once. The governor saw that Adams was in earnest, and he 
 ordered the troops to be withdrawn. From this time on, the people 
 of Boston felt that Samuel Adams was their greatest leader. 
 
 The Boston "Tea Party." In 1773, Boston was again having 
 trouble with England, and again Samuel Adams was the leader. 
 This time, the disagreement was over the tax on tea which, you re- 
 member. Parliament refused to take off when it repealed the tax on 
 
ENGLAND AND COLONIES QUARREL. SAMUEL ADAMS 135 
 
 paint, glass, and paper. The tea-tax was kept, simply to show the 
 Americans that Parliament had a right to tax them if it chose to 
 do so. 
 
 But the colonists said they would not pay it; that, rather than do 
 so, they would drink no tea. In some places the housewives sealed 
 up their tea- jars with sealing-wax and resolved not to break the seal 
 until the tax should be taken off. 
 
 Ships loaded with tea arrived at New York, Philadelphia, Boston, 
 and Annapolis, but at none of these places was a pound of it taken 
 off the vessels. Thomas 
 Hutchinson, the governor ^^M 
 of Massachusetts, deter- K 
 mined that the tea 
 should be landed at Bos- 
 ton and sold in defiance 
 of the wishes of the peo- 
 ple. Samuel Adams was 
 equally determined that 
 it should not be. At a 
 
 great 
 
 meetmg 
 
 Throwing the tea overboard. 
 
 of the 
 
 citizens, held in Old South Church, he asked the people what should 
 be done. Should the tea be landed and taxed? Or should it be 
 sent back to England? Every person present wanted it sent back. 
 But the owners of the tea would not do this, and their ships remained 
 in the harbor. 
 
 So, under the leadership of Samuel Adams, the people of Boston 
 had what was called a *' tea-party." One clear moonlight night, in 
 December, 1773, about sixty persons, disguised as Indians, rushed 
 on board the two vessels laden with tea and threw nearly three hun- 
 dred and fifty chests of it overboard. Samuel Adams was not a 
 
136 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 member of this *' tea-party," but everybody knew he was its real 
 leader. 
 
 1. Why did England wish to tax the colonies? 
 
 2. What was the Stamp Act? What did the law mean to the colonists? 
 
 3. Why did the colonists oppose the Stamp Act? How did they escape paying 
 the tax? 
 
 4. What was the Paint, Glass, and Paper Act? 
 
 5. What can you say of the character of Samuel Adams? What can you say of 
 his opposition to the Paint, Glass, and Paper Act? 
 
 6. Give an account of the Boston Massacre. 
 
 7. Tell the story of the Boston Tea-Party. 
 
LESSON XXIII 
 
 THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. THOMAS JEFFERSON 
 
 What does the word congregate mean? What is a Congress? Define the word 
 Continental. Locate the following places in Massachusetts : Lexington ; Concord ; 
 Bunker Hill. What is a skirmish? Define ammunition. What is meant by 
 spiking a cannon? What does the word President mean? Define declaration; in- 
 dependence; separation; revolution. 
 
 England tries to punish the people of Boston. When the news 
 reached England that the tea had been thrown overboard, Parliament 
 quickly decided that the people of Boston should be punished. It 
 passed a law (in 1774) forbidding any ships to enter or leave the 
 port of Boston until the town should pay for the tea which had been 
 destroyed. English war-vessels were sent to guard the town and 
 not allow a ship of any kind to sail into the harbor or sail out. Eng- 
 lish soldiers also took possession of Boston, and governed it in their 
 own way. Thus the town was brought completely under the con- 
 trol of English officers. 
 
 The colonies rally to the aid of Boston. The people of Bos- 
 ton still refused to pay for the tea. Nor did the colonists out- 
 side of the town want them to pay for it. Almost everywhere the 
 people were on the side of Boston, and were only too willing to help 
 it in its struggle with England. Aid for the town came from every 
 colony. So England quickly learned that there was a spirit of union 
 in America, and that she could not punish Massachusetts without 
 punishing all the colonies. 
 
 137 
 
38 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 The first Continental Congress. But the people could not 
 throw their full strength against England unless they were united. 
 The harsh treatment of Boston caused them to unite in a very short 
 time. Under the leadership of such men as Samuel Adams, Patrick 
 Henry, and Thomas Jefferson the colonies were urged to send dele- 
 gates to a colonial or a continental congress. At this congress the 
 delegates were to talk matters over, and agree upon a plan by which 
 the quarrel with the mother country might be brought to an end. 
 
 The advice of the leaders was taken, 
 and in September, 1774, the First Conti- 
 nental Congress met in Philadelphia in a 
 small room known as Carpenter's Hall. 
 At this Congress there were delegates 
 from all the colonies except Georgia. 
 Among them were some of the greatest 
 men in America. From Massachusetts 
 there came Samuel Adams and his cousin, 
 John Adams; from Rhode Island, Ste- 
 phen Hopkins and Samuel West; from 
 Connecticut, Roger Sherman and Silas 
 Deane; from New York, John Jay and 
 Philip Livingston; from Pennsylvania, 
 John Dickinson and Joseph Callaway ; from Maryland, Samuel Chase ; 
 from Virginia, George Washington and Patrick Henry ; from South 
 Carolina, John Rutledge and Christopher Gadsden. 
 
 And what did these men do? They declared that Massachusetts 
 was right in her quarrel with England and that, if force was used in 
 dealing with Massachusetts, the other colonies ought to unite and 
 help their sister colony. They also declared that the Americans had 
 every right that an Englishman had, and that England had no right 
 
 The building in which the first Conti- 
 nental Congress was held. 
 
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. THOMAS JEFFERSON 139 
 
 to tax them. They agreed that a second congress should meet in 
 Philadelphia in May, 1775, if the troubles with England were not 
 settled before that date. They then adjourned and went back to 
 their homes. 
 
 Samuel Adams and the Patriots of Boston. Samuel Adams re- 
 turned to Boston and took his place again as the leader of the Patri- 
 ots. He was greatly encouraged by the meeting at Philadelphia, and 
 when he returned to Boston he was bolder and more outspoken than 
 ever in his opposition to England. General Gage had been ap- 
 pointed governor of Massachusetts to rule the colony until the citi- 
 zens of Boston should pay for the tea. But Samuel Adams said that 
 the new governor ought not to be obeyed. He urged the Patriots of 
 Massachusetts to form a government of their own, and rule the colony 
 without regard to the wishes of General Gage ; and they followed his 
 advice. He also urged them to arm themselves and prepare for war. 
 This they did, and soon 12,000 minute-men — soldiers pledged to be 
 ready for service at a minute's notice — were drilling and preparing 
 for active warfare. 
 
 Since Samuel Adams was the ringleader of the Patriots, the Eng- 
 lish government decided that he must be punished. So General Gage 
 was ordered to arrest him and bring him to England for trial. Gage 
 was also ordered to arrest John Hancock, a rich merchant of Boston. 
 Hancock was a Patriot, and w^as so bitter in his opposition to England 
 that he was disliked by the English Government almost as much as 
 Samuel Adams himself. 
 
 General Gage tries to arrest Samuel Adams. When the time 
 came for the arrest of Adams and Hancock, General Gage learned 
 that the two men were visiting a friend at Lexington, a small village 
 eleven miles from Boston. He also learned that at Concord, a vil- 
 lage six miles beyond Lexington, the Patriots had collected a quantity 
 
140 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 of ammunition and provisions for the army they were raising. Here, 
 thought Gage, was a chance to kill two birds with one stone : he could 
 send some soldiers to Concord to seize the ammunition and provisions 
 there, and, as they passed through Lexington, they could arrest 
 Adams and Hancock. Accordingly, on the night of the i8th of April, 
 1775, Gage sent out from Boston eight hundred soldiers with orders 
 
 to arrest Adams and Han- 
 cock at Lexington and to 
 capture the military stores 
 at Concord. Gage tried to 
 keep the movement of the 
 soldiers secret, but the Pa- 
 triots were watching him 
 closely. No sooner had the 
 troops left Boston than 
 swift messengers began to 
 ride in every direction and 
 rouse the people from their sleep, telling them that the British were 
 coming. One of the swiftest of these messengers was Paul Revere, 
 who reached Lexington long before the soldiers arrived. Adams and 
 Hancock were awakened and informed of their danger. They dressed 
 themselves hastily, fled across the fields, and made good their escape. 
 The skirmish at Lexington. When, about sunrise, the British 
 soldiers reached Lexington they found some seventy minute-men 
 drawn up in battle array on the village green and ready to fight. 
 Major Pitcairn, the commander of the British soldiers, shouted to 
 the minute-men and ordered them to disperse ; but they did not move. 
 Then the British fired a volley into their ranks. Seven men were 
 killed and five were wounded. The others retreated, for they felt 
 it was foolish to battle against a force so much larger than their own. 
 
 Lexington and Concord. 
 
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. THOMAS JEFFERSON 141 
 
 The battle at Concord. From Lexington the British marched 
 on to Concord. There they spiked some cannon, destroyed some 
 ammunition, and started back to Boston. But they were not allowed 
 to return in peace. On a bridge at Concord they were attacked by a 
 large body of minute-men and compelled to beat a hasty retreat. As 
 
 •^ ).*i 
 
 They were fired upon from behind trees and stone walls. 
 
 they hurried on, they were fired upon from behind houses and trees 
 and stone walls. By the time they reached Boston, they had lost in 
 killed and wounded nearly half their number. This fight took place 
 on the 19th of April, 1775, a memorable date in our history, for on 
 that day began the struggle which is known as the War of the Revo- 
 lution. 
 
 The battle of Bunker Hill. Now that the Patriots and the 
 British had come to blows, there was little hope of peace. Soldiers 
 from all parts of Massachusetts gathered around Boston, and in a 
 few short weeks there was another battle between the colonists and 
 the British — the famous struggle on Breed's Hill, generally known 
 as the battle of Bunker Hill. This hill overlooked Boston harbor, 
 and General Gage thought it ought to be fortified in order to protect 
 the British ships that lay there. 
 
142 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 unher Hill — ''^"' ^ ''^■-■^-^ | 
 
 Breed'kHiII C!!noodles I 
 
 'CharIestpwn/''N-/~'''^ '• /. 
 
 55 
 
 B s r o X ^ 
 Boston Q 
 
 ISLAND >iJ 
 
 II A H B R 
 
 O CASTLE 
 "y ISLAND 
 
 ^ 
 
 But before Gage undertook to fortify the hill the Americans took 
 possession of it. Gage sent a large force to drive them away, but 
 they held their ground. As the redcoats approached, the Americans 
 held back their fire until they could see the whites of the enemy's eyes; 
 then, when they did fire, every shot counted. The British made a 
 
 dash up the hill but were driven 
 back with terrible loss. They 
 made another charge and again 
 they were driven back. Then 
 they made a third dash. By 
 this time the Americans had 
 used up all their powder and 
 could fight no longer. So they 
 fell back, and the British took 
 the hill. But it was a costly 
 victory, for the British lost 
 nearly eleven hundred men while the Americans lost only about four 
 hundred. Up to this time the British thought that the Americans 
 would not and could not fight, but now they knew that they were as 
 brave and as good fighters as themselves. 
 
 The Second Continental Congress. After Samuel Adams and 
 John Hancock made their escape from Lexington, they went to Phila- 
 delphia to attend the meeting of the Second Continental Congress, 
 which, you remember, was to assemble in Philadelphia in Alay, 1775. 
 When the Congress met, it chose John Hancock as its president. 
 This was like slapping the English government in the face, for it 
 looked upon Hancock as a rebel and a traitor. But the members of 
 the Congress now cared little about what England might think of 
 their actions, for, after the fighting at Lexington and Concord, they 
 saw plainly that there would be war. 
 
 Boston and Bunker Hill. 
 
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. THOMAS JEFFERSON 143 
 
 The desk on which the Declaration 
 of Independence was written. 
 
 The Congress at once began to prepare for war. It took charge of 
 the soldiers who gathered around Boston, and planned for the raising 
 of troops in every colony. The whole force thus raised was to be 
 known as the Continental Army. At the head of this army it placed 
 George Washington, who was sitting in the Congress as one of its 
 members. 
 
 Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence. Be- 
 sides raising an army and placing Washington at its head, the Second 
 Continental Congress took another most 
 important step : it declared that the colo- 
 nies were free and independent, and 
 that they no longer belonged to Great 
 Britain. This was what Samuel Adams 
 had long desired. Many of the Patriots were opposed to breaking 
 away from the mother country entirely, but Adams wanted the colo- 
 nies to be completely independent of England. Another member of 
 the convention who desired the separation from England was Thomas 
 Jefferson of Virginia. Jefferson was an earn- 
 est Patriot and a great lover of liberty, and he 
 joined with Adams in trying to persuade tlie 
 Congress to declare the independence of the 
 colonies. 
 
 At first, the majority of the members did 
 not favor independence, but by June, 1776, 
 they had come to believe that the best thing to 
 do was to cut the tie that bound them to Eng- 
 Liberty Bell. The bell which land and dcclarc the colonies free and inde- 
 
 was ringing when Independ- 
 
 ence was declared. pcndcut Statcs. So they askcd Jefferson to 
 
 write a Declaration of Independence. This he willingly did, and on 
 July 4, 1776, the Declaration was agreed to by the Congress. Samuel 
 
144 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Adams was now happy, and the people of the colonies were happy 
 too. When the news spread that independence had been declared, 
 there was great rejoicing. From New Hampshire to Georgia there 
 were bonfires, torch-light processions, the firing of guns, and the ring- 
 ing of bells. 
 
 When the news spread there was great rejoicing. 
 
 1. In what way did England try to punish the people of Boston? 
 
 2. Give an account of the First Continental Congress. 
 
 3. Why did the English government dislike Samuel Adams? 
 
 4. What efforts were made to arrest Adams? 
 
 5. Give an account of the skirmish at Lexington and also of the battles at Con- 
 cord and at Bunker Hill. 
 
 6. What was done by the Second Continental Congress? 
 
 7. By whom was the Declaration of Independence written and when was independ- 
 ence declared? 
 
LESSON XXIV 
 
 THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. GEORGE WASHINGTON 
 
 Locate, in New York, Saratoga, Oriskany and Brooklyn ; in New Jersey, Trenton 
 and Princeton ; in Pennsylvania, Germantown and Valley Forge ; in Maryland, 
 Elkton; in Vermont, Bennington. Where is Staten Island? 
 
 Washington meets the British in the neighborhood of New York 
 City. At the time the Congress declared our independence, Gen- 
 eral Washington was at Brooklyn, Long Island, preparing for a big 
 battle with the British. He had already driven the British from Bos- 
 ton, and he had brought his army to Long Island in order to defend 
 the City of New York against the attack of a great army that was on 
 its way to America. 
 
 The British army, under the command of General Howe, arrived 
 at Staten Island on July 5, 1776, one day after independence was de- 
 clared. When the army landed, the Americans saw clearly that, if 
 they were going to enjoy their independence, they would have to fight 
 hard for it; for Howe had 25,000 men while Washington had only 
 about half that number. Washington was attacked by Howe (Au- 
 gust 2^, 1776) at Brooklyn. On the first day Washington lost sev- 
 eral hundred men, and it seemed that, if the fighting continued, a large 
 part of the American army would be destroyed. But Washington 
 knew how to save his soldiers. One dark and foggy night he left his 
 camp-fires burning, in order to deceive the enemy, and, with his entire 
 army, crossed the river to the New York side. 
 
 He retires from New York and retreats across New Jersey. 
 
 145 
 
146 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 General Howe of course followed, and for several months the two 
 armies fought for the possession of New York City. There were 
 some sharp engagements at Harlem and at White Plains, but there 
 was no pitched battle around New York, because Washington did not 
 wish to have one. By the middle of November he saw that he could 
 
 Washington's movements in 1776. 
 
 not hold New York, so he left the city in the possession of the British 
 and retreated across New Jersey, going first to Newark, then to New 
 Brunswick, then to Trenton. 
 
 As the Americans marched across New Jersey, Howe followed 
 close upon their heels. At Newark, as they moved out of one end of 
 
WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. GEORGE WASHINGTON 147 
 
 The 
 
 the town, the British came in at the other. Reaching Trenton, the 
 Americans crossed the Delaware River, and, as their last boat left 
 the shore, Howe's army came up. 
 
 Washington fights the battles of Trenton and Princeton. 
 fight at Trenton had only been postponed, how- 
 ever, for in a blinding snow storm on Christmas 
 night, when the river was full of floating ice, 
 Washington recrossed the Delaware, and in the 
 morning made a sudden attack upon the British, 
 who were unprepared for action after their 
 Christmas revelries. He captured a thousand 
 Hessian soldiers who were fighting in the British 
 ranks simply for the pay they received. 
 
 A few days later at Princeton Washington 
 again met the British and defeated three regi- 
 ments of their regular soldiers. Wlien the peo- 
 ple throughout the colonies — or the States as 
 we must now call them — heard of what W'ash- 
 ington had done at Trenton and at Princeton 
 there were great rejoicings, for they then felt 
 sure that W^ashington would lead his army to victory and give the 
 Americans their independence. 
 
 Washington meets the British in the neighborhood of Phil- 
 adelphia. After the battle at Princeton Washington led his 
 troops to Morristown, New Jersey, where he spent the rest of the 
 winter. In the spring of 1777 Howe took his army by sea from 
 New York to the head of Chesapeake Bay, and landed near the town 
 of Elkton in Maryland. Howe's purpose now was to capture Phila- 
 delphia, the city in which the Congress was holding its sessions and 
 which was the capital of the new nation — the United States of 
 
 A Hessian soldier. 
 
148 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 America. When Kowe landed at Elkton, he found Washington was 
 near by to give him battle. As Howe marched toward Philadelphia, 
 
 he was attacked (September ii, 1777) by the 
 Americans at Brandywine, near W^ilmington, 
 but his stronger army defeated them, and he 
 pushed on and entered Philadelphia. On Oc- 
 tober 4 Washington again gave battle to the 
 enemy at Germantown, but again they were 
 too strong for him. He retired, leaving the 
 British in full possession of Philadelphia. 
 
 The winter at Valley Forge. After the 
 battle at Germantown Washington took his 
 army to Valley Forge, where he spent the 
 winter. And a terrible winter it was. The 
 weather was very cold, and the soldiers did 
 not have enough clothes to keep them warm. 
 Many of them were without beds and had to sleep in the snow. Some 
 died of starvation. But one piece of good fortune came to the army. 
 Baron von Steuben, an able German soldier, spent the winter at Val- 
 ley Forge, where he drilled the soldiers and prepared them for fighting. 
 The battle of Bennington. Around Philadelphia the outlook" 
 for the Americans in 1777 was very dark, but in northern New York 
 the skies were bright. In June, 1777, the British general, John Bur- 
 goyne, started from Canada with a large army, expecting to march to 
 Albany. But his army never reached its destination. 
 
 Burgoyne sailed up Lake Champlain and drove the Americans from 
 Fort Ticonderoga. Then he marched on to Fort Edward. While 
 there, he heard that there was a large quantity of excellent provisions 
 at Bennington, a little village in Vermont. So he sent off about a 
 thousand men to seize the provisions. But the village was defended 
 
 A Continental soldier. 
 
WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. GEORGE WASHINGTON 149 
 
 by some Green Mountain Boys under the command of Colonel John 
 Stark, who had fought at Bunker Hill. When Stark went into bat- 
 tle, he said to his men that either 
 he would win the fight, or his 
 wife would be a widow before 
 night. Mrs. Stark was not 
 made a widow for Stark was 
 not killed, but the British were 
 driven back with terrible loss. 
 Scarcely a hundred of them 
 were ' able to make their way 
 back to Burgoyne. 
 
 The great victory at Sara- 
 toga. When they returned, 
 they found things going hard 
 with the general. The Ameri- 
 cans were doing everything they 
 could to delay the British in 
 their march to Albany. They 
 cut down trees and let them fall 
 
 CONN. 
 West Point 
 
 Scene of Burgoyne's campaign. 
 
 across the roads ; they destroyed bridges ; they stripped the country 
 of cattle and provisions. In this way the enemy were delayed until 
 the Americans could gather their forces for an attack. 
 
 Burgoyne expected aid from western New York, for it had been 
 planned that the British General, St. Leger, was to lead an army from 
 Oswego down the Mohawk Valley to Albany. But St. Leger did 
 not come, for he was attacked by the Americans at Oriskany and his 
 march checked. Burgoyne also expected help from Howe, who was 
 in New York. But about this time Howe, as you remember, was on 
 his way to Philadelphia. So Burgoyne had to fight his battles alone. 
 
150 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 When the time came to give battle, Burgoyne found that he was not 
 prepared to fight. His army was without food, and the Americans 
 in large numbers were ready to attack him on every side. He was 
 caught in a trap. He tried to fight his way out, but in vain. At 
 Saratoga on the 17th of October he surrendered his army, and six 
 thousand British soldiers were made prisoners of war. General Ho- 
 ratio Gates commanded the Americans in this battle at Saratoga, but 
 much of the hardest fighting was done by General Benedict Arnold. 
 
 Why the surrender of Burgoyne was important. The sur- 
 render of Burgoyne was the most important event of the Revolution, 
 and you should understand why this was so. What did the battle of 
 Saratoga mean to the Americans? In the first place, it gave them 
 fresh hope and courage. It was the first really great battle they had 
 won, and this victory over Burgoyne made them feel that they could 
 win others. In the second place, it freed a large part of their coun- 
 try from the enemy, for, after the soldiers of Burgoyne were made 
 prisoners, the only large British army left on American soil was the 
 one which had its headquarters at New York City (p. 146) ; in every 
 other part of the country the Americans were in full control. In the 
 third place, the victory at Saratoga gave a blow to the pride of the 
 English government. After the surrender of Burgoyne England 
 offered the Americans almost everything they asked for. She told 
 them that, if they would lay down their arms, they might send repre- 
 sentatives to Parliament ; that they would not be taxed ; and that every 
 American who had fought against her would be pardoned. But one 
 thing England refused to do: she refused to give the Americans their 
 independence. So they did not lay down their arms, but fought on. 
 
 Benjamin Franklin persuades the French to help the Americans. 
 There was still another reason why the defeat of Burgoyne was a 
 most important event : the victory caused Erance to become the friend 
 
WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. GEORGE WASHINGTON 151 
 
 of the United States. At the time this battle was fought, Benjamin 
 FrankHn was in Paris trying to persuade the French government to 
 acknowledge our independence; that is, to treat the United States 
 as a separate and independent nation. No better person could have 
 been sent to plead our cause, for every one in Paris liked him and 
 thought him a wonderful man. At first Franklin was discouraged, 
 for he could not make the French believe that the Americans were 
 strong enough to break away 
 from England and form an in- 
 dependent nation. But when 
 the news of Saratoga came, the 
 French quickly changed their 
 minds and acknowledged (Feb- 
 ruary, 1778) the independence 
 of the United States. When 
 this glorious news reached 
 America, how it must have 
 cheered the hearts of Washing- 
 ton and his suffering men at Valley Forge ! 
 
 The French make treaty with the United States. Franklin did 
 another thing at Paris that was of the greatest importance to the 
 American cause : he persuaded the French government to enter into a 
 treaty of friendship with the United States. According to this treaty 
 France promised to help America to win its independence. She was 
 only too glad to do this for she had not forgiven England for driv- 
 ing her out of the Western World. France kept her promise faith- 
 fully and sent many ships and many soldiers, and Americans and 
 Frenchmen fought side by side until the War of the Revolution was 
 ended. 
 
 Among the Frenchmen who fought on the side of the Americans 
 
 A sentinel on guard during the winter at Valley 
 Forge. 
 
152 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 was a wealthy young nobleman named Lafayette. At the outbreak 
 of the Revolution Lafayette was still a boy but he loved liberty and 
 he wanted the Americans to win their independence. Before he was 
 twenty years of age he fitted out a ship at his own expense and sailed 
 (in 1777) to America to help the struggling colonies. He was 
 quickly made a general and he soon became one of Washington's 
 most faithful officers. He fought in many battles and he always 
 showed himself to be a brave and skilful soldier. 
 
 1. Give an account of the fighting between General Washington and General 
 Howe; (a) in the neighborhood of New York; (b) at Trenton and Princeton; (c) 
 in the neighborhood of Philadelphia. 
 
 2. Tell the experiences of the Americans at Valley Forge. 
 
 3. What can you say of the battle of Bennington? 
 
 4. Give an account of the fighting in northern New York. 
 
 5. Give three reasons why the surrender of Burgoyne was very important. 
 
 6. Name two great things done by Franklin while he was in Paris. 
 
 7. What can you say of Lafayette? 
 
LESSON XXV 
 
 the war of the revolution. george washington 
 (continued) 
 
 Locate Monmouth, New Jersey ; Kaskaskia, Illinois ; Vincennes, Indiana ; Camden, 
 South Carolina; West Point, New York; Yorktown, Virginia. What is the Union 
 Jack? What is a traitor? Define the word treason. What is a spy? 
 
 Washington meets the British at Monmouth. When the ter- 
 rible winter at Valley Forge was over, Washington was ready to take 
 the field with the army that had been so well drilled by Baron von 
 Steuben. In the summer of 1778 the British army left Philadelphia 
 and returned to New York. But Washington did not allow them to 
 make the journey in peace. He attacked them at Monmouth, New 
 Jersey (June, 1778). There was hard fighting on both sides, but 
 neither army could claim a victory. The British were not checked; 
 they marched on to New York City. Washington followed, taking 
 his army up the Hudson River to White Plains. For nearly three 
 years the British remained at New York, and Washington remained 
 near by watching their movements. 
 
 The daring deeds of George Rogers Clark. While Washington 
 and the British were watching each other in the neighborhood of 
 New York City, a most important event happened on the far-off west- 
 ern frontier. You remember that under the leadership of Daniel 
 Boone settlements had been made in Kentucky before the Revolution. 
 After the Revolution began, the British armed the Indians who lived 
 
 153 
 
154 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 north of the Ohio River and sent them down into Kentucky where 
 they massacred helpless men, women, and children wherever they 
 could find them. It was no uncommon thing for a Kentucky farmer, 
 on returning home after a day's work, to find his house in ashes and 
 his wife and children murdered. 
 
 George Rogers Clark, one of the Kentucky settlers, determined to 
 punish the Indians and drive the British out of the country north of 
 
 the Ohio River. Clark was six 
 feet tall and stout in body; his hair 
 was long and red, and his eyes were 
 black and sparkling. He was just 
 the man to lead a fight against the 
 enemy in the western country. 
 
 In the summer of 1778 this dash- 
 ing officer, with about 150 men, 
 floated down the Ohio River to the 
 mouth of the Cumberland. Here 
 he went ashore with his men and 
 marched across Illinois to the little town of Kaskaskia, where there 
 was a fort held by a company of British troops and some Indians. 
 Clark marched up to the fort at night. His movements were so quiet 
 that the British did not even dream that an enemy was near. The 
 soldiers in the fort were dancing when Clark and his men arrived. 
 He walked into the dancing-hall, and, standing against a door-post, 
 told the soldiers that they could go on with their dancing, but that 
 they must dance under the American flag and not under the flag of 
 England. The men were frightened by the bold words of Clark, and 
 surrendered the fort without striking a blow in its defense. Thus 
 Kaskaskia was taken, and the Illinois country passed into the pos- 
 session of the Americans. 
 
 Surprise at Kaskaskia 
 
WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. GEORGE WASHINGTON 155 
 
 From Kaskaskia Clark marched across Illinois to Vincennes, in 
 Indiana, where there was another British fort. When the time came 
 for attacking Vincennes, the country around the fort was flooded 
 with water three or four feet deep. Clark and his men waded through 
 the flood holding their guns above their heads. \Vlien they ap- 
 peared at the fort, the British were greatly surprised, for they did not 
 suppose that any army could possibly reach them. Clark made a 
 fierce attack, and the garrison soon surrendered. The commander 
 was captured and sent to Virginia in chains. Thus Vincennes fell, 
 and all the country north of the Ohio was taken from the British. 
 The boldness and bravery of George Rogers Clark gave to our coun- 
 try five magnificent States : Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and 
 Wisconsin. 
 
 John Barry and John Paul Jones. While we are learning of 
 the great deeds that were performed on the land during the Revolu- 
 tion, we must not forget those that were performed on the sea. The 
 American navy was small, it is true, but the American sailors were 
 bold and courageous, and they gave sharp battle to many a British 
 ship. 
 
 One of the bravest of the American sea-fighters was Commodore 
 John Barry ; " saucy Jack " Barry he was called. He was the first 
 captain to be placed in command of a war-vessel under the American 
 flag, and the first to carry that flag to victory onr the ocean. This 
 he did when his ship, the Lexington, captured the British sloop 
 Edward off the coast of Virginia on April 7, 1776. 
 
 But the greatest sea-fighter of the Revolution was Captain John 
 Paul Jones, and his greatest battle was the one between his ship, the 
 Bon H online Richard, and a British ship called the Serapis. These 
 two vessels met off the coast of England on Sept. 23rd, 1779, and 
 began to pour broadsides into each other. After they had fought for 
 
156 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 awhile, the captain of the Serapis, thinking that the Richard was 
 
 about to sink, called out to Jones asking him if he was about to sur- 
 render. Jones replied, '' I have not 
 yet begun to fight." And truly he 
 had only begun the battle. He 
 brought his vessel close to the 
 Serapis and fought till the decks of 
 both vessels ran with blood and until 
 the ships caught fire. After the bat- 
 tle had raged for nearly four hours, 
 the captain of the Serapis handed his 
 sword to Jones and surrendered his 
 ship. After this victory Jones was 
 greeted as a hero wherever he went. 
 He deserved all the praise that was 
 given to him, for he had won one 
 
 of the greatest battles ever fought on the sea. 
 
 The Battle of Camden. In 1779, the year in which Clark raised 
 
 the Stars and Stripes over British forts in the West, and the year in 
 
 which John Paul Jones hauled 
 
 down the Union Jack from the 
 
 masts of British vessels in the 
 
 far-ofif English Channel, there 
 
 was but little fighting between 
 
 the regular armies at the main 
 
 scene of war. But in 1780 
 
 there was a great deal of fight- 
 ing. In that year the British 
 
 sent troops to the South and took possession of Georgia and South 
 
 Carolina. At Camden, South Carolina, the British met the Ameri- 
 
 The fight between the Bon Homme Richard 
 and the Serapis. 
 
 Some Revolutionary flags. 
 
WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. GEORGE WASHINGTON 157 
 
 cans in battle (August, 1780), defeating them and putting them to 
 flight. The Americans lost a large number of men, all their 
 cannon and provisions, and nearly all their muskets and ammuni- 
 tion. 
 
 The treason of Benedict Arnold. When the battle of Camden 
 was fought, General Washington was at West Point on the 
 Hudson, where he was watching the British (p. 153) in New 
 York City. About the time the news of the disastrous defeat at 
 Camden arrived, he was greatly troubled by something which hap- 
 pened almost under his own eyes — the treason of Benedict Ar- 
 nold. 
 
 For five years Arnold had been fighting bravely on the side of Amer- 
 ica. In the summer of 1775, at the very outbreak of the war, he and 
 Colonel Ethan Allen had captured Ticonderoga and Crown Point ; in 
 December, 1775, he and Richard Montgomery had led an attack 
 against Quebec; in the battle of Saratoga he was the first to break 
 through the British lines, and, while fighting at the head of his troops, 
 he fell severely wounded. 
 
 If Arnold had died of the wound which he received at Saratoga, 
 his name would now^ stand high among the heroes of the Revolution. 
 But he recovered and in September, 1780, he entered into a plot to 
 surrender West Point to the British. He did this because he felt that 
 he had not been treated justly by the Americans. 
 
 Arnold met Major Andre, a young British of^cer, and made ar- 
 rangements for the surrender. The plans were stated in writing by 
 Arnold himself. But through good luck the plot failed and West 
 Point was saved, for Andre, on his way back to New York, was cap- 
 tured. He was searched, and the papers were found in his boots. 
 Major Andre was hung as a spy; but he was a brave man, and he 
 died as a brave man should. He went to the gallows with a smile 
 
158 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 on his face ; he bandaged his own eyes, and sHpped the noose over his 
 head with his own hands. 
 
 Arnold, as soon as he heard that the plot had been discovered, 
 hastily left West Point and joined the British in New York. As a 
 reward for his treason he received six thousand pounds sterling and 
 was made a general in the British army. After this he fought on 
 
 The surrender at Yorktown. 
 
 the side of the enemy and did his countrymen all the harm he 
 could. 
 
 Washington defeats the British at Yorktown. Washington 
 was greatly distressed by the treason of Arnold and by the bad news 
 that came from the South, yet he did not lose heart. In January, 
 1 78 1, he placed General Nathanael Greene in command of the south- 
 
WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. GEORGE WASHINGTON 159 
 
 ern forces, and Greene was so successful that he soon took from the 
 British all the territory they had won. 
 
 In the fall of 1781 Washington himself hurried south with his 
 army, marching at the rate of more than twenty-five miles a day. 
 When he reached Yorktown, he found General Cornwallis there with 
 the main body of the British army, holding a position on the peninsula 
 formed by the York and the James Rivers. Lafayette, the young 
 French general, was near by with an army ready to assist in the attack 
 on the British. Moreover, at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay there was 
 a fleet of French war-ships ready to help the Americans. Washing- 
 ton saw that here was a chance to catch the enemy in a trap. He 
 joined his forces with those of Lafayette, surrounded the British, and 
 closed in on them, outnumbering them two to one. Cornwallis could 
 not escape by water because of the French fleet, so he was compelled 
 to fight. The British fought bravely but in vain; Washington was 
 too strong for them. Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781, 
 and his entire army of eight thousand men were made prisoners 
 of war. 
 
 The Treaty of peace. With the battle of Yorktown the War of 
 the Revolution came to an end, for after the defeat of Cornwallis 
 England saw that she would never be able to conquer the Americans. 
 So at Paris, in 1783, a treaty of peace was made between Great Brit- 
 ain and the United States. By the terms of this treaty it was agreed 
 that there should be no more fighting between the British and the 
 American troops; that the British soldiers should leave the United 
 States; and best of all, that the United States should have their 
 INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 1. Give an account of the battle of Monmouth. 
 
 2. Tell the story of the daring deeds of George Rogers Clark. 
 
 3. Tell the story of the naval victories of John Barry and John Paul Jones. 
 
i6o FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 4. Give an account of the battle of Camden. 
 
 5. Tell the story of the treason of Benedict Arnold. 
 6 Tell the story of the battle of Yorktown. 
 
 7. What were the terms of the treaty which was made between Great Britam and 
 the United States in 1783? 
 
LESSON XXVI 
 
 SIX UNHAPPY years: 1783-I789 
 
 What does the word confederation mean? Define royal; foreign; contemptible; 
 lawlessness; mob; disturbance; riot; militia; chairman; violate. What is a con- 
 vention ? Define the word constitution. What is meant by " levying taxes " ? What 
 is meant by the " face value " of a piece of paper money? 
 
 Why the years 1 783-1 789 were unhappy years. The War of 
 
 the Revokition brought independence to the United States, and the 
 people were of course proud of the freedom which they had won. 
 But the years which foUowed the Revolution were not happy years. 
 The long war had done the country a great deal of harm, and, after 
 the treaty of peace was made, it still suffered from the ill effects of 
 the fighting. Then, too, after America broke away from England it 
 became necessary for the new nation to govern itself, and,, while it 
 was trying to find a way to do this, there was a great deal of quarrel- 
 ing and discontent. This condition of affairs became most serious 
 between 1783 and 1789. So we may call these the six unhappy years. 
 Weakness of the Government under the Articles of Confedera- 
 tion. Much of the trouble was due to the fact that the United 
 wStates did not have a good form of government. During most of the 
 Revolution the country was governed by the Continental Congress, 
 which, you remember, was formed in 1775. Just before the war was 
 over, the States adopted (in 1781) the Articles of Confederation. 
 These Articles provided a government for the United States, but they 
 did not give it enough officers. Under the Articles the United States 
 had a Congress to make laws, but it had no President to carry the laws 
 
 161 
 
J2 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 into effect, or judges to try cases when disputes arose. Nor did the 
 Articles of Confederation give the Government of the United States 
 enough power. They gave Congress power to declare war, but not 
 to raise and support an army. They gave Congress power to borrow 
 money, but not to levy taxes and collect the money that was necessary 
 to pay the debt. They gave Congress power to make treaties with 
 foreign nations, but they did not give it power to make the people 
 obey the treaties. So under the Articles the United States could not 
 keep its treaties, it could not pay its debts, it could not provide an 
 army for the defense of the country. The result was that under the 
 Articles of Confederation the United States had a government that 
 was weak and helpless and almost penniless. 
 
 Illustrations of the poverty of the Government and its weak- 
 ness. That the United States was very poor during the unhappy 
 days of the Confederation is shown by the fact that at one time 
 Congress did not have money enough to provide its secretary with 
 pens, ink, and paper. 
 
 How weak and helpless the Government was is shown by an inci- 
 
 §o}(}{trs clttcKking the lial) in which Congress was sitting. 
 
SIX UNHAPPY YEARS: 1783-1789 
 
 163 
 
 dent which happened in 1786 in Philadelphia, where Congress held its 
 sessions. In the neighborhood of the city there were some soldiers 
 who had fought in the Revolution. They had never been paid for 
 their services, although they had asked again and again for their 
 money. Congress had no funds and of course could not pay them. 
 Finally the soldiers decided to wait no ^onger. About eighty of their 
 number marched into Philadelphia to demand what was due to them. 
 They surrounded the hall in which Congress was sitting, and threw 
 stones through the windows. The members finding themselves in 
 danger crawled out of the windows, or escaped through the back door 
 of the building, and fled to Trenton. Not a hand was raised to pro- 
 tect the Congress! Not a blow was given in defense of the Govern- 
 ment of the United States! Washington was deeply grieved by this 
 disgraceful conduct. " To be more exposed in the eyes of the world," 
 he said, " and more contemptible than we already are is hardly pos- 
 sible." 
 
 The lack of money. Not only was Congress poor during the 
 days of the Confederation, but the people were poor also. They were 
 heavily in debt, and had very little 
 money for the payment of debts or 
 for anything else. In some of the 
 States the grain that had been har- 
 vested rotted in the barns because it 
 could not be sold. If the farmer 
 wished shoes and clothing for his 
 family, he was compelled to go from 
 village to village to find a shoemaker 
 who would trade shoes for wheat, or 
 and take pumpkins in payment. 
 
 In some of the States paper money was printed, but it could not 
 
 usiiii 
 
 'T'HISBai e^MUith 
 
 SIX 5PANIS°H MlLlS) 
 DOLUUW , or the 
 
 or SILVER. "i^^W*^ 
 
 aRe«.Ltlcnof COW,' 
 
 Uitlpkic ticv-Z nT6- 
 (7 cTictt^Zhx/ 
 
 
 Continental money. 
 
 a tailor who would make a coat 
 
i64 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 take the place of gold and silver. People would not receive it at its 
 face value. At first, a dollar in paper money would buy ninety cents 
 worth of goods; then only eighty cents worth; and it continued to fall 
 in value until it reached a point where it was worth almost nothing. 
 At one time this money had so fallen in value that it took a wagon- 
 load of it to buy a wagon-load of food. 
 
 Shays's Rebellion. Where good money was so scarce, and 
 where the people were so burdened with debt, there was bound to be 
 discontent and lawlessness. In many places mobs gathered and riots 
 broke out. In Massachusetts, where the common people thought they 
 w^ere being badly treated, there was open warfare against the govern- 
 ment. 
 
 At Springfield there was a disturbance known as Shays's Rebellion. 
 In 1786 Daniel Shays, who had been a captain in the American army 
 during the Revolution, raised a force of several hundred men and 
 threatened to overthrow the government of Massachusetts. The 
 governor of the State sent the militia against Shays, and the rebellion 
 was quickly put down. But the rebels were not punished. Even 
 Shays himself was allowed to go free. If the Confederation had been 
 strong. Shays w^ould not have dared to do what he did, for he would 
 have known that the United States Government would have sent a 
 large army to help Massachusetts, a thing it was too weak to do. 
 
 The " new roof." By this time the leading men of the country 
 realized that it was necessary for the United States to have a stronger 
 government. They saw that under the Articles of Confederation the 
 Government was a roof that was full of leaks. So they decided that 
 there should be a change — that there should be a roof that would not 
 leak. 
 
 In 1787 the leaders met in Philadelphia and held the Constitutional 
 Convention. Washington was chairman, and Benjamin Franklin was 
 
SIX UNHAPPY YEARS: 1783-1789 
 
 165 
 
 one of the members. They all agreed to do away with the Articles 
 of Confederation and adopt a new form of government. The plans 
 they worked out were stated in a document which they called the Con- 
 stitution of the United States of America. After it had been ap- 
 proved by the Convention, it was sent to the different States and the 
 people were asked to vote for or against it. In eleven States the peo- 
 ple voted for it. So the Constitution framed at the Convention in 
 Philadelphia became the new roof under which the people of the 
 United States were to live. It has remained our Constitution until 
 the present time. 
 
 Why the Constitution was better than the Articles of Confedera- 
 tion. The Constitution was better than the Articles of Confed- 
 
 The Ship of State, drawn through the streets of New York at the time of the adoption of 
 
 the Constitution. 
 
 eration for two reasons. In the first place, the Constitution ga\'e 
 Congress more poiver than it had before. Under it, Congress could 
 levy taxes and thus raise money to meet the ordinary expenses of the 
 Government and support an army and navy. It was also given power 
 
i66 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 to regulate trade carried on between the different States. This was 
 most important, for in the days of the Confederation the States often 
 quarreled with each other about matters of trade, and Congress had 
 no authority to settle such differences. In the second place, the Con- 
 stitution provided for enough officers to carry on the Government. 
 There was to be a President who was to be elected every four years, 
 and United States courts were established with judges who should 
 have the power to punish any person who violated a law of the United 
 States. So you see the Constitution gave the people of the United 
 States a much stronger government than they had under the Articles 
 of Confederation. 
 
 1. Why were the years 1783-1789 six unhappy years? 
 
 2. Point out the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, 
 
 3. Give an ilkistration of the poverty of the government under the Articles, and 
 also an illustration of its weakness. 
 
 4. What can you say of the lack of money during the days of the Confederation? 
 
 5. Tell the story of Shays's Rebellion. 
 
 6. In what way did we secure a new Constitution? 
 >. Why was the Constitution better than the Articles? 
 
LESSON XXVII 
 
 PRESIDENT WASHINGTON 
 
 What is an inauguration? What is an inaugural address? Define the words: 
 execute; cabinet; treasury; secretary; consult; confidential; lieutenant colonel; re- 
 sign; grateful; retire, favorable. How is the President of the United States elected? 
 
 Washingon is elected President. The new Constitution pro- 
 vided that a President was to be elected in 1788. The people of the 
 country wanted George Washington as their first President, and he 
 was elected. At this time Washington was 
 Hving at Mount Vernon, his beautiful home 
 on the Potomac River. He did not really 
 wish to be President. He was growing old, 
 and longed for quiet and rest. But his coun- 
 try needed him, and he was always ready to 
 serve its call. So when in April, 1789, the 
 message came to Mount Vernon that he had 
 been elected, the great man felt that it was 
 his duty to accept the high office. 
 
 The journey to New York City. As 
 soon as Washington learned of his election, 
 he started on the long journey to New York 
 City, which was then the capital of the United States. On the way 
 he learned how greatly he was loved by the people. At Alexandria, 
 Virginia, he was given a farewell dinner by his neighbors. At Phila- 
 
 167 
 
 George Washington. 
 
i68 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 delphia a splendid entertainment was prepared for him. At Trenton 
 he was received in royal fashion. An arch was erected on the bridge 
 across which he had led his army in the days of the Revolution. 
 This arch was supported on thirteen pillars, around which were twined 
 evergreens and flowers, and under it stood a number of young girls 
 holding baskets of flowers in their hands. As Washington drew near, 
 the girls strewed their flowers before him and sang. 
 
 The wheels of the new Government set in motion. Washing- 
 ton reached New York on April 23, but a week passed before he 
 was inaugurated as President. On April 30, 1789, he took his place 
 at the head of a long procession of soldiers and citizens and 
 marched to the building where the new Congress was in session. 
 Standing on a balcony, in the presence of a large number of people, he 
 took the oath of office, saying: "I do solemnly swear 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 Constitu- 
 tion of the United States." Again the people cheered, the bells rang, 
 and the cannon thundered. After the oath of office was taken, Wash- 
 ington read his inaugural address. Thus the wheels of the new Gov- 
 ernment were set in motion. 
 
 Washington's cabinet. One of the first things done by Wash- 
 ington was to appoint three officers to help him in the management 
 of affairs. These were Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia; Alexander 
 Hamilton, of New York ; and Henry Knox, of Massachusetts. Jeffer- 
 son was made Secretary of State and was given charge of foreign af- 
 fairs ; Hamilton was made Secretary of the Treasury and was given 
 charge of the money received and paid out by the Government; Knox 
 was made Secretary of War and was given charge of the little army, 
 which at that time consisted of about nine hundred soldiers — not 
 enough to form a single regiment. These three men, Jefferson, Ham- 
 
PRESIDENT WASHINGTON 
 
 169 
 
 ilton, and Knox, worked with Washington and consulted with him, 
 and came to be known as the President's cabinet. 
 
 Alexander Hamilton. The man who helped Washington most 
 was Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton 
 was born on an island in the West Indies in 1757. In 1773 he went 
 to New York City and entered King's College, now Columbia Uni- 
 versity. At school and at college Hamilton 
 showed that he had a wonderful mind. 
 
 Once, when very young, his teacher placed 
 him upon a table at her side, so that he might 
 be seen, and asked him to recite the Com- 
 mandments to the school. The little fellow 
 repeated them without making a mistake. 
 At the age of seventeen he made his way 
 through a crowd in New York City, mounted "| 
 a platform, and delivered a speech in behalf 
 of the Patriots. The speech was so power- 
 ful and had such a great effect that the Tories 
 tried to win the boy to their side. But 
 Hamilton remained faithful to his chosen party. 
 
 When the War of the Revolution began, Hamilton fought on the 
 American side ; and before he was twenty-one years old, General 
 Washington made him one of his aids and gave him the rank of 
 lieutenant-colonel. For nearly five years Hamilton was a member of 
 Washington's military family, acting as the aid and confidential secre- 
 tary of the commander-in-chief. During these years Washington 
 learned what a great man Hamilton was, and when he became Presi- 
 dent, he was glad to make the young man a member of his cabinet. 
 
 Hamilton raises money for the support of the Government. 
 Washington expected great things of Hamilton, and he was not dis- 
 
 Alexander Hamilton. 
 
170 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 appointed. You remember that under the Confederation the United 
 States could not get enough money to meet the Government expenses. 
 Hamilton devised a plan for getting the necessary money by laying a 
 tariffs or tax, on goods brought to America from foreign countries. 
 The tariff was to be put on glass, tin, salt, tea, sugar, wine, coffee, and 
 molasses. He also proposed to tax liquor manufactured in the United 
 States. He laid his plans before Congress, which approved them and 
 passed the necessary laws. The results were very satisfactory. The 
 tariff and the tax on liquor soon brought in money enough to meet 
 the expenses of government, and also gradually to pay off its debts, and 
 the Government of the United States no longer suffered for want of 
 money, as it had done in the unhappy days of the Confederation. 
 
 The Whisky Rebellion. Most of the new taxes were cheer- 
 fully paid, but there was some trouble over the tax on liquor. In 
 western Pennsylvania the distillers did not wish to pay the tax on 
 whisky. One of the officers sent to collect it was given a coat of tar 
 and feathers. Another was compelled to resign his office. 
 
 For these and other unlawful acts Washington found it necessary 
 to send an army into Pennsylvania. In 1794 about 15,000 soldiers 
 marched to Pittsburgh to give battle to the law-breakers. But there 
 was no battle, for when the army reached Pittsburgh the rebels scat- 
 tered and fled. Two of the leaders were arrested and sentenced to 
 death, but they were pardoned by Washington. Thus the Whisky 
 Rebellion, as the uprising was called, was brought quickly to an end. 
 By his prompt measures against the Whisky Rebellion Washington 
 showed the country that the United States had a government strong 
 enough to make everybody obey its laws. 
 
 Washington has trouble with the Indians. At about the same 
 time Washington was also having trouble with the Indians in the 
 Northwest Territory, that is, in the wild region north of the Ohio 
 
PRESIDENT WASHINGTON 171 
 
 River. While he was President settlers from New England were 
 moving out into the Northwest Territory in great numbers, and were 
 clearing away the forests, building cabins, and planting grain. But 
 they were not allowed to live in peace. The country was full of In- 
 dians, and many a white man was scalped while working in his fields 
 
 The Indians became so troublesome that Washington found it nec- 
 essary to make war upon them. In 1791 he sent General Arthur St. 
 Clair against them with an army of about fourteen hundred. But St. 
 Clair did not know how to fight savages. He allowed his troops to be 
 caught in a trap. One morning about sunrise the Indians surprised 
 and defeated them and routed them in a shameful manner. But in 
 the end the white man was too strong for the red man. In 1794 Gen- 
 eral Anthony Wayne, at the head of several thousand soldiers, 
 marched against the Indians and defeated them in battle at Fallen 
 Timbers. After this defeat the Indians agreed to give up all the 
 country which is now the eastern part of Ohio. They promised, too, 
 not to wage war again upon the whites. 
 
 Washington elected for a second term. The new Constitution 
 provided that the President should be elected for a term of four years. 
 Washington's first term came to an end in 1793, and near its close he 
 expressed a wish to retire to private life. But the people of the coun- 
 try wished him to serve again and he could not refuse them. He was 
 reelected, and on March 4, 1793, he entered upon his second term of 
 oflfice. 
 
 Trouble with France. During Washington's second term the 
 United States had a great deal of trouble with France. In 1792 war 
 broke out between France and England. France felt that the United 
 States ought to help her against England because the French had 
 helped the United States in the War of the Revolution. A great 
 many of our own people thought so, too. But Washington believed 
 
172 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 that it would not be wise to side with France and thus bring on an- 
 other war with England. He was grateful for what the French had 
 done for us, but he did not wish to plunge his country into war. So 
 he decided that the United States should be neutral; that is, that it 
 should show favors to neither France nor England, but should treat 
 both countries alike. 
 
 Trouble with England. Washington had trouble with England 
 as well as with France. As soon as the war between England and 
 France broke out, English ships began to seize American vessels which 
 were on their way to France, and take possession of the corn, or 
 
 Mount Vernon, the home of Washington. 
 
 flour, or meat that was on board. Sometimes officers of the British 
 navy would search American ships, and if any Englishmen were found 
 on board, they were taken off and impressed into the service of the 
 British. All this made the people of the United States very angry, 
 and in many places there was a cry for war. Washington did not 
 want to fight, and in order to avoid doing so, he made a treaty 
 in 1795 with England known as Jay's Treaty. The terms of the 
 treaty were not very favorable to the United States, but it served to 
 keep peace with Great Britain, and that was what Washington wished. 
 
PRESIDENT WASHINGTON 173 
 
 Washington retires to Mount Vernon. Before Washington's 
 second term had ended, the great man had decided he would retire to 
 private Hfe. The people still wanted him to be President, and would 
 gladly have elected him for a third term, but Washington would not 
 consent to serve. In 1796 he published his farewell address, and when 
 his second term came to an end (March 4, 1797) he returned to Mount 
 Vernon where he lived peacefully and happily until his death. When 
 he died (1799) the people everywhere mourned his loss deeply, for 
 they knew that the greatest and best of Americans had passed away. 
 
 1. What can you say of the election of Washington as President? 
 
 2. Describe Washington's journey from Mount Vernon to New York City. 
 
 3. Give an account of the inauguration of Washington. 
 
 4. Who were the members of Washington's cabinet? 
 
 5. Tell the story of the life of Hamilton. 
 
 6. How did Hamilton raise money for the support of the government? 
 
 7. Give an account of the Whisky Rebellion. 
 
 8. Tell about the troubles which Washington had with the Indians. 
 
 9. Give an account of the trouble which Washington had with France. 
 
 10. Give an account of the trouble which Washington had with England. 
 
 11. What can you say of the retirement of Washington? 
 
LESSON XXVIII 
 
 IN THE DAYS OF JOHN ADAMS 
 
 Give two meanings of the word succeed; two meanings of the word minister. 
 In what year was John Adams born? What was the exact date of his death? De- 
 fine recognize; conditions; census; career. What are modern conveniences? De- 
 scribe the Muskingum River. Locate Marietta ; Cincinnati ; Dayton ; Cleveland ; 
 Oswego, New York; Buffalo; Nashville. 
 
 John Adams, a great man and a great leader. The man chosen 
 to succeed Washington as President was John Adams, of Massachu- 
 setts. He was a cousin of Samuel Adams, and like his cousin he had 
 been a leader in the War of the Revolution. He was a member of the 
 
 Continental Congress (page 174), and it was he 
 who first told that body that George Washing- 
 ton ought to be made commander-in-chief of 
 the American army. He was one of the sign- 
 ers of the Declaration of Independence, and he 
 helped to make the treaty of peace with Eng- 
 land which acknowledged our independence 
 (page 160). During the eight years of \\'ash- 
 ington's presidency Adams was Vice-President. 
 So, when he took his seat as President, he was 
 known throughout the United States as a great man and a great leader. 
 Adams prepares for war with France. Adams had trouble with 
 France just as Washington had before him. The French Government 
 
 174 
 
 John Adams. 
 
IN THE DAYS OF JOHN ADAMS 175 
 
 did not show proper respect to our minister in Paris, and American 
 vessels on the ocean were captured and pkmdered by French war- 
 ships. In fact, the United States was so shamefully treated by France 
 that Adams prepared for war. New vessels were added to the navy. 
 The army was increased and Washington was made its commander. 
 But he was not called upon to fight. When France saw that we were 
 in earnest, she promised to treat our ministers as they ought to be 
 treated, and to deal fairly with our vessels on the sea. So, in 1800, 
 the United States entered into a treaty with France, and the two coun- 
 tries became friends again. 
 
 Three new States. Adams was President for four years — from 
 1 797-180 1. During his term of office the eighteenth century came to 
 an end and the nineteenth century began. What kind of a country 
 did we have at the end of the eighteenth century? Let us look back- 
 ward and learn about our country as it was in the days of John Adams. 
 
 In 1800 there were sixteen States in the Union. When Washing- 
 ton took his seat as President, there were only thirteen, but it was not 
 long before other States were taken into the Union. The first to be 
 admitted was Vermont. During the Revolution, Vermont felt that 
 she had a right to be a State, but she was not recognized as such be- 
 cause her territory was claimed by New York. New York gave up 
 this claim, and in 1791 Vermont entered the Union as the four- 
 teenth State. By this time Kentucky (page 128) had greatly in- 
 creased in population and was ready to be made a State. So in 1792 
 she entered the Union as the fifteenth State. Tennessee (page 129) 
 also was growing rapidly in population, and her people wanted to 
 enter the Union. In 1796 their wish was granted, for in that year 
 Tennessee became a State. So, when Adams took his seat as Presi- 
 dent, there were sixteen States in the Union and sixteen stars on the 
 flag. 
 
176 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 The largest cities. In 1800 the United States was a farming 
 country, and nearly everybody lived on farms. Cities were few and 
 far between. To-day if you should travel from Maine to Georgia^ 
 you would pass through more than a hundred cities. In 1800 a man 
 traveling over the same ground passed through only five cities: Bos- 
 ton, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Charleston. These were 
 the only large towns in the United States. And even they were not 
 very large, for, if all five had been put together, they would not have 
 made a city as large as Denver or St. Paul. 
 
 The city of Washington in 1800. 
 
 The city of Washington in the days of John Adams. The city 
 of Washington, the great capital of which we are now so proud, in 
 the days of John Adams was a mere village. The only fine build- 
 ings in the place were the Capitol and the President's house, the build- 
 ing which we now call the White House. The little capital was built 
 in a forest, and the streets were merely roads cut through the woods. 
 On the great street which we now call Pennsylvania Avenue, boys 
 were still shooting partridges and squirrels. Even the White House 
 was not finished when President and Mrs. Adams moved into it. 
 
IN THE DAYS OF JOHN ADAMS 
 
 ^77 
 
 The backward condition of cities. Our cities in 1800 were not 
 only few in number and small in population, but they were uncomfort- 
 able places in which to live. There were no sidewalks, no well-paved 
 streets, no trolley-cars. At night the streets were very dark, for the 
 only lights were dingy oil-lamps. The danger of fire was great, for 
 the means of fighting it were very poor. The only fire-engine was a 
 pump worked by hand. There were no letter-boxes in which mail 
 could be placed for collection, and 
 no letter-carriers to bring letters to 
 one's door. 
 
 Houses without modern con- 
 veniences. Inside the houses, 
 everything was as plain and as sim- 
 ple in 1800 as it was in colonial 
 times. They were not heated by 
 steam or furnaces, nor were they 
 lighted by gas. There was no 
 bath-room, and there were no pipes to carry water through the house. 
 Most of the cooking was done at fire-places, but there were no matches 
 for lighting the fire. Such a thing as a telephone, or an electric light, 
 or a sewing-machine had never been seen. So you see that the houses 
 in 1800 had few of the modern conveniences. 
 
 Travel in 1800. The traveler in 1800 made his journey on a 
 sail-boat or in a stage-coach. Steamboats and railroads were still 
 unknown. The roads everywhere were bad. Sometimes the mud in 
 the road was so deep that passengers had to get out of the coach and 
 help the driver push the wheels along. There were few bridges across 
 streams and rivers, so the driver often had to take his coach through 
 the water. Sometimes driver, coach, horses, and all were swept 
 down the stream by a swift-flowing current. In some parts of the 
 
 An old time fire-engii 
 
178 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 country the forests were still standing, and were as wild in the days 
 of John Adams as they had been in the days of John Smith. As there 
 were no roads through them, it was very easy for the traveler to lose 
 his way. Once (in 1800) Mrs. Abagail Adams, the wife of Presi- 
 dent Adams was lost in the woods while on her way from Baltimore 
 to Washington. 
 
 The beginnings of Ohio. Rufus Putnam. Yet in spite of the 
 bad roads there was a great deal of travel in the days of John Adams. 
 Thousands of pioneers made their way westward over the Alleghanies 
 to the Northwest Territory, where other pioneers were building up the 
 
 A coach in the days of John Adams. 
 
 State of Ohio. The great leader in Ohio in the early days was Rufus 
 Putnam, one of the soldiers of the Revolution, who had helped Wash- 
 ington to drive the British troops out of Boston (page 145). In the 
 spring of 1788 Putnam and about fifty companions from New England 
 floated down the Ohio River in rude boats, which they had. built with 
 their own hands, and landed at the mouth of the Muskingum River. 
 Here Putnam and his companions built some houses and gave the 
 settlement the name of Marietta. A few months later another band 
 of pioneers began a settlement which in time became the great city of 
 Cincinnati. 
 
IN THE DAYS OF JOHN ADAMS 
 
 179 
 
 After this the settlement of the country north of the Ohio began in 
 earnest. Flat-boats by the hundred floated down the river, carrying 
 settlers and cattle and household goods, and in a few years the north 
 bank was dotted with towns. 
 
 In the last lesson you learned how these Ohio pioneers were attacked 
 by the Indians, and how General Wayne marched against the red men 
 and defeated them at Fallen Timbers (p. 171). After that the settle- 
 ment went on faster than ever. Town after town was built. Dayton 
 was founded in 1795, and in 1796 the first houses in Cleveland were 
 
 A flat-boat on the Ohio. 
 
 built. By the year 1800 there were 40,000 people in the territory 
 northwest of the Ohio River. 
 
 The Frontier Line in 1800. So by 1800 the pioneers had car- 
 ried the Frontier Line far west of the Alleghanies. On a map of the 
 United States, beginning at Oswego, New York, draw a line to Buffalo, 
 to Cleveland, to Cincinnati, to Louisville, to Nashville, to Savannah. 
 This line will mark the Frontier Line in 1800 and will show you what 
 part of our country had been settled by white men in the days of 
 John Adams. Compare the location of this Frontier Line of 1800 
 
i8o FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 with the location of the Frontier Line in 1750 (see the double paged 
 map between pages 176 and 177) and you will understand how great 
 was the work done by the pioneers in the west between 1750 and 1800. 
 
 1. What was the career of John Adams before he became President? 
 
 2. Why did Adams prepare to make war against France? 
 
 3. What three States were admitted into the Union while Washington was Presi- 
 dent? Which was the first to be admitted? 
 
 4. Name our five largest cities in 1800. 
 
 5. Describe the city of Washington in the days of John Adams. 
 
 6. What kind of places were our cities in 1800? 
 
 7. Describe the houses of 1800. 
 
 8. What were the conditions of travel in 1800? 
 
 9. Give an account of the beginning and of the growth of Ohio. 
 
 10. Describe the Frontier Line in 1800. 
 
LESSON XXIX 
 
 PRESIDENT JEFFERSON AND PRESIDENT MADISON 
 
 Where was Thomas Jefferson born? In what year and on what day did he die? 
 In what year and on what day did John Adams die? Where is Tripoli? What 
 States are between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains? What does 
 the word impressment mean? What States border upon Canada? Define the 
 word " broadside." Read in the class The Star-Spangled Banner. 
 
 'Jefferson's career. When the term of John Adams came to an 
 end on March 4, 1801, Thomas Jefferson took his seat as the third 
 President. When Jefferson went to the little city of Washington 
 to be inaugurated, he was already one of the 
 greatest men of the country. He had been 
 a leader in the Revolution ; he had written the 
 Declaration of Independence (p. 143) ; he had 
 been Secretary of State while Washington 
 was President (p. 168). 
 
 Why the people liked Jefferson. In 
 Jefferson's time all men did not have the 
 right to vote, and only a part of the people 
 had a voice in matters of government. Jeff- 
 erson thought that the people should rule, 
 and that their wishes should be carried out by 
 
 the officers of the Government. He also declared that every man 
 should have the right to vote. Because he believed these things, the 
 people felt that he was their friend, and they liked him very much. 
 
 181 
 
 Thomas Jefiferson. 
 
i82 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 The purchase of Louisiana. The greatest thing done by Jeffer- 
 son while President was to buy Louisiana from France. You remem- 
 ber that, after the French were driven out of America, all the coun- 
 try west of the Mississippi River was given to Spain (p. 123), though 
 it was still called Louisiana. But in the year 1800 this great territory 
 was given back to France. Now Jefferson did not want such a pow- 
 erful nation to be our neighbor on the west. So when he found in 
 1803 that France would sell Louisiana to the United States for 
 $15,000,000, he was only too glad to buy it. The purchase of Louis- 
 iana was one of the great events in our history, for it carried our 
 western boundary to the far-off Rocky Mountains, and it gave the 
 United States nearly a million square miles of new territory, making 
 our country twice as large as it was before. 
 
 The impressment of sailors. During Jefferson's term we con- 
 tinued to have a great deal of trouble with France and England. 
 These two nations were again at war, and, while striking blows at 
 each other, they often struck the United States. Both seized Ameri- 
 can vessels on the ocean, and sometimes treated them in a shameful 
 manner. England gave us the most trouble. She stopped our ships 
 and searched them to find out if there were any English sailors on 
 board. An officer of an English vessel would go on board an Ameri- 
 can vessel and order the crew to come on the deck and stand in a row. 
 Every man in the crew was then examined and whenever a British 
 sailor was found he was seized and carried away. This was called 
 impressment. Very often even native-born Americans were impressed 
 in this way and compelled to serve in the British navy. Of course 
 this made the people of the United States very angry. They were 
 willing that England should have her own sailors but they were 
 not willing that she should impress American sailors. Jefferson did 
 what he could to remedy the evil, but he could do very little, for Eng- 
 
PRESIDENT JEFFERSON AND PRESIDENT MADISON 183 
 
 land had the most powerful navy in the world and on the ocean 
 she could do as she pleased. 
 
 Jefferson elected for a second term; but refuses a third term. 
 In 1804 Jefferson was reelected. When his second term came to an 
 end, the people wanted him to serve still longer, but Jefferson did not 
 think it wise that a President should hold office for three terms. 
 So he followed the example set by Washington (p. 173) and refused a 
 third term. He said, however, that he would like to see his friend, 
 James Madison, of Virginia, elected President. 
 
 James Madison is elected President. Madison was a famous- 
 lawyer, and he knew a great deal about government. He had been 
 a member of the Convention which drew up 
 the Constitution (p. 164), and he had worked 
 for it so faithfully and well that he was called 
 the Father of the Constitution. He was thor- 
 oughly informed, also, about foreign affairs, 
 having served in Jefferson's cabinet as the 
 Secretary of State. In fact, Madison was al- 
 most as great a man as Jefferson himself. 
 The wish of President Jefferson that Madison 
 might be chosen to succeed him had great in- 
 fluence with the people, and in 1809 Madison 
 became the fourth President. Four years 
 later he was elected for a second term. 
 
 Madison is forced into a war with England. Madison v^as a 
 great lover of peace. It was said of him that he was so fond of 
 peace that he could not be kicked into war. But in spite of this, in 
 181 2, he was forced into a war with England, for that nation con- 
 tinued to capture American ships and to take sailors from the decks 
 of American vessels. 
 
 James Madison 
 
184 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Fighting along the Canadian border and on Lake Erie. The 
 
 War of 1812 began with fighting along the Canadian border, for 
 Canada belonged to England then as it does now. Sometimes the 
 fighting was on Canadian soil and sometimes it was on American soil. 
 Sometimes the Americans won and sometimes the British won. But 
 the Americans did not get possession of Canada nor did the British 
 get possession of any of our territory. So nothing was settled by the 
 fighting along the Canadian border, although it lasted for two years. 
 
 In 181 3 there was a hard- 
 fought battle on Lake Erie. 
 The American ships were com- 
 manded by Oliver Hazard Perry, 
 a young man only twenty years of age. Perry fought on his own sl»ip 
 until it was about to sink, and then managed to get aboard another 
 
PRESIDENT JEFFERSON AND PRESIDENT MADISON 185 
 
 vessel. He kept up the fight until the British fleet surrendered. In re- 
 porting his great victory, he simply said : *' We have met the enemy, 
 and they are ours; two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop." 
 Constitution and the Guerriere. During this War of 181 2 there 
 was also a great deal of fighting on the ocean, where our navy won for 
 itself much glory. The greatest battle on the sea was fought by the 
 British ship, the Guerriere (gare-e-are) and the American ship, the 
 Constitution, sometimes called Old Ironsides. These two vessels met 
 off the Banks of Newfoundland in August, 181 2. The British began 
 
 The British burning the Capitol. 
 
 to fire first. Captain Isaac Hull, the commander of the Constitution, 
 let his guns remain silent until he had brought his vessel into a posi- 
 tion where every shot would tell. Then he opened fire, pouring 
 broadside after broadside into the Guerriere, sweeping her deck with 
 shot and cutting her masts and rigging to pieces. In half an hour 
 the British ship was helpless, and was forced to surrender. The Con- 
 stitution was scarcely hurt at all. In a few hours she sailed away 
 ready for another fight. 
 
 The British ravage the Atlantic seaboard. In the War of 181 2 
 
i86 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 the enemy attacked us at many places along the Atlantic coast. In 
 Virginia and Maryland they burnt our villages, bridges, and farm- 
 houses, and robbed the farmers of their slaves and cattle and grain. 
 At Washington they burnt the Capitol and the White House. This 
 was a disgraceful thing to do, but the British tried to excuse them- 
 selves by saying that American soldiers had burned public buildings 
 in Canada, and that turn about v^as fair play. After the capture of 
 Washington the British marched to Baltimore and began to bombard 
 Fort McHenry, which had been built to defend the city. The bom- 
 bardment lasted all day and far into 
 the night, and was watched by Fran- 
 cis Scott Key. In the morning Key 
 saw that our flag was still waving over 
 the fort. This meant that the attack 
 against it had failed. Key was so 
 overjoyed that he felt that he must 
 express his feelings in some way, so 
 he took from his pocket an old letter 
 and wrote upon it the words of our national song, " The Star-Spangled 
 Banner." 
 
 The Battle 
 hardest fighting 
 
 Key writing " The Star-Spangled Banner." 
 
 of 
 
 New Orleans. The greatest battle and the 
 in the War of 1812 was at New Orleans. In 
 December, 18 14, the British attacked the city with a large 
 army, but General Andrew Jackson, of whom we shall hear a 
 great deal in the lessons that are to follow, was on the ground 
 ready to meet the foe. He had thrown up a kind of wall or breast- 
 work made partly of mud and partly of bales of cotton; and in his 
 army there were many riflemen from Tennessee and Kentucky. These 
 men could shoot so well that they seldom missed any object at which 
 they fired. 
 
PRESIDENT JEFFERSON AND PRESIDENT MADISON 187 
 
 On January 8, 181 5, the enemy undertook to drive Jackson's men 
 from their breastwork. The British soldiers wore bright red coats, 
 which were excellent marks for the riflemen. When the British made 
 the attack the Americans did not fire until the redcoats were close at 
 hand. Then the riflemen began to shoot, and at almost every shot 
 an English soldier fell. The British pressed on bravely, but they could 
 not stand the deadly fire of the Americans. They broke ranks and 
 fled. Thus General Jackson won the battle at New Orleans, and his 
 victory made him the hero of the American people. 
 
 The treaty of peace; results of the war of 181 2. Two weeks 
 before the battle of New Orleans occurred, Great Britain and the 
 United States had made a treaty of peace. If there had been such a 
 thing as a telegraph, the battle of New Orleans would never have 
 been fought, for, when it took place, the Americans and the British 
 were no longer enemies. But the soldiers at New Orleans did not 
 know this, for the ship that was bringing the news was still in mid- 
 ocean. When the good tidings reached America it made President 
 Madison very glad, for he knew that the country was tired of war. 
 
 Very little was settled by the War of 18 12, or by the treaty 
 which brought the war to an end. Great Britain did not promise to 
 stop searching our ships and impressing our sailors, and neither nation 
 gained or lost any territory by the war. Still, Great Britain treated us 
 better than she had before the war, for she never again interfered with 
 American vessels. So, as a matter of fact, the War of 181 2 gave our 
 ships the freedom of the seas and our sailors the rights to which they 
 were justly entitled. 
 
 1. What was Jefferson's career before he became President? Why was he liked 
 by the people? 
 
 2. W^hat can you say about the purchase of Louisiana? 
 
 3. Tell about the impressment of sailors. 
 
 4. Why did Jefferson refuse a third term? 
 
i88 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 5. Tell what you can about James Madison ? 
 
 6. Why did we go to war with England in 1812? 
 
 7. Give an account of the fighting along the Canadian border and on Lake Erie. 
 
 8. Describe the battle between the Constitution and the Guerriere. 
 
 9. Tell the story of how the British ravaged the Atlantic coast. 
 
 10. Under what circumstances was the Star-Spangled Banner written? 
 
 11. Describe the battle of New Orleans. 
 
 . 12. Why was the battle fought after a treaty of peace was made? 
 13. What was the chief result of the War of 1812? 
 
LESSON XXX 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. ROBERT FULTON 
 
 Describe the Wabash River. Locate Chicago ; Vincennes, Indiana ; Vevay, 
 Indiana. What is a prophet? Describe the Tippecanoe River. Define mechanics; 
 inventor. Name the rivers that flow into the Ohio. Name the rivers that flow into 
 the Mississippi. 
 
 While Jefferson and Madison were having so much trouble with 
 England, and while our soldiers and sailors were fighting so bravely 
 on land and on sea in the War of 1812, pioneers were all the time 
 moving out from the older States and finding homes in the western 
 
 
 Cincinnati in 1800. 
 
 country. Between 1800 and 1820, more than a million white men 
 made the long journey over the mountains and settled in the West 
 and the Southwest. During these years three new States grew up in 
 the wilderness north of the Ohio River, 
 
 Ohio. The first of these was the State of Ohio, the early history 
 
 i8q 
 
190 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 of which we have already learned. We saw how the Indians stood 
 in the way of the Ohio pioneer (p. 171), and we saw how fast the 
 population increased after the Indians were driven away (p. 178). 
 It grew so large that soon the people of Ohio felt that they ought to 
 be allowed to enter the Union. So in 1803 Ohio was admitted as the 
 seventeenth State. 
 
 Indiana Territory. The warrior Tecumseh. While pioneers 
 were pushing out into Ohio, they were also pushing out into Indiana. 
 Two years before Ohio entered the Union, Indiana was made a Ter- 
 ritory, with General William Henry Harrison as her first governor. 
 The capital was Vincennes, a little town on the Wabash River. 
 
 When Indiana became a Territory, most of her land was held by the 
 Indians. Governor Harrison wanted it for the white men, but he did 
 not wish to take it from the Indians by force. So in 1809 he bought 
 30,000,000 acres from the Shawnee Indians, for which he paid them 
 $10,000. 
 
 c- ^'. -^.r-^i^-rw^^w-^-^'?-.-^ Among the Shawnees there 
 
 was a warrior named Te- 
 cumseh, who did not think the 
 sale a fair and honest one. 
 He declared that the chiefs 
 who had made the bargain had 
 been bribed, and made drunk 
 by the bad whisky given to 
 them by the white men. 
 When he was a child, his fa- 
 ther had been killed by white 
 men who came into his coun- 
 try. So Tecumseh hated the whites, and he made up his mind that 
 he would get back the land which the chiefs had sold. 
 
 
 Tecumseh and General Harrison 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. ROBERT FULTON 191 
 
 In 18 10 Tecumseh went to Vincennes to talk with Governor Har- 
 rison about the land. The governor received the warrior kindly and 
 asked him to take a seat on the porch. But Tecumseh proudly re- 
 fused the seat, saying that Indians always held their meetings in the 
 open air. Harrison then went out and talked with Tecumseh on 
 the lawn in front of the house. As they talked, four hundred Indian 
 warriors stood around them in a circle. Tecumseh made a long speech. 
 He told of the wrongs which his people had suffered at the hands of 
 the white men, and he asked Governor Harrison to take pity on the 
 red people and give them back their lands. But the governor told 
 Tecumseh that the white men had bought the lands fairly, and he would 
 not give them up. 
 
 Tecumseh was greatly disappointed, and went away with a heart 
 full of bitterness. He felt that the Indians ought to unite and drive 
 the white men out of the western country. So he went about among 
 the various tribes and urged them to prepare for a great war. With 
 some brave warriors he made a journey to the South, where also there 
 were many Indians who hated the whites. He went among them and 
 made speeches, asking them to join him in the war. 
 
 Governor Harrison defeats the Indians at Tippecanoe. But 
 while Tecumseh was absent on this errand, his people in Indiana suf- 
 fered a terrible blow. Tecumseh had a brother known as the Prophet, 
 who gave the settlers almost as much trouble as Tecumseh himself. 
 In 181 1 the Prophet collected a band of warriors around him in a 
 town on the banks of the Tippecanoe River. Many of the Indians of 
 Tippecanoe were worthless fellows, and some were guilty of stealing 
 horses and murdering white men. Governor Harrison asked the 
 Prophet to surrender the horse-thieves and murderers. But the 
 messengers of the governor were insulted, and the guilty Indians were 
 not given up. Governor Harrison now made up his mind that the 
 
192 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Prophet and his band must be punished. At the head of an army 
 he marched to Tippecanoe and gave the red men battle. Tecumseh 
 was not present to lead the Indians, and the Prophet was not a good 
 fighter. So they were defeated. Those who were not killed fled 
 from Indiana, and looked for hunting-grounds in the country farther 
 west. The white men were greatly pleased by what Governor Har- 
 rison had done, and he became known as the hero of Tippecanoe. 
 
 Along the Ohio River: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois. 
 
 The people of the West need a good kind of boat. Now that 
 the Indians were out of the way, the pioneers could build their cabins 
 and till their fields in peace. The land was very rich, and it was easy 
 to raise large crops of wheat and corn. Indeed, the farmers soon 
 found they were raising more grain than they could sell, because they 
 could not ship it to a market. No canals or railroads had yet been built 
 in the western country. There were many fine rivers, but few sail- 
 boats, for sail-boats do not move easily in narrow streams. There 
 were many flat-boats on the western rivers, but these were clumsy and 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. ROBERT FULTON 
 
 ^93 
 
 slow. What the people of Ohio and Indiana needed was a boat that 
 would carry heavy burdens and move swiftly and easily in narrow 
 streams. 
 
 Robert Fulton invents the steamboat. Robert Fulton, of New 
 York, gave the farmers of the West the kind of boat they needed. 
 Fulton was an artist, but he was very fond of mechanics. When a 
 boy, he was always trying to make some kind of a machine. At the 
 age of fourteen he designed a boat with paddle-wheels on the side, 
 which were to be worked by turning a crank. When he reached man- 
 
 The Clermont on its first trip up the Hudson. 
 
 hood, he went to England, where inventors were trying to run vessels 
 by steam. 
 
 Young Fulton closely watched these experiments, and, when he re- 
 turned to the United States, his head was full of plans for a steam- 
 boat. He was poor, but a friend furnished him with money to carry 
 out his ideas. So he built a steamboat called the Clermont. In 1807 
 the Clermont made a trip on the Hudson River from New York to 
 Albany, a distance of 150 miles. The voyage up-stream to Albany was 
 
194 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 made in thirty-two hours, and down-stream back to New York in 
 thirty hours. This was much faster than any boat had ever sailed 
 on the Hudson, and soon everybody was talking about Fulton and his 
 wonderful steamboat. 
 
 This was just the kind of boat the people of the West needed, and 
 soon the new kind of vessel was seen on the western rivers. In 1811 
 a steamboat was built on the Ohio, and within a few years dozens of 
 them were puffing along on that river and on the Mississippi, carrying 
 to market the crops which the farmers raised, and passengers as well. 
 
 Indiana Territory becomes a State. After the steamboat ap- 
 peared the settlement of the West went on faster than ever. In In- 
 diana, towns and villages grew so rapidly that people could hardly 
 believe their eyes. In 181 3 there was only a single hut on the spot 
 where the town of Vevay now stands. Three years later, a man 
 traveling down the Ohio stopped at Vevay and found a well built town 
 with a court-house, a school-house, a public library, stores, hotels, and 
 nearly a hundred dwellings. In one year — 18 16 — forty thousand 
 settlers went out to Indiana and found homes for themselves. By 
 this time Indiana desired to enter the Union ; and no wonder, for the 
 population of the Territory was nearly 100,000. The wish of her 
 people was granted, and in 181 6 Indiana became a State. 
 
 Illinois. At the time Indiana w^as growing so rapidly, Illinois 
 was also filling up with settlers. These pioneers were not greatly dis- 
 turbed by the Indians, for after the red men were defeated at Tippe- 
 canoe, they moved to the country west of the Mississippi. Before they 
 left Illinois, however, they struck one heavy blow at the white man. 
 During the War of 1812 they attacked Fort Dearborn, which stood 
 where the city of Chicago now is, and killed in a most cruel manner 
 more than fifty soldiers and a number of helpless women and children. 
 
 Illinois was made a Territory in 1809, but its population grew so 
 
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. ROBERT FULTON 195 
 
 fast that in a few years it was ready to be a State, and was admitted 
 into the Union in 1818. 
 
 Thus by the hard labor of the pioneers, by the firmness of Governor 
 Harrison in deaHng with the Indians, and by Fulton's invention of 
 the steamboat, the country north of the Ohio was settled in a few 
 short years and the three great States of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois 
 
 ("") "-^ - 
 
 <~^l^}iim'0--'ii--^^ 
 
 ii'^*=%=r,; 
 
 y^^^^ 
 
 Fort Dearborn, winch stood where the city of Chicago now is. 
 
 were built up. And what a wonderful change was made in this part 
 of the western country by the coming of the white man! Before 
 he came, the region north of the Ohio was a place of forests and 
 Indians and wild beasts. After he came, the Indians and wild beasts 
 disappeared, forests were cleared away, the land was cultivated, and 
 towns and cities were built. 
 
 1. When was Ohio admitted into the Union? 
 
 2. When was Indiana made a Territory? Who was the first governor of the 
 Territory? 
 
 3. Who was Tecumseh, and why did he declare war against the whites? 
 
 4. Tell the story of the defeat of the Indians at Tippecanoe. 
 5'. Why were the people of the West unable to sell their grain? 
 
 6. Tell the story of Fulton and his steamboat. 
 
 7. What can you say of the steamboat on western rivers? 
 
 8. What can you say of the growth of Indiana in the earl}^ days? 
 
 9. Give the early history of Illinois. 
 
LESSON XXXI 
 
 ELI WHITNEY. ANDREW JACKSON 
 
 Name the States that border on the Gulf of Mexico. Where is Yale College? 
 What is a tutor? Define fiber. Trace on a map of the United States the 33rd 
 parallel of latitude. Describe the Tallapoosa River ; the Alabama River. 
 
 While the pioneers were fighting with the Indians and settHng the 
 country north of the Ohio River, other pioneers were fighting with the 
 Indians and settling the country around the Gulf of Mexico. In this 
 lesson you are to learn how three great States arose out of the wilder- 
 ness in the Southwest between 1800 and 1820. 
 
 Eli Whitney; the cotton-gin. In the last lesson we saw that a 
 
 great invention — the steamboat — helped 
 to build up the country north of the Ohio. 
 Another great invention helped to build up 
 the country around the Gulf of Mexico. 
 This was the cotton-gin. The inventor 
 was Eli Whitney. Whitney was born in 
 Massachusetts in 1765. His father was a 
 farmer, and it was in a workshop on his fa- 
 ther's farm that Eli first learned the use of 
 tools. At the age of nineteen he entered 
 Yale College and graduated there in 
 1792. 
 
 After he had finished his course at Yale, 
 Whitney went to Georgia and took a position as a tutor in a private 
 family. While there he became acquainted with Mrs. Greene, the 
 
 196 
 
 Eli Whitney. 
 
ELI WHITNEY. ANDREW JACKSON 
 
 197 
 
 Picking cotton by hand. 
 
 widow of that General Greene who fought so bravely in the Revolu- 
 tion (p. 159). One day a number of planter^ who were visiting Mrs. 
 Greene began to talk of the hard times they wei ' -^ving. They said 
 they were not making any money, because they could not sell enough 
 cotton. They could raise large quanti- 
 ties of it but they could not clean it after 
 it was raised. Before the cotton was 
 ready for use, the seeds had to be sepa- 
 rated from the fiber, and to do this re- 
 quired a great deal of labor. The seeds 
 had to be picked out by hand, and it 
 took a slave a whole day to clean a single 
 
 pound. While the planters were talking, one of them said he wished 
 somebody would invent a machine that would clean cotton quickly 
 and cheaply. " Gentlemen," said Mrs. Greene, '' ask my young friend, 
 Mr, Whitney, to make the kind of machine you want — he can make 
 anything." The planters then talked it over with the young man, 
 
 who said he would try to make what 
 they needed, although he had never 
 in his life seen any cotton just as it 
 came from the plant. 
 
 Whitney obtained some cotton 
 with the seeds in it, shut himself up 
 in his room, and began to work on 
 the machine. While he w'as busy at 
 his task, nobody except Mrs. Greene 
 For a whole winter he tinkered and ham- 
 mered and sawed. When the machine was finished, Mrs. Greene asked 
 some planters to come and see it at work. As they watched it, the 
 planters saw that their problem had been solved, for the new machine 
 
 Whitney's cotton-gin. 
 
 was allowed to see him. 
 
198 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 cleaned as much in a minute as one pair of hands could do in an hour. 
 W hitne}' called his invention the cotton-engine, but soon the word en- 
 gine was shortened to " gin," and the machine became known as the 
 cotton-gin. Whitney's great invention was completed in 1792, and 
 within a very few years planters were raising ten times as much cotton 
 as they raised before. 
 
 Now that the planters could clean all the cotton they could grow, 
 they began to plant larger and larger fields with it, and soon all the 
 best cotton-land on the southern seaboard was brought under cultiva- 
 tion. So they began to move, with their slaves, into the country 
 around the Gulf of Mexico, where there was plenty of land to be 
 had on which cotton could be raised. We must follow these planters 
 into the Southland, and learn what they did for the region that lies 
 about the great Gulf. 
 
 The Louisiana Purchase. The story of the Southwest began 
 with Louisiana. You remember that President Jefferson in 1803 
 purchased Louisiana from France (p. 182). But the territory w'hich 
 Jefferson bought included all the country between the Mississippi 
 River and the Rocky Mountains, a tract much too large for a single 
 State. So Louisiana was divided up, and out of the vast region 
 w4iich Jefferson bought there have been carved the great States^ of 
 Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North 
 Dakota, South Dakota, and parts of Minnesota, Colorado, Montana, 
 Wyoming, and Oklahoma. 
 
 The State of Louisiana. The first of these to become a State 
 was Louisiana. Soon after Jefferson made the great purchase, he 
 sent William Claiborne to New Orleans to take possession of 
 Louisiana in the name of the United States. The people living in 
 Xew Orleans were French, but they were willing to become citizens 
 of the United States. So when Claiborne hauled down the French 
 
ELI WHITNEY. ANDREW JACKSON 
 
 199 
 
 flag which was waving over the city hall and raised the American 
 flag in its place, the people of New Orleans were not very sorry, for 
 they felt sure that they woiild be treated well by the United States. 
 
 One of the first things done by the new government was to cut 
 Louisiana into two parts. In 1804 the part that lies south of the 
 
 statute Miles 
 
 Around the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 33rd parallel of latitude was cut off from the main body of Louisiana 
 and was made a Territory, called the Territory of Orleans. Its chief 
 city was New Orleans. The land in the new Territory was good for 
 raising sugar and cotton. So planters from the older States, who 
 wanted more land for cotton, moved into the Territory of Orleans in 
 great numbers. By 181 2 the population had grown to nearly 50,000. 
 
200 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Since this was large enough for a State, the Territory of Orleans was 
 allowed to come into the Union, not as the State of Orleans, but as the 
 State of Louisiana. 
 
 The Creek Indians; Andrew Jackson. While the planters were 
 moving down into Louisiana, bold pioneers were making a settle- 
 ment in the wild region that lay to the east — a region that was soon 
 to be the State of Mississippi. The Mississippi country was full of 
 Indians. The settlers tried to live in peace with the red men, but 
 they could not do so. You remember that in 1811 Tecumseh left 
 
 Indiana and went south to plot 
 against the whites (p. 191). He 
 met the Creek Indians in one of 
 their towns on the Tallapoosa 
 River and made a great speech. 
 He told them that his arm would 
 appear in the heavens like a pillar 
 of fire, and that, when they saw 
 this, they must begin the war 
 against the whites. Soon after 
 Tecumseh made this speech, there 
 was a heavy thunder-storm and of course there was much light- 
 ning. The Creeks thought the lightning was Tecumseh's arm, and 
 so they began the war upon the white man. In 18 13 a thousand 
 painted warriors attacked Fort Mims, on the Alabama River. In 
 the fort there were five hundred whites — men, women, and chil- 
 dren. The Creeks marched silently upon the fort while the whites 
 were eating their dinner. The surprise was complete, and in a few 
 hours nearly every person in the fort was killed. 
 
 But the Creeks were soon punished for their bloody work, for 
 Andrew Jackson, a man of whom we have heard before (p. 187) and 
 
 Tecumseh made a great speech to the Creeks. 
 
ELI WHITNEY. ANDREW JACKSON 
 
 201 
 
 of whom we shall hear again, marched against them with fifteen hun- 
 dred of the best riflemen of Tennessee. He was suffering from a 
 wound in the shoulder at the time, and he had to carry his arm in 
 a sling. But this did not prevent him from pursuing the Creeks and 
 defeating them wherever he met them. 
 
 After the final defeat of the Creeks great streams of cotton plant- 
 ers moved down into the Mississippi country, and 
 in a few years two new States were built up. The 
 first of these was Mississippi, which entered the 
 Union in 1817; the second was Alabama, which 
 was admitted in 1819. 
 
 Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama grew rap- 
 idly in wealth and population, and soon thousands 
 of plantations around the Gulf were white with cot- 
 ton. For this wonderful growth the planters could 
 thank Jackson, who taught the Indians of the South that they must 
 let white men live in peace, and they could thank Eli Whitney, who 
 gave them the cotton-gin and thus made it possible to raise cotton with 
 profit. 
 
 The cotton plant. 
 
 1. Tell the story of Eli Whitney and the invention of the cotton-gin. 
 
 2. Why, after the invention of the cotton-gin, did planters move down into the 
 Southwest ? 
 
 3. What States were carved out of the Louisiana Purchase? 
 
 4. What was the early history of the State of Louisana? 
 
 5. Tell how the Creek Indians made war upon the whites. 
 
 6. Tell how Andrew Jackson punished the Creeks. 
 
 7. What three States were built up around the Gulf of Mexico between 1800 and 
 1820? What invention helped greatly in the growth of these States? 
 
LESSON XXXII 
 
 THE LAND BEYOND THE MISSISSIPPI 
 
 Trace the course of the Missouri River from its source to its mouth, naming the 
 States through which and between which it flows. What is an explorer? Locate 
 Bismarck, North Dakota. Describe the Clearwater River; the Snake River; the 
 Columbia River. Locate Jefferson City, Missouri ; Little Rock, Arkansas. 
 
 Daniel Boone finds " more elbow-room." In the last lesson you 
 learned how the white man, between 1800 and 1820, carried his set- 
 tlements as far west as the Mississippi River. But he did not stop 
 there. Even before Jefferson bought Louisiana from the French, 
 Americans had begun to cross the great stream and make settlements 
 in the wilderness beyond. 
 
 In 1799 Daniel Boone moved from his home in the Ohio Valley 
 and settled on the banks of the Missouri River. Boone was now an 
 old man ; but his body was still strong, and he could still bring down 
 game with his trusty rifle. He left the Ohio Valley, he said, because 
 there were too many people there. He sought a new home where he 
 could have " more elbow-room." And surely he found it in the 
 Missouri country, for he could hunt in the forest around him for 
 hundreds of miles and for weeks at a time and not meet with a single 
 white man. 
 
 Lewis and Clark camp near the home of Boone. In 1804 a 
 party of explorers camped near Boone's Lick, the place where Boone 
 had built his home on the. Missouri. The explorers were led by Cap- 
 tain Meriwether Lewis and Captain William Clark. These men had 
 
 202 
 
THE LAND BEYOND THE MISSISSIPPI 
 
 203 
 
 been sent out by Jefferson with orders to follow the Missouri River 
 to its source, to cross the Rocky Mountains, to find a river, if there 
 was one, that flowed into the Pacific, and to follow that river to the 
 sea. They were to make a careful study of the country through 
 which they passed, and were to learn all they could about the Indians, 
 the plants, and the animals. It was a wonderful experience which 
 Lewis and Clark had before them, for they were to travel thousands 
 of miles through a wilderness which had never before been looked 
 upon by the eyes of white men. 
 
 What Lewis and Clark saw on their journey. Late in the 
 spring of 1804, Lewis and Clark left the Boone settlement and started 
 on their long journey up the Missouri. As they moved along, things 
 new and strange constantly greeted their eyes. On the shores of the 
 river were delicious fruits — mulberries, currants, plums, raspberries, 
 wild apples. Then, too, there was plenty of game — deer, elk, bear, 
 and wild turkeys, geese, swans, and ducks. Buffaloes were seen in 
 great numbers, and they were so tame and gentle that the travelers 
 sometimes had to drive them out 
 
 of their way with sticks and 
 stones. One of the most inter- 
 esting of the animals seen was 
 the antelope. The flight of this 
 animal seemed to the explorers 
 to be like the flight of a bird. 
 One day, Captain Clark saw 
 seven antelopes on a ridge about 
 two hundred yards away 
 
 
 Antelopes. 
 
 The animals caught sight of him and fled. 
 Clark ran to the spot where the antelopes had stood, and behold, they 
 were standing on another ridge three miles away ! 
 
 The explorers spend the winter with the Indians ; grizzly bears. 
 
204 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 By November, 1804, Lewis and Clark had traveled sixteen hundred 
 miles, and had made their way up the Missouri River as far as the 
 country of the Dakotas. At a place not far from the present city of 
 Bismarck the explorers built some huts which they called Fort Man- 
 dan. Here they spent the winter. Many Indians came to the fort, 
 and the white men and the red men became very good friends. The 
 white men played upon their musical instruments, and the savages 
 were delighted by the sounds of the violin and the flute. They in- 
 vited the explorers to join them in a great buffalo-hunt, and Captain 
 Clark went, with fifteen of his men, Clark himself killing ten buf- 
 faloes. 
 
 When spring came, the explorers broke camp and with light hearts 
 set out again on their journey. They traveled in boats, still follow- 
 ing the winding course of the Missouri. In the upper Missouri 
 country they had many thrilling encounters with grizzly bears. Once 
 
 six men, all of them good hunters, at- 
 tacked a large grizzly. Four of them 
 fired upon the bear, lodging four bul- 
 lets in his body. This only made the 
 brute furious, and he ran at the men 
 with mouth wide open. The two 
 other men now raised their guns and 
 fired, but the bear did not halt. He 
 dashed on and the men took to their 
 heels. Two of them jumped down a bank twenty feet into the river. 
 The bear sprang after them and was within a few feet of them when 
 one of the hunters on shore shot the animal in the head and killed 
 him. 
 
 Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific Ocean. But the grizzly bears 
 did not check the onward march of the explorers. On and on they 
 
 They had thrilling encounters with grizzly 
 bears. 
 
OUR C 
 
'^ IN 1820 
 
THE LAND BEYOND THE MISSISSH^PI 
 
 205 
 
 went, pushing farther and farther into the strange and wonderful 
 land which stretched out toward the setting sun. It was early sum- 
 mer when they came to the foot of the Rocky Mountains, and be- 
 fore the summer had ended they had toiled up the western slope 
 of the Rockies and reached the high 
 ridge which divides the waters that flow 
 into the Atlantic from those that flow 
 into the Pacific. 
 
 They now found a stream that flowed 
 down the western slope of the moun- 
 tains. This was the Clearwater River. 
 The Clearwater bore them to the Snake 
 River, the Snake to the Columbia, and 
 the Columbia to the Pacific. On the 8th 
 of November, 1805, Captain Clark wrote 
 in his diary : " Great joy in camp ! 
 We are in view of the ocean which we 
 have been so long anxious to see." The explorers had a right to re- 
 joice for they had done something never before done by white men : 
 they had traveled clear across the country which is now the United 
 States. 
 
 Missouri is settled and Boone longs for " more elbow-room." 
 Lewis and Clark wrote an account of their travels, and many who 
 read it turned their eyes toward the country beyond the Mississippi. 
 Trappers and fur-traders followed the path made by the explorers, 
 and it was not long before Americans were carrying on a fur trade 
 in the far-off country called Oregon. Settlers in great numbers 
 pushed out into the Missouri country, and in a few years there were 
 so many of them in Missouri that Boone again began to wish for 
 *' more elbow-room." Between 1810 and 1820 nearly 50,000 people 
 
 We are in view of the ocean which we 
 have been so long anxious to see." 
 
2o6 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 poured into Missouri, and in 1821 it was admitted as a State. In 
 the same year Maine came into the Union. 
 
 Changes between 1800 and 1820. In 1820, just before Missouri 
 ceased to be a Territory, Daniel Boone passed away. When he died, 
 he was in the eighty-sixth year of his age. The last twenty years 
 of his life were spent in the country beyond the Mississippi. How 
 wonderful were the changes which took place under the old man's 
 eyes in those twenty years! In 1800 he saw a Union of sixteen 
 States; in 1820 he saw a Union of twenty-two States, and if he had 
 lived a few months longer he would have seen a Union of twenty- 
 four States. In 1800 he saw only two States west of the AUeghanies ; 
 in 1820 he saw there were eight States west of these mountains, and 
 that within a few months there would be nine. And how fast the 
 Frontier Line must have seemed to him to be moving during his last 
 years! In 1800 the white man's settlements had just reached Cin- 
 cinnati. Twenty years later the Frontier Line had crossed the 
 Mississippi and had moved on to points as far west as Jefferson City, 
 Missouri, and Little Rock, Arkansas. 
 
 The movement of the Frontier Line between 1800 and 1820 is 
 shown on the double-page map between pages 204 and 205. Study 
 this map carefully and you will learn much of the wonderful growth 
 of our country during the early years of the nineteenth century. 
 
 1. Why did Daniel Boone move into the Missouri Country? 
 
 2. What were Lewis and Clark ordered to do? 
 
 3. What were some of the things seen by these men on this journey? 
 
 4. Where and in what manner did the explorers spend the winter? 
 
 5. Tell the story of the encounter with the grizzly bear. 
 
 6. Where and at what point did they reach the Pacific? 
 
 7. What was the early history of Missouri? 
 
 8. What great changes took place in the United States between 1800 and 1820? 
 
LESSON XXXIII 
 
 PRESIDENT MONROE 
 
 Define the word statesman. Trace on the map the route of a traveler who starts 
 at Washington, D. C, passes through Baltimore, Philadelphia, Trenton, New York, 
 New Haven, Boston, Albany, Buffalo, and Detroit and returns to Washington. 
 Define parallel, anti-slavery compromise. Name the principal countries of South 
 America. 
 
 In the last three lessons you learned of the growth of our country 
 between 1800 and 1820. The men who were our Presidents during 
 these wonderful years were Thomas Jeff- 
 erson, James Madison, and James Mon- 
 roe. You already know about Jefferson 
 and Madison. In this lesson you are to 
 learn about President Monroe. 
 
 The career of Monroe. James Mon- 
 roe was born in Westmoreland County, 
 Virginia, near the place where Washing- 
 ton w^as born and not far from the birth- 
 place of Madison. Washington, Madi- 
 son, and Monroe, therefore, were 
 neighbors. When the War of the Revo- 
 lution began, Monroe, at the age of 
 eighteen, entered the American army. 
 He was with Washington at the battle of Trenton, where he was 
 wounded in the wrist. He fought in several other battles and was 
 
 207 
 
 Tames Monroe. 
 
2o8 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 known as a brave soldier. When he was still a very young man, 
 he began to take part in public affairs. He was successful as a states- 
 man and was elected and appointed to many important offices. He 
 was governor of Virginia, a member of the United States Senate, 
 and minister to France. It was he who helped Jefferson to buy 
 Louisiana from France. 
 
 When Madison became President, he chose Monroe as his Secre- 
 tary of State. At the end of Madison's second term, in 1816, the 
 people thought that Monroe was the best man to succeed him. So 
 Monroe was elected President, and on the fourth of March, 181 7, 
 he was inaugurated. In 1820 he was- elected for a second term. He 
 was President, therefore, for eight years. 
 
 Monroe journeys through the States. Soon after Monroe was 
 inaugurated, he started from Washington on a journey which did 
 not end until he had passed through most of the States of the Union. 
 He visited Baltimore, Philadelphia, Trenton, New York, New Haven, 
 Boston, Buffalo, Detroit. He was treated with great respect wher- 
 ever he went, and honors were showered upon him. When he en- 
 tered a city he was met by the leading citizens, bells were rung, and 
 cannon were fired. At New York he heard a salute fired from two 
 guns which were taken by the soldiers whom he commanded at the 
 battle of Trenton. At Boston, regiments of soldiers and thousands 
 of citizens on horseback and in carriages escorted him through the 
 streets, while fifty thousand men, women, and children cheered him 
 as he passed along. Why did all the people join in giving Monroe 
 such a warm welcome, and why did they bestow upon him such great 
 honors? Because the United States was now a great nation, and the 
 people felt that it was their nation and that President Monroe was 
 their President. 
 
 Billy Bowlegs and Andrew Jackson. When Monroe returned 
 
PRESIDENT MONROE 
 
 209 
 
 to Washington after his long journey, he found plenty of work 
 awaiting him. One of the first things he did was to make war upon 
 the Seminole Indians. After the Creeks were defeated by Jackson 
 (p. 200), some of the Creek warriors fled to Florida and joined the 
 Seminoles, whose chief was Billy Bowlegs. With the Indians there 
 were also about a thousand negro slaves who had escaped from their 
 masters in Georgia. In 18 16 the Seminoles and these negroes, led 
 by Billy Bowlegs, rushed up into Georgia and plundered the southern 
 part of the State. They burned barns, drove off cattle, and killed 
 several persons. The President decided that these outrages must 
 
 They drove off the cattle. 
 
 cease. He sent Andrew Jackson with a body of Tennessee riflemen 
 against Billy Bowlegs and his lawless band, and it was not long be- 
 fore the Seminoles were defeated in battle and brought to their senses. 
 Monroe buys Florida from Spain. When Jackson marched into 
 Florida against the Seminoles, he marched into a foreign country, 
 for Florida at that time still belonged to Spain (p. 49). Under 
 Spanish rule Florida was badly governed, and Monroe felt that it 
 ought to belong to the United States. So he offered to buy it for 
 $5,000,000. Spain accepted the offer, and in 18 19 Florida became a 
 part of the United States. It was soon made a Territory and An- 
 
210 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 drew Jackson was appointed governor. After this the Seminoles 
 gave no more trouble. Florida gradually increased in population,^ 
 and in 1845 was admitted to the Union. 
 
 The Missouri Compromise. By the time the Seminoles were 
 put down and the Florida cjuestion settled, Monroe was having an- 
 other troublesome matter to deal with. This was the slavery question. 
 You remember that after the invention of the cotton-gin planters in 
 great numbers moved down into the new States of the Southwest, 
 taking their slaves with them. Some took their slaves across the 
 Mississippi River and settled in the Missouri country. 
 
 When the people of Missouri 
 asked to be admitted to the Union 
 (p. 206), the planters, of course, 
 wanted Missouri to come in as a 
 slave State. But there were many 
 members of Congress who thought 
 it was not right to own slaves, and 
 
 these members were unwilling that 
 Missouri should be admitted un- 
 less it was made unlawful to hold 
 slaves in the new State. They were 
 willing that slavery should continue 
 in those States in which it already 
 existed, but they were unwilling 
 that it should be permitted in any 
 of the new States that were to be carved out of the Louisiana Pur- 
 chase. On the other hand, many members of Congress saw nothing 
 wrong in holding slaves, and were willing that slavery should exist in 
 all these new States. 
 
 When the question of admitting Missouri came up before Con- 
 
 Negro slaves and their cabins. 
 
PRESIDENT MONROE 211 
 
 gress, there was a long debate and a bitter quarrel. It happened 
 that, at the very time that Missouri was asking to be admitted as a 
 slave State, Maine was asking to be admitted as a free State, that is, 
 as a State in which there were to be no slaves. But the Congressmen 
 from the slave States said that Maine should not be admitted unless 
 Missouri was admitted at the same time. 
 
 The quarrel continued for many months, and at last was settled 
 in the following way: Maine was admitted as a free State, and 
 Missouri was admitted as a slave State, but it was provided that 
 there should be no more slave States created out of any of the land 
 of the Louisiana Purchase lying north of the parallel of 36° 30' 
 north latitude. Find this parallel on a map of the United States, 
 and you will see in what part of the country it was to be unlawful 
 in the future to hold slaves. 
 
 Because the law which admitted Missouri gave to the slave owners 
 a part of what they asked for and gave to the anti-slavery people a 
 part of what they asked for, it was called the Missouri Compromise. 
 On March 2, 1820, the Missouri Compromise bill was passed, and 
 the next day a bill was passed admitting Maine as a State. President 
 Monroe signed the two bills, and thus the slavery question was settled 
 for a time. 
 
 The Monroe Doctrine. In 1823, President Monroe had to deal 
 with a serious question relating to the countries of South America. 
 You will remember that all South America except Brazil (p. 22) \vas 
 claimed by Spain. For three hundred years the countries of South 
 America — Buenos Aires (now Argentine), Chili, Peru, Bolivia, and 
 the others were governed by Spain as colonies, just as the colonies 
 of North America were governed by England. But in the early 
 years of the nineteenth century these countries began to break away 
 from the mother country and declare their independence, and by 
 
212 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 1820, Spain had lost nearly all her colonies in the Western Hemi- 
 sphere. 
 
 In 1823, however, it seemed that some of the great countries of 
 Europe were planning to help Spain to regain her lost colonies. This 
 meant that these countries were planning to send soldiers to South 
 America and conquer the countries that had won their independence. 
 Monroe did not want to see this done. He did not wish to have the 
 nations of Europe meddle in the affairs of the Western Continent, 
 for he was afraid if they did so that they would take possession of 
 South America and also of Mexico, and would prove dangerous 
 neighbors to the United States. 
 
 So Monroe in 1823 sent a message to Congress, and in it he said 
 that there were three things that the rulers of Europe must plainly 
 understand: First, that the countries on the American continent 
 were free and independent, and that they should remain so; second, 
 that in the future no European country should plant any colony on 
 the American continent; and third, that, if the countries of Europe 
 attempted to extend their power anywhere on the American con- 
 tinent, the United States would regard them as enemies. When the 
 rulers of Europe heard about the President's message, they gave up 
 their plan of helping Spain. So the countries of South America were 
 not disturbed. The people of the United States were pleased with 
 what Monroe said to Congress, and the words of his message have 
 become known as the Monroe Doctrine. To this day, the people of 
 the United States believe that the Monroe Doctrine is sound. 
 
 What was done while Monroe was President. Monroe's ad- 
 ministration came to an end in 1825. During the eight years in 
 which he had been President, Arkansas had been made a Territory 
 (in 1819), Missouri and Maine had been made States, Florida had 
 been bought from Spain and made a part of the United States, the 
 
PRESIDENT MONROE 213 
 
 Missouri Compromise had been agreed upon, and the Monroe Doc- 
 trine had been proclaimed. Moreover, during this " era of good feel- 
 ing " the country had enjoyed great prosperity and had grown rapidly 
 in wealth and population. So when Monroe left the White House, 
 in 1825, almost everybody felt that he had been a good President. 
 
 1. What can you say of the public career of Monroe before he became President? 
 
 2. Tell the story of Monroe's journey through the States. 
 
 3. Give an account of the trouble with the Seminole Indians. 
 
 4. Under what circumstances did the United States get possession of Florida? 
 
 5. What question concerning slavery arose when Missouri asked to be admitted as 
 a State? How was the question settled? 
 
 6. What is meant by the Monroe Doctrine? What caused Monroe to announce 
 this doctrine? 
 
 7. What important things were done while Monroe was President? 
 
LESSON XXXIV 
 
 IN THE DAYS OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 
 
 When and where was John Quincy Adams born? What does the word era mean? 
 Locate Cumberland, Maryland; WheeHng, West Virginia. Trace upon a map the 
 route of the Erie Canal. Name the cities situated upon this canal. How far is it 
 from Buffalo to Albany? How far is it from Albany to New York? How long 
 would it take to travel from Albany to Buffalo at the rate of four miles an hour? 
 Trace upon a map the route of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Trace the route of 
 the New York Central Railroad. Tell what you can about George Stephenson, the 
 founder of railways. 
 
 John Quincy Adams. In 1824, when the second term of Monroe 
 was about to end, it became necessary to elect a new President. Of 
 
 the five who had thus far been elected, all 
 except John Adams had come from Vir- 
 ginia. Many people were beginning to 
 feel that Virginia was having more than 
 her share of such honors. John Adams, 
 of Massachusetts, wanted his son, John 
 Quincy Adams, to be elected, but he felt 
 there was no hope as long as any one in 
 l^ Virginia wanted the office. " There will 
 be no chance for my son," he said mourn- 
 fully, " until all the Virginians are in the 
 uincy . ams. gravcyard." But John Adams cried out 
 
 before he was hurt, for he lived to see his son chosen as President to 
 succeed Monroe. 
 
 214 
 
IN THE DAYS OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 215 
 
 John Quincy Adams was inaugurated on March 4, 1825. He was 
 as well fitted for his high office as any man that ever sat in the Presi- 
 dential chair. He had a great mind, and he was honest, brave, in- 
 dustrious, and conscientious. He had held many important public 
 offices, and he filled all of them well. He had served as Secretary of 
 State under Monroe. When Adams entered upon his duties as Presi- 
 dent, he found that the " era of good feeling " which existed in the 
 days of Monroe was passing away, and that a time of bad feeling 
 was ahead. He wanted to do many good things for the country; 
 but Congress would not help him, and without the help of Congress 
 a President can do very little. So he failed to do many of the things 
 that he earnestly wished to do. 
 
 The National Road. President Adams was greatly interested 
 in the building of canals and roads. He wanted to see the seaboard 
 States connected with the Western States by good roads and canals, 
 so that travel between the East and the West might be more com- 
 fortable and freight carried at cheaper rates. At the beginning of 
 his presidency there was only one good road leading from the East 
 to the West. This was a turnpike which ran from Baltimore to Fred- 
 erick City, Maryland, to Cumberland, Maryland, and on to the town 
 of Wheeling, which was then in Virginia. The part of this road 
 which lay between Cumberland and Wheeling was known as the 
 National Road, because it was built by money furnished by the Na- 
 tional Government. Adams wanted Congress to vote money to build 
 more national roads and to construct canals between important places. 
 But Congress refused to do this, and he was unable to carry out his 
 plans. 
 
 De Witt Clinton and the Erie Canal. But the work which the 
 President wished to do and could not was undertaken by other men. 
 Foremost among them was De Witt Clinton, the governor of New 
 
2l6 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 York. Clinton was one of the greatest men of his day. He saw that 
 the people of eastern New York ought to have better means of com- 
 munication with the West, so he persuaded the New York legislature 
 to give the money necessary for building a canal from Albany to 
 Buffalo. 
 
 Erie Canal, Pennsylvania Canal, and Baltimore and Ohio Railway 
 
 In 1817 the work was begun, and in 1825 the "big ditch," known 
 as the Erie Canal, was completed. It was a great day in New York 
 when the new waterway was opened. The celebration began at Buf- 
 falo. All along the canal from Buffalo to Albany and all along the 
 
IN THE DAYS OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 217 
 
 Hudson River from Albany down to the sea cannon had been placed, 
 and at the moment when the canal was opened at Buffalo the cannon 
 began to open their throats, carrying the news along the whole length 
 of the canal and down the Hudson to New York City. When the 
 last cannon was fired at the Battery, a return salute was given and 
 the news was carried back to Buffalo that the people of New York 
 had heard that the canal was opened. Starting at Buffalo, a fleet of 
 boats with the Seneca Chief at their head moved eastward along the 
 canal, and, as they passed, they were greeted at tow^n after town by 
 bands of music and by the cheers of thousands who stood on the 
 banks. When the fleet reached New York City, almost everybody 
 turned out to welcome it. On board the Seneca Chief there was a 
 keg which had been filled with water taken from Lake Erie. When 
 the fleet reached Sandy Hook, Governor Clinton took the keg and 
 poured its contents into the sea. Then the governor announced that 
 the waters of the Great Lakes were married to the waters of the 
 Atlantic Ocean and that the Erie Canal was open to travel and to 
 trade. Within a year after this opening the canal was alive with thou- 
 sands of boats and rafts. 
 
 What the Erie Canal did for the country. The people of New 
 York did well to rejoice at the opening of the canal, for it was the 
 greatest event in the history of their State, and one of the greatest 
 in the history of our country. For what did the Erie Canal do for 
 New York and for the country ? 
 
 In the first place, it gave the people an easier and better way of 
 traveling. Passenger-boats, called packets, were placed on the canal. 
 These packets were fitted up with berths and dining-rooms. Travel 
 on the canal was slow, to be sure, for the boats were drawn by horses 
 or mules at the rate of only four miles an hour, but the journey was 
 pleasant and agreeable. In fine weather the travelers sat on the roof 
 
2l8 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 In fine weather the travelers sat on the 
 roof of the packet. 
 
 of the packet and talked, read, and played cards, or amused them- 
 selves in various other ways. 
 
 In the second place, the Erie Canal reduced the cost of carrying 
 goods. Before it was opened it cost nearly one hundred dollars to 
 
 carry a ton of freight from New 
 York City to Buffalo; after the canal 
 was opened, it could be carried for 
 twenty dollars. 
 
 But the most important thing done 
 by the Erie Canal was to help in the 
 building up of the West. Before 
 the canal came, western New York 
 was still a forest, but in a few years 
 after the waterway was opened this 
 forest was cleared away and western New York '' blossomed as 
 the rose." Soon beautiful towns and cities — Rome, Syracuse, 
 Rochester, Buffalo — appeared upon the banks, like '' pearls upon a 
 string." 
 
 Michigan and Arkansas. The influence of the canal extended 
 beyond western New York. The new waterways hastened the 
 growth of the States that border upon the Great Lakes. Northern 
 Ohio, of course, felt its influence first, then Michigan, to which emi- 
 grants from New England and New York went out by the thou- 
 sands and tens of thousands. They filled up the country so fast 
 that in a few years Michigan had a population of 100,000 souls, and, 
 in 1837, was admitted into the Union as a free State. It was the 
 custom of Congress, when it admitted a free State, to admit, at 
 about the same time, a slave State also. Accordingly, in 1836, Arkan- 
 sas was admitted as a slave State, in order to offset the admission of 
 Michigan, which was about to come in as a free State. 
 
IN THE DAYS OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 
 
 219 
 
 The first railroads. While John Quincy Adams was President, 
 the first railroads in the United States were built. At first, the rails 
 were made of wood, and the cars were drawn by horses. But soon 
 strips of iron were fastened to the wooden rails, and the cars were 
 drawn by locomotives. 
 
 In 1828 Charles Carroll, of Maryland, a very old man, who had 
 signed the Declaration of Independence, broke the ground for a steam 
 railway that was to connect the city of Baltimore and Ellicott Mills. 
 The length of this road was about thirteen miles, and the locomotive 
 
 A train on an early railroad. 
 
 that drew the first train was built by Peter Cooper, of New York. 
 In 1830 Cooper's locomotive was put upon the tracks of the new road, 
 and a trial trip w^as made. The trip was successful, although it took 
 an hour and twelve minutes to run the thirteen miles. After this, 
 other railroads were built in different parts of the United States and 
 within a few years there were more than twenty carrying freight and 
 passengers. 
 
 Andrew Jackson. Thus, while John Quincy Adams was Presi- 
 dent, he saw Clinton and others do many of the things which he would 
 gladly have done himself if Congress had given him a helping hand. 
 
220 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Although he could not carry out his plans, he was nevertheless a good 
 President, and, when his first term came to an end, he felt that he 
 ought to be elected for a second term. But he found himself opposed 
 by Andrew Jackson. This remarkable man, of whom you have al- 
 ready heard, was born in a log-cabin in a backwoods settlement in 
 South Carolina in 1767. In that year his father died, so Andrew 
 grew up with a widowed mother, who had two other sons. He began 
 to help his mother as soon as his little hands were able to do 
 any work. He went to school in a log school-house and there learned 
 the three R's (page 100). When he was in his early teens, the bat- 
 
 First home of Andrew Jackson. 
 
 ties of the Revolution were being fought all around him. Mrs. Jack- 
 son and all her three boys were Patriots. One of her sons, Hugh, 
 died at the age of sixteen, while serving in the American army. 
 
 Young Andrew himself took a part in the Revolution. He gives 
 the following account of his experiences in the war: " I was in one 
 skirmish, and there they caught me, along with my brother Robert. 
 A British lieutenant tried to make me clean his boots, and cut my 
 arm with a saber when I refused. After that, they kept me in jail 
 about two months, starved me nearly to death, and gave me the small- 
 pox. Finally, my mother succeeded in persuading them to release 
 
IN THE DAYS OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS 221 
 
 Robert and me on account of our extreme youth and illness. Then 
 Robert died of the smallpox, and / barely escaped death. When it 
 left me I was a skeleton — not quite six feet long and a little over six 
 inches thick." 
 
 When Jackson reached manhood he went to Tennessee and became 
 a lawyer. Besides practising law Jackson fought against the Indians, 
 for there were still many in Tennessee. Jackson was a good fighter, 
 and, as we have already learned (pages 201 and 209), he soon became 
 the hero of his State. After his great victory at New Orleans (page 
 187), he became the hero of the whole country. 
 
 This was the man who opposed John Quincy Adams in the election 
 that was held for President in 1828. He went among the people and 
 asked them to vote for him. The people liked his brave and daring 
 manner, and, when the time for election came, many more votes were 
 cast for Jackson than for Adams. So in 1828 Andrew Jackson 
 was elected President, and in 1832 he was elected for a second term. 
 What he did while he was President you will learn in the next lesson. 
 
 1. What can you say of the character of John Quincy Adams 
 
 2. Why did John Quincy Adams fail in his undertaking? 
 .3 Give an account of the National Road. 
 
 4. Tell the story of the building and the opening of the Erie Canal. 
 
 5. What were some of the benefits of the Erie Canal ? 
 
 6. Give an account of the growth of Michigan. When were Michigan and Arkan- 
 sas admitted to the Union? 
 
 7. Tell the story of the first steam railway. 
 
 8. Give a sketch of the life of Andrew Jackson. 
 
LESSON XXXV 
 
 JACKSON AND HIS TIMES 
 
 Name some of the officers and employees — if you know any — who are in the 
 service of the United States. How do these officers and employees receive their 
 appointments? For how long a time do they hold their places? What do you un- 
 derstand by the words, "To the victors belong the spoils"? Sketch the life of 
 Martin Van Buren, telling where and when he was born and giving an account of 
 the important things done by him. In the same manner, sketch the life of William 
 Henry Harrison. What is a panic? 
 
 " Old Hickory " is inaugurated amid the cheers of the people. 
 
 Jackson was a great friend of the common people, and the common 
 
 people were his friends. When the news 
 came that ''Old Hickory" — the nick- 
 name for Jackson — was elected Presi- 
 dent, there was rejoicing among the peo- 
 ple in all parts of the country. Thou- 
 sands flocked to Washington to see the 
 new President inaugurated. Weeks be- 
 fore that event the hotels and boarding- 
 houses in the Capital were filled to over- 
 flowing. Hundreds of visitors had to 
 sleep on floors and in hallways. 
 
 Inauguration day came (March 4, 
 1829), and Jackson found himself surrounded by plain citizens. He 
 moved about among the crowds as if he were only a plain citizen him- 
 
 222 
 
 Andrew Jackson. 
 
JACKSON AND HIS TIMES 223 
 
 self. When the hour for the inaugural ceremony arrived, Jackson, 
 on foot, made his way through the crowd to the Capitol. As he 
 walked along, he was cheered by people sitting in carts and wagons 
 and vehicles of every kind. ' When he finished his inaugural address, 
 a wild shout went up for " Old Hickory," and thousands rushed for- 
 ward to seize the hand of the people's President. In order to escape 
 the crowd, Jackson mounted a horse and rode toward the White 
 House. But when Jackson reached his new home, it was already filled 
 with people scrambling for the cakes and punch and ices that were be- 
 ing served, and in the scramble breaking furniture, glassware, and 
 china. With great difficulty Jackson managed to enter, but in doing 
 so he was pressed against the wall and badly crushed. 
 
 Jackson rewards his friends by giving them offices. Many of 
 the men who crowded into the White House went there for something 
 more important than cakes or punch, for "^^^^i^.^. 
 
 many of them were seeking office. These of- 1 xl ( ^^^B ||I-"l* 
 fice-seekers had helped to elect Jackson, and Ipl! ^n^^ljv-' I 
 they felt that it was only right that Jackson ^^^^Wv^^^^'^r^ 
 should reward them. And Jackson did re- -^ii^t^yk MmI-' 
 ward them. He turned out postmasters and ^Mii^- X|^ IbA 
 clerks by the hundreds, giving their places to ^^Mm j /M \^^^. 
 the men who had shouted for Jackson. In ^^ 
 
 Omce-seekers cro\\ding into the 
 
 doing this he felt that he was doing no wrong. ^^'^"^^ House. 
 
 He thought that in the campaign of 1828 he and his friends had fought 
 a hard battle and had won a great victory, and that it was only right 
 that they should have all the benefits of it. His motto was, " To the 
 victors belong the spoils." 
 
 South Carolina wishes to withdraw from the Union. In 1832, 
 President Jackson was greatly troubled by events which were taking 
 place in South Carolina. Congress had passed a law imposing a heavy 
 
224 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 tariff — a tax on imported goods — upon articles made of cotton, 
 wool, and iron. Since goods of this kind were greatly needed in the 
 South but were not manufactured there, the people of the Southern 
 States were displeased by the tariff law. " They felt they ought to be 
 allowed to buy their goods from abroad without paying the tariff. 
 In South Carolina the people opposed the tariff in every way they 
 could. They decided that they would not pay the duties which the 
 Government required them to pay. They went farther, and said that 
 South Carolina would secede — that is, that she would withdraw from 
 the Union — rather than pay a tax which she thought was unfair. 
 To show that they were in earnest, they prepared for war. 
 
 All this troubled Jackson greatly, for it was his duty to see that the 
 law was obeyed. When he heard what the people of South Carolina 
 were planning to do, he made up his mind that the law should be en- 
 forced and that he, too, would get ready to fight. He informed the 
 leaders in South Carolina that the laws of the United States should 
 be obeyed on every foot of American soil, and that, if a movement 
 to resist the law resulted in the loss of a single life, he would hang 
 the leaders of it to the nearest tree. Now when Jackson talked of 
 hanging, it was time to think of ropes, for Jackson always meant 
 what he said. But the people of South Carolina were also in earnest, 
 and they meant what they said ; they were ready to refuse to pay the 
 tariff ; they were ready to withdraw from the Union ; they were ready 
 to fight. 
 
 Jackson felt that he would have to send an army of the United 
 States soldiers into South Carolina and uphold the law by force. But 
 fortunately, before this was done, Congress (in 1833) passed a new 
 tariff law, which satisfied the people of South Carolina. They de- 
 cided to obey it, and gave up their plans for secession. So there was 
 peace again in the land. 
 
JACKSON AND HIS TIMES 
 
 225 
 
 Jackson is elected for a second term. About the time President 
 Jackson was having so much trouble with South Carolina he was 
 again before the people asking them to elect him for a second term. 
 The candidate who opposed him was Henry Clay, of Kentucky. 
 Clay, of whom we shall hear again, was a brilliant man and a great 
 favorite, but nobody could beat Jackson. When the election was held 
 arid the votes counted, it was found that the President had been re- 
 elected by a great majority. This was in 1832. 
 
 President Van Buren. When Jackson's second term was about 
 to come to an end, he expressed a wish that Martin Van Buren, of 
 New York, be elected President. But William 
 Henry Harrison, of Indiana, was the choice of a 
 great many people. Harrison was the hero of 
 Tippecanoe (page 191) and very popular in the 
 West. So in 1836 both Van Buren and Harri- 
 son were candidates for the Presidency. Van 
 Buren, with Jackson on his side, was elected, and 
 was inaugurated on March 4, 1837. 
 
 While Van Buren was President, times were 
 hard and there was a great deal of suffering 
 among the people. Business was dull, work- 
 men were thrown out of employment, and the price of food was so 
 high that in some places poor people could not get enough to eat. The 
 people asked Van Buren to remedy these conditions, and he, of course, 
 did everything he could, but the hard times continued. 
 
 " Tippecanoe and Tyler, too." Although Van Buren was not 
 to blame for the hard times, the people held him responsible for the dis- 
 tress which was felt in so many places. When his term was coming 
 to an end many people were opposed to him and wanted a new Presi- 
 dent. But Van Buren offered himself as a candidate for reelection. 
 
 Martin Van Buren. 
 
226 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 He was opposed by William Henry Harrison, who again came for- 
 ward, with John Tyler, of Virginia, on his ticket as candidate for Vice- 
 President. 
 
 This campaign of 1840 was one of the most exciting in our his- 
 tory. In the course of it some one said that Harrison was not fit to 
 be President — that all he was fit for was to sit in a log-cabin and 
 
 drink hard cider. This sneering re- 
 mark did Harrison more good than 
 harm, for thousands of those who 
 would vote at the election had them- 
 selves lived in log-cabins. So the 
 friends of Harrison made the most 
 of the sneer. They called Harrison 
 <r|f the log-cabin candidate. They placed 
 log-cabins on wheels and pulled them 
 from town to town. As they rolled 
 along, merry fellows sat on the roof eating johnny-cake, drinking 
 cider, and shouting " Tippecanoe and Tyler, too ! " 
 
 In the West Harrison's name was on every tongue. Women named 
 their children Tippecanoe. Teamsters would call one of their horses 
 Tip and the other Ty. " The very hens in the West," said one man, 
 " are on the side of Harrison, for a hen nowadays never lays an egg 
 but she cackles ' Tip-tip ! Tip-tip ! Tyler ! ' " As a result of this en- 
 thusiasm Harrison was elected by a large majority. 
 
 The log cabin campaign. 
 
 1. Give an account of the inauguration of Jackson? 
 
 2. How did Jackson reward his friends? 
 
 3. Why did South Caroh'na wish to withdraw from the Union? How was the 
 trouhle with South Carolina settled ? 
 
 4. Who were the candidates for President in 1832? Who was elected? 
 
 5. Who were the candidates in 1836? What was the result of the election? 
 
 6. Tell the story of the great campaign of 1840. 
 
LESSON XXXVI 
 
 THE WINNING OF THE FAR WEST 
 
 Locate Williamsburg, Virginia. What is meant by an independent nation? 
 Trace on a map of the United States the 49th parallel of north latitude. Describe 
 the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. Locate in Mexico, Palo Alto; Monterey; 
 Buena Vista; Vera Cruz; Cerro Gordo, Pueblo; Mexico City. Define lieutenant; 
 commodore. 
 
 President Harrison is inaugurated ; his death. General A\'illiam 
 Henry Harrison was inaugurated as President on the fourth of March, 
 1 84 1. When he entered the White House to begin his duties, he 
 found a crowd of office-seekers awaiting him, 
 for his followers were as hungry for office as 
 those of Jackson had been (page 222). Day 
 and night they flocked around the new 
 President. Some of them slept in the halls 
 and corridors of the White House so as to 
 be the first to waylay the President in the 
 morning. Harrison was greatly worried by 
 the people, for he did not have places for 
 all. But his cares were soon over, for on 
 the fourth of April, one month after his 
 inauguration, he died. This was the first 
 time a President had died in office. 
 
 The Vice-President becomes President, 
 telegraph to flash the news of the President's death over the country 
 
 William Henry Harrison. 
 
 There was then no 
 
228 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 John Tyler. 
 
 yet it spread rapidly from place to place. A messenger sped to Wil- 
 liamsburg, Virginia, to inform John Tyler, the Vice-President, of the 
 event. He hastened to Washington and reached 
 the city at daybreak on the sixth of April, hav- 
 ing made the journey in twenty-one hours. He 
 at once took the oath of office as President of 
 the United States. This was the first time a Vice- 
 President had ever become President. Tyler 
 served until March 4, 1845, the date at which 
 Harrison's term would have ended had he lived. 
 Texas becomes a State. President Tyler, 
 like John Ouincy Adams (page 215), failed 
 to receive the support of Congress, and the re- 
 sult was that he was unable to do many of the things he wished to 
 do. He did one thing, however, that was of great importance: he 
 helped to bring into the Union a State almost as large as France. 
 This State was Texas. For many years it had been one of the States 
 of Mexico, but in 1836 it broke away from that country and set up a 
 government of its own. So at the time Tyler became President, 
 Texas was an independent nation. But many 
 of the people of Texas were Americans, and 
 they wanted Texas to be joined to the United 
 States, so that they might live under the Stars 
 and Stripes. 
 
 President Tyler was in favor of bringing 
 Texas into the Union, and Congress also was in 
 favor of the plan. So in February, 1845, j^^st 
 a few days before Tyler's term came to an end, 
 the '' Lone Star State," as Texas was called, was annexed to the 
 United States. This pleased the people of Texas ; it also pleased the 
 
 The Flag of Texas. 
 
THE WINNING OF THE FAR WEST 229 
 
 cotton planters of the South, for in the new State there were milhons 
 of acres of good cotton-land which could be cultivated by the labor of 
 the slave. 
 
 The election of President Polk. In 1844 President Tyler's term 
 was drawing to an end and the people had to choose a new President. 
 Tyler came forward as a candidate, but he soon 
 saw there was no chance for him to be elected, 
 and decided to withdrav^ from the campaign. 
 This left two candidates in the field — Henry 
 Clay, and James K. Polk of Tennessee. Clay, as 
 you have already learned, was very popular 
 throughout the United States. His hopes of ^ 
 winning the election must have been strong, for 
 Polk was not a well known man. Indeed, the ^■ 
 people knew so little about him that a great many ^^^^ ^ p^^j. 
 
 persons had to ask, ''Who is Polk, anyhow?" 
 Yet when the votes were counted, it was found that Clay was defeated 
 and that Polk was elected. Clay felt his defeat very keenly, for his 
 heart had long been set on the Presidency. 
 
 The Oregon country. When Polk was inaugurated on March 
 4, 1845, the rain fell in torrents, and as he delivered his inaugural 
 address at the front of the Capitol, he seemed to be speaking to thou- 
 sands of umbrellas. In his speech Polk said that the Oregon country 
 belonged to the United States, and that it was our duty to take pos- 
 session of that far-away region at once. 
 
 This speech of the President created much excitement in England. 
 The English felt that part of the Oregon country l)elonged to them, 
 as some English people, chiefly fur-traders, had settled there. But 
 most of the settlers were Americans, and, about the time Polk was 
 inaugurated, emigrants from the older States were moving out to 
 
2Z0 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Oregon by the thousands. In 1845 it had really become an American 
 settlement, and it was of little use for Great Britain to claim it. 
 Nevertheless, the English people became very angry and began to talk 
 of w^ar when they heard what Polk had said. 
 
 The President, however, went ahead with his plans. He told Great 
 Britain that the English might have that part of Oregon which lay 
 north of the 49th parallel, but that the United States must have the 
 part that lay south of that parallel. England agreed to this, although 
 she felt that she was not being treated fairly. In 1846 the Oregon 
 question was settled in this way and the best part of the Oregon coun- 
 try became a part of the United States. Out of it there have come 
 the States of Oregon, Washington, and the greater part of Idaho. 
 
 A dispute leads to fighting. President Polk, however, soon 
 gave the United States a possession which was even more valuable 
 than the Oregon country, for, in a little more than a year after he 
 planted the American flag in Oregon, he also planted it in New Mex- 
 ico and California. But before he did this, there was a w^ar between 
 the United States and Mexico. 
 
 After Texas was annexed to the United States, a dispute arose as 
 to what were its rightful boundaries. Mexico claimed the land be- 
 tween the Nueces River and the Rio Grande. Texas also claimed it, 
 and her claims were defended by Polk. Mexican troops were sent to 
 the disputed country, and American troops were sent there also. In 
 April, 1846, the two armies fell to fighting and the war began. 
 
 The Mexican War. The Mexican War was a short one, and its 
 story is soon told. When it broke out, in the spring of 1846, General 
 Zachary Taylor — generally known as ''Old Rough-and-Ready " — 
 was on the Mexican border with an army of Americans. He met the 
 Mexicans in battle at Palo Alto, Monterey, and Buena Vista, and de- 
 feated them. In the spring of 1847 General Winfield Scott landed an 
 
THE WINNING OF THE FAR WEST 
 
 231 
 
 army of twelve thousand men at Vera Cruz, and, after capturing that 
 city, began a march to the City of Mexico. By August the Americans 
 had defeated the Mexicans at the mountain pass of Cerro Gordo, had 
 taken the city of Pueblo, and had reached the crest of the mountains, 
 
 Map of the war with Mexico. 
 
 where they could look down upon the magnificent valley which led 
 to the City of Mexico. 
 
 The Mexicans fought hard in defense of their country. But it was 
 of no use; the Americans pushed on, winning victory after victory. 
 
232 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 -^ <^-^j ^^j 
 
 On September 14 General Scott, at the head of his army, entered the 
 City of Mexico in triumph. With the capture of the capital the war 
 came to an end, for the Mexicans offered no further resistance. 
 The winning of New Mexico and California. While the fight- 
 ing was going on, great things were 
 happening in the Mexican provinces 
 of New Mexico and California. In 
 June, 1846, the American troops, 
 under the command of Colonel 
 Stephen Kearney, marched to Santa 
 Fe, captured the town, and took pos- 
 session of all New Mexico. < Kearney 
 and his men then marched to Cali- 
 fornia, where he found that the coun- 
 try had already been won for the 
 United States by a small body of sol- 
 diers under the command of Lieuten- 
 ant John C. Fremont, assisted by some 
 sailors under the command of Com- 
 modore Stockton. 
 What the United States acquired during the administrations of 
 Tyler and Polk. So at the end of the Mexican War the Americans 
 found themselves in possession of the disputed portion of Texas — 
 the part between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande — and of New 
 Mexico and California. By treaty it was agreed with Mexico that we 
 should keep the territory which we had taken. In return, however, 
 the United States agreed to pay to Mexico the sum of $15,000,000 — • 
 precisely the amount which President Jefferson had paid for Louisiana 
 (page 182). Thus, during the administrations of Tyler and Polk, an 
 immense area was added to the United States. Look at a map and 
 
 General Scott entering the City of Mexico. 
 
THE WINNING OF THE FAR WEST 
 
 233 
 
 observe how vast this area v^as. You will see that out of the land 
 which we acquired between 1840 and 1850 there have been made the 
 States of Texas, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, California, Ne- 
 vada, New Mexico, and Arizona, and parts of Wyoming, Montana, 
 Oklahoma, and Colorado. 
 
 The election of 1848. Although Polk had done 
 so much to win the Far West for the United States, 
 he was not elected for a second 'term. In 1848 his 
 party — the Democratic — nominated Lewis Cass, 
 of Michigan. The Whig Party nominated General 
 Zachary Taylor, of Louisiana, for President and 
 Millard Fillmore, of New York, for Vice-President. 
 Taylor was not a great statesman, but in the Mexi- 
 can War he had been a great fighter, and, for that 
 reason, he was well liked by the people. Taylor won the election, 
 and in March, 1849, he was inaugurated as President. 
 
 Zachary Taylor. 
 
 1. Give an account of the inauguration and death of President Harrison. 
 
 2. Who became President after the death of Harrison? 
 
 3. How did Texas become a State? 
 
 4. Give an account of the election of President Polk. 
 
 5. How did the Oregon country become a part of the United States? 
 
 6. What dispute led to fighting between the United States and Mexico? 
 
 7. Tell the story of the Mexican War. 
 
 8. Give an account of the winning of New Mexico and California. 
 
 9. What territory in the Far West and in the South-west was acquired by the 
 United States while Tyler and Polk were Presidents? 
 
 10. Give an account of the election of 1848. 
 
LESSON XXXVII 
 
 WESTWARD HO ! 
 
 What is a continent? What is the distance across the American continent when 
 measured from the city of New York to San Francisco? Locate Milwaukee; 
 Madison; St. Paul; Sacramento; Salt Lake City; Kansas City, Missouri; Albu- 
 querque. In 1845 how could one travel by water from New York to Milwaukee? 
 From New York to San Francisco by water? What is a prairie? What can you 
 say of the climate of California? Describe the Humboldt River. 
 
 In the last lesson you learned how Tyler and Polk, between 1840 
 and 1850, gave Texas, the Oregon country, California, and New Mex- 
 ico to the United States, and thus carried the American flag clear 
 across the continent and planted it on the Pacific Coast. In this les- 
 son we shall see how settlers, 
 during the same period, moved 
 out into these possessions and 
 built up new States and Terri- 
 tories. 
 
 Iowa, Wisconsin, and Min- 
 nesota. Before we begin to 
 learn of the settlement of the 
 Far West, we must first see 
 what happened in the region of 
 the Great Lakes and the Upper Mississippi. You remember that, 
 after the Erie Canal was finished, the Michigan country was rap- 
 idly filled with settlers. But all the emigrants did not stop there. 
 Thousands of them moved on to the western shore of Lake Michi- 
 
 234 
 
 The first capitol of Wisconsin. 
 
WESTWARD HO ! 235 
 
 gan and settled in the Wisconsin country. In 1835 the first houses 
 in Mihvaukee were built, and the next year a surveyor marked out 
 the streets for a town which has grown to be the beautiful city of 
 Madison. Wisconsin filled so fast with settlers that in a few years 
 her population was large enough for a State and in 1848 she was al- 
 lowed to enter the Union. While Wisconsin was rising out of the 
 forest, Iowa was rising on the prairies. By 1838 ferries were busy 
 bringing pioneers across the Mississippi into Iowa, and steam- 
 boats on the Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri were crowded with pas- 
 sengers bound for the 
 same place. By 1846 
 so many emigrants had 
 poured in that Iowa 
 was then admitted as a 
 State. 
 
 By this time settlers 
 were making their way 
 up' to the headwaters 
 of the Mississippi. In 
 1849 St. Paul was founded and made the capital of a territory which 
 was called Minnesota. Thus, in a few short years, two States and 
 two Territories arose out of the wilderness in the region of the Great 
 Lakes and the Upper Mississippi. 
 
 The discovery of gold in California. All the emigrants who 
 went west between 1840 and 1850 were not content to make their 
 homes in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Thousands of them 
 moved on across the great plains and over the mountains to the far-off 
 Pacific Coast. Many followed the Oregon Trail, which led them out 
 into the Oregon country where they settled down and laid the founda- 
 tions of Oregon, which was organized as a Territory in 1846. 
 
 Steamboats on the Mississippi. 
 
236 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 California was the place in the Far West upon which most of the 
 emigrants fixed their eyes. The first settlers there were attracted by 
 the delightful climate and the excellent soil. But in 1848 California 
 had a new attraction for emigrants. In that year a man named 
 Marshall, a settler in the Sacramento Valley, picked up something 
 
 THE M.-N. WORKS, 
 
 Along the Upper Mississippi and around the Great Lakes. 
 
 which promised to be gold, and in a few weeks it was discovered that 
 there were great quantities of this precious metal in the valley. 
 
 The rush to California. When this news reached the Eastern 
 States, it caused great excitement among all classes. Old men, young 
 men, professors, lawyers, farmers, laborers, began to have dreams of 
 wealth, and were seized with a desire to go to California, where they 
 believed they could get rich in a week. Thousands made a wild dash 
 for the newly found gold-fields. They traveled on foot, on horse- 
 
WESTWARD HO ! 
 
 237 
 
 back, in wagons, in carts, in boats. Some went all the way by water, 
 sailing around Cape Horn. Others went by water to the Isthmus of 
 Panama, which they crossed, and took ship again on the Pacific side. 
 
 Most of the emigrants went overland. Starting from a point near 
 Kansas City, Missouri, some made the toilsome journey by the Santa 
 Fe Trail, driving their slow mule-teams or ox-teams across hot and 
 sandy deserts and over rough and dangerous mountain paths, and 
 suffering many hardships on the way. Others went by the Oregon 
 Trail as far as the Humboldt River, 
 where they turned to the southwest 
 and moved down into the Sacramento 
 Valley where lay the wonderful fields 
 of gold. 
 
 California becomes a State. 
 When we took possession of Califor- 
 nia (page 2;^2), its population was 
 only about 10,000. Two years after 
 the discovery of gold its population 
 was nearly 100,000. San Francisco 
 in 1848 was a mere village, but in five 
 years it was a city of 35,000 inhabi- 
 tants. Of course, so many people 
 
 could not live together without a government, and a strong government, 
 too, for among the miners there were many lawless characters and 
 much violence and disorder. So the people of the gold region asked 
 Congress to admit California as a State. Congress, after debating ^ 
 the question a long time, granted their request. This was in the year 
 1850. 
 
 Utah. About the time Oregon and California were filling up 
 
 1 An -account of the great debate will be given in Lesson XXXIX. 
 
 A gold miner. 
 
238 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 with settlers, the foundations of Utah were being laid. The pioneers 
 of Utah were the Mormons. The first home of the Mormons was in 
 western New York. From New York they moved to Ohio, and from 
 Ohio to Missouri. In Missouri they got into trouble and were ordered 
 to leave the State. So they went from Missouri to Illinois. Here 
 they got into trouble again and their leader, Joseph Smith, was killed. 
 In 1847 they chose a new leader, Brigham Young, and decided to seek 
 'a home in the Far West. In a thousand covered wagons they left 
 
 ^^ 
 
 Salt Lake City in 1848. 
 
 Illinois, and after a long journey across the plains, they came to a val- 
 ley in the Salt Lake basin. Here they made a settlement. 
 
 The Mormons wanted the country where they had finally settled to 
 be made a State, but Congress would not consent. It saw, however, 
 that the Mormons needed a government of some kind, so in 1850 it 
 created the Territory of Utah. Salt Lake City was chosen as the 
 capital and Brigham Young was appointed as the first governor. The 
 Mormons were allowed to live in their new home in peace, but they 
 had to wait until 1896 for Utah to be admitted to the Union. 
 
WESTWARD HO ! 
 
 239 
 
 New Mexico. At the time that Utah was made a Territory, an- 
 other Territory, New Mexico, was formed in the Far West. When 
 New Mexico came into our possession (page 232), it included the 
 greater part of what is now Arizona, and contained a population of 
 about 50,000. An attempt was made to bring New Mexico into the 
 Union at once. But Congress would not let her come in. Congress, 
 however, did not neglect her entirely, for, on the same day that Utah 
 was made a Territory, New Mexico was also made a Territory. 
 
 You can now see how wonderful was the growth of our country 
 between 1840 and 1850. Within these ten years Texas, Florida, 
 Iowa, Wisconsin, and California were admitted into the Union as 
 States, while Minnesota, Oregon, Utah, and New Mexico were or- 
 ganized as Territories. And, with the exception of Florida, all these 
 States and Territories were built up in the wild country west of the 
 Mississippi. No wonder everybody was saying during these years, 
 " Westward the course of empire takes its way," and that the watch- 
 word of the times was " Westward Ho ! " 
 
 1. Tell the story of the early history of Wisconsin ; of Iowa ; of Minnesota. 
 
 2. Give an account of the discovery of gold in California and describe the rush 
 to the gold-fields. 
 
 3. Under what circumstances, and when, was California admitted into the Union? 
 
 4. Tell the story of the Mormons and the founding of Utah, 
 
 5. What was the early history of New Mexico? 
 
 6. Name all the States that were admitted into the Union between 1840 and 
 1850; name all the Territories that were founded between these years. 
 
LESSON XXXVIII 
 
 MC CORMICK, MORSE, AND HOWE 
 
 Define invention; inventor; patent; electric; discouragement. What does the 
 word telegraph mean? How^ far is it from Baltimore to Washington? How far is it 
 from New York to San Francisco ? How long does it take to send a message from 
 New York to San Francisco by mail? How long does it take to send a message from 
 New York to San Francisco by telegraph? 
 
 While pioneers between 1840 and 1850 were building up the Middle 
 West and the Far West, men in the East were busy on farms, in fac- 
 tories, and in stores, building up our industries and trade. Among 
 these men there were three whose services were so great that we must 
 in this lesson learn what they did. The three men were Cyrus Mc- 
 
 Cormick, Samuel F. B. Morse, and 
 Elias Howe. 
 
 McCormick and his reaper. Cy- 
 rus McCormick was the inventor who 
 gave to the United States and to the 
 world the Reaper. IMcCormick was 
 born in Virginia in 1809. His father 
 was a blacksmith, and Cyrus learned 
 his father's trade. He saw that Amer- 
 ican farmers were raising more grain 
 than could be cut with the old-fash- 
 ioned scythe, so he set his wits to work to invent a machine that would 
 cut grain. He toiled long years at his task, and in 183 1 he completed 
 a machine which he believed would work. 
 
 240 
 
 Cyrus McCormick. 
 
Mccormick, morse, and howe 
 
 241 
 
 " One day in July," says Mr. Casson, in his interesting life of Mc- 
 Cormick, " with no spectators except his parents and his excited broth- 
 ers and sisters, Cyrus put a horse between the shafts of his reaper 
 and drove against the yellow grain. The reel revolved and swept the 
 gentle wheat downward upon the knife. Click! Click! Click! The 
 white steel blade shot back and forth. The grain was cut. It fell 
 upon the platform in a golden swath. Here, at last, was a reaper that 
 reaped, the first that had ever been made in any country." 
 
 McCormick's first reaper was of course a clumsy affair, and the 
 farmers of the neighborhood poked much fun at it. But the young 
 
 w McCormick's first reaper. 
 
 man paid no attention to the sneers of his neighbors. He kept at his 
 task, making improvements upon the first machine, and by the year 
 1 84 1 he was making reapers which farmers were glad to buy. Mc- 
 Cormick sold a few of his reapers in Virginia, but he saw that the 
 West was the place for his invention. On a trip which he took 
 through Ohio and Illinois he saw great fields of ripe wheat rotting 
 on the ground because there were not enough laborers to harvest it. 
 Farmers, with their wives and children, had worked day and night 
 to gather the crop, but it was more than the scythe could cut. 
 
242 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 McCormick decided to go where his reapers were most needed, 
 and in 1847 he moved to Chicago, buih a factory, and began to make 
 his machines. He was successful from the beginning. In less than 
 a year he sold 500 reapers, and before ten years had passed, he had 
 sold nearly 25,000. When McCormick died, in 1884, his Chicago 
 factory was making reapers at the rate of 50,000 a year, and there 
 were in use in all parts of the world more than 500,000 of his ma- 
 chines, doing the work that would have taken 5,000,000 men with 
 the old-fashioned sickle and scythe. 
 
 Morse and his electric telegraph. About the time that Mc- 
 Cormick's first reapers were beginning to click, another inventor was 
 
 working on a machine which also went 
 Click! Click! Click! This inventor was 
 Samuel F. B. Morse. Morse was born in 
 1 79 1 in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He 
 was one of eleven children, and his father 
 was a poor man, so young Morse had to 
 make his own way in the world. For a 
 long time he found it rough and full of 
 hardships. He studiec^to be an artist, and 
 became quite skilful as a painter. But he 
 did not succeed in selling many of his pic- 
 tures, and he had a hard struggle with 
 poverty. Indeed, there were times when his wife and three children 
 had hardly enough to eat. 
 
 When he was past forty years of age and his life seemed to be a 
 failure, he began to work upon a machine which would send a message 
 along a wire by means of a current of electricity; that is, he began 
 to work upon the Electric Telegraph. After much labor he suc- 
 ceeded in making a machine that would send a message several miles. 
 
 Samuel F. B. Morse. 
 
Mccormick, morse, and howe 
 
 243 
 
 But Morse felt that he could make an instrument that would send a 
 message a hundred — yes, thousands of miles, if he only had enough 
 money to conduct the experiments. By good luck he made the 
 acquaintance of a rich young man named Alfred Vail, who became 
 greatly interested in the invention upon which Morse was working. 
 So Vail furnished the money for the experiments, and worked with 
 Morse while he was perfecting the machine. In the face of discour- 
 agement and bad luck Morse and Vail w^orked on patiently together, 
 and by 1843 their invention was completed. 
 
 In 1844 wires were stretched between Baltimore and Washington, 
 and a trial of the wonderful instrument was made. Morse sat at the 
 key in Washington and clicked off the message, " What hath God 
 
 The first message sent by telegraph. 
 
 wrought? " and in the twinkling of an eye it was received by Vail at 
 Baltimore, forty miles away. So Morse was at last successful. His 
 electric telegraph was soon in use not only in all parts of the United 
 States, but in all parts of the world. 
 
 Howe and his sewing-machine. Two years after Morse in- 
 vented the telegraph, Elias Howe invented the Sewing-Machine. 
 Howe was born in Spencer, Massachusetts, in 18 19. His father was 
 a farmer, and as soon as Elias was old enough, he began to work on 
 the farm. But his body was too weak for such heavy labor, so, at 
 the age of sixteen, he went to work in a machine-shop. One 
 day, while at work in Boston, he heard somebody say that a fortune 
 
244 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Elias Howe. 
 
 was in store for any man who would invent a sewing-machine. This 
 remark set young Howe to thinking. He asked himself, " Why can 
 not / make a sewing-machine ? " and he determined to try. He fixed 
 his mind upon the art of sewing, and, the more he thought about the 
 
 matter, the more firmly he became con- 
 vinced that he could make a machine that 
 would sew. 
 
 Accordingly, about 1844, he under- 
 took the task. He was now married, 
 and, like Morse and many other inven- 
 k tors, he was very poor. He earned only 
 nine dollars a week, yet out of this small 
 sum five mouths had to be fed and five 
 backs had to be clothed. But Howe felt 
 that, if he could make a machine that 
 would sew, his days of poverty would soon be over. So he went 
 about the work in earnest, and by 1845 ^^^ ^^^ completed a machine 
 that would sew at the rate of 250 stitches in a minute. This was about 
 seven times as many as could be made in the same time by hand. 
 
 Howe secured a patent for his machine in 1846, but it was a long 
 time before he was able to sell any of them. The cost of the first 
 machine had been nearly three hundred dollars, and this was more 
 than an ordinary tailor or seamstress could afford to pay. For sev- 
 eral years Howe went from place to place trying to sell his machine ; 
 but bad luck seemed to follow him. Once he was almost starving and 
 he had to borrow a few pennies from a friend with which to buy some 
 beans, which he cooked and ate in his room. In 1849 ^^ found him- 
 self in New York with only fifty cents in his pocket. But about 1850 
 the tide turned. His machines began to sell, and upon each one sold 
 he received a handsome sum of money. One year his income was 
 
Mccormick, morse, and howe 245 
 
 $200,000, and it is said that altogether his profits from his sewing- 
 machine amounted to more than $2,000,000. 
 
 We ought to be glad that Howe, and McCormick, and Morse were 
 richly rewarded for their labors, for they rendered a great service 
 not only to the people of the United States, but to the people of the 
 whole world. The reaper of McCormick made it possible for the 
 farmer to raise more wheat; more wheat, of course, meant more bread 
 for hungry mouths. The sewing-machine of Howe meant less toil 
 for millions of tired fingers and more clothes for the poorly-clad 
 bodies of millions of men and women. The electric telegraph of 
 Morse made it possible to send messages to all parts of the world with 
 the speed of lightning. 
 
 1. Tell the story of McCormick and his reaper. 
 
 2. Tell the story of Morse and his electric telegraph. 
 
 3. Tell the story of Howe and his sewing-machine. 
 
 4. What did these great inventions do for the world? 
 
LESSON XXXIX 
 
 WEBSTER, CLAY, AND CALHOUN 
 
 In what States are large quantities of cotton raised? Define abolition; bondage; 
 concede; ensign; gorgeous; inseparable; fragment; pacificator. What is a mob? 
 What is a fugitive? Can you find the north star? What is an orator? What is a 
 compromise ? 
 
 In the lesson before the last one you learned that California was 
 admitted into the Union in 1850. When the question of admitting 
 this State came up before Congress, several questions about slavery 
 had to be settled. The three great leaders in Congress at this time 
 
 were John C. Calhoun, Daniel Webster, and 
 
 Henry Clay. 
 
 Calhoun the Friend of the South. Cal 
 
 houn was born in South Carolina in 1782. 
 
 He attended Yale College and while there he 
 
 was a leader amons: the students. It is said 
 
 /JI^^^M^i^'^J^^W^ ^^^^ ^'^^ ^^'^^ ^'^^^^ ^y ^^^^ president of the Col- 
 lege that he would one day be President of 
 the United States. Although Calhoun never 
 became President he nevertheless held many 
 high offices under the Government. He was 
 a member of Congress, a Senator and twice he was elected Vice-Presi- 
 dent. When the trouble arose with South Carolina in 1832 (p. 223) 
 he stood up for his State bravely and declared that if a State was 
 treated unjustly it could rightfully leave the Union. While he was in 
 
 246 
 
WEBSTER, CLAY, AND CALHOUN 
 
 247 
 
 Daniel Webster. 
 
 Congress he defended the rights of slaveholders whenever he felt their 
 rights were being attacked. So Calhoun was the friend and champion 
 of the South and he was greatly loved by the south- 
 ern people. 
 
 Webster the Defender of the Union. Web- 
 ster was the same age as Calhoun. He was born 
 in New Hampshire but most of his life was spent 
 in Massachusetts. For many years he represented 
 Massachusetts in the United States Senate. He 
 was one of the greatest orators that ever lived and 
 he made many powerful speeches in the Senate. 
 He loved the Union dearly and he did not want 
 to see it broken up or weakened in any way. In one of his speeches 
 he said : " It is to the Union we owe our safety at home and our dig- 
 nity abroad. It is to that Union that we are chiefly indebted for 
 whatever makes us most proud of our country. While the Union lasts 
 we have high, exciting, gratifying prospects spread out before us. 
 When my eyes shall be turned to behold for 
 the last time the sun in heaven may I not see 
 him shining on the broken fragments of a once 
 glorious Union. Let their last feeble and lin- 
 gering glance rather behold the gorgeous en- 
 sign of the republic, not a stripe erased nor a 
 single star obscured, bearing the sentiment dear 
 to every true American heart — liberty and 
 Union, now and forever, one and inseparable." 
 Clay the Peace-maker. Clay was five 
 years older than Webster. He was born ^'^""■^ ^'^y- 
 
 in Virginia but just when he reached manhood he moved out to 
 Kentucky where he lived for the remainder of his life. We have 
 
248 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 already learned that Clay was a candidate for President in 1832 
 (p. 225) and also in 1844. He was the Secretary of State under John 
 Quincy Adams and he represented Kentucky in the United States 
 Senate. His great service in the Senate consisted in making peace. 
 Whenever a quarrel arose in Congress between the members of the 
 North and those of the South Clay always came forward with a plan 
 to settle the difficulty in a peaceful manner. Because he did so many 
 things in the cause of peace he was known as the " Great Pacificator." 
 In this lesson you are to learn what these three great men, Calhoun, 
 Webster, and Clay, did to settle the slavery question. But first it will 
 be best to learn something about slavery as it existed in 1850. 
 
 How slaves were treated. A slave was property and was owned 
 by his master just as you own your watch or your knife. If a slave 
 ran away from his master, men were sent out to find him and bring 
 
 him back. Sometimes runaway slaves were 
 hunted and run down by dogs known as blood- 
 hounds. Slaves had to work hard, and re- 
 ceived no wages for their labor. But they had 
 little need for money, for food, clothing, and 
 shelter were given to them by their master. If 
 , ^, ^, ^ a slave refused to work, or if he was worth- 
 
 A bloodhouna. 
 
 less and lazy, he was whipped, sometimes very 
 severely. Sometimes he was cruelly treated, but as a rule masters 
 were kind to their slaves. A cruel master was generally looked down 
 upon and shunned by his white neighbors. 
 
 The abolitionists. In the South most people felt that slavery 
 was right, but in the North a great many people felt that it was 
 wrong to hold human beings in bondage; they believed that all men, 
 white or black, yellow or red, ought to be free. About 1830 a few 
 men and women in the North began to cry out against slavery. They 
 
WEBSTER, CLAY, AND CALHOUN 249 
 
 said it was a sin and ought not to be allowed in a free country like 
 ours. They demanded that all slaves be set free. These people 
 were called abolitionists, because they believed that slavery ought to 
 be abolished, that is, wiped out. 
 
 William Lloyd Garrison. The great leader of the abolitionists 
 was William Lloyd Garrison. This remarkable man published a 
 newspaper called the " Liberator." In it he said such bitter things 
 about the evils of slavery that he made the slaveholders of the South 
 very angry. And he made some of the people of the North very angry 
 also, for there were some northern people w^ho saw nothing wrong 
 in the holding of slaves. In Boston, where Garrison lived and pub- 
 lished his paper, there were leading men who looked down upon 
 abolitionists and would have nothing to do with them. Once, Gar- 
 rison was attacked on the street by a mob and roughly treated. But 
 this great man could not be frightened and he did not care what men 
 might say about him. He went on speaking and waiting against 
 slavery. Every year the feeling against it grew stronger and stronger, 
 and the number of abolitionists grew _— =::^^-^^^^^^:^l_ 
 larger and larger. By 1850, there w^re 
 in the North hundreds of thousands of 
 abolitionists demanding that the slaves 
 should be set free. 
 
 The " underground railway." Gar- 
 rison and his followers were so much in 
 earnest, and so anxious to see slavery 
 abolished that they did some things that 
 they had no right to do. One of the un- 
 lawful things they did was to help slaves ^ " ergroun aiway. 
 escape from their masters. They established what they called an 
 " underground railway," by which runaway slaves could escape into 
 
250 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Canada, a country where it was unlawful to hold anybody as a slave. 
 This underground railroad was not a railroad at all; it was simply 
 an arrangement by which a secret band of abolitionists helped along 
 runaway slaves from one place to another until they were safely across 
 the border of the United States. The fugitive slave always made his 
 way northward, hiding in the woods in the daytime, and following 
 the north star at night. When he reached the border of Pennsyl- 
 vania or Ohio, he often found abolitionists waiting to help him in his 
 flight. By means of the underground railroad he was carried in se- 
 cret from place to place until his feet were on the free soil of Canada, 
 where he was out of reach of his master. 
 
 Four great questions. And now for the questions which 
 Congress had to settle in 1850: 
 
 (i) Should California come into the Union as a slave State? 
 
 (2) Should slavery be allowed in the new Territories (page 239) of 
 Utah and New Mexico? 
 
 (3) Should slavery and the slave-trade be allowed to continue in 
 the District of Columbia? 
 
 (4) Should the operations of the underground railroad be stopped? 
 That is, should strict laws be passed to prevent the abolitionists 
 from helping runaway slaves to escape ? 
 
 Calhoun, Clay, and Webster; the compromise of 1850. The 
 members of Congress from the Southern States said yes to every 
 one of these questions. The members from the Northern States said 
 no to every question. The questions were debated day after day, and 
 the disputes over slavery were very bitter. The leaders in the debate 
 in the Senate were Calhoun, Clay, and Webster. These three states- 
 men were now old men; but their minds were still clear, and they 
 entered heart and soul into the debate. Calhoun, the leader of the 
 South, Was in his seat In the Senate, wrapped in flannels and so feeble 
 
WEBSTER, CLAY, AND CALHOUN 
 
 251 
 
 that he could not rise and speak. But his speech was read for him 
 by a fellow-senator. In it he said he would vote yes on every one 
 of the questions, because that was what the South wanted, and also 
 because he was afraid that, if Congress voted no, the States of the 
 South would secede ; that is, they would withdraw from the Union. 
 Clay did not wish to vote yes on every question. He said there 
 ought to be a compromise; that is, there ought to be give and take. 
 The North, he thought, ought to concede something to the South, 
 and the South ought to concede something to the North. Webster 
 also thought there should be a compromise. He did not like slavery, 
 and, if he had followed his own wishes, "he would have voted no on 
 all four questions. But he, too, believed that, if Congress voted no, 
 the Southern States would secede, and the Union would be broken up. 
 So, out of love for the Union and in a spirit of good will and friendli- 
 ness to the South, he decided to support the plan of compromise sug- 
 gested by Clay, which was this : 
 
 1. To admit California as a free State. 
 
 2. To give Territorial government to 
 Utah and New Mexico without making any 
 provision one way or the other about slav- 
 ery. (This pleased the South.) 
 
 3. To prohibit the slave trade in the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia. (This pleased the 
 North.) But to allow slavery itself to 
 continue in the District of Columbia. 
 (This pleased the South.) 
 
 4. To pass a law that would be strict 
 enough to prevent the abolitionists from 
 helping slaves to escape. (This pleased the South.) 
 
 After a long debate Clay's plan of compromise passed both houses 
 
 (This pleased the North.) 
 
 Millard Filmore. 
 
252 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 of Congress, and was signed by the President in September, 1850. 
 The President who signed the bill was Millard Fillmore, for President 
 Taylor was no longer alive. In July, 1850, he suddenly fell ill, and 
 died in a few days, being succeeded by Vice-President Fillmore (page 
 
 The passing away of the great leaders. We shall hear no more 
 of Calhoun, Clay, and Webster, for these great leaders soon passed 
 away. Calhoun died before the great debate of 1850 was finished. 
 Clay followed him two years later, while Webster survived Clay only 
 four months. For more than thirty years these three men had been 
 leaders in public life, and when they were gone, they were greatly 
 missed. 
 
 1. How were slaves treated? 
 
 2. What can you say of the Abolitionists and of William Lloyd Garrison? 
 
 3. Give an account of the underground railroad. 
 
 4. What four great questions did Congress have to settle in 1850? 
 
 5. What answer did Calhoun, Clay, and Webster have for these questions? 
 
 6. What was Clay's plan of compromise? 
 
 7. What can you say of the passing away of Calhoun, Clay, and Webster? 
 
LESSON XL 
 
 STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS 
 
 What kind of work does a cabinet-maker do ? Locate Jacksonville, Illinois ; 
 Lawrence, Kansas. Define ambitious, sentiment. What are the names of the two 
 great political parties at the present time? Prepare a sketch of the life of Frank- 
 lin Pierce and read the sketch in class. Prepare a sketch of the life of James Bu- 
 chanan and read the sketch in class. 
 
 The election of Pierce. In the presidential election of 1852, 
 Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, was the candidate of the Demo- 
 cratic party. Pierce had fought in the Mexican 
 War and had shown himself to be a good sol- 
 dier. He was brave, handsome, well educated, 
 and was well liked both in the South and in the 
 North. He was elected by a very large major- 
 ity over his opponent. General Winfield Scott, 
 who had been nominated by the Whigs. 
 
 Stephen A. Douglas, the " Little Giant." 
 After the election of Pierce many of the lead- 
 ers hoped that the North and the South would 
 move along in peace and harmony, and that there would be no 
 more trouble about slavery. But with the passing away of Clay and 
 Webster and Calhoun there came to the front new leaders, who would 
 not let the subject of slavery rest. Foremost among them was 
 Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois. 
 
 Douglas was one of the greatest men in our history. He was 
 
 253 
 
 Franklin Pierce. 
 
254 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 born in Vermont in 1813. As a child he was deHcate in body and 
 was not fitted for hard labor. At the age of fifteen he began to work 
 at the trade of cabinet-making. But he soon gave up his trade, and 
 bidding farewell to the hills of Vermont, he sought his fortune in the 
 
 West. He made his way to southern Illi- 
 nois, reaching Jacksonville in 1833. Here he 
 found himself without friends and with only 
 thirty-seven cents in his pocket. He was still 
 a boy, and a little boy at that, for he was 
 hardly five feet tall and he weighed less than a 
 hundred pounds. But although his body was 
 small, he had a head of tremendous size and 
 one that was well-stocked with brains. He 
 quickly made some friends, and soon he was 
 
 Stephen A. Douglas. ^-^^^^^ ^ g^j^^^j ^^ ^^^^^ ^Yl^-j^ ^^jj^^ ^^Jg ^^ 
 
 read law, and in a very short time prepared himself to practise it, 
 opening a law ofiice in Jacksonville. 
 
 Within a few months he became the leader of the Democratic party 
 in his neighborhood. Before he was twenty-one years of age, he was 
 called upon to make a speech to a great crowd at a political meeting. 
 He spoke for an hour with such earnestness and power that his hearers 
 were swept ofif their feet. At the end of his speech some of the men 
 in the audience seized upon him, bore him on their shoulders out of 
 the room, and carried him around the public square. They called him 
 the " Little Giant," and from that day he was known by that name. 
 Before he was twenty-two, Douglas was chosen to fill the ofiice of dis- 
 trict attorney. 
 
 But the Little Giant w^as restless, high-strung, and ambitious. No 
 sooner did he succeed in reaching one position than he began to try 
 for something higher. By the time he was twenty-five years of age 
 
STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS 255 
 
 he was a member of the legislature of Illinois. At twenty-seven he 
 was made a judge of the Supreme Court of Illinois, the highest court 
 in the State; at thirty he took his seat in the House of Representa- 
 tives at Washington. 
 
 Here the Little Giant soon showed himself a wonderful orator and 
 debater. When speaking, he would throw his arms about in a frantic 
 manner and lash himself into such a heat that perspiration ran in 
 streams down his face. His fellow-members sometimes laughed at 
 his little body and big head, but nevertheless they listened to his words, 
 and soon learned to regard him as a powerful leader. 
 
 Douglas did not remain in the House of Representatives any longer 
 than he could help. He soon began to strive for a seat in the United 
 States Senate, and in 1846 he was elected as a member of that great 
 body. There was now only one more prize for him to win ; one 
 step higher, and he would be the President of the United States. Of 
 course the Little Giant was going to take that step if he could. 
 
 Douglas throws Kansas and Nebraska open to slavery. One of 
 the greatest events in the life of Douglas occurred in 1854. In that 
 year he asked the Senate to pass the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. This 
 bill provided governments for the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, 
 and allowed the people of these new Territories to have slaves if they 
 chose. 
 
 You will remember that, by the ^Missouri Compromise (p. 211), 
 slavery was forbidden north of the parallel of 36° 30'. Look on 
 the map and you will see that both Kansas and Nebraska are north 
 of the parallel 36° 30'. So Douglas, by asking Congress to throw 
 the new Territories open to slavery, really asked it to do away with 
 the Missouri Compromise. This frightened the men who were op- 
 posed to slavery, and there was much excitement both in Congress 
 and throughout the country. The Kansas-Nebraska Bill was bitterly 
 
256 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 opposed, but Douglas was a hard fighter and he seldom lost a battle. 
 In May, 1854, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, and it was 
 signed by President Pierce. 
 
 The trouble in Kansas. By throwing the new Territories of 
 Kansas and Nebraska open to slavery, dissensions arose which ended 
 in bloodshed. The trouble began in Kansas, where there were set- 
 tlers both from the North and the South. The settlers from the North 
 wanted to bring Kansas into the Union as a free State. Those from 
 the South wanted it to come in as a slave State. By the terms of the 
 
 .i^'Hb'AMVf/ttiUvi*' 
 
 \l'/«' 
 
 
 Ruffians seizing an emigrant's wagon in Kansas. 
 
 Kansas-Nebraska Law the question of slavery in Kansas was to be 
 determined by the vote of the people. But when the people came to 
 vote upon the question, the free-State men and the slave-State men 
 fell to fighting. In May, 1856, a party of slave-State men attacked 
 the town of Lawrence, Kansas, destroyed a great deal of property, 
 and killed several free-State men. In revenge for this, John Brown, 
 a bitter enemy of slavery, went' out at midnight with his four sons 
 and killed five slave-State men. After a long and bloody struggle 
 
STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS 
 
 257 
 
 the free-State men won, and it was settled that Kansas should come 
 into the Union as a free State.^ 
 
 Buchanan is elected President. In 1856, the year of the Kansas 
 troubles, the people were called upon to choose a President to succeed 
 Pierce. Douglas wished to be the candidate 
 of the Democratic party but it was afraid 
 to nominate him. The leaders of the party 
 feared that the men in the North who were op- 
 posed to slavery would vote against him be- 
 cause he had prevailed upon Congress to pass 
 the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. So they nominated ^\ 
 James Buchanan of Pennsylvania. 
 
 The Whigs had no candidate, but a new 
 party was coming to the front and asking the 
 people for their votes. This was the Republican party. It was op- 
 posed to the spread of slavery; that is, it did not want any more slave 
 States admitted into the Union. It demanded that Kansas be ad- 
 mitted as a free State. Its candidate for President was John C. Fre- 
 mont (p. 232). Buchanan won the election and was inaugurated in 
 1857. Although the Democrats were victorious, the vote cast for the 
 Republicans was very large and the election showed plainly enough 
 that the sentiment against slavery was very strong. 
 
 James Buchanan. 
 
 1. Give an account of the election of 1852. 
 
 2. Tell the story of the life of Stephen A. Douglas up to the time he was elected to 
 the Senate. 
 
 3. What was the purpose of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill? 
 
 4. What troubles did the law bring upon Kansas? 
 
 5. Give an account of the election of 1856. 
 
 1 Kansas was not actually admitted as a State until 1861. 
 
LESSON XLI 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 Define popular ; unpopular ; insurrection. Find on a map of Illinois the following 
 towns: New Salem; Springfield; Galesburg; Freeport; Ottawa. Where is the 
 District of Columbia? How many Senators does each State have in the United 
 States Senate? Where is Harper's Ferry? What is an arsenal? 
 
 The Little Giant loses some friends. After the passage of the 
 Kansas-Nebraska Bill Douglas found himself very unpopular in the 
 Northern States. He found that even in his own State of Illinois he 
 had lost a great number of his friends. Many of them thought he 
 ought no longer to have a seat in the United States Senate, but the 
 Little Giant was not going to give that up if he could help it, so in 
 1858 he went among the people of Illinois and made speeches de- 
 fending himself and asking the people to elect him again to the Senate. 
 
 The career of Abraham Lincoln. In 1858 there was another 
 man in Illinois asking the people to elect him to the Senate. That 
 man was Abraham Lincoln. This great man was born in a log- 
 cabin in the backwoods of Kentucky in the year 1809. For seven 
 years he lived in that State, and then he went with his parents 
 to live in Indiana. Here, in a great forest, the Lincolns built them- 
 selves a cabin and cleared the ground for a farm. There was much 
 hard work to be done and little Abe, although he was only seven years, 
 old, had to help his father to cut down the trees and hew the logs/ 
 to break the ground and plant the grain. 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 259 
 
 
 Young Lincoln helping his father. 
 
 It was a wild region in which he lived. Bears and other animals 
 roamed about in the woods. The nearest school-house was four 
 miles from the Lincoln cabin. The 
 nearest church was many miles 
 away. At the age of nine Abe was 
 sent to the log-cabin school-house, 
 where he learned to read and ci- 
 pher. But his school-days were 
 few in number, and he could go 
 only a few weeks at a time. In his 
 whole life he did not attend school 
 more than a year. 
 
 Most of his boyhood was spent 
 at hard work. He had a powerful 
 body, and he could handle an ax 
 better and cut down more trees in a day than any man in the neigh- 
 borhood. " My, how Abe could chop ! " said Dennis Hanks, his uncle. 
 
 " His ax would flash and bite into a 
 sugar-tree or a sycamore, and down it 
 would come. If you heard him felling 
 trees, you would say there were three 
 men at work, the way the trees fell." 
 
 Although Abe could not go to school, 
 he was very fond of learning, and when 
 he could find'a spare moment, he would 
 use it for study. At night he would 
 read by the light of a fire or a tallow 
 dip. The onlv books in his home were 
 the Bible, the catechism, and a spelling-book. But there were a few 
 books in the neighborhood which Abe could borrow, and he made 
 
 Lincoln studying by the light of a fire. 
 
26o FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 good use of them. He would walk twenty miles to borrow a good 
 book. 
 
 At the age of twenty-one young Lincoln went to Illinois to live. 
 For a year he lived with his father in Macon County. Then he went 
 to New Salem, in Sangamon County, and took a position as a clerk 
 in a store. Lincoln was now six feet, four inches tall, and had the 
 strength of a giant. Once a big fellow named Jack Armstrong at- 
 tacked him. But Armstrong met his match. Lincoln seized the bully 
 by the neck, and, holding him at arm's length, shook him as if he were 
 a little boy. 
 
 In 1833 the governor of Illinois called for volunteers to serve in 
 the war against Black Hawk, an Indian chief who was giving much 
 trouble to the settlers in the northern part of the State. Lincoln an- 
 swered promptly to the call and was chosen as the captain of a 
 company. He marched to the scene of war with his men, but he was 
 not called upon to do any fighting. 
 
 In the same year in which Lincoln went to the Black Hawk War 
 
 he came forward as a candidate for a seat 
 in the State Legislature, but was de- 
 feated. Two years later, in 1834, he was 
 again a candidate. This time he had bet- 
 ter luck, for he was elected by a good ma- 
 jority. In 1836 he was elected for a sec- 
 - ;? .,..^.^. ^^^ term and in 1838 for a third term. 
 
 The cabin in which Lincoln was born. ^-^ -,..,, , . , , . , 
 
 • One of his fellow-members m the legisla- 
 ture was Stephen A. Douglas, the Little Giant, who one day was to 
 become his rival. 
 
 While Lincoln was serving his State as a law-maker, he studied 
 law and became a lawyer. In 1833 he left New Salem and moved to 
 Springfield, where he opened a law oflice. He was very successful, 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 261 
 
 and soon he had as much law business as he could attend to. He was 
 always honest in dealing with his clients, and people called him " Hon- 
 est Abe." 
 
 " Honest Abe " is elected to Congress. In 1846 Lincoln felt that 
 he would like to go to Congress. So he asked his friends to help him 
 get the nomination for a seat in the House of Representatives. This 
 they willingly did, and he was chosen as the candidate of the Whig 
 party. He went before the people and asked them for their votes, 
 with the result that he was elected by a larger majority than had ever 
 been given to a Whig candidate in his district. \A'hen he went to 
 Washington as a member of the House of Representatives, the Little 
 Giant was already a member of the Senate. 
 
 A rival of Douglas. When Lincoln's second year in Congress 
 came to an end, he returned to Springfield and began to prac- 
 tice law again. For several years he was kept so busy with law 
 that he did not give much attention to anything else. In 1854, how- 
 ever, he began to take an interest again in public affairs. In that year, 
 you remember, Douglas opened Kansas and Nebraska to slavery. 
 Lincoln felt that by doing this Douglas had done great harm not only 
 to the people of Kansas and Nebraska but to the people of the whole 
 Nation, and he went before the people and told them so. When the 
 Republican party was formed (p. 257), he worked for the election 
 of the Republican candidate. Then, in 1858, as you learned at the 
 beginning of this lesson, Lincoln came out as a candidate against 
 Douglas for a seat in the United States Senate. Lincoln was the 
 candidate of the Republicans, and Douglas of the Democrats. So the 
 Little Giant and the big giant were now rivals in politics. 
 
 The debate with Douglas. In the campaign for the senator- 
 ship that followed Lincoln and Douglas went among the people and 
 made speeches from the same platform. Both candidates spoke on 
 
262 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 the question of slavery, the question about which everybody v^as now 
 thinking. Douglas declared that masters ought to be allowed to take 
 their slaves into a Territory if the people of that Territory were in 
 favor of slavery. Lincoln was opposed to this. He was willing that 
 
 masters in the slave-States 
 should continue to hold 
 slaves, but he did not want 
 slavery to spread ; he did not 
 want masters to take their 
 slaves into any new Terri- 
 tory or State. 
 
 Douglas and Lincoln were 
 both excellent speakers, and 
 thousands of people from 
 all over Illinois flocked to 
 Ottawa, Freeport, Galesburg, 
 and other towns in which the 
 meetings were held. These 
 meetings were very exciting. Many cheers went up for the Little 
 Giant and many went up for Honest Abe. In the end, Douglas won 
 the place in the United States Senate. 
 
 Lincoln was sorry that he did not win, but he took his defeat good- 
 naturedly. He felt, he said, '' like the boy that stubbed his toe — it 
 hurt too much to laugh, and he was too big to cry." But Lincoln 
 really had little cause for regret. In the debates he had shown him- 
 self to be a great man, and soon people all over the country were talk- 
 ing about Honest Abe and looking to him as the leader of those who 
 were opposed to slavery, 
 
 John Brown's Raid. In 1859, the year after the great debates 
 between Lincoln and Douglas, the event known as John Brown's Raid 
 
 Lincoln and Douglas in debate. 
 
ABRAHAM LINCOLN 
 
 2.(^1 
 
 
 occurred. You learned that in the Kansas troubles a man named John 
 Brown killed several slave-State men (p. 256). In October, 1859, 
 this same John Brown, with a few followers, went to Harper's Ferry, 
 then in Virginia, and undertook to stir up the slaves to rise against 
 their masters and declare" 
 themselves free. This was 
 a very foolish thing to do, 
 but Brown felt that slavery 
 was a sin against God, and 
 he believed that God wanted 
 him to strike a blow that 
 would set the slaves free. 
 Brown and his men seized 
 the arsenal at Harper's 
 Ferry and armed themselves 
 for fighting. They shot sev- 
 eral citizens of the town, but 
 in a very few hours they were overcome by some soldiers. Brown 
 was captured and taken to jail. He was tried for murder and was 
 quickly convicted and sentenced. Just before he was hanged, in De- 
 cember, 1859, he said: ''You people of the South must prepare 
 yourselves for a settlement of this question of slavery, for it is a ques- 
 tion that will come up sooner than you expect." 
 
 Honest Abe is elected President. The question came up the 
 very next year, for in i860 the people of the country were called 
 upon to vote for a new President, and so decide by their votes whether 
 slavery was to be allowed in the Territories, or whether it was to be 
 kept out of them. 
 
 The Democrats of the North declared that, if the people of a Ter- 
 ritory wished to have slaves, they ought to be allowed to have them, 
 
 In a few hours they were overcome by some soldiers. 
 
264 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 and they nominated Douglas as their candidate for President The 
 Republicans nominated Lincoln, and declared that slavery should be 
 kept out of the Territories. The Democrats of the South nominated 
 John C. Breckenridge, of Kentucky, and declared that Congress had 
 no right to abolish slavery in a Territory. There were four ^ can- 
 didates in i860, but the two leading ones were Douglas and Lincoln 
 — the Little Giant and the big giant. The Little Giant tried hard to 
 win the prize for which he had striven so long, but he was disap- 
 pointed. The voters of the country decided in favor of his rival 
 and elected Lincoln as President. 
 
 1. Why was Douglas unpopular in the Northern States after the passage of the 
 Kansas-Nebraska Bill? 
 
 2. Tell the story of the boyhood of Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 3. Give an account of Lincoln as a clerk ; as a soldier ; as a law-maker ; as a 
 lawyer ; as a member of Congress ; as a candidate for the Senate. 
 
 4. Tell the story of John Brown's Raid. 
 
 5. Give an account of the presidential election of i860. 
 
 1 The fourth candidate was John Bell of Tennessee. Bell was the candidate of 
 the Constitutional Union party. 
 
OUR COU 
 
IN i860 
 
LESSON XLII 
 
 OUR COUNTRY IN 1860 
 
 We have now brought the story of America down to the year i860, 
 the year in which Lincoln was elected and in which the Republican 
 party came into power. After the election of Lincoln great events 
 began to happen — as we shall learn in the next lesson — and so great 
 were the changes made by these events that, in some respects, the 
 country itself has changed. The year i860 therefore marks a turning- 
 point in our history, and, since this is so, it will be well in this lesson 
 to learn what kind of a country the United States was about the time 
 Lincoln was elected. 
 
 The Frontier Line. Between pages 268 and 269 there is a 
 pictorial map which shows the United States as it was about i860. 
 Compare this map with the one which shows our country as it was 
 about 1820 (p. 204), and you will see that, in forty years, wonderful 
 growth was made and that wonderful changes took place. ' You will 
 observe that on the 1820 map there is a Frontier Line dividing the set- 
 tled territory of the East from the unsettled territory of the West. 
 On the map of i860 you see no Frontier Line, because there was then 
 no sharp line, running north and south, dividing the settled portion of 
 the country from the unsettled portion. By i860 emigrants had 
 pushed out into the West in almost every direction and had made 
 settlements far apart, here and there, in such a hap-hazard, scattered 
 fashion that the Frontier Line had been broken to pieces. Neverthe- 
 less, the map shows that in i860 there were still vast stretches of ter- 
 
 265 
 
266 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 ritory upon which the white man had not yet set his foot and where 
 the Indians were still free to roam and hunt. 
 
 The building of the West. The map of 1820 pictures most of 
 the country west of the Mississippi River as a wilderness. The map 
 of i860 shows this same country divided into States and Territories. 
 You have already learned about the building up of some of the country 
 west of the Mississippi. You have learned that by 1850 Arkansas, 
 Iowa, Texas, and California had been admitted as States. But the 
 work of settling the West went on as rapidly after 1850 as it had be- 
 fore. Minnesota, which was organized as a Territory in 1849 (p- 
 235), was settled so rapidly that in 1857 its population was thirty times 
 as great as it was eight years before. So when its people asked to 
 be admitted to the Union in 1858, their wishes were granted. In 1861 
 the great wilderness lying west of this new State and extending to the 
 Rocky Mountains was organized as the Territory of Dakota. 
 
 While Minnesota was filling up with settlers, emigrants were also 
 moving out into Kansas and Nebraska. In i860, six years after 
 Kansas became a Territory (p. 255), it had a population of more than 
 100,000. The next year ( 1861 ) it was admitted as a State. Nebraska 
 did not grow so rapidly as Kansas, but it grew steadily. In i860 it 
 had a population of about 30,000. The people of Nebraska now felt 
 that they were ready to enter the Union, and they asked to be admitted, 
 but they had to wait until 1867, when Nebraska was made a State. 
 
 In a few years after Kansas and Nebraska began to be settled, the 
 first settlement in Colorado was made. In 1859 a rich gold-mine was 
 found near Pike's Peak. When the news of this discovery reached 
 the East, there was a rush to Colorado almost as wild and as great as 
 the rush to California had been ten years before (p. 235). Within a 
 year more than 50,000 gold-seekers made their way out to Pike's 
 Peak. It was necessary, of course, that these miners should have 
 
OUR COUNTRY IN i860 267 
 
 a government, and, in order to give them one, Congress in 1861 
 organized the Territory of Colorado. 
 
 Three days after Colorado was provided with a government, Nevada 
 was made a Territory. By this time important changes had been 
 made in the Oregon country. In 1853 a portion of Oregon was set off 
 and organized as Washington Territory, and in 1859 the other part 
 of Oregon Territory was admitted to the Union as the State of 
 Oregon. 
 
 So, between 1850 and 1861 Minnesota, Oregon, and Kansas were 
 admitted as States, and Washington, Nebraska, Dakota, Nevada, and 
 Colorado were organized as Territories. You should now be able to 
 tell how the great West between 1820 and i860 was built up into States 
 and Territories. 
 
 Cities in i860. The map of i860 show^s not only a great many 
 more States than are shown on the map of 1820, but it also shows a 
 great many more cities. Most of the new cities which appear on the 
 map of i860 are located west of the Alleghany Mountains. Examine 
 this map and you will find Cleveland, Toledo, Chicago, Milwaukee, 
 St. Paul, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Indianapolis. None of them 
 appear on the map of 1820. They all sprang up in the great wilder- 
 ness of the West between 1820 and i860, and some of them could 
 boast of a large population. St. Louis and Chicago each had a popu- 
 lation of more than 100,000, and were growing at a rapid rate. 
 Of course, the population of the whole country was increasing very 
 fast. In 1820 the people of the United States numbered less than 
 10,000,000; in i860 there were more than 30,000,000. 
 
 Railroads. On the map of i860 you see trains speeding across 
 the country. The building of railroads, which began about 1830 
 (p. 219), was continued. Tracks were laid in all parts of the country, 
 and year after year the railroad lines grew longer and longer. Be- 
 
268 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 tween 1850 and i860 about 20,000 miles of railroad were built. By 
 1853 there was one road which connected Philadelphia with Pittsburg 
 and another which connected Baltimore with Wheeling. Two years 
 later, one could travel by train from New York to St. Louis. By i860 
 there were several railroads running from the Atlantic Coast to the 
 Mississippi River. 
 
 The Pony Express. As yet there were few railroads west 
 of the Mississippi. The journey across the plains to the far-ofT Pacific 
 
 Coast was still made in wagons or in 
 stage-coaches. The mails from the 
 Missouri River to the Pacific were car- 
 ried on horseback and were hurried 
 along by means of a *' pony express." 
 The mail-carrier would mount a spirited 
 pony at St. Joseph and gallop at break- 
 neck speed about twenty-five miles to the 
 first relay station, where there was a 
 The carrier mounted the fresh pony and 
 dashed away to the next station. At every third station a fresh car- 
 rier took the mail. " Day and night, in sunshine and storm, across 
 prairie and mountains, the mail-carrier pursued his journey alone." 
 By means of the pony express the mail was sometimes carried 2,000 
 miles in ten days. 
 
 Life in the days of Lincoln. In the days of Lincoln, houses and 
 streets and stores and factories were strangely different from what 
 they were in the days of John Adams (p. 177). By i860 houses were 
 heated by stoves and hot-air furnaces. Candles were going out of 
 use, and oil-lamps were taking their place. It was no longer a difficult 
 task to make a fire, for matches were used in every household. By 
 i860 the age of steam had arrived. Boats, locomotives, and almost 
 
 The Pony Express. 
 
 pony all saddled and ready. 
 
OUR COUNTRY IN i860 269 
 
 every kind of machinery were driven by steam. In the cities the 
 streets were much better than they were in 1800. They were well 
 paved and w^ere lighted by gas. In some cities there were street-cars 
 drawn by horses. The telegraph was coming into general use; ex- 
 press companies carried packages from place to place; and for three 
 cents a letter could be sent to any place in the United States. So, if 
 we could go back to the year i860 and get a glimpse of the world as 
 it was then, we should find many things looking very much as they 
 look to-day. 
 
 1. Why does the Frontier Line not appear on the pictorial map of i860? 
 
 2. Give an account of the building of the West into States and Territories between 
 1820 and i860. 
 
 3. Name ten principal cities in the United States in i860. 
 
 4. What can you say of the railroads in i860? 
 
 5. Give an account of the Pony Express. 
 
 6. What can you say of the houses, streets, and factories in i860? 
 
LESSON XLIII 
 
 PRESIDENT LINCOLN 
 
 What does the word confederate mean? Define assume; devolve; vokmteer ; 
 disastrous. Name all the States of the United States in i860. Locate Fort Sumter ; 
 Manassas. 
 
 Seven States leave the Union. When the people of the South 
 heard that Lincoln had been elected, they were greatly alarmed. They 
 believed that Lincoln at heart was an abolitionist (p. 248), and that 
 he would take all the slaves away from their masters if he could. So 
 the leaders of the South felt that it would be best for the Southern 
 
 States to secede, that is, to withdraw from 
 the Union. The first State to leave the 
 Union was South Carolina. In December, 
 i860, a convention of her delegates declared 
 that South Carolina was no longer a part of 
 the United States. In the following January, 
 Mississippi followed the example of South 
 Carolina, and within a few weeks seven 
 States, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, 
 Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas, had left the Union. 
 
 No sooner had these States seceded than they began to plan for a 
 new Union. In February, 1861, their leaders met at Montgomery, 
 Alabama, and formed a government which they called the '' Con- 
 federate States of America." They elected as President Jefferson 
 Davis, who after the death of Calhoun was the great leader of the 
 
 270 
 
 The Confederate Flag. 
 
PRESIDENT LINCOLN 
 
 271 
 
 South. The new government at once took steps to raise an army, 
 and, in place of the Stars and Stripes, it adopted a flag of stars and 
 bars. At some of the places along the coast, officers of the Confed- 
 erate government took possession of forts belonging to the United 
 States, hauled down the American flag, and raised the Confederate 
 flag in its place. All these things happened in the early months of 
 1861, before Lincoln was inaugurated. 
 
 Lincoln bids farewell to his friends at home. When the time 
 came for Lincoln to go to Washington, he left his home in Springfield 
 with a heavy heart. He had been watching what the South was doing, 
 and he saw dark days ahead both for him- 
 self and for his country. When he bade his 
 friends at Springfield good-bye he said : 
 ^' Friends, to-day I leave you. I go to as- 
 sume a task more difficult than that which 
 devolved upon Washington. Unless the 
 great God w^ho assisted him shall be with me, 
 I must fail; but if the same almighty arm 
 that directed and piloted him shall guide and 
 support me, I shall not fail — I shall succeed. 
 Let us all pray that the God of our fathers 
 may not forsake us now. Friends, one and all, I must now bid you 
 an affectionate farewell." There was a look of sadness on the great 
 man's face as he spoke these words, and well there might have been, 
 for he never saw Springfield and his friends there again. 
 
 Lincoln is inaugurated as President. While Lincoln w^as on his 
 way to Washington, he heard that his enemies had made a plot to kill 
 him before he should reach the capital. But, if there was such a plot, 
 nothing came of it, for he reached Washington safely on March 4. 
 1 86 1, He delivered his inaugural address before a great crowd in 
 
 Jefferson Davis. 
 
272 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 front of the Capitol. As he stepped forward to speak, he took off his 
 high silk hat, but could find no place to put it. Senator Douglas, who 
 was sitting on the platform, quickly stepped forward and took the hat 
 and held it. " If I can t be President," said the Little Giant, " at least 
 I can hold the President's hat." 
 
 In his speech the President of course spoke 
 of what was taking place in the South. He 
 spoke of slavery and of the States that had 
 left the Union. He said he did not intend to 
 interfere with slavery in the States where it 
 was already lawful to hold slaves. The mas- 
 ters of slaves in those States had nothing to 
 fear. But no State, he said, had a right to 
 leave the Union. He begged the South not 
 to go out of the Union, and to do nothing 
 that would bring on war between the North 
 and the South. " We are not enemies," he said, " but friends. We 
 must not be enemies." He spoke kindly, but firmly, and the Coun- 
 try knew that the seceding States must come back into the Union, or 
 there would be war. 
 
 Fort Sumter captured by the Confederates. But the Confed- 
 erate States did not intend to come back. The leaders of the South 
 felt that they had a right to break away from the Union, and they 
 went ahead with their plans for a new government. They had 
 already, as we have seen, taken possession of most of the forts along 
 the coasts of the Southern States. But there w^as one fort over which 
 the American flag still waved. This was Fort Sumter in the harbor 
 of Charleston, South Carolina. 
 
 In April, soon after the inauguration of Lincoln, President Davis, 
 of the Confederate States, ordered one of his officers to call upon 
 
 Abraham Lincoln. 
 
PRESIDENT LINCOLN 
 
 273 
 
 Major Anderson, who was in command of the fort and demand 
 its surrender. Major Anderson had only a handful of men, but he 
 refused to give it up. Then the Confederates began to fire upon the 
 fort. Major Anderson and his men defended it bravely, but they could 
 not hold out, and on April 14, 1861, Fort Sumter was surrendered 
 to the Confederates. A Southern leader said to President Davis: 
 "If you fire on that fort, you will begin a civil war greater than the 
 world has yet seen; you will shake a nest of hornets which will swarm 
 
 Fort Sumter. 
 
 out and sting us to death." The leader was right; the firing upon 
 Fort Sumter began the greatest civil war that had yet been fought. 
 
 The call for troops. President Lincoln saw that the attack upon 
 Fort Sumter meant war, and he began at once to prepare for it. He 
 sent out to all parts of the country a call for men to help in saving 
 the Union. He asked for 75,000 volunteers. The answer to the call 
 made the heart of the President glad. Every Northern State was 
 ready to help. In Massachusetts, a regiment began to march to 
 Washington within forty-eight hours after the call for troops was 
 made. " You may have 50,000 men," telegraphed the governor of 
 
274 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 A Union Soldi 
 
 Michigan. " We will furnish the largest number you will receive," 
 
 telegraphed the governor of Ohio. Indiana was asked to furnish 
 5,000 men, but 10,000 stepped forward and offered 
 their services. And thus it w^s all over the North ; 
 the tap of the drum was heard in every village. 
 
 Four more States secede. But the South was 
 not frightened by the great armies which Lincoln 
 was raising. The Southern leaders went ahead 
 with their plans. Before the end of May, 1861, 
 Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia 
 had withdrawn from the Union and had joined 
 the Confederate States. The stars and bars now 
 waved in eleven States. The Stars and Stripes still 
 waved in twenty-one. 
 The battle at Bull Run; Civil War. By July, 1861, there were 
 
 so many Northern soldiers in Washington that the city seemed to be 
 
 an armed camp. And thousands of soldiers from the South by this 
 
 time were pressing upon Washington. 
 
 From the dome of the Capitol, the 
 
 Confederate flag could be seen wav- 
 ing over the tents of the soldiers who 
 
 had encamped on the hills of Vir- 
 
 gina. Would the two armies clash? 
 
 Would men who were friends a few 
 
 months before now meet in bloody 
 
 strife? 
 
 Lincoln did not want a war, but 
 
 he saw no way to avoid one. He 
 
 felt that it was his duty to put down armed resistance against the 
 
 Government of the United States, and he ordered the Union troops 
 
 ATLANTIC 
 OCEAN. 
 
 Charleston Harbor. 
 
PRESIDENT LINCOLN 
 
 275 
 
 to march against the Confederates. On July 16, about 30,000 Union 
 soldiers marched out from Washington to give battle to 22,000 Con- 
 federates who were stationed near Manassas, in Virginia, along the 
 stream called Bull Run. On July 21 the 
 two armies met and the fighting began. 
 At first the Confederate troops were 
 driven back, and for a time it seemed that 
 the Union forces would win. But the 
 Confederates rallied their forces and in 
 turn drove the Union army back. 
 When the Union soldiers found that they 
 could not hold their ground, they began 
 to retreat, and many of them did not stop 
 until they were safe within the city of 
 
 Washington. The battle at Bull Run was a disastrous defeat for the 
 Union troops. 
 
 The fight at Bull Run was the first real battle in the struggle which 
 is known as the Civil War. It was called the Civil War because it 
 was a conflict not between two different nations, but between the 
 citizens of the same nation. The Civil War lasted for nearly four 
 years. In the next two lessons vou are to learn of its leading events. 
 
 A Confederate Soldier. 
 
 1. What happened in the South just after the election of Lincoln? 
 
 2. Tell the story of Lincoln's farewell to his friends in Illinois. 
 
 3. Tell the story of his inauguration. 
 
 4. Tell the story of the capture of Fort Sumter. 
 
 5. What did Lincoln do after the capture of this fort? 
 
 6. Give an account of the battle at Bull Run. 
 
 7. What is a civil war ? 
 
LESSON XLIV 
 
 GENERAL GRANT AND GENERAL LEE 
 
 Locate the following places : Fort Donelson ; Shiloh ; Fort Pillow ; Memphis ; 
 Baton Rouge; Vicksburg; Richmond; Antietam Creek; Norfolk; Hampton Roads. 
 Define cavalry, emancipation, proclamation. Where is West Point? What kind of 
 school is at West Point? 
 
 General Grant. The story of the long war which began when 
 Fort Sumter was fired upon is largely a story of the deeds of two 
 great generals, Ulysses S. Grant, the great commander of the Union 
 armies, and Robert E. Lee, the great commander of the Confederate 
 forces. General Grant was born at Point Pleas- 
 ant, Ohio, in 1822. His boyhood was spent in 
 working on a farm and attending a village 
 school. In 1839 he went to the Military Acad- 
 emy at West Point, where he learned the art 
 of war. As a student there, young Grant ex- 
 celled in mathematics, and at the cavalry drill 
 he proved himiself to be the best horseman in 
 his class. When he graduated in 1843, he stood 
 twenty-first in a class of thirty-nine. In the 
 Mexican War he fought with his regiment in almost every im- 
 portant battle and won much praise for his bravery and skill. 
 After the Mexican War was over, he remained in the regular army un- 
 til 1854. Then he left it and for several years lived the life of a 
 
 276 
 
 General Grant. 
 
GENERAL GRANT AND GENERAL LEE 2y>j 
 
 private citizen. He settled down in St. Louis, where he undertook to 
 conduct a real estate business. But Grant was not a good business 
 man. He was nearly always burdened by debts and in need of money. 
 In i860 he gave up the real estate business and went to Galena, Illinois. 
 Here he was a clerk in his father's store at a salary of $800 a year. 
 Although Grant was now thirty-eight years of age, he had accom- 
 plished very little in life. And no one thought he ever would do much 
 better. He seemed to have lost all ambition, and his nature seemed to 
 be asleep. 
 
 But, when Lincoln called for soldiers, Grant awoke to new life. 
 He offered his services to the Union army, and before many months 
 had passed he showed that he was a man of strength and power. 
 He cared not for danger, and he did not seem to know the meaning 
 of fear. While a battle was raging and bullets were flying all around 
 him, he would sit quietly in his saddle without moving a muscle or 
 winking an eye. In fighting, he moved straight against the enemy 
 and fought on and on until the enemy was crushed. 
 
 General Grant's first victory was in the West. In February, 1862, 
 he led an army of 30,000 men against Fort Donelson, in Tennessee. 
 After three days of hard fighting the fort surrendered and 15,000 Con- 
 federate soldiers were captured. This was the first important Union 
 victory, and it was a most useful one, for it brought a large part of 
 Tennessee under the control of the Union forces. 
 
 Shiloh. After his success at Fort Donelson General Grant 
 pushed on toward the south. He led his army up the Tennessee 
 River to Pittsburg Landing, near Shiloh Church. Here the Union 
 and Confederate armies fought for two days. The struggle at Shiloh 
 was fierce, but in the end Grant held his position, and the Confederate 
 troops moved farther toward the south. 
 
 The Union forces gain control of the Mississippi River. W^hile 
 
278 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Grant was pushing back the Confederate armies in Tennessee, other 
 Union generals were fighting to gain control of the Mississippi River, 
 which at the beginning of the war was controlled by the Confederates. 
 The Union troops wished to gain control of the river so as to give 
 the people of the West an outlet to the ocean and at the same time cut 
 the Confederate States into two parts. On the very day, April 7, 
 
 I Carthage Springfield^ 
 
 -i M 1 S S O U\ R V 1 
 
 •Neosho \ belmont .i Colum\>V Bowling Green ^yMi,l.Sphrig..,i.-l_^ 
 
 L — ^:^o NeyM^nd-pP xi^Te^'^u'^^gT ^ ""^^ 
 
 "" . RidgeS_ ' /BLAN^o.Iio Ft.HenryYFt.Don^lsorf^--.-'-^Gaine8boroupn 
 
 Nashville ^Murfreesboro ^<;::^^oxy.lfe 
 T E /n N E *S S E 
 
 v7/l Memphis "(pittsburg Wg.JiOokout^y^./:_( —-'/ 
 
 P^nthl-TiibilSh)- ~ MtnJ^g^* ^^^alton / ( 
 
 Ma^iettaV^^Jl^ 
 
 A L/A B /^ M 
 
 .West Point^(-^ V "S^ 
 
 ne^ 
 
 Mtn. 
 .ChicViaJi 
 
 \Shreveport , 
 
 Sabine Cr^s* V^ GraL Gulf/ ^''^'^^^i^S^ 
 
 Roads \ ^f*, ^ / * Port Qibson ^ 
 
 NatcI{\toches\-_ . »-xt » u \^ ^ 
 
 Natchez \® '0 
 
 Montgomery^'^ Andei^sonViUe 
 
 jPensacola 
 
 allahassee vj 
 
 _tpo 
 
 Statute MUes 
 K B X I C O 
 
 The war in the West. 
 
 on which Grant showed that he could hold his position at Shiloh some 
 Union gunboats, assisted by a land force, captured Island Number lo 
 in the Mississippi. Two months later the Confederates were com- 
 pelled to give up Fort Pillow and Memphis. The Union forces had 
 now pushed their way down the Mississippi as far south as Vicks- 
 burg. In the meantime, other Union forces were pushing their way 
 
GENERAL GRANT AND GENERAL LEE 
 
 279 
 
 up the Mississippi. In April, 1862, a great Union fleet entered the 
 mouth of the Mississippi and, forcing its way past Fort Jackson and 
 Fort St. Philip, captured New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The Union 
 forces now had control of all the important places on the Mississippi 
 except Vicksburg. 
 
 Several attempts were made to capture Vicksburg, but for awhile 
 it seemed impossible to take it. The town stood in a strong position, 
 and its forts bristled with cannon which swept the river up and down 
 for miles. In the fall of 1862 General Grant set out to capture it. 
 At first he failed, but he tried again. He surrounded it on all sides, 
 and he stormed the place with shot and shell. Still the city would not 
 surrender, and still Grant would not give up. Week after week he 
 kept on fighting both by day and by night. At last the food supply 
 of the city gave out. The Confederates now saw that it was useless 
 to hold out any longer, for they could not fight 
 the foe of hunger. On the Fourth of July, 
 1863, Vicksburg surrendered to Grant, and 
 30,000 Confederate soldiers were made prison- 
 ers of war. This was a terrible blow to the 
 Confederates, for, when Vicksburg fell, the 
 Union forces became the masters of the Missis- 
 sippi throughout its entire course. 
 
 General Lee. While General Grant was 
 in the West, winning victories for the Union, 
 General Robert E. Lee was in the East, fight- 
 ing bravely for the South. General Lee was 
 born in Virginia in 1807. He belonged to one of the oldest and 
 most highly honored families of Virginia. His father, Henry Lee — 
 *' Light Horse Harry " — had been a brilliant soldier in the War of 
 the Revolution. Like Grant Lee attended the Military Academy at 
 
28o FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 West Point, where he was a hard student ; Hke Grant, also, he fought 
 bravely in the Mexican War. 
 
 When the Civil War broke out, Lee was a colonel in the United 
 States army. President Lincoln, knowing that Lee was an excellent 
 soldier, offered to give him command of the Union armies. A little 
 while after this offer was made to Lee, Virginia withdrew from the 
 Union and joined the Confederate States. When Colonel Lee saw 
 this, he felt that he could not accept the command of the Union army, 
 for it would mean that he would have to fight against his own State. 
 So he refused the high place offered by President Lincoln. He left 
 the Union army and joined the Confederates. 
 
 In doing this he felt that he was doing his duty. He believed that 
 Virginia had a right to leave the Union, and he loved his State so 
 much that he could not bear to think of fighting against her. " I 
 have not been able," he said, " to make up my mind to raise my hand 
 against my relatives, my children, and my home. So, trusting in 
 Almighty God and an approving conscience, I devote myself to the 
 service of my native State." The people of the South rejoiced when 
 they heard that Colonel Lee would help the Confederate States, for 
 they knew that he was able to do great things for them. 
 
 Lee saves Richmond, Soon after Lee joined the Confederates, 
 he was made a general and given command of the Virginia forces. 
 His first great task — in fact, his main task throughout the entire 
 war, — was to prevent the Union army from capturing Richmond, 
 the capital of the Confederate States. President Lincoln believed 
 that, if Richmond could be captured, the Confederate government 
 would be broken up. Accordingly, in the spring of 1862, the Union 
 army marched against Richmond. But General Lee with his army 
 met the Union troops and turned them back. So Richmond was 
 saved. 
 
GENERAL GRANT AND GENERAL LEE 
 
 281 
 
 The Merrimac and the Monitor. Just about the time the Union 
 army was getting ready to march against Richmond, the great naval 
 battle between the Merrimac and the Monitor was fought. The 
 Merrimac was an ironclad battle-ship belonging to the Confederates. 
 On March 8, 1862, the Merrimac suddenly moved out from Norfolk 
 and attacked the Union ships in Hampton Roads. It first attacked 
 the Cumberland, a wooden ship, which had little chance against the 
 ironclad. The shot of the Cumberland glanced from the iron sides 
 of the Merrimac like so many peas ; but when the iron beak of the 
 
 The Merrimac and the Monitor. 
 
 Merrimac rammed the- Cumberland in the side, it made a great hole, 
 the water rushed in, and the Cumberland went down. The next 
 day the Merrimac went forth to sink more Union ships, but it met 
 the Monitor, which was also ironclad. On the deck of the Monitor 
 was a revolving turret carrying two heavy guns. The fight was now 
 between two ironclads, and it was a gallant struggle on both sides. 
 Neither vessel won what could be called a victory. Still, when the 
 fighting was over, the Merrimac put back to Norfolk and did no more 
 harm to the Union navy. 
 
282 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Manassas (second battle) ; Antietam ; Fredericksburg. But the 
 
 Union troops did not give up their fight for the Confederate capital. 
 For three long years they kept trying to capture Richmond, and for 
 three years General Lee was able to hold the city for his govern- 
 ment. During these years the Union and Confederate troops met each 
 other in battle on many fields in Virginia and Maryland and Penn- 
 sylvania. In August, 1862, the Union army met the Confederates 
 under Lee on the old battle-field of Manassas (p. 275) and was again 
 defeated. After this victory Lee crossed the Potomac and marched 
 into Maryland. In September he met the Union army at Antietam 
 Creek, and a great battle followed. The losses on both sides were 
 very heavy, but the Confederates lost more than were lost by their 
 foes. After the battle at Antietam Lee led his army back into Vir- 
 ginia. In December (1862) he was attacked by the Union army at 
 Fredericksburg, and here he won a great victory, for the Northern 
 army was defeated with terrible slaughter. 
 
 A few days after the battle of Antietam was fought President Lin- 
 coln gave notice to the Confederate States that, if they did not lay 
 down their arms and return to the Union before January i, 1863, all 
 persons held as slaves within the Confederate lines would be free. 
 But when January first arrived, the Confederate States had not laid 
 down their arms. So Lincoln held firm to his' purpose; he issued the 
 famous Emancipation Proclamation, and millions of slaves were set 
 free. 
 
 1. Tell the story of the life of General Grant up to the beginning of the Civil War. 
 
 2. What can you say of Grant as a soldier? 
 
 3. Give an account of General Grant's victory at Fort Donelson and at Shiloh. 
 
 4. Tell the story of the opening of the Mississippi River. 
 
 5. Tell the story of the life of General Lee up to the beginning of the Civil War. 
 
 6. What was Lee's main task throughout the war? 
 
 7. Give an account of the Monitor and the Merrimac. 
 
 8. What was the Emancipation Proclamation? 
 
LESSON XLV 
 
 GENERAL GRANT AND GENERAL LEE (Continued) 
 
 Locate Fredericksburg ; Gettysburg ; Chancellorsville ; Chattanooga ; Dalton ; At- 
 lanta ; Savannah ; Appomattox Court-house. Define patience. 
 
 Chancellorsville. At the time the Emancipation Proclamation 
 was issued, the people of the North were feehng very sad because 
 of the awful defeat of the Union troops at Fredericksburg. But soon 
 the Union troops met with another terrible de- 
 feat. In May, 1863, the Union army attacked 
 Lee at Chancellorsville, but General Stonewall 
 Jackson, one of Lee's general's, and next to 
 Lee himself the greatest fighter on the Confed- 
 erate side, made a dash at the right wing of the 
 Union army and crushed it, throwing the re- 
 maining part of their army into confusion. In 
 the fight General Jackson was wounded and had 
 to be removed from the field, but Lee carried the 
 Confederates to complete victory. stonewaii jackson. 
 
 Gettysburg. After this great success. General Lee set out to 
 invade the North. He led his army across the Potomac and through 
 Maryland to Pennsylvania. On July i, 1863, he met the Union army 
 at Gettysburg. Here was fought the greatest battle of the Civil War. 
 The struggle continued for three days, and both sides fought as if 
 everything depended upon the outcome of the battle. Lee tried as 
 
 283 
 
284 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 hard as he could to break through the Hnes of the Union army, but 
 in vain. The Union troops held their ground. On the third day of 
 the battle Lee gave up the fight, and led his army back into Virginia. 
 Here he remained undisturbed until the spring of 1864 when, as we 
 shall presently see, he was attacked by General Grant. 
 
 Grant at Chattanooga. Several months after Grant had cap- 
 tured Vicksburg (p. 279), he won another great victory for the North. 
 In the fall of 1863 a large body of Union soldiers entered the city of 
 Chattanooga, Tennessee, which was quickly surrounded by Confed- 
 erate troops. The Union soldiers were held in the city so long 
 that food became scarce, and they were threatened with starvation. 
 Before it was too late, however. General Grant appeared upon the 
 scene with a large army and, after much hard fighting, he forced 
 back the Confederates and saved the Union soldiers who were shut 
 up in the city. The victory at Chattanooga was one of the most im- 
 portant events of the war, for the city was a doorway of travel be- 
 tween the West and the East ; and now that the doorway was no 
 longer guarded by the Confederates, Union troops of the West could 
 pass through it on their way into Virginia and the other Confederate 
 States of the East. 
 
 Grant is given the chief command of the Union armies. Presi- 
 dent Lincoln was very happy when he heard of Grant's victory in 
 the West. " I like that man Grant," he said, " for he wins battles." 
 In March, 1864, Lincoln gave Grant the command of all the armies 
 of the United States. Grant soon showed that he knew how to use 
 the great power that had been given to him, and he began to study 
 out a campaign that would bring the war to an end. 
 
 Plans for bringing the war to an end. His plan was this : Gen- 
 eral William T. Sherman, one of the greatest generals on the Union 
 side, was to take charge of the forces in the West, while Grant himself 
 
GENERAL GRANT AND GENERAL LEE 
 
 285 
 
 was to take charge of those in Virginia. Grant was to lead an attack 
 against Richmond, while Sherman was to start from Chattanooga, 
 march through Georgia, conquer that State, and then march north- 
 ward and join the Union army in Virginia. Both generals were to 
 begin their movements on the same day, and both were to keep 
 on fighting day in and day out, not stopping for cold or heat, rain or 
 snow, or anything else. 
 
 Sherman's march through Georgia. Early in May, 1864, the 
 two generals began the campaign which was to bring the war to an 
 end. Sherman, starting from Chatta- 
 nooga, marched into Georgia. First 
 he captured Dalton. Then, fighting 
 many hard battles as he went along, he 
 pushed on to Atlanta, and in September 
 he took possession of that important 
 city. In November, Sherman with 60,- 
 000 men started on his famous march 
 from Atlanta to the sea. His army 
 moved across Georgia in four divisions. 
 On the march it cut telegraph wires, 
 tore up railroad tracks, burned bridges, 
 
 and destroyed property. A strip of land nearly 60 miles wide and 
 300 miles long was laid waste. Nothing could stop the advance of 
 the great army as it marched onward to the sea. On the 21st of De- 
 cember Sherman entered the city of Savannah in triumph. As it was 
 about Christmas time he wrote President Lincoln a letter saying, " I 
 beg leave to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah." 
 
 But Sherman did not remain in Savannah long, for, according to 
 the plan that had been agreed upon, he was to move northward and 
 join Grant in Virginia. He followed the plan faithfully. In Jan- 
 
 William T. Sherman. 
 
286 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 uary he started northward with his army, and by the end of March 
 he had become the master of a large part of South CaroHna and had 
 advanced far into North CaroHna. 
 
 The fall of Richmond. By the time Sherman reached North 
 Carolina, great things had happened in Virginia. Grant, you re- 
 member, was to begin 
 his march against Rich- 
 mond on the same day 
 that Sherman left Chat- 
 tanooga. So on May 4, 
 1864, Grant set out with 
 a great army to capture 
 the Confederate capital. 
 But General Lee was on 
 the ground to defend it. 
 The two generals met in 
 battle after battle, and 
 thousands upon thou- 
 sands of brave soldiers 
 were slain. In some of 
 the battles Grant was the 
 victor, and in others Lee was victorious. But Grant had the larger 
 army, and he pressed onward whether he was winning or losing. He 
 went forward very slowly. Month after month passed, and still the 
 stars and bars floated over Richmond. But Lee could not hold out 
 forever against the larger armies of Grant, and on April 3, 1865, he 
 was forced to give up the city he had defended so long. On that day 
 the Confederate army marched out of Richmond and the Union troops 
 marched in. 
 
 The surrender of Lee. The capture of Richmond marked the 
 
 The war in the East. 
 
GENERAL GRANT AND GENERAL LEE 
 
 287 
 
 The surrender of Lee. 
 
 end of the Civil War, for after the surrender of the city there were 
 no more great battles. After Lee withdrew from the city he tried to 
 break through the Union lines, but he was checked at every step. 
 There was nothing for him to do ., 
 
 but to lay down his arms. On 
 
 April 9, 1865, at Appomattox 
 
 Court House he surrendered, 
 
 with his whole army, to General 
 
 Grant. In the hour of victory 
 
 General Grant was courteous 
 
 and kind. He did not require 
 
 General Lee to give up his sword, 
 
 and he allowed the Confederate 
 
 soldiers to return to their homes. 
 
 Thus the Civil War ended and the Union was saved. The two men 
 
 who had done most to save it were President Lincoln and General 
 
 Grant. 
 
 The reelection of President Lincoln ; his death. At the time the 
 war was drawing to its close, President Lincoln was just beginning 
 his second term, for in 1864 he had been reelected President, with An- 
 drew Johnson, of Tennessee, as Vice-President. In March, 1865, 
 Lincoln had been inaugurated for the second time. He was very 
 happy, of course, when the war was over, for he could now look 
 forward to four years of peace. But his happiness was short-lived, 
 for on April 14, 1865, just four years after the fall of Fort Sumter 
 (p. 2y^) and five days after the surrender at Appomattox, the great 
 Lincoln, while sitting in his box at a theater in Washington, was 
 shot and killed by John Wilkes Booth, an actor, who called himself a 
 friend of the South. 
 
 The joy of the people over the coming of peace was turned 
 
288 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 to mourning. The people of the North mourned the loss of their 
 great leader because they felt that his patience, firmness and good sense 
 had. saved the Union. Even in the South many mourned for Lin- 
 coln, for he had promised the people of the South that he v^ould 
 be their friend in the hour of need, and they believed him. 
 
 1. Tell the story of Grant at Chattanooga. 
 
 2. In what way did Lincoln reward Grant for his services? 
 
 3. What was Grant's plan for ending the war? 
 
 4. Tell the story of Sherman's march through Georgia. 
 
 5. Give an account of the fall of Richmond and the surrender of Lee. 
 
 6. Tell the story of Lincoln's death. 
 
LESSON XLVI 
 
 ANDREW JOHNSON 
 
 What is a freedman ? What is meant by " civil rights " ? Name some of our civil 
 rights. Define career ; impeachment ; misdemeanor ; emperor. Name the eleven 
 States that left the Union in 1861. Locate Sitka. What is the area of Alaska? 
 How many States as large as Illinois could be carved out of Alaska? 
 
 Andrew Johnson. At the time President Lincoln was shot, the 
 Vice-President, Andrew Johnson, was in the city of Washington, and 
 was sworn in as President a few hours after Lincoln's death. He 
 was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 
 1808, and was therefore about the same 
 age as Lincoln (p. 258), and, like Lincoln, 
 his childhood was spent in poverty. When 
 Andrew was four years old, his father 
 died. Just as soon as the boy was old 
 enough, he began to help earn a living for 
 his mother and himself. Mrs. Johnson 
 was so poor that she could not send her 
 son to school, and when, at the age of ten, 
 he began to learn the trade of a tailor, he 
 could not read a word. Indeed, he did not 
 know a single letter of the alphabet. But when he heard others read- 
 ing, he made up his mind that he would learn to read too. A kind 
 gentleman made him a present of a book, and from that book he 
 learned the alphabet and also how to spell and read. 
 
 289 
 
 /^^ 
 
 Andrew Johnson. 
 
290 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 At the age of eighteen young Johnson decided to make his home in 
 Tennessee. With his mother he set out from Raleigh in a two- 
 wheeled cart drawn by a blind pony. When he reached Greenville, 
 in East Tennessee, he found that he could get work in the village as a 
 tailor. So he settled down there and soon married. His wife was 
 an educated woman, and she became her husband's teacher. While 
 Johnson plied his needle, his wife would read to him. She taught him 
 how to write, and gave him instruction in arithmetic, grammar, and 
 
 With his mother he set out for Tennessee. 
 
 other subjects. So Johnson received a fairly good education, although 
 he never went to school a day in his life. 
 
 Mrs. Johnson read to her husband books of history, and as the 
 young man listened to the stories of great men, he wondered if some 
 day he, too, could not become great. He resolved to enter politics and 
 become a candidate for public office. He joined a debating society, 
 and learned the art of speaking in public. At first he was so timid 
 as a speaker that his knees trembled and he was almost afraid of his 
 own voice. But with practice he gained courage, and it was not long 
 before he was known as the best speaker in East Tennessee. 
 
ANDREW JOHNSON 291 
 
 At the age of twenty he was elected as one of the commissioners 
 (aldermen) of the town of Greenville. This was the first public office 
 he held. He was such a good commissioner that in 1830 his fellow- 
 townsmen elected him mayor. Young Johnson now began to rise, 
 going higher and higher, from one office to another. In 1839 he was 
 elected to the legislature of the State of Tennessee; in 1841 he was 
 elected to the State senate; in 1843 he was elected to the lower house 
 of Congress; in 1855 he was elected as governor of his State; in 1857 
 he was chosen as a member of the United States Senate; in 1864, as 
 you have already learned, he w^as candidate for Vice-President of the 
 United States and was elected ; in 1865 he found himself the President 
 of the United States. Thus, step by step, Johnson rose from the very 
 humble conditions which surrounded him in his boyhood to the highest 
 place in the land. 
 
 A difficult question and how it was settled. President Johnson 
 soon found that the task that la}' before him was a hard one, for at 
 the end of the war there were many diiiicult questions to be settled. 
 Perhaps the most important was this: what should be done with the 
 eleven States that had taken up arms against the Union? President 
 Johnson was a southern man himself, and he w^as in favor of dealing 
 very kindly with these States. He said they had ne\er really left the 
 Union, and, now that the war was over, they ought to be given their 
 old places and be treated like the other States. He believed that the 
 leaders of the South were responsible for the war and that only they 
 should be punished, and not the w^hole body of the people in the South. 
 
 But the leaders in Congress took a different view of the question. 
 They held that the eleven States by attempting to leave the Union in 
 1861 (page 274) had lost their rights as States. There was much 
 bitter feeling against the South, and Congress was not in favor of 
 restoring the seceding States to their former place in the Union 
 
292 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 unless they agreed to do certain things. First, they must agree 
 to consent to the abolition of slavery ; second, they must agree to give 
 the negro the same civil rights that the v^^hite man enjoyed. 
 
 Since President Johnson felt that the Federal Government had no 
 right to require these things of a State, a quarrel soon arose between 
 him and Congress. The quarrel lasted for several years, and there 
 was much bad feeling; but in the end Congress had its will. By 1870 
 all the seceded States were back in the Union under the Stars and 
 Stripes, having agreed to the demands of Congress : they acknowl- 
 edged the freedom of the slave, and promised to give him the same 
 civil rights as the white man. 
 
 The impeachment of Johnson. The quarrel between Congress 
 and the President became so bitter that the leaders in Congress de- 
 cided they would try to get rid of him 
 jjl by removing him from office. They 
 thought they could do this by im- 
 peaching him. They brought charges 
 against him in the House of Repre- 
 sentatives accusing him of '' high 
 crimes and misdemeanors." One of 
 the offenses with which he was 
 
 The impeachment of President Johnson. ^^argcd WaS that he had disobcycd the 
 
 law. Johnson had made many enemies among the Representatives, 
 and they decided that the charges against him were sufficiently proved 
 to warrant his impeachment. The case was then brought before the 
 Senate to be tried. The great trial which followed lasted seven weeks. 
 At last the Chief Justice of the United States, who acts as president of 
 the Senate when a President is impeached, put the question to each of 
 the fifty-four Senators present : " How say you. Is Andrew Johnson, 
 President of the United States, guilty or not guilty of the high mis- 
 
ANDREW JOHNSON 
 
 293 
 
 demeanor as charged? " Thirty-live of the Senators voted " Guilty," 
 and nineteen " Not guilty." Now, under our Constitution, an officer 
 w^ho has been impeached cannot be convicted unless two-thirds of the 
 Senators present find him guilty. So if one more Senator had voted 
 '' guilty," President Johnson would have been convicted and removed 
 from office. As it was, he was acquitted and remained President until 
 the end of his term, March 4, 1869. 
 
 The story of Maximilian. During Johnson's presidency, an 
 important event happened in Mexico. In 1862- 1863 at the time we 
 were fighting the battles of the Civil 
 War, the soldiers of Napoleon III, 
 Emperor of France, overthrew the 
 Mexican government and made Maxi- 
 milian, a brother of the Emperor of 
 Austria, the Emperor of Mexico. 
 
 Maximilian was an honest, kind- 
 hearted man, and he sincerely wished 
 to be of service to the people of Mex- 
 ico. But, because he was placed 
 upon his throne by France, his pres- 
 ence was displeasing to the United 
 States, for, according to the Monroe Doctrine (page 211), no 
 country of Europe ought to be allowed to extend its power in the 
 Western Hemisphere. At the time Maximilian was made Emperor, 
 however, the Government of the United States was too busy with the 
 Civil War to give attention to Mexican affairs. 
 
 As soon as the war was over, we gave the Emperor of France to 
 understand that we would not allow the French power to be estab- 
 lished in Mexico, and in order to show that we were in earnest, we sent 
 an army of 50,000 men to the Mexican border. The Emperor Na- 
 
 Maximilian. 
 
294 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 poleon then withdrew his troops and left MaximiHan to his fate, al- 
 though he had promised to stand by him and protect him from any 
 dangers that might arise. When the French troops were gone, Maxi- 
 milian found himself alone in a strange country surrounded by ene- 
 mies. The poor man was arrested, tried for treason, and found guilty. 
 On the morning of June 19, 1867, he was led out from prison and 
 
 Alaska compared with the United States. 
 
 [f Alaska were placed in the United States, the northern boundary touching Canada, 
 
 the southeast corner would reach the Atlantic Ocean, and its islands 
 
 would reach the Pacific. 
 
 shot. After his execution the people of Mexico promptly elected a 
 President, and thus reestablished their republic. 
 
 The purchase of Alaska. About the time the French troops 
 were leaving Mexico, Alaska came into our possession. It was a 
 bleak, barren country and had belonged to Russia for a long time. 
 But Russia cared very little for it, and offered to sell it to the United 
 States for the sum of $7,200,000. Our Government quickly accepted 
 
ANDREW JOHNSON 295 
 
 the offer. So in 1867 the Russian flag was lowered on the flagstaff 
 in front of the governor's residence at Sitka, and amidst the booming 
 of cannon, the Stars and Stripes were hoisted. 
 
 1. Tell the story of Andrew Johnson's early life. 
 
 2. Give an account of his political career, 
 
 3. What difficult question did Johnson have to deal with? How was the question 
 settled? 
 
 4. Give an account of the impeachment of Johnson. 
 
 5. Tell the story of Maximilian, 
 
 6. What can you say of the purchase of Alaska? 
 
LESSON XLVII 
 
 IN THE DAYS OF PRESIDENT GRANT 
 
 Locate Omaha; Sacramento; Ogden, Utah. Define centennial; anniversary; ex- 
 hibition; exhibits; exposition. 
 
 When the people were called upon to elect a President to succeed 
 Johnson, they chose the man who had done so much during the Civil 
 War to bring victory to the Union side — General U. S. Grant. In 
 1868 General Grant was elected, and on March 4, 1869, he was inau- 
 gurated. When his first term came to an end, he was reelected, so 
 that he was President until 1877. 
 
 " Carpet-baggers " and " scalawags." During these years there 
 was a great deal of trouble and excitement in different parts of the 
 
 country. In the South there was much 
 ill feeling between the whites and the 
 blacks. Soon after the negroes were set 
 free, they were given the right to vote, 
 and in some places they outnumbered the 
 whites and so had the majority of votes. 
 Where this was the case, they gained 
 control of the government and managed 
 affairs in a shameful manner. In Ala- 
 bama they elected a negro sheriff who 
 could not read and a county clerk who 
 had been a horse-thief. In the legislatures of some of the States 
 there were negro members who were so ignorant that they could 
 
 296 
 
 Carpet-bag government. 
 
IN THE DAYS OF PRESIDENT GRANT 297 
 
 do nothing but vote when their names were called. Sometimes they 
 went to sleep in their seats, and were awakened only in time to cast 
 their votes as their leaders told them to. The leaders of the ne- 
 groes were in most cases white men who had come from the North 
 and who were called '' carpet-baggers," because they frequently 
 brought with them nothing but traveling-satchels which were usually 
 made of carpet. In some cases, however, the leaders were white men 
 born in the South; these were called " scalawags," because they were 
 regarded as being worthless, good-for-nothing fellows. 
 
 Carpet-baggers and Ku-Klux Klan. Carpet-baggers, scala- 
 wags, and ignorant negroes together did so much mischief that the 
 whites felt they would have to defend themselves. They formed a 
 secret society which they called the Ku- 
 Klux Klan. The chief purpose of this 
 society was to prevent the negroes from 
 voting, and to punish the carpet-bag- 
 gers and scalawags and drive them out 
 of the country. Members of the Klan, 
 
 The Ku-Klux Klan. 
 
 wearing white masks, tall cardboard 
 
 hats, and long gowns, and mounted on horses covered with white 
 sheets, would visit the homes of negroes at night and leave papers 
 containing terrifying pictures and threats of bodily harm if the ne- 
 groes went to the polls. "The Klan would also visit the homes of the 
 carpet-baggers and scalawags and warn them of the danger that 
 awaited them if they did not leave the State. 
 
 But the Klan went further than merely making threats, for in some 
 cases it put innocent persons to death. Indeed, the offenses of the 
 Klan became so great that Congress in 1871 passed a law giving 
 the President powder to arrest and punish the members of the society. 
 When the Klan saw that President Grant would deal severely with 
 
298 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 any of its members who violated the law, the outrages came to an end 
 and the Ku-Klux Klan was soon broken up. 
 
 The great fire in Chicago. It was while Grant was President 
 that the city of Chicago was swept by fire. On a Sunday morning 
 in October, 1871, in a barn on De Koven Street, a woman was milking 
 a cow by the light of a small lamp. The cow kicked the lamp over 
 and broke it. The oil caught fire, and soon the barn was in flames. 
 The fire, being fanned by a strong wind, spread so rapidly that it 
 soon got beyond the control of the firemen. It raged all day Sunday 
 and Sunday night, and all day Monday. Before it was checked, 
 more than 17,000 buildings were burned, more than 200 people lost 
 their lives, and property worth nearly $200,000,000 was destroyed. 
 But the people of Chicago went to work at once to rebuild the city, 
 and it was not many years before a new city rose on the ashes of the 
 one that had been destroyed. 
 
 The massacre of Custer and his men. Besides the trouble in 
 the South with the Ku-Klux Klan, there were Indian uprisings in 
 nearly all parts of the West while Grant was President. It was in 
 southern Dakota and Montana that the red men were most trouble- 
 some. In these Territories there were quarrels between the whites 
 and the Indians because the Indians would not stay on the lands given 
 to them by our Government. In 1876 the Sioux became so defiant 
 that United States troops had to be sent against them. The soldiers 
 met the red men in southern Montana, where there was a large band 
 of Sioux braves commanded by their Chief, Sitting Bull. General 
 George Custer was sent against them, but his command, consisting of 
 himself and 260 men, was suddenly surprised and attacked by a large 
 force of Indian warriors. Completely surrounded, Custer and his 
 men battled bravely for their lives, but they battled in vain. Custer 
 himself was killed and not a man of the whole force was left alive. 
 
IN THE DAYS OF PRESIDKNT GRANT 
 
 m 
 
 It was one of the most terrible Indian massacres in all our his- 
 tory. 
 
 The first railroad across the continent. Much of the trouble 
 with the Indians was due to the fact that, just after the Civil War, 
 we began to build railroads across the western country, and, in doing 
 so, sometimes interfered with the rights of the Indians. The first 
 railroad built to the Pacific coast was the Union Pacific, which ran 
 from Omaha, Nebraska, to Sacramento, California. This great road 
 was built by two companies, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific. 
 The Union Pacific drove the first spike at Omaha and built its tracks 
 westward. The Central Pacific began at Sacramento and carried its 
 tracks eastward. The task of laying tracks two thousand miles 
 across the plains and over mountains i 
 
 was the greatest ever undertaken in the 
 history of railroad building. 
 
 For several years the work did not 
 move along very fast, but the builders 
 kept on laying ties and rails and driv- 
 ing spikes, and slowly the Union Pa- 
 cific crept westward, while the Central 
 Pacific slowly crept eastward. At last 
 the two roads met at Ogden in Utah. 
 Here, on May lo, 1869, two men with 
 silver hammers drove into the last tie 
 four spikes, two of gold and two of sil- 
 ver. After the Union Pacific was com- 
 pleted there w^as little use for the pony 
 express (p. 268) for men could now 
 travel by railroad on swift-flying trains from Maine to Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 ^g-f^f ^ ..-.A 
 
 The main building of the Centennial 
 Exposition. 
 
300 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 The Centennial Exposition. One of the most important and 
 interesting events of President Grant's administration was the hold- 
 ing of the Centennial Exposition, in Philadelphia in 1876. Its pur- 
 pose was to celebrate the one hundredth, or centennial, anniversary 
 of the Declaration of Independence (p. 143), and to show the won- 
 derful growth which our country had made in a hundred years. 
 The exhibition was planned on a large scale and carried out with 
 remarkable success. The Main Building was more than a third 
 of a mile in length. Forty-nine foreign countries took part in the 
 Exposition and more than 50,000 exhibits were displayed. The Ex- 
 hibition was the greatest world's fair that had ever been held up to 
 that time. 
 
 1. During what years did Grant serve as President? 
 
 2. Give an account of the carpet-baggers and the scalawags. 
 
 3. Tell the story of the Ku-Klux Klan. 
 
 4. Describe the great Chicago fire. 
 
 5. Tell the story of the massacre of Custer and his men. 
 
 6. Give an account of the building of the Union Pacific Railroad. 
 
 7. Describe the Centennial Exposition. 
 
LESSON XLVIII 
 
 PRESIDENT HAYES, PRESIDENT GARFIELD, AND PRESIDENT ARTHUR 
 
 Rutherford B. Hayes. When President Grant's second term 
 was about to end, many of his friends thought he ought to be elected 
 for a third term. But thus far no President had ever served more 
 than twice, and the people generally thought that two terms were 
 enough. So the Republicans, who had elected 
 Grant in 1868 and also in 1872, did not nomi- 
 nate him in 1876. They chose, instead, Ruth- 
 erford B. Hayes of Ohio. 
 
 Hayes, at the time of his nomination, was 
 one of the leading citizens of Ohio, but he 
 was not widely known outside of his own 
 State. He was born in Delaware, Ohio, in 
 1822. He went to college and graduated first 
 in his class; then he studied law and became 
 
 a successful lawyer. During the Civil War he fought bravely on the 
 Union side, entering the army as a major and rising to the rank of 
 general. He was in many battles and was wounded several times. 
 
 While he was still in the field, fighting with Grant against Lee, 
 he was nominated for Congress. A friend wrote to him, saying 
 that he ought to leave the army and come to Ohio in order to take 
 part in the campaign for his election. Hayes replied : " An ofiicer 
 fit for duty who, at such a time as this, would abandon his post to 
 electioneer for a seat in Congress ought to be scalped." So Hayes 
 
 301 
 
 Rutherford B. Hayes. 
 
302 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 remained with the Army in Virginia and let the election in Ohio take 
 care of itself. The result was that he was elected by a great ma- 
 jority. He served for two terms in Congress and three times he was 
 elected governor of Ohio. 
 
 The election of 1876. The Democrats in 1876 nominated 
 Samuel J. Tilden of New York as their candidate. Tilden had done 
 great things for the people of his State, and had a high reputation 
 throughout the country. The contest between Hayes and Tilden 
 was very exciting, and both parties worked hard for success. It 
 seemed, at first, that Tilden was elected. But a dispute arose over 
 the counting of the votes, and for a while there was danger of 
 serious trouble. When the question was at last settled, it was decided 
 that Hayes and not Tilden w^as elected. So on March 4, 1877, 
 Hayes was inaugurated as President. 
 
 President Hayes and the South. Hayes w^as just the kind of 
 President the country needed. There w^as still a great deal of bad 
 feeling between the North and the South because of the war. Presi- 
 dent Hayes thought that the people of both sections ought to forget 
 the war, to forgive each other, and be friends again, and he did all 
 he could to bring this about. In different parts of the South there 
 were still stationed, here and there, soldiers of the United States 
 army, and their presence was very displeasing to the southern people. 
 One of the first things President Hayes did was to withdraw^ these 
 troops from the South. After the soldiers were gone, the people 
 of the South began to feel more kindly toward the North ; little by 
 little the wounds made by the war began to heal, and, before many 
 years had passed, the southern people were again happy under the 
 Stars and Stripes. 
 
 James A. Garfield. President Hayes, even before he was elected, 
 said that he would not serve as President for two terms. At the 
 
PRESIDENTS HAYES, GARFIELD, AND ARTHUR 
 
 303 
 
 James A. Garfield. 
 
 end of his term, therefore, it became necessary for the Republican 
 party to decide upon another candidate. Accordingly, in 1880, they 
 nominated for President James A. Garfield, 
 of Ohio, and for Vice-President Chester A. 
 Arthur, of New York. 
 
 Garfield was born in 183 1 in a humble log- 
 cabin, not far from the city of Cleveland. 
 While he was still an infant, his father died 
 and left his family in poverty. As soon as 
 James was old enough to do any work, he be- 
 gan to earn his own living. At the age of fif- 
 teen he drove mules on the tow-path of a canal. 
 In his early boyhood his education was neg- 
 lected, but in his eighteenth year he attended school and learned 
 some of the common branches. Then he taught school for awhile, 
 went to college, graduated, and became a professor in what is now 
 Hiram College. Like Hayes, Garfield served in the Civil War on 
 the Union side, and, because he fought so well, he was made a gen- 
 eral. Like Hayes, too, he was elected 
 to Congress while he was in the field 
 fighting for the Union. He made 
 such a good record in the House of 
 Representatives that he was chosen 
 United States Senator from Ohio, but 
 before he took his seat in the Sen- 
 ate he was nominated for the presi- 
 dency. He was elected in the follow- 
 ing November. Thus the boy that 
 once drove mules on the tow-path rose to be the President of the 
 United States. 
 
 At the age of fifteen he drove mules on 
 the towpath. 
 
304 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 The death of Garfield. On March 4, 1881, General Garfield was 
 inaugurated. But he was not allowed to hold his high office long, 
 for he had hardly begun his duties as President before he was made 
 the victim of an assassin's bullet. On July 2, in a railroad station 
 at Washington, he was shot in the back by a weak-minded man, who 
 had asked him for an office and had been refused. The assassin, 
 after a long trial, was found guilty of murder and was hanged. The 
 wounded President made a brave fight for his life. For eighty days 
 he lingered between life and death. In August his doctors thought 
 he might recover if he could be removed from Washington to some 
 cooler place. So he was taken to Elberon, New Jersey, where he 
 could have the benefit of the ocean breeze. But the change did not 
 bring a recovery. The great man still battled for his life, but in 
 vain; he sank lower and lower, and on September 19, 1881, he passed 
 away. 
 
 President Arthur ; the Navy ; the civil service. On the day after 
 Garfield's death, Vice-President Arthur at his home in New York, 
 
 took the oath of office as President. Arthur 
 was not then very well known and many were 
 afraid that he would not be satisfactory in 
 the high office he was called upon to fill. But 
 as a matter of fact, he proved to be an ex- 
 cellent President. He discharged his duties 
 so wisely that his administration was one of 
 the very best in all our history. 
 
 It was while Arthur was President that we 
 began plans for building up a strong navy. 
 For many years after the Civil War we had 
 paid little attention to our navy, and it became so weak that by 1880 
 we did not have a single good fighting ship. But in that year we 
 
 Chester A. Arthur. 
 
PRESIDENTS HAYES, GARFIELD, AND ARTHUR 305 
 
 began to build up our navy, and we continued to make it stronger 
 and stronger until it became one of the most powerful in the world. 
 
 It was during Arthur's term, also, that we began to manage the 
 affairs of the civil service ^ better. You remember that President 
 Jackson believed in the "spoils" system (p. 223), and he gave 
 offices to men not because they were fit for their duties, but because 
 they were his political friends. 
 
 While Arthur was President, the spoils system was in part done 
 away with and the merit system was followed. Under the merit 
 system, men are appointed to office not because they belonged to 
 this or that political party, but because they are fit for the offices 
 which they are to hold. Under the system, also, men are not turned 
 out when a new President comes in, for they hold their offices as 
 long as they behave themselves and do their work well. 
 
 1. Tell the story of the life of Hayes up to the time he became President. 
 
 2. Give an account of the election of 1876. 
 
 3. What did President Hayes do for the South? 
 
 4. Tell the story of the life of Garfield up to the time he became President. 
 
 5. Give an account of his death. 
 
 6. What two important things were done while Arthur was President? 
 
 1 The civil service consists of the whole body of officers and employees of the 
 National Government. 
 
LESSON XLIX 
 
 THE AGE OF ELECTRICITY ; EDISON ; BELL 
 
 The period during which Hayes and Garfield and Arthur were 
 Presidents was a time of wonderful things. By means of some re- 
 markable inventions, electricity was brought under control, and made 
 to perform more services for mankind than had ever been dreamed of 
 before. So far is this true that the period ( 1877— 1885) may properly 
 be called the beginning of the Age of Electricity. The two men who 
 by their inventions did most at this time to make electricity a more use- 
 ful servant were Thomas A. Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. 
 
 Edison as an inventor; his improvements upon the telegraph. 
 Edison was born in the village of Milan, Ohio, in 1847. When he was 
 seven years of age, he moved with his parents to 
 Port Huron, Michigan, where he spent the most 
 of his boyhood. While at school he stood at the 
 foot of his class, and he asked so many questions 
 that his teachers thought he was stupid. But they 
 did not understand him. He had a very inquir- 
 ^(^ ing mind, and he asked the questions simplv out of 
 ^ ^^ curiosity. 
 
 Thomas A. Edison. » . , -r-> i* i , i • 
 
 At a very early age Edison began to earn his 
 own living. At first he was a newsboy on the train that ran between 
 his home and Detroit. Then he learned telegraphy and became an 
 operator, holding positions in Indianapolis, Boston, and other cities. 
 
 306 
 
THE AGE OF ELECTRICITY; EDISON; BELL 307 
 
 But whatever his occupation and in whatever place he might be, he was 
 always making experiments and trying to invent something. 
 
 While young Edison was a telegraph operator, he worked with the 
 wires and batteries and magnets, trying all kinds of experiments. It 
 happened that one of the offices in which he was employed was in- 
 fested with rats. So he set about getting rid of them. He placed in 
 the cellar two plates close together, but not touching each other, and 
 connected them with a powerful battery. When a rat passed over 
 these plates, its fore feet on one and its hind feet on the other, it was 
 instantly killed — electrocuted. This was of no great importance, it 
 is true, yet it illustrates the way in which Edison went about his work. 
 He was always trying to do something practical and useful. When- 
 ever he saw that the world was in need of a particular thing, he began 
 trying to supply that need. 
 
 His first invention, of course, consisted of improvements in the art 
 of telegraphing. Between 1868 and 1878 he secured patents for more 
 than a hundred inventions whose purpose was to improve the instru- 
 ment used in sending messages. In 1874 he discovered a method by 
 which it was possible to send two messages in opposite directions over 
 the same wire at the same time without one message interfering with 
 another. He received $30,000 for this invention, and it was worth 
 the money many times over, for it enabled the telegraph companies to 
 save millions of dollars in wire. 
 
 Edison and the electric light. After Edison had done all he 
 could to improve the telegraph, he turned his attention to other 
 things. About 1878 he began to take an interest in electric lighting. 
 Charles Brush, of Cleveland, had just invented the arc-light, made by 
 passing a powerful current of electricity between two carbon points. 
 This gave as much light as a hundred gas-jets, or several hundred 
 lamps. It was excellent for lighting streets, but its painful glare and 
 
3o8 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 its sputtering rendered it unfit for use within doors. Edison thought 
 there ought to be small electric lights, which could be distributed in the 
 different rooms of a house, like gas-lights. So he set to work to in- 
 vent something of this kind. 
 
 He soon found that the new light would have to be incandescent: 
 that is, it would have to be made by sending a current of electricity 
 through a filament which would grow intensely hot and give off light 
 when the electricity passed through it. He discovered that many dif- 
 ferent kinds of substances could be used for making such filaments, but 
 which of them would give the best light and last the longest? This 
 was the problem which Edison had to solve, and it was an extremely 
 difficult one. But he did not shrink from it because it was hard. Day 
 and night, month after month he worked, trying to find a satisfactory 
 substance. One day, after having experimented with almost every ma- 
 terial under the sun, he took a bamboo fan, tore it to pieces, and made 
 filaments of it. To his delight he found that this gave the result he had 
 so long been seeking. Now, at the pressure of a button, a house could 
 be filled with a light that rivals the light of day. In 1880 Edison took 
 out a patent for his wonderful invention, and within a few years 
 hundreds of millions of his incandescent lights were in use. 
 
 The phonograph. About the time that Edison began to use the 
 electric light he gave to the world another wonderful invention. This 
 was a talking-machine called the phonograph, invented in 1878. By 
 means of this machine the human voice, or sounds of any kind, could 
 be recorded and preserved and reproduced at will. Edison exhibited 
 his machine at Menlo Park, N. J., where he lived and carried on his 
 experiments. Thousands of people went to hear the phonograph. 
 When they heard it, they were filled with wonderment, and could 
 scarcely trust their ears. They called Edison a wizard, and he became 
 known as the " Wizard of Menlo Park." 
 
THE AGE OF ELECTRICITY; EDISON; BELL 309 
 
 The first phonograph was a crude affair, and it did not do its work 
 very well ; but Edison had faith in his machine, and he made for it the 
 following claims : " The phonograph will be largely devoted to music. 
 It will preserve the sayings of those dear to us, and even receive the 
 last message of the dying. It will enable children to have dolls that 
 will really speak, laugh, and sing. It will preserve the voices of our 
 great men, and enable future generations to listen to the speeches made 
 by them." People did not believe that such things were possible, but 
 we now know that Edison did not claim too much, for the victrolas, 
 graphophones, and aeolians, which are found in millions of homes, are 
 simply improved forms of the phonograph which the Wizard of Menlo 
 Park invented in 1878. 
 
 Moving pictures. After Edison had invented the phonograph, he 
 began to wonder if he could not invent a machine that would do for 
 the eye what the phonograph does for the ear — a machine that would 
 take pictures of moving objects, and then reproduce them in motion 
 just as they appear to the eye. In order to make such a machine it 
 was necessary for him to know a great deal about photography. So 
 he patiently studied this subject, and after experimenting for years he 
 was able to show pictures of objects moving about just as they do in 
 real life. The first moving pictures were exhibited about 1895. To- 
 day, pictures of this kind are exhibited in thousands of places of 
 amusement, and are witnessed by millions of people. So we are in- 
 debted to the Wizard of Menlo Park for the convenience of the elec- 
 tric light, for the music and other sounds reproduced for us by the 
 various forms of the phonograph, and for the amusement and in- 
 struction which we receive from the moving pictures. 
 
 Bell and the telephone. About the time Edison was so busy 
 making improvements upon the telegraph, another inventor was trying 
 to produce something even more wonderful. This inventor was Alex- 
 
310 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 ander Graham Bell, and the thing he was trying to invent was the 
 telephone. Bell was born in the same year as Edison. His birth- 
 place was Edinburgh, Scotland, but in 
 1870 he came to America. His grandfa- 
 ther, his father, and his two brothers were 
 all teachers of the science of human 
 speech. Bell himself taught in a school 
 for the deaf at Boston. 
 
 It was here that Bell made an apparatus 
 I /III 1^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ that would receive sounds and reproduce 
 
 them at a distance. He called this the 
 telephone, because the word means "" to 
 sound afar off," and exhibited it in 1876 
 at the Centennial Exposition. The first 
 telephone was a mere toy that could be heard only a short distance. 
 But Bell kept making improvements upon it, and the distances at which 
 the telephone could be heard grew greater and greater. Before many 
 years had passed the long-distance telephone made it possible for a per- 
 son to talk in New York and be heard in San Francisco. 
 
 Alexander Graham Bell. 
 
 1. What can you say of Edison as an inventor? What great improvement did 
 he make upon the telegraph? 
 
 2. Tell the story of Edison and the electric light. 
 
 3. Tell the story of the phonograph. 
 
 4. What can you say of the invention of moving pictures? 
 
 5. Tell the story of Bell and the telephone. 
 
LESSON L 
 
 PRESIDENT CLEVELAND AND PRESIDENT HARRISON 
 
 Grover Cleveland. In 1884 the Republicans nominated James 
 G. Blaine of Maine as their candidate for President. Blaine was one 
 of the ablest and most brilliant men of his time. He was well known 
 and greatly liked by the people of the country. The Democrats nom- 
 inated Grover Cleveland of New York. 
 
 Cleveland was born in New Jersey, in 1837, but while he was 
 still a little boy he moved with his fa- 
 ther to a village in central New York. 
 He received a common-school education, 
 but his parents were too poor to send him 
 to college. When he was fourteen years 
 old, he took a position as a clerk in a vil- 
 lage store at a salary of fifty dollars a year. 
 At sixteen, he left his home and started out 
 to make his own way in the w^orld. He 
 borrowed twenty-five dollars and went to 
 Buffalo, where he entered a law office and became a lawyer. He 
 worked hard at his profession and was soon knowft as one of the 
 best lawyers in Buffalo. He was chosen as sheriff of Erie County. 
 The city of Buffalo needed a mayor, and Cleveland was elected to fill 
 the place. He filled the office so well that he was soon called to a 
 higher place, and was elected governor of the State of New York. 
 
 311 
 
 Grover Cleveland. 
 
312 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 But before he finished his term as governor, he was named by the 
 Democrats as their candidate for President. Cleveland was now well 
 known in his own State, but he was not well known throughout the 
 country as Blaine was. The Republicans felt they had the most 
 popular candidate and were sure they would win. At their political 
 meetings they shouted: 
 
 '' Blaine ! Blaine ! Blaine ! 
 Blaine of Maine! " 
 But Blaine was not elected. When the votes were counted, it was 
 found that Cleveland had won the prize. 
 
 Cleveland and the tariff. When Cleveland was inaugurated on 
 March 4, 1885, there was great rejoicing among the Democrats, for 
 he was the first President they had elected since 1865 (p. 257). Cleve- 
 land filled the office of President in the same able manner that he 
 had filled the offices of mayor and governor. He was straightfor- 
 ward and honest, and he always did what he thought was best for 
 the country. In 1887 he sent Congress a message in which he said 
 the tariff laws ought to be changed. He said the duties — the taxes 
 — which were being paid on goods brought into this country from 
 foreign countries were too high, and he asked Congress to reduce 
 them. But this was not done, for most of the members of Congress 
 were in favor of a high tariff on imports. 
 
 Benjamin Harrison. In 1888 the Democrats nominated Cleve- 
 land for a second term, while the Republicans nominated Benjamin 
 Harrison, of Indiana. Harrison was a grandson of William Henry 
 Harrison, who was elected President in 1840 (p. 226), and was born 
 in 1833 at North Bend, Ohio. At the age of eighteen he graduated 
 at Miami University. Then he studied law in Cincinnati and was 
 admitted to the bar. In 1854 he left Ohio and went to Indiana to 
 live. He opened a law office in Indianapolis, and that city became 
 
PRESIDENT CLEVELAND AND PRESIDENT HARRISON 313 
 
 Benjamin Harrison. 
 
 his permanent home. At the outbreak of the Civil War he answered 
 to Lincoln's call for volunteers (p. 273). He entered the army as a 
 lieutenant, but in less than a v^eek he was made a captain, and in less 
 than a month he was made the colonel of a regiment. He fought 
 in many battles, and just before the close of 
 the war he was made a general because of his 
 skill and bravery as a commander. 
 
 After the war had ended. General Harri- 
 son went back to his office in Indianapolis 
 and again took up the practice of law. In 
 1 88 1 he entered the United States Senate as 
 Senator from Indiana, remaining there un- 
 til 1887. The next year he was nominated 
 for President, and defeated Cleveland in the 
 election that followed. On the fourth of March, 1889, he entered the 
 White House as the chief ruler of the United States, and Grover 
 Cleveland went back to New York to live the life of a private 
 citizen. 
 
 Six new States. While Harrison was President, the v^^estern 
 country was growing very fast, and new States were being formed. 
 More States were admitted into the Union during Harrison's term 
 than during the administration of any other President. In 1889 the 
 great Territory of Dakota was divided into North Dakota and South 
 Dakota, and both were admitted as States on the same day. In less 
 than a month after North Dakota and South Dakota were admitted, 
 the great State of Montana also came into the Union. Three days 
 after Montana entered, the State of Washington was admitted. The 
 next year, 1890, Idaho and Wyoming came in. Thus, while Har- 
 rison was President six stars were added to the flag, showing that 
 six new States were added to the Union. 
 
314 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 The election of 1892. In 1892 President Harrison was nomi- 
 nated by the Republicans for a second term. The Democrats again 
 nominated Cleveland. The Republicans were in favor of a high 
 tariff; the Democrats were in favor of a lower tariff. The majority 
 this time were on the side of the Democrats. Cleveland was elected, 
 and on the fourth of March, 1893, he entered the White House for 
 the second time as the President of the United States. 
 
 The World's Columbian Exposition. In May, 1893, President 
 Cleveland opened the great World's Columbian Exposition, which 
 was held at Chicago to celebrate the four hundredth anniversary 
 of the discovery of America by Columbus. It was officially opened 
 in October, 1892, but visitors were not admitted until the May of the 
 following year. The cost of the Exposition was nearly $40,000,000 
 and the number of visitors was over 20,000,000. In many respects 
 the Columbian Exposition was even greater and more successful than 
 the Centennial Exhibition had been (p. 300). 
 
 The panic of 1893; the strike in Chicago. During the second 
 term of President Cleveland the country, in 1893, passed through a 
 
 panic followed by hard times which 
 lasted for several years. During 
 this period many factories were 
 closed, thousands of laborers were 
 thrown out of employment, and in 
 many places the distress led to 
 strikes and riots. In Chicago the 
 Pullman Car Company reduced the 
 wages of its workmen. A strike 
 was the result, and the employees of 
 the many railroads running into Chicago took up the cause of the Pull- 
 man men. They refused to handle any trains having Pullman cars. 
 
 ling cars dining the Chicago strike 
 
PRESIDENT CLEVELAND AND PRESIDENT HARRISON 315 
 
 and a general railroad strike ensued, which spread to twenty-seven 
 States. 
 
 The center of the great strike was the city of Chicago. Here 
 rioters gathered in the freight yards, and hundreds of cars were 
 burned. The carrying of the mails and the movement of freight 
 and passengers from one State to another were of course interfered 
 with. Now whatever relates to the mails and to commerce between 
 States is a matter which comes under the control of the National Gov- 
 ernment. President Cleveland felt it his duty to do what he could to 
 keep the trains running, so he sent United States soldiers to Chicago to 
 deal with the disorder which prevailed in the city. The governor of 
 Illinois, Mr. Altgeld, objected to this, for he insisted that the State 
 troops were able to deal with the situation. Nevertheless, the Presi- 
 dent persisted in sending the soldiers, and, soon after their arrival, 
 the rioting came to an end and the strikers went back to their work. 
 
 The election of 1896; William McKinley. At the end of Cleve- 
 land's second administration the country 
 was still suffering from hard times, and 
 there was much discontent among the 
 people. So in 1896, when a President 
 was to be elected, the Republicans felt 
 they had a good chance to win, for they 
 blamed the Democrats for the business 
 troubles of the country. They nomi- 
 nated William McKinley, of Ohio. 
 
 McKinley was born at Niles, Ohio, in 
 1843. When the Civil War broke out, 
 he was engaged in teaching school. At 
 the call for troops in 1861 (p. 300) he entered the Union army. He 
 took part in some hard- fought battles, and showed himself a brave 
 
 William McKinley. 
 
3i6 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 soldier and a good officer. When the war was over, he fitted himself 
 for the practice of law and settled down in Canton, Ohio, which w^as 
 his home for the remainder of his life. He entered politics, and was 
 elected to many important offices. He served for fourteen years in 
 Congress, and was a leader in the House of Representatives. At the 
 time he was nominated for President, he was governor of Ohio. 
 
 The candidate put forward by the Democrats to oppose McKinley 
 was William J. Bryan, of Nebraska. The campaign of 1896 was the 
 most exciting that had occurred since i860. Bryan was a young 
 man and not well known, but he was a brilliant orator. He made 
 many speeches in different parts of the country, and wherever he 
 went he drew large audiences. It is said that, during the campaign, 
 nearly four million people came within the sound of his voice. Mc- 
 Kinley also made many speeches, but he did not travel from place 
 to place. He remained at his home in Canton and voters from all 
 parts of the country came there to hear him. From his own porch 
 he addressed altogether almost a million people. The campaign was 
 hard fought, and at times very bitter. When it was over and the 
 votes were counted, it was found that McKinley was elected. 
 
 1. Give a sketch of the life of Grover Cleveland. 
 
 2. What can you say about Cleveland and the tariff? 
 ■ 3. Give a sketch of the life of Benjamin Harrison. 
 
 4. What States were admitted while Harrison was President? 
 
 5. What was the result of the election in 1888? 
 
 6. Describe the World's Columbian Exposition. 
 
 7. What can you say of the panic of 1893 and of the Pullman strike? 
 
 8. Sketch the life of William McKinley. 
 
 9. Give an account of the election of 1896. 
 
LESSON LI 
 
 PRESIDENT m'kINLEY; THE WAR WITH SPAIN 
 
 The Cubans grow tired of Spanish rule. At the time President 
 McKinley was inaugurated (March 4, 1897) the United States was 
 greatly troubled by what was taking place in Cuba. You remember 
 that in a very short time after America was discoA-ered, Spain gained 
 possession of all the islands of the West Indies (p. 22). By 1897 
 Spain had lost some of these islands, but she still held Cuba and Porto 
 Rico. But most of the people of Cuba had grown tired of Spanish 
 rule. They wanted to govern themselves; that is, they wanted their 
 island to be free and independent. As early as 1868 the Cubans 
 revolted and began to battle for their freedom, and for ten years 
 (1868-1878) they fought against their Spanish masters. But they 
 fought in vain, for they were defeated by a Spanish army. When 
 the ten years' war come to an end, the Cubans were still under Span- 
 ish rule, and the beautiful island was a scene of desolation. 
 
 The revolution of 1895. In 1895 the Cubans for a second time 
 revolted against the tyranny of Spain. Under the leadership of 
 Maximo Gomez they took up arms and made war upon the Spaniards 
 who lived on the island, burned their homes, and destroyed their 
 crops. Spain again sent a large army to Cuba to crush the followers 
 of Gomez. General Weyler, the commander of the Spanish army, 
 ordered the common people to be penned up in the towns like cattle, 
 and, when he got them penned up, he treated them in a very cruel 
 
 317 
 
3i8 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 manner. In some cases American citizens, who happened to be in 
 Cuba, were the victims of Weyler's harsh treatment. 
 
 The Maine. The Cubans were still fighting when McKinley 
 became President, and affairs on the island were growing worse and 
 worse. The people of the United States were friendly to the Cubans, 
 and many of our citizens wanted our country to send an army into 
 Cuba and help the island to win its independence. Of course we 
 could not do this without going to war with Spain, and President 
 McKinley did not want war. But an event occurred which made our 
 people so angry with Spain that it was almost impossible for the 
 President to avoid war. In February, 1898, our battleship, the 
 Maine, lying in the harbor at Havana, was destroyed by an ex- 
 plosive, and two hundred and fifty sailors and officers lost their lives. 
 Some of our naval ofhcers made an examination and reported that the 
 vessel was sunk by the explosion of a submarine mine, but they were 
 unable to say who placed the mine and caused it to explode. Spain 
 said she was not responsible for the disaster, but the people of the 
 United States felt that Spain zvas responsible, and they demanded 
 war. So in April, 1898, Congress declared war against Spain. 
 
 The battle in Manila Bay. The first fighting began on the 
 other side of the world thousands of miles away. At the time war 
 was declared, Commodore George Dewey was at Hong Kong, China, 
 with a squadron of the American Navy. On the day after Congress 
 declared war President McKinley sent Dewey the following message 
 by cable : " War has commenced between the United States and 
 Spain. Proceed at once to the Philippine Islands. Commence opera- 
 tions at once, particularly against the Spanish fleet. You must cap- 
 ture vessels or destroy." 
 
 Dewey obeyed the President's orders. He started at once with 
 his fleet for the Philippine Islands, and at daybreak on the first 
 
PRESIDENT McKINLEY; THE WAR WITH SPAIN 319 
 
 of May, 1898, he sailed into Manila Bay where the Spanish fleet lay 
 waiting for battle. Dewey attacked the Spanish ships, and in a few 
 hours they were nearly all sunk or burned. The American ships 
 were scarcely injured at all. '* The squadron," said Dewey, in his 
 report of the engagement, '' is in as good condition now as before the 
 
 battle.' 
 
 Not a single American was killed. 
 
 On the Spanish side, 
 
 The Battle in Manila Bay. 
 
 ten ships were destroyed, 381 men were killed, and many were 
 wounded. Land troops were quickly sent from the United States to 
 the Philippines, and on August 12 the city of Manila was captured 
 by the Americans. So the Philippine Islands, which had belonged to 
 Spain for nearly four hundred years, fell into the hands of the United 
 States. 
 
 The call for soldiers. And now we will learn about the fighting 
 which took place nearer home. As soon as war against Spain was 
 declared. President McKinley called for an army of 125,000 vol- 
 unteers. The answer to this call was prompt and came from all 
 parts of the country, from North, South, East, and West. Soldiers 
 who in the Civil War had fought on the side of the Confederates 
 came forward and joined with those who had fought on the side 
 of the Union. In fact, one of the leading generals ^- Joseph Wheeler 
 
320 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 — had been in the Confederate service. Volunteers stepped forward 
 so quickly and in such large numbers that by the middle of June 
 120,000 men had been mustered in and were ready for battle. 
 
 The battle near Santiago; a naval victory. The fighting in 
 Cuba took place near the city of Santiago. In June an army of 
 15,000 Americans made a landing a few miles east of this city. 
 When landing, some of the soldiers, in their eagerness to be the first 
 
 Landing troops near Santiago. 
 
 on land, jumped overboard and swam to the shore. On July i the 
 Americans attacked El Caney and San Juan Hill, the outer defenses 
 of Santiago, and after two days' fighting carried them by storm. In 
 the struggle for El Caney and San Juan Hill splendid service was 
 rendered by the Rough Riders, a regiment made up of all kinds of 
 people — hunters, Indians, cow-boys, ranchmen, college graduates. 
 
PRESIDENT McKINLEY; THE WAR WITH SPAIN 321 
 
 The colonel of the Rough Riders was Dr. Leonard Wood, while its 
 lieutenant-colonel was Theodore Roosevelt. 
 
 At the time the Americans were fighting at El Caney and San 
 Juan Hill a Spanish fleet, under Admiral Cervera, was lying in the 
 harbor of Santiago. On June 3 Lieutenant Richard Hobson under- 
 took to ''bottle up" the Spanish fleet within the harbor. He took 
 a coaling-ship to the narrow channel leading into the harbor, and 
 tried to sink the vessel where it would block the Spanish ships if they 
 tried to escape. But he did not sink it at exactly the right place. 
 So the Spanish fleet was not bottled up. 
 
 When Admiral Cervera saw that Santiago would be captured by 
 the land forces of the Americans, he sailed out of the harbor in the 
 hope that he would be able to escape. But an American fleet was 
 lying just outside, waiting for the Spaniards to come out. It was 
 under the command of Admiral Sampson, but, at the time Cervera 
 left the harbor, Sampson was not present to give battle. So Com- 
 modore Schley, who was next in command, directed the movements 
 of the American fleet. The Spanish ships as they appeared, opened 
 fire upon the Americans, and at the same time steamed westward 
 with all the speed they could make, trying to get away in safety. 
 But Schley did not allow the Spaniards to escape. He closed in 
 upon the fugitives with a hot fire, and within four hours the Spanish 
 fleet was destroyed with a loss of about 350 men. The Americans 
 lost but one man. Soon after the destruction of the Spanish fleet 
 the city of Santiago surrendered (July 17, 1898). A few days 
 later Porto Rico was captured by the Americans under General Miles. 
 
 The results of the Spanish War. After the surrender of 
 Santiago and the capture of Porto Rico the Spaniards gave up the 
 fight, and a treaty of peace was made. By its terms Spain agreed 
 to surrender her claim to Cuba and to give Porto Rico to the United 
 
122 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 States. Later on, Spain also agreed to surrender the Philippine 
 Islands to the United States, receiving for them the sum of $20,- 
 000,000. While the war was going on, the Hawaiian Islands were 
 annexed to the United States. So, when the Spanish war was over, 
 the Philippine Islands, Porto Rico, and Hawaii belonged to the United 
 States, and Cuba was free. 
 
 The election of 1900. President McKinley was greatly liked by 
 the people and when his first term was about to end the Republicans 
 were glad to nominate him again. So in the election of 1900 he was 
 the Republican candidate for President, while the Republican can- 
 didate for Vice-President was Theodore Roosevelt, of New York. 
 The Democrats nominated William J. Bryan again. The Socialists 
 nominated Eugene V. Debs, of Indiana. The result of the election 
 was a victory for the Republicans. 
 
 The death of President McKinley. On the fourth of March, 
 1901, McKinley was again inaugurated, but he did not live through 
 his second term. In September, 1901, he visited the Pan-American 
 Exposition at Buffalo. On the sixth of September he held a public 
 reception in the Temple of Music, giving a personal greeting to all who 
 wished to meet him. In the long line of people who came to shake 
 hands with the President was a young man whose right hand seemed 
 to be covered with a bandage. But hidden under the bandage was a 
 revolver. When the man approached the President, he quickly un- 
 covered the revolver and fired two bullets into the President's body. 
 He was about to fire a third bullet, but, before he could do this, 
 he was seized and overpowered. After the President was shot, he 
 stood for a moment in a dazed condition and then fell backward. 
 He lingered for a few days, and on September 14 he died. 
 
 For the third time a President of the United States had been killed 
 by the hand of an assassin. The President's body was taken first 
 
PRESIDENT McKINLEY; THE WAR WITH SPAIN 323 
 
 to Washington, where impressive ceremonies were held; then it was 
 taken to Canton, Ohio, for burial. At the hour of the burial people 
 all over the land, out of respect and sympathy, stopped their work. 
 For a few minutes all trains stood still, all workmen laid down their 
 tools, and all business was suspended. This expression of sorrow 
 was genuine, for the President was a lovable man, and the people 
 mourned for him as they mourn for one who has won their affection. 
 
 1. What can you say of the ten years' war iit Cuba? Of the second revolution in 
 Cuba? 
 
 2. Give an account of the destruction of the Maine. 
 
 3. Tell the story of Dewey at Manila, 
 
 4. What can you say of the President's call for volunteers? 
 
 5. Give an account of the fighting at El Caney and San Juan Hill. 
 
 6. Tell the story of the destruction of the Spanish fleet at Santiago. 
 
 7. What were the results of the Spanish-American War? 
 
 8. Who were the candidates for President in 1900? What was the result of 
 the election? 
 
 9. Give an account of the death of President McKinley. 
 
LESSON LII 
 
 PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT 
 
 Vice-President Roosevelt becomes President. On the after- 
 noon of September 13, 1901, a message was brought to Theodore 
 Roosevelt informing him that President McKinley had but a few 
 hours to live. At the time the message was received, Mr. Roosevelt 
 
 was on a tramping trip in the heart 
 of the Adirondack Mountains. As 
 soon as he heard the news, he de- 
 cided to go at once to Buffalo. He 
 was thirty miles from the nearest 
 railway-station and the road leading 
 to it was only a broken mountain 
 path. After a great deal of trouble 
 he managed to get a driver, with a 
 mountain wagon, and the long and 
 dangerous journey was begun just 
 before midnight. It was made in 
 darkness and rain. About daybreak 
 the station was reached. When Mr. 
 Roosevelt leaped from the wagon, a telegram was given him inform- 
 ing him that the President was dead. He hurried on to Buffalo as 
 fast as the fastest express could carry him, and, before the day ended, 
 he had taken the oath of office and been sworn in as President of the 
 United States. 
 
 324 
 
 Theodore Roosevelt. 
 
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT 325 
 
 The career of Theodore Roosevelt. When President Roosevelt 
 entered upon his duties, he was only forty-two years old and was 
 the youngest man that had ever occupied the presidential chair. But 
 although the new President was not a very old man, he was neverthe- 
 less a man whose name was a familiar one to millions of his country- 
 men. Theodore Roosevelt was born in the city of New York in 
 1858. His parents were wealthy and could afford to give their son 
 a good education. He attended the public schools, studied under 
 private teachers, and entered Harvard University, where he graduated. 
 He was very fond of sports and outdoor life. At his father's 
 country place on Long Island he learned to ride and row and swim. 
 He was also fond of the wild life of the West. For several years 
 he lived the life of a ranchman, and he was always happy when 
 he was with cowboys and trappers and hunters. While he was out 
 on the plains he endured all the hardships of a ranchman's Hfe. 
 Sometimes he was in the saddle for twenty- four hours at a time ; 
 sometimes he would sleep all night in the snow. During his residence 
 among them young Roosevelt learned to like the Western people, and 
 they learned to like him. 
 
 Roosevelt began his public career almost as soon as he was out 
 of college. When he was only twenty-three years of age, he was 
 elected to a seat in the legislature of New York. He was the young- 
 est man there, but in spite of his youth he pushed forward and 
 became the leader of his party — the Republican party. While 
 Roosevelt was on his ranch in the West, he received the news that 
 he had been nominated as a candidate for mayor of the great 
 city of New York. He started at once for the East and was soon in 
 New York city taking a part in the campaign. He was not elected, 
 but during the campaign he showed the people of the city that he 
 was a very strong man. 
 
326 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 While Harrison was President, Roosevelt was a member of the 
 Civil Service Commission. His duty in this office was to help in 
 carrying out the civil service reforms, which you remember w^ere 
 undertaken when Arthur was President (p. 305). Roosevelt hated 
 the spoils system, and while he was a member of the commission 
 he worked hard for the merit system. 
 
 In 1895 Roosevelt was placed at the head of the Police Board 
 of New York City. In this office he carried on a bitter warfare 
 against thieves and gamblers and law-breakers. He went about the 
 city at night to see for himself if the policemen were doing their 
 duty, and every patrolman who was found out of his place was pun- 
 ished. In 1897 Roosevelt was appointed Assistant Secretary of the 
 Navy. While in the office, he did much to build up our navy, for 
 he believed that the United States ought to have many big and pow- 
 erful ships. Roosevelt ^ave up his office of Assistant Secretary 
 of the Navy in order that he might take part in the Spanish- 
 American War (p. 321). After the war was over, he was elected 
 governor of New York. In 1900, as you have already learned, he 
 was elected Vice-President. So, when he became President in Sep- 
 tember, 1901, he w^as widely known as a man who had held many 
 public offices and who had rendered good service in every office he 
 had held. 
 
 The coal strike. In 1902 President Roosevelt had an oppor- 
 tunity to show that he was a friend of the people. In the spring 
 of that year the coal-miners of Pennsylvania struck for higher wages. 
 They were led by John Mitchell, who had once worked in the coal- 
 mines, but who in his spare hours had studied hard and educated 
 himself. Mitchell asked the owners of the coal-mines to meet the 
 leaders of the miners in conference, so that the mine-owners and 
 miners could come to some agreement about the wages. But the 
 
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT 
 
 327 
 
 mine-owners would not meet the miners, and the strike continued. 
 All through the summer and far into the autumn the miners remained 
 idle. When cold weather came on, the price of coal began to rise, 
 for no coal was being mined. In September the price rose to twelve 
 dollars a ton, and by October it was thirty dollars a ton. In many 
 places there was no coal for the school-houses, the hospitals were 
 without fuel, and the poor shivered in their homes, for they could 
 not pay these high prices. So President Roosevelt felt that it was 
 his duty to settle the strike if he could. He invited Mr. Mitchell and 
 
 The Panama Canal. 
 
 the mine-owners to come to Washington and have a talk with him. 
 They came, and the President told them that the strike ought to 
 end at once, and that the miners ought to go back to work and begin 
 to mine coal for the freezing people. Mr. Mitchell was willing that 
 the miners should at once do this if the mine-owners would agree to 
 submit the dispute to a commission to be appointed by the President. 
 The owners at first did not want to do this, but they at last con- 
 sented. So a commission of five men was appointed by the President 
 to settle the quarrel, and the miners went back to their work. 
 
 The Panama Canal. For a long time the people of the United 
 
328 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 States wished for a ship-canal across the Isthmus of Panama. Look 
 on a map of the Western Hemisphere and you can see the advantages 
 of such a canal. In a journey by water from New York to San 
 Francisco a canal across the Isthmus saves a distance of more than 
 8000 miles. In 1881 a French company began to dig a canal across 
 the Isthmus, but it did not go far with the work. In 1902 President 
 Roosevelt felt that the time had come for the United States to build 
 the canal. So he asked Congress for the necessary money. This 
 was granted, and the President went ahead with his plans. There 
 was some difficulty in securing a right of way across the Isthmius, 
 but the President overcame that, and a right of way was secured in 
 1904. Then the task of building the canal was taken up in ear- 
 nest. In 1906 the dirt began to fly, and eight years later the canal 
 was finished and vessels were passing through it from ocean to 
 ocean. 
 
 The election of 1904. In 1904 the Republicans named Mr. 
 Roosevelt as their candidate for President. The Democrats nom- 
 inated Alton B. Parker, of New York. The Socialist Party for the 
 second time nominated Mr. Debs. Roosevelt was elected by a very 
 large majority. 
 
 During the second term of President Roosevelt Congress passed 
 two very important laws. One of these was a law which gave the 
 Interstate Commerce Commission — the commission which regulates 
 railroads running from one State to another — the power to fix the 
 rates charged by railroads. Under this law if a shipper (or a pas- 
 senger) thinks that a certain rate charged by a railroad is unjust, 
 he can make a complaint to the commission, and if the Commission 
 also thinks that the rate complained of is unjust, it is done away with 
 and a new rate is fixed. The other important law passed by Con- 
 gress was the Pure Food Act. The purpose of this law is to prevent 
 
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT 329 
 
 manufacturers and food companies from dealing in impure drugs 
 and foods. 
 
 1. When and where did Vice-President Roosevelt become President? 
 
 2. Sketch the early life of President Roosevelt. 
 
 3. Sketch his public career. 
 
 4. Tell the story of the coal strike. 
 
 5. Tell the story of the Panama Canal. 
 
 6. Who were the candidates for President in 1904? Who was elected? 
 
 7. What two important laws were passed during the second term of President 
 Roosevelt ? 
 
LESSON LIII 
 
 PRESIDENT TAFT AND PRESIDENT WILSON 
 
 Mr. Taft is elected President. In 1908 the Republicans nomi- 
 nated William Howard Taft as their candidate to succeed President 
 Roosevelt. The Democrats for the third time nominated Mr. Bryan, 
 and the Socialists nominated Mr. Debs for the third time. 
 
 Mr. Taft was born in Cincinnati in 1857. He was graduated from 
 
 the Woodward High School in Cincinnati, 
 from Yale College, and from the Law 
 School of Cincinnati University. During 
 his school-days he divided his time wisely 
 between study and play. While indoors 
 he gave his whole attention to his books; 
 but when study hours were over he en- 
 tered heartily into outdoor sports and 
 played with all his might. He was a big, 
 strong fellow, and in a rope-pulling con- 
 test he could pull harder than any man in 
 his class. 
 
 He began to hold office when he was only twenty- four years of 
 age. First he became one of the prosecuting attorneys of his county, 
 and then, in succession, judge of a State court, solicitor-general of 
 the United States, judge of a United States court, governor of the 
 Philippine Islands, secretary of war under President Roosevelt; and, 
 
 330 
 
 William H. Taft. 
 
PRESIDENT TAFT AND PRESIDENT WILSON 331 
 
 finally, President of the United States; for in the election of 1908 he 
 was successful. Ohio could now share equally with Virginia in the 
 honor of being the " Mother of Presidents," for, of the twenty-six 
 men who up to 1908 had served as Presidents, six — Washington, 
 Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Tyler, and W. H. Harrison — were from 
 Virginia, and six — Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, 
 McKinley, and Taft — were born in Ohio. 
 
 The administration of President Taft (1909-1913). Our coun- 
 try enjoyed peace and quiet while Mr. Taft was President, but many 
 important things were done during his administration. In 19 10 Con- 
 gress established a system of postal savings-banks. These are man- 
 aged by the Post-office Department, and are located in thousands of 
 post-offices scattered over the country. Any person of the age of ten 
 years or over may deposit in a postal bank any sum not less than one 
 dollar or more than five hundred dollars, and receive two per cent, 
 interest on the amount deposited. Our people have made good use 
 of the postal banks, and have deposited in them many millions of 
 dollars. 
 
 The parcel-post system was also established during the Taft admin- 
 istration. By means of the parcel post, packages weighing as much 
 as fifty pounds can be sent through the mails at little cost, the rate 
 being fixed according to the weight of the package and the distance 
 it is to be carried. The parcel post proved to be very popular, and 
 within a few years after it was established there were carried every 
 year in the mails more than a billion packages. 
 
 During the Taft administration two new States were brought into 
 the Union. These were New Mexico and Arizona, both of which 
 were admitted in 1912. Five years before, while Mr. Roosevelt was 
 President, Oklahoma was admitted. When Oklahoma came into the 
 Union, it was already a great and powerful State, for its population 
 
332 
 
 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 was nearly 1,500,000. The admission of Oklahoma, New Mexico, 
 and Arizona completed the organization of the forty-eight States of 
 which our great nation consists. 
 
 Mr. Wilson is elected President. In 1912, when Mr. Taft's 
 term of office was drawing to a close, the Republicans nominated him 
 
 for a second term. The Democrats in 
 that year nominated Woodrow Wilson of 
 New Jersey. A new party, called the 
 Progressive Party, nominated ex-Presi- 
 dent Roosevelt as its candidate. The So- 
 cialists for the fourth time nominated Mr. 
 Debs. 
 
 Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic can- 
 didate, was born in Staunton, Virginia, in 
 1856. He attended several schools in the 
 South, but a valuable part of his early edu- 
 cation was received from his father, who 
 was a preacher and a very learned man. At the age of nineteen 
 young Wilson entered Princeton College, where he soon became a 
 leader among his classmates. He took a lively interest in athletics, 
 especially in the game of baseball. But the thing he cared most for 
 while at college was the study of government. He read many books 
 about this subject and learned all he could about public affairs. After 
 he graduated from Princeton he studied law and became a lawyer. 
 But he soon gave up the practice of law and became a teacher. And 
 a very successful teacher he was. 
 
 After holding important positions in several different colleges he 
 was elected (in 1902) president of Princeton University. In 1910 
 he gave up this position and entered politics. He proved to be as 
 successful a politician as he had been a teacher. In less than a year 
 
 Woodrow Wilson. 
 
PRESIDENT TAFT AND PRESIDENT WILSON ^ S33 
 
 after he left Princeton he was elected governor of New Jersey, and 
 i in less than three years after he entered public life he was holding 
 the highest office in the land; for in the presidential election of 1912 
 he received the highest number of votes, and on March 4, 19 13, he was 
 inaugurated as President of the United States. Virginia was now 
 in the lead as the " Mother of Presidents," for Wilson was one of 
 her sons. 
 
 The administration of President Wilson (19 13- ). In the 
 first year of President Wilson's administration the country was as 
 peaceful as it had been while Mr. Taft was President. During this 
 period Congress passed a number of important laws. It established 
 a new system of banks, it levied a tax on incomes, it reduced the tariff 
 on many important articles, it established a Federal Trade Commis- 
 sion and gave it power to prevent business concerns from using unfair 
 methods in competing for trade with one another. 
 
 In the second year of President Wilson's administration difficult 
 problems began to arise. First, there was trouble with Mexico. 
 Just before Wilson was inaugurated Francisco Madero, the president 
 of Mexico, was assassinated. General Huerta at once took control 
 of the Mexican Government and acted as president. President Wil- 
 son did not think that Huerta was the rightful president of Mexico, 
 and would not recognize him as such. Many of the people of Mexico 
 also were opposed to Huerta, and there was a revolution against his 
 authority. This revolution was led by General Carranza, and much 
 fighting followed. Gradually the United States became involved in 
 the Mexican difficulty. American citizens living in Mexico were 
 killed and their property destroyed. 
 
 In the spring of 19 14 several sailors belonging to our navy were 
 arrested by the followers of Huerta at Tampico and were roughly 
 treated. Soon after this, President Wilson sent our fleet against 
 
334 FIRST LESSONS IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 Vera Cruz, and the city was quickly captured. It was held until 
 November, 19 14, when our troops sailed away. By this time Huerta 
 was overthrown and Carranza was claiming to be the president of 
 Mexico. In 191 5 President Wilson recognized Carranza as the head 
 of the Mexican Government. But this did not end the trouble with 
 Mexico. For in March, 191 6, Francisco Villa, who had been one 
 of Carranza's generals, but had turned against his chief, led a band 
 of outlaws across the Mexican border into New Mexico and killed 
 nine American citizens. In a few days after this outrage a large 
 force of American soldiers were sent into Mexico to pursue Villa and 
 his band and punish them for their deeds. 
 
 While President Wilson was having these difficulties with our 
 next-door neighbor at the south, he was also having trouble with a 
 nation across the sea. In August, 1914, a great war broke out in 
 Europe, and soon Germany and Austria were fighting against Great , 
 Britain, France, Italy, and Russia. Germany did not send her battle- 
 ships out to sea, because she did not wish to meet the powerful navy 
 of Great Britain. But she sent out her submarines, and these under- 
 sea vessels sank British ships wherever they could find them. In 
 May, 191 5, a German submarine attacked the Litsitania and, without 
 any warning, sent the great liner to the bottom of the ocean. Almost 
 twelve hundred persons were drowned. Of those who lost their 
 lives, more than one hundred were American citizens. The United 
 States believed that, according to the law of nations, Germany had 
 no right to sink merchant ships like the Liisitania without first giving 
 warning and providing for the safety of the persons on board. So 
 President Wilson informed Germany that if her submarines should 
 sink any more merchant ships without warning, and thereby again 
 destroy the lives of Americans, the Government of the United States 
 would hold the German Government responsible for the injury done 
 
PRESIDENT TAFT AND PRESIDENT WILSON 335 
 
 to American citizens. For a time Germany paid little attention to 
 the desires of our Government. Her submarines continued to sink 
 merchant vessels, and more American lives were lost. In April, 
 1916, President Wilson sent a last word to Germany on the subject. 
 He told the German Government that it must order the commanders 
 of its submarines to sink no merchantmen without first providing for 
 the safety of the persons on board, and said that, if Germany failed 
 to do this, the Government of the United States would have nothing 
 more to do with the Government of Germany. This time Germany 
 yielded and promised to conduct her submarine warfare in the man- 
 ner demanded by the Government of the United States. 
 
Abolitionists, 248 
 
 Adams, John, 138, I74-I75 
 
 Adams, John Quincy, 214, 215, 220, 
 
 Adams, Samuel, 132-136, 139, 142 
 
 Alabama, 201, 270 
 
 Alaska, 294 
 
 Albany, 148 
 
 Allen, Ethan, 157 
 
 Altgeld, Governor, 315 
 
 Amidas, Philip, 34 
 
 Anderson, Major, 273 
 
 Andre, Major, 158 
 
 Animals, 10 
 
 Antietam, 282 
 
 Appomattox, 287 
 
 Arc light, 307 
 
 Arizona, 331 
 
 Arkansas, 218, 274 
 
 Armada, the Invincible, 30-31 
 
 Arnold, Benedict, 150, 157-159 
 
 Articles of Confederation, 161-164 
 
 Arthur, Chester A., 303, 304 
 
 Atlanta, 285 
 
 B 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Bible, Commonwealth, 67 
 Billy Bowlegs, 208 
 Birds, 10 
 Blackbeard, 75 
 221 Black Hawk, 260 
 
 Bon Homme Richard, 156 
 Boone, Daniel, 125-128, 202 
 Boonesborough, 128 
 Booth, John Wilkes, 287 
 Boston, 61, 63, 133, 137, 141 
 Boston Massacre, 134 
 Braddock, General, 119, 120 
 Bradford, William, 53-58 
 Brandywine, 148 
 Breckenridge, John C, 264 
 Brewster, 53-54 
 Brooklyn, 145 
 Brown, John, 256, 263 
 Brush, Charles, 307 
 Bryan, W. J., 316, 322, 330 
 Buchanan, James, 257 
 Buena Vista, 230 
 Buffalo, 216 
 Bull Run, 274 
 Bunker Hill, 141 
 Burgoyne, John, 148 
 
 Backwoods, the, 128-129 
 
 Bacon, Nathaniel, 71 
 
 Balboa, 21 
 
 Baltimore, Lord, y2 
 
 Barlow, Arthur, 34 
 
 Barry, John, 155 
 
 Bears, 204 
 
 Bell, Alexander Graham, 309 
 
 Bell, John, 264 
 
 Bennington, 148 
 
 Berkeley, Sir William, 71-72 
 
 Bible, the, loi 
 
 Cabot, John, 22-33 
 
 Calhoun, John C, 246, 250 
 
 California, 29, 230, 232, 235-237, 250, 251 
 
 Calvert, Cecil, 72 
 
 Calvert, George, 72 
 
 Calvert, Leonard, 72 
 
 Camden, 157 
 
 Canada, 47, 1^3 
 
 Carpet-baggers, 296 
 
 Carranza, General, 333 
 
 Carroll, Charles, 219 
 
 337 
 
338 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Carteret, Philip, 78 
 
 Carteret, George, 78 
 
 Cartier, Jacques, 46 
 
 Carver, John, 56, 57 
 
 Catechism, loi 
 
 Catholics, 5, 104 
 
 Celeron, 108 
 
 Centennial Exposition, 300 
 
 Cerro Gordo, 231 
 
 Cervera, Admiral, 321 
 
 Champlain, Samuel, 47-49 
 
 Chancellorsville, 283 
 
 Charles I, 61 
 
 Charles II, 74, 17, 80 
 
 Charleston, 74, 86 
 
 Chattanooga, 284 
 
 Chicago, 195, 267, 298 
 
 Chilton, Mary, 56 
 
 Churches, 95 
 
 Cincinnati, 178 
 
 Cities, 4, 5, 176, 267 
 
 Civil Service, the, 304 
 
 Claiborne, William, 198 
 
 Clark, George Rogers, 1 53-154 
 
 Clark, WilHam, 202 
 
 Clay, Henry, 225, 229, 247, 250 
 
 Clermont, the, 193 
 
 Cleveland (city), 179 
 
 Cleveland, Grover, 311-312, 314-315 
 
 Clinton, De Witt, 215, 217 
 
 Coaches, 7 
 
 Coal strike, 326 
 
 Colorado, 266 
 
 Columbus, Christopher, 14-20, 21 
 
 Compromise of 1850, 251 
 
 Concord, 139, 141 
 
 Congress, 162, 165 
 
 Confederate States, 270, 274 
 
 Connecticut, 64-67 
 
 Constitution of the United States, 164- 
 
 166 
 Constitution, the, 185 
 Continental Congress, 138, 142 
 Cooking, 90 
 
 Cornwallis, General, 159 
 Cortez, 21 
 Cotton-gin, 196-198 
 
 Creeks, the, 200 
 
 Cuba, 19, 317, 321 
 
 Custer, General George, 298 
 
 Dakota, 266 
 
 Dare, Virginia, 36 
 
 Davenport, John, 66 
 
 Davis, Jefferson, 270, 272 
 
 Dayton, 179 , v 
 
 Dearborn, Fort, 194 
 
 Debs, Eugene V., 322, 328, 330 
 
 Declaration of Independence, 143 
 
 Delaware, 79-80 
 
 Democrats, 264, 312 
 
 De Soto, 21 
 
 Detroit, 125 
 
 Dewey, George, 318 
 
 Dinwiddie, Governor, 112, 119 
 
 District of Columbia, 250 
 
 Donelson, 277 
 
 Douglas, Stephen A., 253-256, 258, 261- 
 
 263, 272 
 Dover (New Hampshire), 68 
 Drake, Sir Francis, 28-31 
 Dutch, the, 50-52, 77 
 Dustin, Hannah, in 
 Duquesne, Fort, 119 
 Duke of York, 78 
 Duxbury, 58 
 
 Eaton, Theophilus, 66 
 
 Edison, Thomas A., 306-309 
 
 El Caney, 320 
 
 Electric telegraph, 242 
 
 Electricity, age of, 306-310 
 
 Elizabeth, Queen, 29, 33, 35 
 
 Elizabethtown, 78 
 
 Emancipation Proclamation, 282 
 
 Endicott, John, 60 
 
 England, 22, 26-28, no, 123, 137, 172 
 
 Ericson, Leif, 24 
 
 Erie Canal, 215-218 
 
 Europe, 4-8 
 
INDEX 
 
 339 
 
 Ferdinand, 15-16 
 
 Fillmore, Millard, 2Z2>, 252 
 
 Fish, 10, 27 
 
 Florida, 21, 46, 209, 270 
 
 Food of the colonists, 92 
 
 Forests, 9 
 
 France, 46-49, 104, no, 123, 151, 171, 175 
 
 Franklin, Benjamin, 117-119, 150 
 
 Fredericksburg, 282 
 
 Fremont, John C, 232, 257 
 
 Frontier Line, 84, 179, 206, 265 
 
 Fulton, Robert, 193-194 
 
 Furs, SI 
 
 Gage, General, 139, 141 
 
 Games, 102 
 
 Garfield, James A., 30:2-304 
 
 Garrison, William Lloyd, 249 
 
 Gas, 177, 269 
 
 Gates, Horatio, 150 
 
 George III, 133 
 
 Georgia, 83-84, 270, 285 
 
 Germany, 334 
 
 Gettysburg, 283 
 
 Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, ZZ> 34 
 
 Gold, discovery of, 235, 236 
 
 Gomez, Maximo, 317 
 
 Grant, Ulysses S., 276-279, 284-287, 296- 
 
 300 
 Great Harry, the, 27 
 Great Meadows, 115 
 Greene, Nathanael, General, 159 
 Guerriere, the, 185 
 
 H 
 
 Haiti, 19 
 
 Half Moon, the, 50, 79 
 Hamilton, Alexander, 168-170 
 Hampton Roads, 281 
 Hancock, John, 139, 142 
 Harlem, 146 
 Harper's Ferry, 263 
 Harrod, James, 127 
 
 Harrodsburg, i-iy 
 
 Harrison, Benjamin, 312-314 
 
 Harrison, William Henry, 190-192, 225- 
 
 227 
 Hartford, 65 
 Hawaii, 322 
 
 Hayes, Rutherford B., 301-302 
 Heating, 90 
 Henry VII, 22 
 Henry, Patrick, 131, 138 
 Hessians, 147 
 Hobson, Richard, 321 
 Holland, 50 
 
 Hooker, Thomas, 64-66 
 Houses, 89, 177, 268 
 Howe, Elias, 243-245 
 Howe, General, 145, 147 
 Hudson, Henry, 50-52, 79 
 Hudson River, 50 
 Huerta, General, ^Zi 
 Hull, Isaac, 185 
 Hutchinson, Anne, 68 
 Hutchinson, Thomas, 135 
 
 I 
 
 Idaho, 313 
 
 Illinois, 108, 194, 195 
 
 Impeachment, 292 
 
 Impressment, 182 
 
 Incandescent light, 308 
 
 Independence, Declaration of, 143 
 
 India, 19 
 
 Indiana, 190-192, 194, 274 
 
 Indians, 10-13, 40-42, 48-49, 71, 81, 170 
 
 204, 298 
 Interstate Commerce Commission, 328 
 Invincible Armada, the, 30-31 
 Iowa, 234, 235 
 Iroquois Indians, 48, in 
 Isabella, 15-16 
 
 Jack-knives, 102 
 
 Jackson, Andrew, 186, 200, 209. 219-221, 
 
 222-225 
 Jackson, Stonewall, 283 
 
340 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Jamestown, 38, 39-45 
 
 Jay, John, 138 
 
 Jay's Treaty, 172 
 
 Jefferson, Thomas, 138, 143, 168, 181-183, 
 
 198 
 Jesuits, 104 
 
 Johnson, Andrew, 287, 289-293 
 Johnson, Sir William, 122 
 Joliet, Louis, 105 
 Jones, John Paul, 156 
 
 K 
 
 Kansas, 255, 257, 266 
 Kaskaskia, 154, 155 
 Kearney, Stephen, 232 
 Kentucky, 126-128, 175 
 Key, Francis Scott, 186 
 King Philip, 66- 
 Knox, Henry, 168 
 Ku-klux Klan, 297 
 
 Lafayette, General, 152, 159 
 
 Lane, Ralph, 35 
 
 La Salle, 106 
 
 Lee, Robert E., 279^282, 286, 287 
 
 Lewis, Meriwether, 202 
 
 Lexington, 139, 140 
 
 Liberty Bell, 143 
 
 Lighting, 90 
 
 " Light Horse Harry," 279 
 
 Lincoln, 258-264, 271-274, 282, 287-288 
 
 Little Giant, the, 254 
 
 Log-cabin campaign, 226 
 
 Long Island, 145 
 
 Louisiana, 107, 182, 198-200, 270 
 
 Louis XIV, 107 
 
 Lusitania, the, 334 
 
 Lynn, 61 
 
 M 
 
 Madison, James, 183-187 
 Madison (Wisconsin), 235 
 Magellan, 2i 
 
 Maine, 69, 21 1 
 
 Maine, the, 318 
 
 Manassas, 274, 282 
 
 Manhattan Island, 50, 52 
 
 Marietta, 178 
 
 Marquette, James, 105-106 
 
 Maryland, 72-74 
 
 Mason, John, 65 
 
 Massachusetts, 59-63, 133, 139, 273 
 
 Matches, 90, 268 
 
 Maximilian, 293 
 
 Mayflower, the, 55-56, 59 
 
 McCormick, Cyrus, 240-242 
 
 McKinley, William, 315-319, 322 
 
 Mexican War, 230-232 
 
 Mexico, 21, 293, 333 
 
 Mexico (city), 231 
 
 Memphis, 278 
 
 Merriniac, the, 281 
 
 Michigan, 49, 218 
 
 Miles, General, 321 
 
 Milwaukee, 235 
 
 Minnesota, 235, 266 
 
 Minuit, Peter, 52 
 
 Mississippi, 201, 270 
 
 Mississippi River, 21, 277-279 
 
 Missouri Compromise, 210, 255 
 
 Missouri, 205, 210 
 
 Mitchell, John, 326 
 
 Monitor, the, 281 
 
 Monmouth, 153 
 
 Monroe Doctrine, 211-213, 293 
 
 Monroe, James, 207-213 
 
 Montana, 313 
 
 Montcalm, General, 123 
 
 Monterey, 230 
 
 Montgomery, Richard, 157 
 
 Mormons, 238 
 
 Morse, Samuel F. B., 242-243 
 
 Moving pictures, 309 • 
 
 N 
 
 Natchez, 108 
 National Road, 215 
 Navy, the, 304 
 Nebraska, 255, 266 
 
INDEX 
 
 341 
 
 Neighbors in colonial times, 94 
 
 Nevada, 267 
 
 New Amsterdam, 52, ']'j 
 
 Newark, 146 
 
 Newfoundland, 34 
 
 New Hampshire, 68 
 
 New Haven, 66 
 
 New Jersey, 78-79 
 
 New Mexico, 230, 232, 250, 331 
 
 New Orleans, 108, 199 
 
 New Orleans, battle of, 186 
 
 " New roof," 164 
 
 New York, ']'], 78, 217 
 
 New York City, 52, 145, 167 
 
 Niagara, 122 
 
 Nicholls, Robert, 'j'] 
 
 North Carolina, 74-75, 274 
 
 North Dakota, 313 
 
 Northwest Territory, 170, 178 
 
 Oglethorpe, James, 83 
 
 Ohio, 178, 190, 274, 331 
 
 Oklahoma, 331 
 
 Old Dominion, the, 70 
 
 " Old Hickory," 222 
 
 Oregon, 205, 229, 230, 267 
 
 Oriskany, 149 
 
 Orleans, Territory of, 199 
 
 Pack-horses, 98 
 
 Palo Alto, 230 
 
 Palos, 17 
 
 Panama Canal, 327-329 
 
 Panic of 1893, 314 
 
 Parcel-post, 331 
 
 Parker, Alton B., 328 
 
 Paris, treaties made at, 123, 159 
 
 Parliament, 131 
 
 Patriots, 133 
 
 Peasants, 5 
 
 Pelican, the, 29, 30 
 
 Penn, William, 80 
 
 Pennsylvania, 80-82, 86 
 
 Pequots, 65 
 
 Perry, O. H., 184 
 
 Philadelphia, 81, 82, 85, 86, 164 
 
 Philip II, 28, 30 
 
 Philippine Islands, 319, 322 
 
 Phonograph, 308 
 
 Pierce, Franklin, 253 
 
 Pike's Peak, 266 
 
 Pilgrims, 54-58 
 
 Pillow, Fort, 278 
 
 Pirates, 75 
 
 Pittsburg Landing, 277 
 
 Pizarro, 21 
 
 Plymouth, 53, 55-58 
 
 Plymouth Rock, 56 
 
 Pocahontas, 41-42, 43 
 
 Polk, James K., 229-232 
 
 Ponce de Leon, 21 
 
 Pontiac, 124 
 
 Pony Express, 268 
 
 Porto Rico, 321 
 
 Postal Savings Banks, 331 
 
 Powhatan, 41 
 
 Prairies, 9 
 
 Princeton, 147 
 
 Prophet, the, 191 
 
 Providence, 68 
 
 Provincetown, 55 
 
 Pueblo, 231 
 
 Pure Food Act, 328 
 
 Puritans, 59-63 
 
 Putnam, Rufus, 178 
 
 Quakers, 80 
 
 Quebec, 47, 119, 122, 123 
 
 Railroads, 219, 267, 299 
 Raleigh, Sir Walter, ^'^--yi 
 Read, Deborah, 118 
 Reaper, the, 240-242 
 Republican Party, 257 
 Rhode Island, 68 
 Ribault, Jean, 46 
 Richmond, 280, 286 
 Roads, 7, 97, 177 
 
342 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Roanoke Island, 35 
 
 Robertson, James, 128 
 
 Rochester, 218 
 
 Rolfe, John, 43 
 
 Roosevelt, Theodore, 321, 322, 324-329, 
 
 332 
 Rough Riders, 320 
 
 Sabbath, 96 
 
 St. Augustine, 46 
 
 St. Clair, Arthur, 171 
 
 St. Leger, General, 149 
 
 St. Louis, 267 
 
 St. Mary's (Maryland), ']2> 
 
 Salem, 59 
 
 Salt Lake City, 238 
 
 Sampson, Admiral, 321 
 
 San Francisco, 237 
 
 San Salvador, 18 
 
 Santa Maria, 17 
 
 Santiago, 320 
 
 Saratoga, 149 
 
 ISavannah, 285 
 
 " Scalawags," 296 
 
 Scalp-lock, II 
 
 Schenectady, iii 
 
 Schley, Commodore, 321 
 
 Schools in colonial times, 99-101 
 
 Scotch-Irish, 85 
 
 Scott, Winfield, 230, 232 
 
 Scrooby, 54 
 
 Secession, 224, 270 
 
 Seminoles, 209 
 
 Sera pis, the, 156 
 
 Serfs, 5 
 
 Sevier, John, 128 
 
 Sewing-machine, 177, 243 
 
 Shays's Rebellion, 164 
 
 Sherman, William T., 284-286 
 
 Shiloh, 277 
 
 Sitting Bull, 298 
 
 Slavery, 43, 70, 210-21 1, 248, 250, 251, 
 
 282, 292 
 Smith, John, 38-43 / 
 
 South Carolina, 74-75, 223, 224, 270 
 
 South Dakota, 313 
 
 Spain, 16, 19, 22, 27-28, 31, 317, 322 
 
 Spinning, 92 
 
 Springfield, 164 
 
 Sports, 102 
 
 Squanto, 57 
 
 Stamp Act, 130, 132 
 
 Standish, Miles, 55, 58 
 
 Stark, John, 149 
 
 " Star-spangled Banner," 186 
 
 Staten Island, 145 
 
 Steam, 6, 269 
 
 Steamboats, 177, 193 
 
 Stockton, Commodore, 232 
 
 Strikes, 314, 326 
 
 Stuyvesant, Peter, yy, 80 
 
 Submarines, 335 
 
 Sumter, Fort, 272 
 
 Swedes, 79 
 
 Syracuse, 218 
 
 Taft, William H., 330-332 
 
 Tankard, 91 
 
 Tariff, 170, 312 
 
 Taylor, Zachary, 230, 233, 252 
 
 Teachers, 100 
 
 " Tea Party," the, 134 
 
 Tecumseh, 190, 191, 200 
 
 Telegraph, the, 242, 269 
 
 Telephone, 177, 309-310 
 
 Tennessee, 128, 175, 274 
 
 Texas, 228, 270 
 
 Three R's, 100 
 
 Ticonderoga, Fort, 148 
 
 Tilden, Samuel J., 302 
 
 Tippecanoe, 191 
 
 Tithing-man, 96 
 
 Tobacco, 43, 70 
 
 Tomahawk, 12 
 
 Toys, 102 
 
 Travel, 7, 97, 177 
 
 Trenchers, 91 
 
 Trenton, 147 
 
 Turks, 14 
 
 Tyler, John, 226, 228 
 
 RD-232 
 
INDEX 
 
 343 
 
 U 
 
 " Underground railway," 249 
 Union Pacific Railroad, 299 
 Utah, 238, 250, 251 
 
 Van Buren, Martin, 225 
 Vail, Alfred, 243 
 
 /"alley Forge, 148 
 
 /era Cruz, 231, 334 
 Vermont, 175 
 
 Vespucius, Americus, 23-24 
 Vevay, Indiana, 194 
 
 /icksburg, 278, 279 
 
 /ilia, Francisco, 334 
 
 Vincennes, 155 
 
 Vinland, 25 
 
 Virginia, 35, 3^44, 70-72, 119, 214, 274, 
 
 331, 333 
 Von Steuben, Baron, 148 
 
 W 
 
 War of 1812, 184-187 
 Washington (City), 176, 186 
 Washington (State), 267, 313 
 
 Washington, George, 112-116, 120-121, 
 
 138, 145-148, 153, 159, 167-173, 175 
 Watauga, 128 
 Wayne, Anthony, 171 
 Weaving, 92 
 
 Webster, Daniel, 247, 250 
 West Point, 157 
 Weyler, General, 317 
 Wheeler, Joseph, 319 
 Wheelwright, John, 68 
 Whisky Rebellion, 170 
 White Plains, 146 
 White, John, 2^ 
 Whitney, Eli, 196-198 
 Wigwam, 11 
 Williams, Roger, 67-68 
 Wilmington, 79, 148 
 Wilson, Woodrow, 332-335 
 Winthrop, John, 60-63 
 Wisconsin, 49, 235 
 Wolfe, General, 123 
 Wood, Leonard, 321 
 World's Columbian Exposition, 314 
 Wyoming, 313 
 
 Yorktown, 159 
 Young, Brigham, 238 
 

 .■1°* 
 
 4.°-^*. 
 
 
 C^ ♦ 
 
 '^o^ 
 
 
 
 ^^ -^^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^^"^ DOBBSEROS. o ^^K^ 
 
 LISRARY FINDING ^ , <"\ 
 
 ST. AUGUSTINE <0 
 FLA. 0^ 
 
 \b