piiUuuiiiiauHfliiaHtiiiHMiiuwtiiinuttinmtMWHNttMwiwuM^^^ ^^•n^ '^ 'OK [' ^v«-d* .J 'bl JP-^K. V • .^^ ■fe. V «?>' ^ „^*^ "^. V •''•♦'^ ^' o"« *J6 •* • • • 4 U J "^^ \**''^'*V'\. ^V^^*\o^ \.**'^^*V^'^ ^©.''^^•'.o^' '^•i^' r." «,'J vv .5^"-. '^ •-'i^aQ^.' ^-i'-' v^^ 'f'Mr.'i AV-^cJ. <0,-. ^o9 ^•\/ V^^*/ \*^-*\#'' V^^^"/ V^*^:-\/ VJ,> , • . , "^ 4y / o'5 \ k^c.■•:>k: •. rV o • '#' F^*' .*'^°'«' 'jfm. NesT Century History of the United States '4 "*■ . ■* '^A 4^^^-- i ,' \ THE SURRENDER AT YORKTOWN A New Hkstoky of thi: Umted States The Greater Republic BMBKACIXCi THE GROWTH AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF OIK COl'NTKY PKOM THE EAKLIEST DAYS OF DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT TO THE PRESENT EVENTFUL YEAR StIOUIXC HOV TKOM THIRTKEX COLONICS \vlTH A SCATTERED rOflLATIOX ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST A GREAT HCriBLIC HAS BEEN EORMED. EMBRACING EOKTY-FIVE STATES KITH 75,000.000 INHABITANTS AND VAST COLONIAL POSSESSIONS IN TWO HCMISl'MERES By CHARLES MORRIS, LL. D. AuiniK ,>f •Decisive Events in American History." "Half Hours with the Best American Authors.' '■ An Historical Review of Civilization." Etc.. Etc Embellished With Over 300 New Engravinas ILLISTKATINO ALL THAT IS I.NTEHESTIXO AM) l.NsriKINO IN OLR HISTC'KT THE JOHN C. WINSTON eO.' ' PHILADELPHIA CHICAGO TORONTO THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, Tvrt) Cowea Recsiveo SEP. n 1902 CXi/uv. /i^/f 8 7- CLASS CVXXo No. ,5 COPY B. J U Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1900, by j5 M-. E. SCUULi, I in tlie office of the Lil.raiian of Congress, at Washington. T .-,^ PUBLISHERS' INTRODUCTION. The late war with Spain marks a momentous epoch in the jirogress of oui country, whose history, stretching through the centuries of discovery, explora« tion, settlement, the struggle for independence, foreign and domestic war, lofty achievement in all departments of knowledge and progress, is the most interest- ing in human annals. It is a record full of instruction and incitement to endeavor, which must fill every American with pride in his birthright, and with gratitude to Him who holds the earth and the sea in the hollow of His hand. The following pages contain a complete, accurate, and graphic history of our country from the first visit of the Northmen, a thousand years ago, to the open- ing of its new destiny, through the late struggle, resulting in the freeing of Cuba, the wresting of the Philippines, Porto Rico, and other islands from the tyranny of the most cruel of modern nations, and the addition of Hawaii to our domain. The Greater United States, at one bound, assumes its place in the van of nations, and becomes the foremost agent in civilizing and christianizing the world. The task, long committed to England. Germany, France, Russia, and later to Japan, must henceforth be shared with us, whose glowing future gives promise of the crowning achievement of the ages. With a fervent trust in a guiding Providence, and an abiding confidence in our ability, we enter upon the new (5) 6 PUBLISHERS' INTRODUCTION. and grander career, as in obedience to the divine behest that the Latin race must decrease and the Anglo-Saxon increase, and that the latter, in a human sense, must be the regenerator of all who are groping in the night of ignorance and barbarism. It is a wonderful story that is traced in the pages that follow. A compre- hension of the present and of the promise of the future necessitates an under- standing of the jjast. The history of the Greater United States, therefore, is complete, from the first glimpse, in the early morning of October 12, 1492, of San Salvador by Columbus, through the settlement of the colonies, their struggles for existence, the colonial wars, the supreme contest between England and France for mastery in the New AVorld, the long gloom of the Revolution that brought independence, the founding of the Republic, in 1787, the growth and expansion of the nation, the mighty War for the Union that united the divided house and planted it upon a rock, and the later " war for humanity," when the perishing islands, stretching their hands to us in helpless anguish, were gathered under the flag of freedom, there to remain through all time to come. There have been many leaders in this great work. Not the story of the deeds alone, but of those who performed them is told. History, biography, and all that is interesting and profitable to know are here truthfully set forth, for their lesson is one whose value is beyond measurement. In addition to the history of that which was simply the United States, a complete account is given of our new colonial possessions, Hawaii, Porto Rico, the Philippines, Guam Island and Cuba, the child of our adoption. Their geography, their soil, climate, productions, inhabitants, and capabilities are set forth with fullness and accuracy. In conclusion, the publishers confidently claim that "The Greater Repub- lic" is the fullest, most interesting, reliable, and instructive work of the kind pver offered the public. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. DISCOVERY AND EXFLORAXION. PAGE The Visits of the Northmen to the New World — The Indians and Mound Builders — Christopher Co- lumbus — His Discovery of America — Amerigo Vespucci — John Cabot — Spanish Explorers — Bal- boa — His Discovery of the Pacific — jMagellan — Ponce de Leon — De Narvaez — De Soto — 5Ien- endoz — French Explorers — Verrazzani — Cartier — Eibault — Laudonniere — Champlain — La Salle — Engh'sli Explorers — Sir Hugh Willoughby — Martin Frobislier — Sir Humphrey Gilbert — Sir Walter Raleigh — The Lost Colony — Dutch Explorer — Henry Hudson 33 CHAPTEE II. SETTLEMENT OE THE THIRTEEN ORIGINAL STATES. Virginia, — Founding of Jamestown — Captain John Smith — Introduction of African Slavery — Indian Wars — Bacon's Rebellion — Forms of Government — Prosperity — Education — jVcw England, — Plymouth — Massachusetts Bay Colony — Union of the Colonies — Religious Persecution^King Philiji's War — The Witchcraft Delusion — New Hampshire, — The Connecticut Colony, — The I\ew Haven Colony, — Union of the Colonies — Indian Wars — The Charter Oak — Rhode Island, — Different Forms of Government — NewYorh, — The Dutch and English Settlers — New Jersey, — Delaware, — Pennsylvania, — Maryland, — JIason and Dixon's Line — The Carolinas, — Georgia 47 CHAPTEE III. THE INTERCOLONIAL WARS AND THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. King William's War — Queen Anne's War — King George's War — The French and Indian War — England and France Rivals in the Old World and the New — The Early French Settlements — The Disputed Territory — France's Fatal Weakness — Washington's Journey Through the Wilderness— The First Fight of the War— The War Wholly American for Two Years— The Braddock Massacre — The Great Change Wrought by William Pitt — Pall of Quebec — Moment- ous Consequences of the Great English Victory — The Growth and Progress of the Colonies and their Home Life 75 CHAPTER IV. THE REVOLUTION— THE WAR IN NEW ENGLAND. Causes of the Revolution— The Stamp Act — The Boston Tea Party— England's Unbearable Meas- ures — The First Continental Congress — The Boston Massacre — Lexington and Concord — The Second Continental Congress — Battle of Bunker Hill — Assumption of Command by Washington —British Evacuation of Boston — Disastrous Invasion of Canada 89 (7) 8 CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. THE REVOIvUTION (CONTINUED). THE WAR IN THE VIIDDIvE STATES AND ON THE SEA. , PAGI Declaration of Independence — The American Flag — Battle of Long Island— Washington's Retreat Through the Jerse3's — Trenton and Princeton — In Winter Quarters — Lafayette — Brandywine and Germantown — At Valley Forge — Burgoyne's Campaign — Fort Schuyler and Bennington — Bemis Heights and Stillwater — The Conway Cabal — Aid from France — Battle of Monmouth — Molly Pitcher — Failure of French Aid — Massacre at Wyoming — Continental Money — Stony Point — Treason of Arnold — Paul Jones' Great Victory . . 103 CHAPTER VI. THE REVOLUTION IN THE SOUTH (CONCLUDED). Capture of Savannah — British Conquest of Georgia — Fall of Charleston — Bitter Warfare in South Carolina — Battle of Camden — Of King's Mountain — Of theCowpens — Battle of Guilford Court- House — Movements of Cornwallis — The Final Campaign — Peace and Independence . . . 131 CHAPTER VII. OROANIZATION OE THE UNITED STATES. The Method of Government During the Revolution — Impending Anarchy — The State Boundaries — State Cessions of Land — Shays' Rebellion — Adoption of the Constitution — Its Leading Fea- tures — The Ordinance of 1787 — Formation of Parties — Election of the First President and Vice- President ... 143 CHAPTER VIII. ADIvIINISTRATIONS OE WASHINOTON, JOHN ADAIVIS, AND JEFEERSON— 17S9-1809, Washington — His Inauguration as First President of the United States — Alexander Hamilton — His Success at the Head of the Treasury Department — The Obduracy of Rhode Island — Establish- ment of the United States Bank — Passage of a Tariff Bill — Establishment of a Mint — The Plan of a Federal Judiciary — Admission of Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee — Benjamin Franklin — Troubles with the Western Indians — Their Defeat by General Wayne — Removal of tlie National Capital Provided for — The Whiskey Insurrection — The Course of "Citizen Genet" — Jay's Treaty — Re-election of AVashington — Resignation of Jefferson and Hamilton — Washington's Farewell Address— Establishment of the United States Military Academy at West Point— Tlie Presidential Election of 1 796— .John Adams— Prosperity of the Country— Population of the Country in 1790 — Invention of the Cotton Gin — Troubles with France — War on the Ocean — Washington Appointed Commander-in-Chief- Peace Secured — The Alien and Sedition Laws — The Census of 1800— The Presidential Election of 1800— The Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution— Thomas Jefferson — Admission of Ohio — The Indiana Territory — The Purchase of Louisiana — Its Im- mense Area — Abolishment of the Slave Trade^War with Tripoli — The Lewis and Clark Ex- pedition — Alexander Hamilton Killed in a Duel by Aaron Burr — The First Steamboat on the Hudson — The First Steamer to Cross the Atlantic — England's Oppressive Course Toward the United States — Outrage by the British Ship Lenniler — The Affair of the Leopard and Chesa- peake — Passage of the Embargo Act — The Presidential Election of 1808 . . . . .15! CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. ADAdlNISTRATIONS OK IVIADISON, ISOQ-ISIT, THE V/AR OK 1812. PAGE James JIadison — The Embargo and the Non-Intercourse Acts — Revival of the Latter Against Eng- land — The Little Belt and the President — Population of the United States in 181U — Battle of Tippecanoe — Declaration of War Against England — Comparative Strength of the Two Nations on the Ocean — Unpopularity of the War in New England — Preparations Made by the Govern- ment — Cowardly Surrender of Detroit — Presidential Election of 1812 — Admission of Louisiana and Indiana — New National Bank Chartered — Second Attempt to Invade Canada — Battle of Queenstown Heights — Inefficiency of the American Forces in 1812 — Brilliant Work of the Navy — The Constitution and the Guerriire — The Wasp and the Frolic — The United States and the Macedonian — The Constitution and the Java — Reorganization and Strengthening of the Army — Operations in the West — Gallant Defense of Fort Stephenson— American Invasion of Ohio and Victory of the Thames — Indian Massacre at Fort Mimms — Capture of York (Toronto) — Defeat of the Enemy at Sackett's Harbor — Failure of the American Invasion of Canada — The Hornet and Peacock — Capture of the Chesapeake — "Don't Give Up the Ship" — Captain Decatur Blockaded at New London — Capture of the Argus by the Enemy — Cruise of the Essex, — The Glorious Victory of Commodore Perry on Lake Erie — Success of the American Arms in Canada — Battle of the Chippewa — Of Lundy's Lane — Decisive Defeat of the Enemy's Attack on Plattsburg — Punishment of the Creek Indians for the Massacre at Fort Mimms — Vigorous Action by the National Government — Burning of Washington by the British — The Hartford Convention 181 CHAPTER X. ADM;INISTRATI0NS ok JAMES NIONROE AND JOHN QUINCY ADAM;S, 1817-1829. James Monroe — The "Era of Good Feeling" — The Seminole War — Vigorous Measures of General Jackson — Admission of Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama, Maine, and Missouri — The Missouri Compromise — The Monroe Doctrine — Visit of Lafiiyette — Introduction of the Use of Gas— Completion of the Erie Canal— The First " Hard Times "-Extinction of the West Indian Pirates — Presidential Election of 1824 — Johti Quincy Adams— Prosperity of the Country— In- troduction of the Railway Locomotive — Trouble witn lie Cherokees in Georgia — Death of Adams and Jefferson — Congressional Acrion on the Tariff— Presidential Election of 1828 . . 205 CHAPTER XI. ADIVIINISTRATIONS OK JACKSON, VAN BURKN, W. H. HARRISON, AND TVLER, 1829-1845. Andrew Jackson— "To the Victors Belong the Spoils"— The President's Fight with the United States Bank — Presidential Election of 1828 — Distribution of the Surplus in the United States Treasury Among the Various States— The Black Hawk War— The Nullification Excitement— The Seminole War — Introduction of the Steam Locomotive— Anthracite Coal, McCormick's Reaper, and Friction iMatches— Great Fire in New York — Population of the United States in 1830 — Admission of Arkansas and Michigan — -Abolitionism — France and Portugal Compelled to Pay their Debts to the United States — The Specie Circular, John Caldwell Calhoun, Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster— Presidential Election of 1836— Martin Van Buren— The Panic of 1 837 — Rebellion in Canada — Population of the United States in 1 840 — Presidential Election of 1 840 — William Henry Harrison — His Death — .John Tyler — His Unpopular Course — The Webster- Ashburton Treaty — Civil War in Rhode Island — The Anti-rent War in New York — A Shock- 10 CONTENTS. PAQE ing Accident — Admission of Florida — Revolt of Texas Against Mexican Rule — The Alamo — San Jacinto — The Question of the Annexation of Texas — The State Admitted — The Copper Jlines of Michigan — Presidential Election of 1844 — The Electro-magnetic Telegraph — Professor Morse — His Labors in Bringing the Invention to Perfection 215 CHAPTER XII. FAMOUS PRESIDENTIAL CAIVIPAIGNS PREVIOUS TO 1840. The Origin of the " Caucus" — The Election of 1792 — The First Stormy Election — The Constitution Amended — Improvement of the Method of Nominating Presidential Candidates — The First Presidential Convention — Convention in Baltimore in 1832 — Exciting Scenes — The Presidential Campaign of 1820 — "Old Hickory" — Andrew Jackson's Popularity — Jackson Nominated — " Old Hickory" Defeated — The " Log-Cabin " and " Hard-Cider " Campaign of 1840 — " Tippe- canoe and Tyler Too " — Peculiar Feature of the Harrison Campaign ...... 239 CHAPTER XIII. ADMINISTRATION OK POLKI, 1845-1849. James K. Polk — TkeWar ivith Mexico— ^\i& First Conflict — Battle ofResaca de la Palma — Vigorous Action of the United States Government — General Scott's Plan of Campaign — Capture of Monterey — An Armistice — Capture of Saltillo — Of Victoria — Of Tampico — General Kearny's Capture of Santa Fe — Conquest of California — Wonderful March of Colonel Doni])han — Battle of Buena Vista — General Scott's March Toward the City of Mexico — Capture of Vera Cruz — American Victory at Cerro Gordo — Five American Victories in One Day — Santa Anna — Con- quest of Mexico Completed — Terms of the Treaty of Peace — The New Territory Gained — The Slavery Dispute — The Wilmot Proviso — "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight" — Adjustment of the Oregon Boundary — Admission of Iowa and Wisconsin — The Smithsonian Institute — Discovery of Gold in California— The Mormons— The Presidential Election of 1848 251 CHAPTER XIV. ADIVIINISTRATIONS OK TAYLOR, KILLMORE, PIERCE, AND BUCHANAN, 1849-1857. Zachary Taylor— The "Irrepressible Conflict" in Congress — The Omnibus Bill — Death of President Taylor — Millard Fillmore — Death of the Old Leaders and Debut of the New — The Census of 1850 — Surveys for a Railway to the Pacific — Presidential Election of 1852 — Franklin Pierce — Death of Vice-Presiderit King — A Commerical Treaty Made with Japan— Filibustering Ex- peditions — The Ostend Manifesto— The "Know Nothing" Party — The Kansas-Nebraska Bill and Repeal of the Missouri Compromise ... 269 CHAPTER XV. ADPvIINISTRATION OK LINCOLN, 1861-1865 THE WAR KOR THE UNION, 1861. Abraham Lincoln — Major Anderson's Trying Position — Jefl^erson Davis — Inauguration of Presi- dent Lincoln— Bombardment of Port Sumter — War Preparations North and South — Attack on Union Troops in Baltimore — Situation of the Border States — Unfriendliness of England and France — Friendship of Russia — The States that Composed the Southern Confederacy — Union Disaster at Big Bethel — Success of the Union Campaign in Western Virginia — General George CONTENTS. 11 PAQK B. McClellan— First Battle of Bull Hun— General McClellan Called to the Command of the Army of the Potomac — Union Disaster at Ball's Bluff — Military Operations in Missouri — Battle of Wilson's Creek — Defeat of Colonel Mulligan at Lexington, Mo. — Supersedure of Fremont — Operations on the Coast — The Trent Affair — Summary of the Year's Operations . . . 285 CHAPTER XVI. ADMLINISTRATION OR LINCOLK (CONTINUED), 1861-1865. WAR FOR THE UNION (CONTINUED;, 1862. Capture of Forts Henry and Donelson — Change in the Confederate Line of Defense — Capture of Island No. It) — Battle of Pittsburg Landing or Shiloh — Capture of Corinth — Narrow Escape of Louisville — Battle of Pei'ryville — Battle of Murfreesboro' or Stone River — Battle of Pea Ridge — Naval Battle Between the Monitor and Merrlmac — Fate of the Two Vessels — Capture of New Orleans — The Advance Against Richmond — JlcClellan's Peninsula Campaign — The First Con- federate Invasion of the North — Battle of Antietam or Sliarpshurg — Disastrous Union ]ie2ndse at Iredericksbitrg — Sumniary of the War's Operations — The Confederate Privateers — The Emancipation Proclamation — Greenbacks and Bo/id Issues . . . . . . . 301 CHAPTER XVII. ADIVIINISTRATION OK LINCOLN (CONTINUED), 1861-1865. WAR FOR THE UNION (CONTINUED), 1863. The Jlilitary Situation in the West — Siege and Capture ofVicksburg — The Mississippi Opened — Battle of Chickamauga — " Tiic Rock of Chickamauga " — The Battle Above the Clouds — Siege of Knoxville — General Hooker Apiioiiitoil to the Command of the Army of the Potomac — His Plan of Campaign Against Richmond — Stonewall .Jackson's Stampede of the Eleventh Corps — Critical Situation of the Union Army — Death of Jackson — Battle of Chanoellorsville — Defeat of Hooker — The Second Confederate Invasion — Battle of Gettysburg — The Decisive Struggle of the War — Lee's Retreat — Subsequent Movements of Lee and Meade — Confederate Privateering — • Destruction of the Nashville — Failure of the Attacks on Charleston — The Jlilitary Raids — Stuart's Narrow Escape — Stotieman's Raid — Morgan's Raid in Indiana and Ohio . . . 333 CHAPTER XVIII. ADIVlINISTRATION OF LINCOLN (CONCLUDED), 1861-1865. WAR FOR THE UNION (CONCLUDED), 1864-1865. The Work Remaining to be Done — General Grant Placed in Command of all the Union Armies — The Grand Campaign — Bank's Disastrous Red River Expedition — How the Union Fleet was Saved — Capture of Mobile by Admiral Farragut — The Confederate Cruisers — Destruction of the Alabama by the Kearsarge — Fate of the Other Confederate Cruisers — Destruction of the Albe- marle by Lieutenant William B. Cushing — Re-election of President Lincoln — Distress in the South and Prosperity in the North — The Union Prisoners in the South — Admission of Nevada — The Confederate Raids from Canada — Sherman's Advance to Atlanta — Fall of Atlanta — Hood's Vain Attempt to Relieve Georgia — Superb Success of General Thomas — " Marching Through Georgia" — Sherman's Christmas Gift to President Lincoln — Opening of Grant's Final Cam- paign — Battles in the Wilderness — Wounding of General Longstreet and Death of Generals 12 CONTENTS. PAOl Stuart and Sedgwick — Grant's Flanking Movements Against Lee — A Disastrous Repulse at Cold Harbor — Defeat of Sigel and Hunter in the Sbenandoah Valley — " Bottling-up " of Butler — Explosions of the Petersburg Mine — Early's Raids — His Final Defeat by Sheridan — Grant's Campaign — Surrender of Lee — -Assassination of President Lincoln — Death of Booth and Pun- ishment of the Conspirators — Surrender of Jo Johnston and Collapse of the Southern Con- federacy—Capture of Jefferson Davis — His Release and Death — Statistics of the Civil War — A Characteristic Ancedote 367 CHAPTER XIX. ADIMINISTRATIONS OK JOHNSON AND GRANT, 1865-1877. Andrew Johnson — Reconstruction — Quarrel Between the President and Congress — The Fenians — Execution of Maximilian — Admission of Nebraska — Laying of the Atlantic Cable — Purchase of Alaska — Impeachment and Acquittal of the President — Carpet-bag Rule in the South — Presi- dential Election of 186S — LT. S. Grant — Settlement of the Alnhama Claims — Completion of the Overland Railway — The Chicago Fire — Settlement of the Northwestern Boundary — Presidential Election of 1872 — The Modoc Troubles — Civil War in Louisiana — Admission of Colorado — Panic of 1873 — Notable Deaths — Custer's Massacre — The Centennial — The Presidential Election of 1S76 the Most Perilous in the History of the Country 407 CHAPTER XX. AIDNdlNISTRATIONS OK HAYES, GARKIELD, AND ARTHUR, 1877-1885. R. B. Hayes — The Telephone — Railway Strikes — Elevated Railroads — War with the Nez Perce Indians — Remonetization of Silver — Resumption of Specie Payments — A Strange Fishery Award — The Yellow Fever Scourge — Presidential Election of 1 878 — James A. Garfield — Civil Service Reform — Assassination of President Garfield — Chester A. Arthur — The Star Route Frauds — The Brooklyn Bridge — The Chinese Question — The ^Mormons — Alaska Exjiloration — The York- town Centennial — Attempts to Reach the North Pole by Americans — History of the Greely Ex- pedition 427 CHAPTER XXI. ADMINISTRATION OK CLEVELAND (KIRST) AND OK HARRISON, 1885-1893. Grover Cleveland — Completion of the Washington Monument — The Bartholdi Statue — Death of General Grant — Death of Vice-President Hendricks — The First Vice-President to Die in Office — George Clinton — Elbridge Gerry — William R. King — Henry Wilson — Death of General McClellan — Of General Hancock — His Career — The Dispiite Between Capital and Labor — Arbitration — The Anarchistic Outbreak in Chicago — The Charleston Earthquake — Conquest of the Apaches — Presidential Election of 1888 — Benjamin Harrison — The Johnstown Disaster — Threatened War with Chili — The Indian Uprising of 1890-91 — Admission of New States — Presidential Election of 1892 459 CONTENTS. 13 CHAPTER XXII. ADNIINISXRATION OF CLKVELAND (SECOND), 1893-1897. PAGE Repeal of the Purchase Clause of the Sherman Bill — The World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago — The Hawaiian Imbroglio — The Great Railroad Strike of 1894 — Coxey's Commonweal Army — Admission of Utah — Harnessing of Niagara — Dispute with England Over Venezuela's Bound- ary — Presidential Election of 1896 487 CHAPTER XXIII. ADIvllNISTRATIOM OK CLEVELAND (SECOND, CONCLUDED), 1893-1897, Settling the Northwest — The Face of the Country Transformed — Clearing Away the Forests and its Effects — Tree-planting on the Prairies — Pioneer Life in the Seventies — The Granary of the World — The Northwestern Farmer — Transportation and Other Industries— Business Cities and Centres — United Public Action and its Influence — The Indian Question— Other Elements of Population — Society and General Culture 511 CHAPTER XXIV. ADMINISTRATION OK IvIcKINLEY, 1897-1901. William McKinley — Organization of "Greater New York" — Removal of General Grant's Remains to Morningside Park — The Klondike Gold Excitement — Spain's Misrule in Cuba — Preliminary Events of the Spanish-American War 527 CHAPTER XXV. ADiVIINISTRATION OK IVIcKINLEY (CONTINUED), 1897-1901. THE SPANISH-AIVIERICAN WAR. Opening Incidents — Bombardment of Matanzas — Dewey's Wonderful Victory at Manila — Disaster to the Winslmo at Cardenas Bay — The First American Loss of Life — Bombardment of San Juan, Porto Rico — The Elusive Spanish Fleet — Bottled-up in Santiago Harbor — Lieutenant Hobson's Daring Exploit— Second Bombardment of Santiago and Arrival of the Army — Gallant Work of the Rough Riders and the Regulars — Battles of San Juan and El Canej'— Destruc- tion of Cervera's Fleet — -General Shafter Reinforced in Front of Santiago — Surrender of the City — General Miles in Porto Rico — An Easy Conquest — Conquest of the Philippines — Peace Negotiations and Signing of the Protocol — Its Tertns — Members of the National Peace Com- mission — Return of the Troops from Cuba and Porto Rico — The Peace Commission in Paris — Conclusion of its Work — Terms of the Treaty — Ratified by the Senate 547 14 COXTIJNTS CHAPTER XXVI. ADMIXISTR.^TIOX OF McKZIXLEY (COXTIXUKD). THE CLOSIXG EVEXTS OF THE XIXETEEXTH CEXTURY. Affairs in Cuba ami Porto Rico — Dewey's rrouiotion and Return — The PJiilippine Situation— Aguin- aldo's Insurrection — The War in Luzon^The Philippine Commission — Amnesty Proclaimed — Presidential Nominations in 1900 — Party Platforms — AtTairs in China — The Boxer Outbreak — The Foreigners in Peking — Tli" i\ew Census — ^The Capture of Aguinaldo — Pan- American Exposition — The Presidential Trans-Continental Tour — Other Events of National Importance. . . 5S4 CHAPTER XXA'II. ADNIIXISTRATIOX OE ROOSEVELT. Theodore Roosevelt — A Popular President — The Nicaragua Canal — The Hay-Pauncefote Treaty — Pan- American Congress — The Schley Coui-t of Inquiry — New Expositions — The President's ^lessage^ Proceedings of Congress — Cuba and its Sugar — Visit of Prince Henry — ^The South Carolina Senators — Cabinet Changes — The Danish West Indies — Philippine Affairs 00:3 List of Illustrations. PAGE Amerigo Vespucci, 33 Meeting Between ttie Northmen and Natives, 34 Sebastian Cabot, 35 Columbus and the Egg, 37 An Indian Council of War, 41 " The Broiling of Fish Over the Fire," . 43 Indian Village Enclosed with Palisades, . 44 Sir Walter Raleigh, .45 Seal of the Virginia Company, .... 47 Armor Worn by the Pilgrims in 1620, . . 52 Landing of Mj'les Standish, 54 Roger Williams in Banishment, .... 57 Primitive Mode of Grinding Corn, ... GO Friends' Meeting-House, Burlington, N. J., . 64 Moravian Easter Service, Bethlehem, Pa., . 68 Colonial Plow— 1706, 71 Ancient Horseshoes, 72 A Colonial Flax- wheel, 72 SUk-winding, 73 A Comfortier, or Chafing Dish, .... 73 Early Days in New England, 74 Places of Worship in New York in 1742, . 75 Attack on Rioters, Springfield, Mass., in 1786, 77 Young Washington Riding a Colt, ... 79 Braddock's Defeat, 81 Martello Tower on the Heights of Abraham, 82 A Dutch Household as Seen in the Early Days in New York, 83 Memorial Hall, Harvard College, .... 85 Bible Brought Over in the Mayflower, . . 86 American Stage-coach of 1795, .... 87 PAOE The Old South Church, Boston, .... 91 Patrick Henry, 93 The Monument on Bunker Hill, .... 94 Nomination of Washington as Commander- in-Chief of the Continental Army, ... 96 Faneuil Hall, Boston, 97 St. Paul's Church, New York 101 Independence Hall, Philadelphia, . . . .104 The Liberty Bell 105 The Statue of Liberty, 107 An Old New York Mansion, 109 Washington Crossing the Delaware, . , .113 " Give Them Watts, Boys," 115 Washington at Valley Forge, 117 An Old Colonial House at Germantown, . 120 Virginia Currency, 1670, 123 Paul Jones, \ 125 The Boil Homme Ricliard and Serapis, . . 126 British Captain Surrendering Sword, . . . 127 Escape of Benedict Arnold, 129 Tarleton's Lieutenant and the Farmer, . .134 Cornwallis, 137 A Plantation Gateway, 143 Senate Chamber, 147 House of Representatives 149 An Old Indian Farm-house 152 Mary Ball, the Mother of Washington, . .153 George Washington 154 Inauguration of Washington, 155 Alexander Hamilton, 157 Ben Franklin in His Father's Shop, . . . 159 (15) 16 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Franklin's Grave, 160 Chief Justice John Jay, 163 Washington's Bedroom in which He Died, . 165 Mother of Washington Receiving Lafayette, 166 John Adams, 168 The Cotton Gin, Invented in 1793, . . .169 Thomas Jefferson, 171 Development of Steam Navigation, . . . 177 Robert Fulton, 178 James Madison, 182 The Arts of Peace and the Art of War, . 187 Mrs. James Madison, 191 Burning of Washington, 197 Weathersford and General Jackson, . . . 201 First Train of Cars in America, .... 205 James Monroe 205 An Indian's Declaration of War, .... 207 John Quincy Adams 211 "Johnny Bull," or No. 1, . . . i . . 213 Andrew Jackson 216 Samuel Houston 218 Oseola's Indignation, 221 Western Railroad in Earlier Days, . . . 222 John C. Calhoun, 223 Henry Clay 224 Daniel Webster 225 Martin Van Buren 227 William Henry Harrison, 239 John Tyler 231 Where the First Morse Instrument was Con- structed 235 Speedwell Iron Works, Morristown, N. J., . 236 Old Gates at St. Augustine, Florida, . . . 239 . A Typical Virginia Court-House, .... 241 The White House at AVashington, D. C, . 243 Old Spanish House, New Orleans, . . . 247 The Marigny House, New Orleans, . . . 248 James K. Polk, 251 Robert E. Lee in the Mexican War, . . . 253 General Winfield Scott, 257 Battle of Cerro Gordo, 259 The Smithsonian Institute, 263 Gold Washing— The Sluice, 264 Gold Washing— The Cradle 265 Great Salt Lake City, Utah, 267 Zachary Taylor, 269 Millard Fillmore, 271 PAOE Franklin Pierce, 273 Lucretia Mott, 275 Henry Ward Beecher, 276 James Buchanan, 278 Lucretia Mott Protecting Dangerfield, . . 279 Harper's Ferry 281 Abraham Lincoln, 285 From Log-Cabin to the White House, . . 286 Jefferson Davis, 287 Fort Moultrie, Charleston, S. C, . . . . 289 A Skirmisher 291 General George B. McClellan, 293 Statue of McClellan. Philadelphia, Pa., . . 295 Fortifying Richmond 297 Breech-loading Mortar, or Howitzer, . . . 302 A Railroad Battery, 305 Sec. Stanton's Opinion about the Merrimac, 309 John Ericsson, 312 Libby Prison in 1865, 315 Libby Prison in 1884, 316 Moist Weather at the Front, 319 Antietam Bridge, 325 Model of Galling Gun, 329 U. S. Military Telegraph Wagon, . . . .331 Admiral Porter, 334 David G. Farragut, 335 Grant After the Battle of Belmont, . . . 337 General George H. Thomas, 341 General Thomas J. ("Stonewall") Jackson, 345 House in which Stonewall Jackson Died, . 346 General Robert E. Lee, 349 General George G. Meade, 351 Cushing's Last Shot, 354 Entrance to Gettysburg Cemetry, .... 357 The Swamp Angel Battery, 363 Bailey's Dams on the Red River 371 Monument of Farragut at Washington, . . 373 Bird's-eye View of Andersonville Prison, . 383 Death of General Polk 385 General William T. Sherman, 389 General Lee Leading the Texans' Charge, . 393 General Philip H. Sheridan 395 Lincoln Entering Richmond 398 The Desperate Extremity of the Confederates, 403 Horace Greeley, 405 Lincoln's Grave, Springfield, 111., .... 406 Andrew Johnson, 407 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 17 PAQE Log-cabin Church at Juneau, Alaska, . . .411 Southern Legislature Under Carpet-bag Rule, 413 Ulysses Simpson Grant, 415 Mrs. Julia Dent Grant, 415 The Burning of Chicago, 1871, .... 417 Section of Chicago Stock-yards, .... 418 Monument to General Lee, llichmond, Ya., 422 General George Crook, 423 Memorial Hall of 1876, 425 Samuel J. Tilden, 426 Rutherford B. Hayes, 427 Grant at Windsor Castle, 431 Grant in Japan, 433 The Boy James Garfield and his Mother, . 434 James A. Garfield, 435 The Aged Mother of President Garfield, . 436 Assassination of President Garfield, . . . 437 Memorial Tablet to President Garfield, . . 438 Chester Alan Arthur, 439 The Brooklyn Bridge, 440 Scene in Chinatown, San Francisco, . . . 441 A Funeral in the Arctic Regions, . . . 449 Grover Cleveland, 459 Tomb of General U. S. Grant, New York, . 4G4 City Hall, Philadelphia, 467 Old Haymarket Plaza, Chicago, .... 471 General Crook's Apache Guide, . . . . 475 An Indian Warrior, 477 Benjamin Harrison, 479 Indian Mother and Infant, ...... 4S1 Indian Agency 484 Henry Bloore Teller, 487 Model of U. S. Man-of-War, 488 Machinery Hall, World's Fair, Chicago, 1893, 490 Horticultural BuUding, World's Fair, 1893, . 491 Agricultural Building, World's Fair, 1893, . 491 Woman's Building, World's Fair, 1893, . . 492 Thomas A. Edison, 493 The Viking Ship, World's Fair, Chicago, 1893, 495 Art Palace, World's Fair, Chicago, 1893, . 496 Government Building, World's Fair, 1893, . 496 2NC PAGE James G. Blaine, 499 A Scene of the Chicago Strike of 1894, . 501 A Gold Prospecting Party, British Guiana, . 505 The Venezuelan Commission, 507 William Jennings Bryan, 508 Albert Shaw, 511 A Dispute Over a Brand,. 513 Sluice-gate, , . 517 Between the Mills, 518 Barrel-hoist and Tunnel, Washburn Mill, . 518 MossbriB 520 Section of Chicago Stock-yards, .... 521 The Falls of St. Anthony, 1885, .... 523 Lake-shore Drive, Chicago, 525 Wm. McKinley, 527 The Obelisk, Central Park, New York, . . 529 John Sherman, 531 Thomas B. Reed, 533 Tomb of U. S. Grant, New York, . . . .534 Review of the Navy and Merchant Marine on the Hudson, April 27, 1897, . . 535 Map of Alaska, 536 Ready for the Trail, .537 General CaUxto Garcia, ....... 539 General Maximo Gomez, 541 Jose Marti, 543 General Antonio Maceo, 544 The U. S. Battleship Maine and her Ofiicers, 545 Admiral George Dewey 551 Camp Scene at Chickamauga, 555 Hichmond P. Hobson, 557 Major-General Fitzhugh Lee 559 Rear-Admiral William T. Sampson, . . . 560 Gov. Theodore Roosevelt, 561 Rear-Admiral Winfield S. Schley, .... 565 Rear- Admiral John C. Watson, .... 567 Major-General William R. Shaffer, . . . 570 Major-General Nelson A. IMiles, .... 571 Major-General Joseph Wheeler, .... 573 Major-General Wesley Merritt, .... 577 Major-General Elwell S. Otis, ..... 585 List of Full-page Half-tone Illustrations. Search for the Fountain of Youth Pocahontas Saving the Life of John Smith The Marriage of Pocahontas William Penn, the Good and Wise Euler Notable Audience in 3Iarvland to hear George Fox The Capture of Major Andre The Surrender at Yorktown . United States Capitol, Washington The Battle of FaUen Timbers Campaign Speechmaking in Earlier Days Fremont, the Great Pathfinder, addressing the Indians Battle of llesaca de la Palma The Blue and the Gray The First Battle of Bull Kun, ISGl The Attack on Fort Donelson General Lee's Invasion of the North The Battle of jNIalvern Hill . The Fatal Wounding of " Stonewall" Jackson Pickett's Return from his Famous Charge Attack on Charleston, August 23 to September 29, 1893 Sherman's Three Scouts The Civil War Peace Cimference The Electoral Commission, 1ST 7 The Farthest North Reached by Lieutenant Lockwood on the Greely Expedition The Washington Monument . Arbitration The Viking Ship at the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago, 189 Congressional Library, Washington, D. C. Cathedral Spires in the Garden of the Gods City of Havana, Cuba The U. S. Battleship " Maine " Map of Cuba Americans Storming San Juan Hill In the War-room at Washington The United States Peace Commissioners of the Spanish War "r AM READY FOR ANY SERVICE THAT I CAN GIVE MY COUNTRY" )8 our Government was about to declare war against France. Congress appointed Washington comwander-in-chief of tlie American Army. The Secretary of War carried ;lie commission in person to Mt. Vernon The old hero, sitting on his horse in Che harves' field, accepted n Jh^ above patriotic words. Authors Introduction. The annals of the world contain no more impressive example of the birth and growth of a nation than may be seen in the case of that whic-li has been aptly termed the Greater E-epnblic, whose story from its feeble childhood to its grand maturity it is the purpose of this work to set forth. Three hundred years is a brief interval in the long epoch of human history, yet within that short period the United States has developed from a handful of hardy men and women, thinly scattered along our Atlantic coast, into a vast and mighty country peopled by not less than seventy-five millions of human beings, the freest, richest, most industrious, and most enterpi-ising of any peojile upon the face of the earth. It began as a dwarf; it has grown into a giant. It was despised by the proud nations of Europe ; it has become feared and resjiected by the proudest of these nations. For a long time they have claimed the right to settle among themselves the affairs of the world ; they have now to deal with the United States in this self-imjiosed duty. And it is significant of the high moral atti- tude occupied by this country, that one of the first enterprises in which it was asked to join these ancient nations had for its end to do away with the horrors of war, and substitute for the drawn sword in the settlement of national disjiutes a great Supreme Court of arbitration. This is but one of the lessons to be drawn from the history of the great republic of the West. It has long been claimed that this history lacks interest, that it is devoid of the romance which we find in that of the Eastern world, has nothing in it of the striking and dramatic, and is too young and new to be worth men's attention when compared with that of the ancient nations, which has come down from the mists of prehistoric time. Yet we think that those who read the following pages will not be ready to admit this claim. They will find in the history of the United States an abundance of the elements of romance. It has, besides, the merit of being a complete and fully rounded history. We can trace it from its birth, and put upon record the entire story of the evolution of a nation, a fact which it would be difficult to affirm of any of the older nations of the world. If we go back to the origin of our country, it is to find it made up of a singular mixture of the best people of Europe. The word best is used here in (21) 22 AUTHOR'S IN'^RODUCTION. a special sense. The settlers in this country were not the rich and titled. They came not from that 2>roud nobility which claims to possess bluer blood than the common herd, but from the plain j^eople of Europe, from the workers, not the idlers, and this rare distinction they have kept up until the present day. But of this class of the world's workers, they were the bes', and noblest. They were men who thought for themselves, and refused to be bound in the trammels •of a State religion ; men who were ready to dare the perils of the sea and the hardships of a barren shore for the blessings of liberty and free-thought ; men of sturdy thrift, unflinching energy, daring enterprise, the true stuff out of which alone a nation like ours could be built. Such was the character of the Pilgrims and the Puritans, the hardy empire- builders of New England, of the Quakers of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the Catholics of Maryland, the Huguenots of the South, the Moravians and other German Protestants, the sturdy Scotch-Irish, and the others who sought this country as a haven of refuge for free-thought. We cannot say the same for the Hollanders of New Amsterdam, the Swedes of Delaware, and the English of Virginia, so far as their purpose is concerned, yet they too proved hardy and industrious settlers, and the Cavaliers whom the troubles in England drove to Virginia showed their good blood by the prominent part which their descendants played in the winning of our independence and the making of our government. While the various peoples named took part in the settlement of the colonies, the bulk of the settlers were of English birth, and Anglo-Saxon thrift and energy became the foundation stones upon which our nation has been built. Of the others, nearly the whole of them were of Teutonic origin, while the Huguenots, whom oppression drove from France, were of the very bone and sinew of that despot-ridden land. It may feirly be said, then, that the founders x)f our nation came from the cream of the populations of Europe, born of sturdy Teutonic stock, and comprising thrift, energy, endurance, love of liberty, and freedom of thought to a degree never equaled in the makers of any other nation upon the earth. They were of solid oak in mind and frame, and the edifice they built had for its foundation the natural rights of man, and for its super- structure that spirit of liberty which has ever since throbbed warmly in the American heart. It was well for the colonies that this underlying unity of aim existed, for aside from this they were strikingly distinct in character and aspirations^ Sparsely settled, strung at intervals along the far-extended Atlantic coast, silhouetted against a stern background of wilderness and mountain range, their sole bond of brotherhood was their common aspiration for liberty, while in all other respects they were unlike in aims and purposes. The spirit of political liberty was strongest in the New England colonies, and these held their owD AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION. 23 against every eifort to rob them of their rights with an unflinching boldness which is worthy of the highest praise, and which set a noble example for the remaining colonists. Next to them in bold opj^osition to tyranny were the people of the Carolinas, who sturdily resisted an effort to make them the enslaved subjects of a land-holding nobility. In Pennsylvania and Maryland political rights were granted by high-minded proprietors, and in these colonies no struggle for self-government was necessary. Only in Virginia and New York was autocratic rule established, and in both of these it gradually yielded to the steady demand for self-government. On the other hand, New England, while politically the freest, was religi- ously the most autocratic. The Puritans, who had crossed the ocean in search of freedom of thought, refused to grant a similar freedom to those who came later, and sought to found a system as intolerant as that from which they had fled. A natural revulsion from their oppressive measures gave rise in Rhode Island to the first government on the face of the earth in which absolute religious liberty was established. Among the more southern colonies, a similar freedom, so far as liberty of Christian worship is concerned, was granted by William Penn and Lord Baltimore. But this freedom was maintained only in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, religious intolerance being the rule, to a greater or less degree, in all the other colonies ; the Puritanism of New England being replaced elsewhere by a Church of England autocracy. The diversity in political condition, religion, and character of the settlers tended to keep the colonies separate, while a like diversity of commercial interests created jealousies which built up new barriers between them. The unity that might have been looked for between these feeble and remote com- munities, spread like links of a broken chain far along an ocean coast, had these and other diverse conditions to contend with, and they promised to develop into a series of weak and separate nations rather than into a strong and single com- monwealth. The influences that overcame this tendency to disunion were many and important. We can only glance at them here. They may be divided into two classes, warlike hostility and industrial oppression. The first step towards union was taken in 1643, when four of the New England colonies formed a confedera- tion for defense against the Dutch and Indians. "The United Colonies of New England " constituted in its way a federal republic, the prototype of that of the United States. The second step of importance in this connection was taken in 1754, when a convention was held at Albany to devise measures of defense against the French. Benjamin Franklin proposed a plan of colonial union, which was accepted by the convention. But the jealousy of the colonies prevented its adoption. They had grown into communities of some strength 24 AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION. and with a degree of pride in their separate freedom, and were not ready to yield to a central authority. The British Government also opposed it, not wishing to see the colonies gain the strength which would have come to them from political union. As a result, the plan fell to the ground. The next important influence tending towards union was the oppressive policy of Great Britain. The industries and commerce of the colonies had long been seriously restricted by the measures of the mother-country, and after the war with France an attempt was made to tax the colonists, though they were sternly refused representation in Parliament, the tax-laying body. Community in oppression produced unity in feeling; the colonies joined hands, and in 1765 a congress of their representatives was held in New York, which appealed to the King for their just jiolitical rights. Nine years afterwards, in 1774, a second congress was held, brought together by much more imminent common dangers. In the following year a third congress was convened. This continued in session for years, its two most important acts being the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain and the Confederation of the States, the first form of union which the colonies adopted. This Confederation was in no true sense a Union. The jealousies and fears of the colonies made themselves apparent, and the central government was given so little power that it threatened to foil to pieces of its own weight. It could pass laws, but could not make the people obey them. It could incur debts, but could not raise money by taxation to pay them. The States kept nearly all the power to themselves, and each acted almost as if it were an independent nation, while the Congress of the Confederation was left without money and almost without authority. This state of afiairs soon grew intolerable. "We are," said Washington, "one nation to-day, and thirteen to-morrow." Such a union it was impossible to maintain. It was evident that the compact must give way ; that there must be one strong government or thirteen weak ones. This last alternative fright- ened the States. None of them was strong enough to hold its own against foreign governments. They must form a strong union or leave themselves at the mercy of ambitious foes. It was this state of af!aii-s that led to the Consti- tutional Convention of 1787, by whose wisdom the National Union which has proved so solid a bond was organized. The Constitution made by this body gave rise to the Republic of the United States. A subsequent act, which in 1898 added a numlier of distant island possessions to our Union, and vastly widened its interests and its importance in the world's councils, made of it a "Greater Republic," a mighty dominion whose possessions extended half round the globe. AVhile the changes here briefly outlined were taking place, the country was growing with phenomenal rapidity. From all parts of northern and western AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION. 25 Europe, and above all from Great Britain, new settlers were crowding to our shores, while the descendants of the original settlers were increasing in numbers. How many people there were here is in doubt, but it is thought that in 1700 there were more than 200,000, in 1750 about 1,100,000, and in 1776 about 2,500,000. The first census, taken in 1790, just after the Federal Union was formed, gave a population of nearly 4,000,000. A people growing at this rate could not be long confined to the narrow ocean border of the early settlements. A rich and fertile country lay back, extending how far no one knew, and soon there was a movement to the West, which carried the people over the mountains and into the broad plains beyond. A war was fought with France for the possession of the Ohio country. Boone and other bold pioneers led hardy settlers into Kentucky and Tennessee, and George Kogers Clark descended the Ohio and drove the British troops from the northwest territory, gaining that vast region for the new Union. After the War for Independence the movement westward went on with rapidity. The first settlement in Ohio was made at Marietta in 1788 ; Cincin- nati was founded in 1790; in 1803 St. Louis was a little village of log-cabins; and in 1831 the site of Chicago was occupied by a dozen settlers gathered round Fort Dearborn. But while the cities were thus slow in starting, the country between them was rapidly filling up, the Indians giving way step by step as the vanguard of the great march pressed upon them ; here down the Ohio in bullet- proof boats, there across the mountains on foot or in wagons. A great national road stretched westward from Cumberland, Maryland, which in time reached the Mississippi, and over whose broad and solid surface a steady stream of emigrant wagons poured into the great West. At the same time steamboats were beginning to run on the Eastern waters, and soon these were carrying the increasing multitude down the Ohio and the Mississippi into the vast Western realm. Later came the railroad to complete this jihase of our history, and provide a means of transportation by whose aid millions could travel with ease where a bare handful had made their way with peril and hardship of old. Up to 1803 our national domain was bounded on the west by the ]\Iissis- sippi, but in that year the vast territory of Louisiana was purchased from France and the United States was extended to the summit of the Rocky Mountains, its territory being more than doubled in area. Here was a mighty domain for future settlement, across which two daring travelers, Lewis and CLirk, journeyed through tribes of Indians never before heard of, not ending their long route until they had passed down the broad Columbia to tlie waters of the Pacific. From time to time new domains were added to the great republic. In 1819 Florida was purchased f»-om Spain. In 1845 Texas was added to the Uninn. In 1846 the Oregon country was made part of the United States. In 1848, as 26 AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION. a result of the Mexican War, an immense tract extending from Texas to the Pacific was acquired, and -the land of gold became jiart of the republic. In 1853 another tract was purchased from Mexico, and the domain of the United States, as it existed at the beginning of the Civil War, was completed. It constituted a great section of the North American continent, extending across it from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and north and south from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, a fertile, well-watered, and ])rolific land, capable of becoming the nursery of one of the greatest nations on the earth. Beginning, at the close of the Revolution, with an area of 827,844 square miles, it now embraced 3,026,484 square miles of territory, having increased within a century to nearly four times its original size. In 1867 a new step was taken, in the addition to this country of a region of land separated from its immediate domain. This was the territory of Alaska, of more than 577,000 square miles in extent, and whose natural wealth has made it a far more valuable acquisition than was originally dreamed of In 1898 the Greater Republic, as it at present exists, was completed by the acquisition of the island of Porto Rico in the West Indies, and the Hawaiian and Philip- pine Island groups in the Pacific Ocean. These, while adding not greatly to our territory, may prove to possess a value in their jM-oducts fully justifying their acquisition. At present, however, their value is political rather than industrial, as bringing the United States into new and important relations with the other great nations of the earth. The growth of population in this country is shown strikingly in the remarkable development of its cities. In 1790 the three largest cities were not larger than many of our minor cities to-day. Philadelphia had forty-two thousand population. New York thirty-three thousand, and Boston eighteen thousand. Charleston and Baltimore were still smaller, and Savannah was quite small. There were only five cities with over ten thousand pojmlation. Of inland towns, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with something over six thousand population, was the largest. In 1890, one hundred years afterwards. New York and Philadelphia had over one million each, and Chicago, a city not sixty years old, shared with them this honor. As for cities surpassing those of a century before, they were hundreds in lunnber. A similar great growth has taken place in the States. From the original thirteen, hugging closely the Atlantic coast, we now possess forty-five, crossing the continent from ocean to ocean, and have besides a vast territorial area. The thirteen original States, sparsely peopled, poor and struggling foi existence, have expanded into a great galaxy of States, rich, powerful, and prosperous, with grand cities, flourishing rural communities, measureless resources, and an enterprise which no difficulty can bafile and no hardship can AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION. 27 check. Our territory could supj^ort hundreds of millions of population, and still be much less crowded than some of the couniries of Europe. Its products include those of every zone ; hundreds of thousands of square miles of its soil are of virgin richness ; its mineral wealth is so great that its precious metals have affected the monetary standards of the world, and its vast mineral and agricultural wealth is as yet only j)artly developed. Vast as has been the production of gold in California, its annual output is of less value than that of wheat. In wheat, corn, and cotton, indeed, the product of this country is simply stuj^endous: Avhile, in addition to its gold and silver, it is a mighty storehouse of coal, iron. cojDper, lead, petroleum, and many other products of nature that are of high value to mankind. In its progress towards its j^resent condition, our country has been markedlv successful in two great fields of human effort, in war and in peace. A brief 25reliminary statement of its success in the first of these, and of the causes of its several wars, may be desirable here, as introductory to their more extended consideration in the body of the work. The early colonists had three enemies to conteni with: the original inhabitants of the land, the Spanish settlers in the South, and the French in the jN^orth and West. Its dealings with the aborigines has been one continuous series of conflicts, the red man l^eing driven back step by step until to-day he holds but a small traction of his once great territory. Yet the Indians are in'obably as numerous to-day as they were originally, and are certainly better oft' in their present peaceful and partly civilized condition than they were in their former savage and warlike state. The Spaniards were never numerous in this country, and were forced to retire after a few conflicts of no special importance. Such was not the case with the French, who were numerous and aggressive, and with whom the colonists were at war on four successive occasions, the last being that fierce conflict in which it was decided Avhether the Anglo-Saxon or the French race should be dominant in this country. The famous battle on the Plains of Abraham settled the question, and with the fill of Quebec the power of France in America fell never to rise again. A direct and almost an immediate consequence of this struggle for dominion was the struggle for liberty between the colonists and the mother-country. The oppressive measures of Great Britain led to a war of seven years' duration, in which more clearly and decisively than ever before the colonists showed their warlike spirit and political genius, and whose outcome was the independence of this country. At its conclusion the United States stepped into line with the nations of the world, a free community, with a mission to fulfill and a destiny to accomplish — a mission and a destiny which are still in ^^rocess of development, and whose final outcome no man can foresee. 28 AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION. The next series of events in the history of our wars arose from the mighty struggle in Europe between France and Great Britain and the piratical activity of the Barbary States. The latter were forced to respect the power of the United States by several naval demonstrations and conflicts ; and a naval war with France, in which our ships were strikingly successful, induced that country to show us greater respect. But the wrongs which we suffered from Great Britain were not to be so easily settled, and led to a war of three years' continu- ance, in which the honors were fairly divided on land, but in which our sailors surprised the world by their prowess in naval conflict. The proud boast that "Britannia rules the waves" lost its j)ertinence after our two striking victories on Lake Erie and Lake Champlain, and our remarkable success in a dozen conflicts at sea. Alike in this war and in the Revolution the United States showed that skill and courage in naval warfai'e which has recently been repeated in the Spanish War. Tlie wars of which we have spoken had a warrant for their being. They were largely unavoidable results of existing conditions. This cannot justly be said of the next struggle upon which the United States entered, the Mexican War, since this was a politician's war j)ure and simple, one which could easily have been avoided, and which was entered into with the avowed purpose of acquiring terri- tory. In this it succeeded, the country gaining a great and highly valuable tract, whose wealth in the precious metals is unsurpassed by any equal section of the earth, and which is still richer in agricultural than in mineral wealth. The next conflict that arose was the most vital and important of all our wars, with the exception of that by which we gained our independence. The Constitution of 1787 did not succeed in forming a perfect Union between the States. An element of dissension was left, a " rift within the lute," then seem- ingly small and unimportant, but destined to grow to dangerous j^roportions. This was the slavery question, disposed of in the Constitution by a com25roraise, which, like every comjiromise with evil, failed in its purj^ose. The question con- tinued to exist. It grew threatening, j^ortentious, and finally overshadowed the whole political domain. Every efibrt to settle it peacefully only added to the strain ; the union between the States weakened as this mighty hammer of discord struck down their combining links; finally the bonds yielded, the slavery ques- tion thrust itself like a great wedge between, and a mighty struggle began to decide whether the Union should stand or fall. With the events of this struggle we are not here concerned. They ai-e told at length in their special place. All that we shall here say is this : While the war was fought for the jDreservation of the Union, it was clearly perceived that this union could never be stable while the disorganizing element remained, and the wax led inevitably to the abolition of slavery, the apple of discord which had been thrown between the States. AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION. 29 The greatness of the result was adequate to the greatness of the conflict. With the end of the Civil War, for the first time in their history, an actual and stable Union was established between the States. We have one more war to record, the brief but important struggle of 1898, entered into by the United States under the double imj)ulse of indignation against the barbarous destruction of the JIaine and of sympathy for the starving and oppressed people of Cuba. It yielded results undreamed of in its origin. Not only was Cuba wrested from the feeble and inhuman hands of Spain, but new possessions in the oceans of the east and west were added to the United States, and for the first time this country took its predestined ^jlace among the nations engaged in shaping the destiny of the world, rose to imperial dignity in the estimation of the rulers of Europe, and fairly won that title of the Gkeater Republic which this work is written to commemorate. Such has been the record of this country in war. Its record in peace has been marked by as steady a career of victory, and witli results stu[)endous almost beyond the conception of man, when we consider that the most of them have been achieved within little more than a century. During the colonial period the energies of the American people were confined largely to agriculture, Great Britain sternly prohibiting any progress in manufacture and any important development of commerce. It need hardly be said that the restless and active spirit of the colonists chafed under these restrictions, and that the attempt to clip the expanding .vings of the American engle had as much to do with bring- ing on the war of the Revolution as had Great Britain's futile efforts at taxation. The genius of a great peojjle cannot thus be cribbed and confined, and American enterprise was bound to find a way or carve itself a way through the barriers raised by British avarice and tyranny. It was after the Revolution that the progress of this country first fairly began. The fetters which bound its hands thrown oif, it entered upon a career of prosjaerity which broadened with the years, and extended until not only the whole continent but the whole world felt its influence and was embraced by its results. Manufacture, no longer held in check, sprang up and sj^'^ead with marvelous ra2:)idity. Commerce, now gaining access to all seas and all lands, expanded with equal speed. Enterprise everywhere made itself manifest, and invention began its long and wonderful career. In fact, freedom was barely won before our inventors were actively at work. Before the Constitution was formed John Fitch was experimenting with his Steamboat on the Delaware, and Oliver Evans was seeking to move wagons by steam in the streets of Philadelphia. Not many years elapsed before both were successful, and Eli Whitney with his cotton-gin had set free the leading industry of the South and enabled it to begin that remarkable career which proved so 30 AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION. momentous in American history, since to it we owe the Civil War with all its great results. With the ojiening of the nineteenth century the development of the indus- tries and of the inventive faculty of the Americans went on with enhanced rapidity. The century was but a few years old when Fulton, with his impi'oved steamboat, solved the question of inland water transportation. By the end of the first quarter of the century this was solved in another way by the completion of the Eiie Canal, the longest and previously the most valuable of artificial water- ways. The railroad locomotive, though invented in England, was prefigured when Oliver Evans' steam road-wagon ran sturdily through the streets of Philadelphia. To the same inventor we owe another triumjJi of American genius, the grain elevator, which the develojtment of agriculture has rendered of incomparable value. The railroad, though not native here, has had here its greatest develop- ment, and with its more than one hundred and eighty thousand miles of length has no rival in any country upon the earth. To it may be added the Morse system of telegraphy, the telephone and phonograph, the electric light and electric motor, and all that wonderful yeries of inventions in electrical science which has been due to American genius. We cannot begin to name the multitude of inventions in the mechanical industries which have raised manufacture from an art to a science and filled the world with the multitude of its products. It will sufiice to name among them the steam hammer, the sewing machine, the cylinder printing-press, the type-setting machine, the rubber vulcanizer, and the innumerable imjirovemeuts in steam engines and labor-saving apparatus of all kinds. These manufacturing expedients have been equaled in number and importance by those applied to agriculture, including machines for 2")lowing, reaping, sowing the seed, threshing the grain, cutting the grass, and a hundred other valuable processes, which have fairly revolutionized the art of tilling the earth, and enabled our farmers to feed not only our own population but to send millions of bushels of grain annually abroad. In truth, we have entered here upon an interminable field, so full of triumphs of invention and ingenuity, and so stujieudous in its results, as to form one of the chief marvels of this wonderful century, and to place our nation, in the field of human industry and mechanical achievement, foremost among the nations of the world. Its triumphs have not been confined to manufacture and agriculture ; it has been as active in commerce, and now stands first in the bulk of its exports and imports. In every other direction of industry it has been as active, as in fisheries, in forestry, in great works of engineering, in vast mining operations ; and from the seas, the earth, the mountain sides, our laborers are wresting annually from nature a stupendous return in wealth. AUTHOR'S IXmODCCTIOy. 31 Our progress in the industries has been aided and inspired by an equal progress in educational facilities, and the intellectual development of our peoiile has kept pace with their material advance. The United States spends more money for the education of its youth than any other country in the world, and among her institutions the school-house and the college stand most prominent While the lower education has been abundantly attended to, the higher educa- tion has been by no means neglected, and amply endowed colleges and univer- sities are found in every State and in almost every city of the land. In addition to the school-house, libraries are multiplying with rapidity, art galleries and museums of science are rising everywhere, temples to music and the drama are found in all our cities, the j^ress is turning out books and newspapers with almost abnormal energy, and in everything calculated to enhance the intelligence of the jieople the United States has no superior, if any equal, among the nations of the earth. It may seem unnecessary to tell the people of the United States the story of their growth. The greatness to which this nation has attained is too evident to need to be put in words. It has, in fact, been made evident in two great and a multitude of smaller exhibitions in which the marvels of American progress have been shown, either by themselves or in contrast with those of foreign lands. The first of these, the Centennial Exposition of 1876, had a double efiect: it opened our eyes at once to our triumphs and our deficiencies, to the particulars in which we excelled and those in which we were inferior to foreign peojjles. In the next great exhibition, that at Chicago in 1893, we had the satisfaction to perceive, not only that we had made great pi'ogress in our points of superiority, but had Avorked nobly and heartily to overcome our defects, and were able to show ourselves .the equal of Europe in almost every field of human thought and skill. In architecture a vision of beauty was shown such as the world had never before seen, and in the general domain of art the United States no longer had need to be ashamed of what it had to show. And now, having briefly summed up the stejis of progress of the United States, I may close with some consideration of the problem which we confront in our new position as the Greater Re^iublic, the lord of islands spread widely over the seas. Down to the year 1898 this country held a position of isolation, so far as its political interests were concerned. Although the sails of ita merchant ships whitened every sea and its commerce extended to all lands, its boundaries were confined to the North American continent, its political activities largely to American interests. Jealous of any intrusion by foi'eign nations upon this hemisphere, it warned them off, while still in its feeble j^outh, by the stern words of the Monroe doctrine, and afterward showed France and England, by decisive measures, that this doctrine is more than an emjsty form of words. 32 AUTHORS INTRODUCTION. The closing years of the nineteenth century materially changed our ])osition and brought us into new relations with the nations of the world. The con- clusion of the war with Spain left in our hands the island of Porto Rico in the West Indies and the important group of the Philippines in the waters of Asia, while the Hawaiian Islands became ours by peaceful annexation. The rich island of Cuba, though given political indei)endence, was left jiractically a ward of the United States. The connnercial and industrial benefit to our country of these new acquisitions remains for the future to make manifest. Their political value is already evident. The United States is no longer confined to the American continent, but has extended its boundaries afar and has taken a new position among the great powers. The colonizing commonwealths of Europe can no longer claim as their own the settlement of the destinies of the world outside the Western Continent, but must take the sentiment of the great Ameri- can repuljlic into consideration. This is especially the case in regard to that vital eastern question which is rapidlv growing to be the leading political problem of the earth, and which can no longer be dealt with by the nations of Europe as solely an affair of their own. In the recent trouble in China the United States took equal part with the great Powers of Eurojje, and for the first time definitely assumed its position as one of the arbiters of the destiny of mankind. While vigorously maintain- ing the Monroe Doctrine, that no Old World power shall interfere in the national affairs of the Americas, this country will in the future make its influence increasingly felt in the settlement of the political problems which affect the world outside Europe and America. As we stej) out from the nineteenth century, in which we grew to be the dominant ])ower in the Western Hemisphere, and begin our career in the twentieth century, it is to behold a broad vista of duties and resjjonsibilities stretching and expanding before us. During our past career we have main- tained a policy of political isolation in all questions not affecting our own hemis- phere. AVe now find ourselves forced to take part in the medley of world politics, especially those affecting the great Asiatic continent and the islands of the Pacific. We are well prepared for this new and great task. We are strong enough, enterprising enough, unselfish enough for the duties before us ; and whatever may be our record, it is not likely to be one of injustice and oppres- sion or of forgetfulness of the responsibilties of the strong and the rights of man. CHARLES MORRIS. January, 1902. CHAPTER 1. DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION The "\'isits of the Northmen to the New World — The Indians and Mound Builders— Christopher Co- lumbus — His Discovery of America — Amerigo Vespucci — John Cabot — Spanish Explorers — Balboa — His Discovery of the Pacific — Mi.geUaii — Ponce de Leon — De Narvaez — De Soto — Jlenendez — French Explorers — Verrazzani — Cartier — Ribault — Laudonniere — Cliamplain — La Salle — English Explorers — Sir Hu.s-h Willoughby — JIartin Frobisher — Sir Humphrey (iilbert — Sir Walter Raleigh^ The Lost Colony— Z>«^cA Exjjlorer—lieuvy Hudson. THE NORTHMEN. It has been established beyond question that the first white visitors to the New Workl were Northmen, as the inhabitants of Norway and Sweden were called. They were bold and hardy sailors, who ventured fui'ther out upon the unknown sea than any other people. It was about the year 1000 that Biorn, who was driven far from his course by a tempest, sighted the northern part of the continent. Other adventurers followed him and AMERIGO VESPUCCI, j^lanted a few settlements, which, however, lasted but a few years. Snorri, son of one of these settlers, was the first child born of European parents on this side of the Atlantic. Soon all traces of these early discoverers vanished, and the New World lay slumbering in loneliness for nearly five hundi'ed years. THE MOUND BUILDERS. Nevertheless, the country was jjcopled with savages, who lived b}" hunting and fishing and were scattered over the vast area from the Pacific to the Atlan- tic and from the Arctic zone to the southernmost point of South America. No one knows where these people came from ; but it is probable that at a remote period they crossed Bering Strait, from Asia, which was the birthplace of man, and gradually spread over the continents to the south. There are found scat- tered over many jiarts of our country immense mounds of earth, which were the work of the Mound Builders. These people were long believed to have been a race that preceded the Indians, and were distinct from them, but the best author- ities now agree that they were the Indians themselves, wlio constructed these enormous burial-jilaces and were enguged in the work as late as the fifteenth 34 DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATIOy. century. It is strange that they attained a fair degree of civilization. They builded cities, wove cotton, labored in the fields, worked gold, silver, and copper, and formed regular governments, only to give way in time to the barbarism of their descendants, who, though a contrary impression prevails, are more numerous to-day than at the time of the discovery of America. DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY COLUMBUS. The real discoverer of America was Christopher Columbup. an Ttuliaii, bore MEETING BK'l"d 'HE NORTHMEN AND NATIVES. in Genoa, about 1435. He was trained to the sea from early boyhood, and formed the belief, which nothing could shake, that the earth was round, and that by sailing westward a navigator would reach the coast of eastern Asia. The mistake of Columbus was in suj^posing the earth much smaller than it is, and of never sus]iecting that a continent lay between his home and Asia. He was too poor to fit out an exjiedition himself, and the kings and rulers to whom he applied for help laughed him to scorn. He persevered for years, and finally King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain were won over to his AMERIGO VESPUCCI. 35. news. They and some wealthy friends of Columbus furnished the needed funds,, and on August 3, 1492, he sailed from Palos, Spain, in command of three small vessels, the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina. As the voyage progressed, the sailors became terrified and several times wert on the point of mutiny ; but Columbus by threats and promises held them to their work, and on Fi-iday, October 12, 1492, land was sighted. He was rowed ashore and took possession of the new country in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella. While it is not known with certainty where he landed, it was prob- ably Watliug Island, one of the Bahamas. He named it San Salvador, and, be^ lieving it to be a part of India, called the natives Indians, by which name thej will always be known. He afterward visited Cuba and Haiti, and returned fe, Palos on the loth of March, 1493. Columbus was received with the highest honors, and, as the news of his great discovery spread, it caused a profound sensation throughout Europe. He made three other voyages, but did not add greatly to iiis discoveries. He died, neglected and in poverty, May 20, loOG, without suspecting the grandeur of his work, which marked an era in the history of the v/orld. OTHER DISCOVERERS. Another famous Italian navigator and friend of Co- lumbus was Amerigo A'^espucci, who, fired by the success of the great navigator, made several voyages westward. He y-]fi^[ claimed to have seen South America in May, 1497 , which, (- if true, made him the first man to look upon the American ' SEBASTIAN CAB O "IF continent. Late investigations tend to show that Vespucci was correct in his claim. At any rate, his was the honor of having the country named for him. John Cabot, also an Italian, but sailing under the flag of England, discov- ered the continent of North America, in the spring of 1497. A year later, Sebastian, son of John, explored the coast from Nova Scotia as far south as Cape Hatteras. It was the work of the elder Cabot that gave England a valid claim to the northern continent. From what has been stated, it will be seen that Spain, now decrepit and de- cayed, was one of the most powerful of all nations four hundred years ago. Other leading powers were England, France, and Holland, and all of them soon began a scramble for new lands on the other side of the Atlantic. Spain, hav- ing been the first, had a great advantage, and she was wise enough to use all the means at her command. We will first trace the explorations made by that nation. In 1513, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, a lawless rogue, hid himself in a ca.sk ob 36 DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION. board of a vessel in order to escajie his creditors, and was not discovered by the angry captain until so far from land that he could not be taken back again. As it turned out, this was a fortunate thing for the captain and crew, for Balboa was a good sailoi', and when the ship was wrecked on the coast of Darien he led the men through many dangers to an Indian village, where they were saved from starvation. Balboa had been in the country before and acquired a knowledge of it, which now proved helpful. The story of S])ain in America is one long, frightful record of massacre, cruelty, greed, and rapine. Ferocious by nati>re, iier explorers had not sufficient sense to see that it was to their interest to treat the Indians justly. These jDCople, although armed only witii ^juws and arrows, atwhichthe Spaniards laughed, still outnumbered them a thousandfold and could crush them by the simple force of numbers. Besides, they were always provided with S^^^^!^ ^^f%^ fo(xl, which they were eager to give to their pale-faced -Yft? brothers, who were often unable to obtain it, but "^ ^ whose vicious nature would not permit them to be manly and just. ^\t'r\'I/ Moi'eover, the Spaniards were crazy after gold, /„ . , iS: which they believed existed in many places in pro- \I-J£s^ cligious quantities. The sight of the yellow orna- ^~S nients worn by the natives fired their cuj^idity, and they inquired eagerly in the sign language where the ^ precious metal could be found. One of the Indians ;^^^ ^P,*^rt 4 3- ^^3 rejilied that six days' ti'avel westward would bring °'*^ "" ""^^ ''^' --"-'^ them to the shores of a great sea, where gold was as plentiful as tlie pebbles on the beach. CARAVELS OF CHHISTO PHEB COLUMBUS. (After au engraving iiubli>he'\ pended, Ribault arrived with seven ships '■ "^ AN INDIAN COUNCIL OF WAR. and plenty of supplier. It was at this iuncture, ■nhen everything promised well, that Menendez, the Spanish miscreant, as already stated, appeared with his powerful fleet and attacked the French ships. Three were up the river, and the four, being no match for the Spaniards, escaped by putting to sea. Menendez landed men and supplies further 42 DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION. south, learning wliicli Ribault prepared to attack them. Before he could do so. a violent tempest scattered his ships. By a laborious march through swamps and thickets, amid a driving storm, Menendez descended like a cyclone upon the unpro- tected French and massacred themall,includingthewomeii and children. Another force of French, under solemn promise of protection, surrendered, but they, too, were put to death. They were afterwards avenged by an expedition from France. Samuel de Champlain proved himself one of the greatest of French exj^lorers. He left the banks of the St. Lawrence at the beginning of the seventeenth century, and discovered the lake which bears his name. His numerous excellent maps added much to the knowledge of the country. Join- ing De Monts, another explorer, he founded the colony of Povt Royal in Nova Scotia in 1605. This settlement, afterward named Annapolis, was the iirst permanent French colony planted in America. Quebec was founded by Cham- plain in 1608. The greatest French exjilorer, however, was Sieur de la Salle, who was hardly twenty-three years old when he first visited Canada in 1666. Leading an expedition westward, he fell ill while in the country of the Seneca Indians and was forced to ])S.Yt with his companions near the head of Lake Ontario. When he regained his strength he pressed on to the Ohio River, down which he descended to the falls opposite the jiresent city of Louisville. Returning to France, he was made a nobleman and appointed governor of the country around Fort Frontenac, which he had planted on the shore of Lake Ontario. He demolished the fort and erected a much stronger one, built four small vessels, and established a thriving trade with the Indians. In August, 1679, La Salle launched a vessel at the port of Niagara, with which he sailed the length of Lake Erie, across Lakes St. Clair, Huron, and Michigan to Green Bay. He then sent back his vessel for supplies and crossed the lake in canoes to the mouth of the St. Joseph, where he built a fort. He visited the Indian tribes in the neighborhood and made treaties with the chiefs. On the jDresent site of Peoria, he erected a fort in 1680. Then, sending Father Hennepin to explore the country to the northward, La Salle made the entire journey of several hundred miles, alone and on foot, to Fort Frontenac, where he learned that the vessel he had sent back for sujjplies was lost. With a new party he made his way to the fort planted on the Illinois River, but found it had been broken up and all the white men were gone. Thence La Salle went down the Mississippi to its mouth, where he set uj) a cohunn with the French arms and proclaimed the country the possession of the king of France. He was welcomed back to his native land, and when he pro- posed to his ruler to conquer the fine mining country in the Southwest, the offer ENGLISH EXPLORERS. 43 was promptly accepted aud he was made commaudaut. He set out with four shijjs aud about oUO persons. But the good fortune that had marked the career of La Salle up to this point now set the other way, aud disaster and ruiu overtook him. His men were mostly adventurers and vagabonds, and the ofKcer in command of the ships was an enemy of the explorer. The two quarreled and the vessels had gone ?ome distance beyond the mouth of the Mississippi before La Salle discovered the blunder. He appealed to the captain to return, but he refused and anchored ■off Matagorda Bay. Then the captain decided that it was necessary to go home for supplies, and sailing away he left La Salle with only one small vessel which had been presented to him by the king. The undaunted explorer erected a fort and began cultivating the soil. The Indians, who had not forgotten the cruelty of the Spaniards, were hostile and •continually annoyed the settlers, several of "whom were killed. Disease carried away others until only forty were left. Selecting •a few. La Salle started for the Illinois country, but had not gone far when he was treacherously shot by one of his men. The Spaniards who had entered the country to drive out the French made prisoners of those that remained. i!rr 'm^i^^' *^ .i\ iim'iar- - ^il»» III r/jfer. the original ilrawinc; ma-ie by John White in 1585. By peniiii6iouof the British Museum. j THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS. Next in order is an account of the English exjslorations. Going back to May, (j.^, 1553, we find that Sir Hugh Willoughby sailed from London in tliat month with three shij^s. At that time, and for many years afterward, the belief was general that by sailing to the northwest a shorter route to India could be found, and such was the errand that led the English navigator upon his eventful voyage. For two years not the slightest news was heard of Sir Hugh Willoughby. Then some Russian fishermen, who were in one of the harbors of Lapland, observed two ships drifting helplessly in the ice. They rowed out to the wrecks, and climbing aboard of one entered the cabin where they came upon an impi'es- sive sight. Seated at a table was Sir Hugh Willoughby, with his journal open and his pen in hand, as if he had just ceased writing. He had been frozen to death months before. Here and there about him were stretched the bodies of his crews, all of whom had succumbed to the awful temperature of the far North. The third ship was nowhere in sight, and it was believed that she had beea 44 DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION. crushed in the ice and sunk, but news eventually uiiiveLl that she had succeeded in reaching Archangel, whence the crew made their way overland to Moscow. A result of this involuntary journey was that it opened a new channel for profitable trade. Still the ignis fatuus of a shorter route to India tantalized tiie early navi- gators. The belief was general that the coveted route lay north of our conti- nent. In 1-376 Martin Frobisher started on the vain hunt with three small vessels. He bumped helplessly about in the ice, but repeated the effort twice, and on one of his voyages entered the strait that bears his name. The region visited by him is valueless to the p^" world, and his explorations, there- fore, were of no practical benefit to anyone. Sir Humplirey Gilbert, in June, I080, sailed for America with an important expedition which gave every p)romise of suc- cess. In his case, howevei-, dis- aster overtook him earlier than others. He was hardly out of sight of land when his most impor- tant vessel deserted and went back to port. The men were a sorry lot, and at Newfoundland he sent another ship home with the sick and the mutineers. Of the three vessels remaining, the largest was wrecked and all but fifteen drowned. Sir Humphrey was on the smallest boat on his way home, when one dark night it foundered, carrying down all on board. The famous Sir AValter Raleigh, a half-brother of Gilbert, and a great favorite at the court of Queen Elizabeth, was deeply interested in the plans of his relative, and in April, 1584, sent out two well-equipped vessels for the purpose of colonization. They brought back a glowing rej^ort and Raleigh was knighted by the jileased queen, who gave him the privilege of naming the new country. He called it Virginia, in honor of the virgin Queen Eliza- beth. A large expedition sailed for the new country in the spring of 1585 and a fort was built on Roanoke Island. But the Englishmen were as greedy for gold IS the Spaniards, and, instead of cultivating the land, they spent their time grop- k INDIAN VILLAGE ENCLOSED W^ITH PALISADES. (From the original drauiiig in the British Museum, made by John While in 1585.) THE LOST COLONY. 45 ing for the precious metal. This was suicidal, because the Indians were violently hostile, and would not bring forward any food for the invaders. All must have perished miserably but for the arrival of fSir Francis Drake, who carried the survivors back to England. It is worth recording that this stay in America resulted in the Englishmen learning the use of tobacco, which they introduced into their own country. Sir Walter Raleigh became a great smoker, and the incident is familiar of his ser- vant, who, seeing his master smoking a juix", was terrified at the belief that he was on fire and dashed a mug of ale over hinii to put out the flames. Much more useful knowledge was that gained of maize or Indian corn, the potato, and sassafras. They attracted .favorable attention in England, and were gradually introduced to other countries in Eurojie, where the amount raised is very large. THE LOST COLONY. A strange and romantic, interest attaches to the colony which Sir A\'alter Raleigh sent out in 1587. It numbered 300 men and women and was in charge of John White. While resting at Roanoke, the daughter of Governor White, the wife of Ananias Dare, had a daughter born to her. She was given the name of " Virginia," and was the first child of English parentage born within the present limits of the United States. These settlers were as quarrelsome as many of their . _,-^ , predecessors and got on ill together. Governor White j^-^^^tp^^^f'^!^ sailed for England for more immigrants and sup])lies, but when hereached that country he found the internal troubles ^ so serious that he was kept aw^ay from America for three years. When finally he returned to Virginia, he was unable to find a member of the colony. On one of the trees was the word " CROATAN " cut in the bark, which seemed to indicate that the settlers had removed to a settlement of that name ; but, though long and continuous search w^as made and many of the articles belonging to the settlers were recognized, not a per.son could be discovered. Sir Walter Raleigh sent several expeditions with orders to use every effort to clear up the mystery, but it was never solved. The stoi'y of the " Lost Colony" has led to a great deal of investigation and surmise. Two theories have supporters. The most ]irobable is that all the settlers were massacred by Indians. Another is that they were adopted by the red men and intermarried among them. In support of this supposition is the fact that a long time afterward many members of the adjoining tribes showed unmistakable signs of mixed blood. There were so- <'alled Indians with blonde hair, blue eyes, and light complexion — cliaracteristics never seen among those belonging to the genuine American race. 46 DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION. Holland's explorations in America were less important than those of any of her rivals. The thrifty Dutchmen were more anxious to secure trade than to find new countries, and seemed content to allow others to spend wealth and pre- cious lives in penetrating to the interior of the New World and in planting set- tlements, which almost invariably succumbed to disaster. Early in the seventeenth century a comiiany of English merchants sent out a skillful navigator named Henry Hudson to hunt for the elusive northwest pas- sage. He took with him only eleven men, one of whom was his son. He made a brave effort to succeed, ploughing his way through the frozen regions until he passed the 80th degree of latitude, which was the furthest point then attained by man. But, witliin less than ten degrees of the pole, he was forced by the ice to turn back. THE DISCOVERY OF THE HUDSON KIVER. Hudson's reputation as a skillful navigator led the wealthy corporation known as the Dutch East India Company to seek his services. He was placed in command of a small vessel called the Half 3Ioon and ordered to sail to the northeast instead of the northwest. He did as directed, but his experience was similar to his previous one, and, being compelled to withdraw, he headed west- ward. Sighting Cape Cod, he named it New Holland, unaware that it had al- ready been named by Champlain. He continued southward to Chesapeake Bay, where he learned that the English had planted a settlement. Turning north- ward, he entered Delaware Bay, but was displeased with the shallow water and sailed again northward. On September 3, 1609, he dropped anchor oj^posite Sandy Hook. Hudson now began ascending the magnificent river which bears his name. At the end of ten days he had reached a point opposite the present site of Al- bany. The Indians were friendly and curious. Many of them put out in their canoes and were made welcome on board the little Dutch vessel, which was a source of constant wonderment to them, for they had never seen anything of the kind before. Descending the stream, Hudson made his way to Dartmouth, England, from which point he sent an account of his discovery to Holland. That country lost no time in claiming sovereignty over the new territory, the claim being so valid that no other nation could legitimately dispute it. Hudson's achievement added to his fame, and he was once more sent in search of the northwest passage. He entered the bay and strait which bear his name, and i^assed a winter in that terrible region. In the following spring his crew mutinied, and, placing the navigator, his son, and several members in an open boat, set them adrift, and none of them was ever heard of again. SETTIvE>/IENT CHAPTER II. OK THE THIRTEEN ORIGINAL STATES. Virginia, — Founding of Jamestown — Captain John Smith — Introduction of African Slavery — Indian Wars — Bacon's Rebellion — Forms of Government — Prosperity — Education — Xew England, — Fly- mouth — Massachusetts Bay Colony — Union of the Colonies — Keligious Persecution — King Philip's War — The Witchcraft Delusion — XeAO Hampshire, — The Connecticut Colony, — The New Haven Colony, — Union of the Colonies — Indian Wars — The Charter Oak — Rhode Island, — Different Forms of Government — iVewI'or7i-,^The Dutch and English Settlers — Xew Jersey, — Delaware, — Pennsyl- vania, — Maryland, — ^fason and Dixon's Line — T/ie CaroUnas — Georgia. At the Oldening of the .seventeenth century there was not a single English settlement on this side of the Atlantic. It has been shown that the French succeeded in planting colonies in Canada, that of De Monts, in 1605, in Acadia (the French name of Nova Scotia), jiroving successful, while Champlain founded Quebec three years later. St. Augustine, Florida, was founded by the Spanish in 1565, but it has played an insignificant part in our history. England was the mother of the colonies, from which the original thirteen States sprang, and ■we are vastlv more indebted to her than to all other nations combined. THE FIKST ENGLISH SETTLE^IENT. In the year 1606, when James I. was king of England, he gave a charter or patent to a number of gentlemen, which made them the owners of all that part of America lying between the thirty-fourth and thirty-eighth degrees of north latitude. The men who received this gift associated themselves together under the name of the London Company, and in the same year sent out three vessels, carrying 105 men, but no women or children. A storm drove them out of their course, and, in the month of May, they entered the mouth of a (47) 48 SETTLEMENT OF THE THIRTEEN ORIGINAL STATES broad river, which tliey named the James iu honor of their king. They sailed up stream for fifty miles, and, on the 13th of May, 1607, began the settlement of Jamestown, which was the first English colony successfully planted in America. Everything looked promising, but the trouble was that the men did not wish to work, and, instead of cultivating the soil, spent their time in hunting for gold which did not exist anywhere near them. They were careless in their manner of living and a great many fell ill and died. They must have perished before long had they not been wise enough to elect Captain John Smith presi- dent or ruler of the colony. CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AND HIS ADVENTURES. This man is one of the most interesting characters in the early history of our country. He was a great boaster, and most of his associates did not like him. He had been a wanderer in many jiarts of the world, and had any number of stories to tell of his wonderful adventures. Probably some of those stories were true and many fiction. Be that as it may, he was an energetic and brave man, and the very one to save the perishing settlers. He made every man work, and none wrought harder than himself. As a consequence matters begiin to mend at once. Obeying his orders in London, Captain Smith, when it seemed prudent to do so, spent much of his time in exploring the streams that flowed into the James. It must not be forgotten that it was still believed in Europe that America formed a part of Asia, and that no one needed to jienetrate far into the interior to reach that country. On one of these voyages Captain Smith was taken prisoner by the Indians, who led him before their chief Powhatan. The chief decided that he must be put to death, and, with his hands tied together, he was placed on the ground, with liis head resting on two big stones. Tlien one of the warriors stepjied for- ward to dash out his brains with a club. At that moment Pocahontas, the young daughter of the chief, ran forward, and, throwing her arms around the head of Smith, begged her father to spare his life. The chief consented, and the prisoner was set free and returned to Jamestown. Such is the story which Captain Smith told after the death of Pocahontas in England, which she had visited with her husband, an Englishman named Rolfe, and it can never be known whether the incident was true or not. Some years later Smith was so badly injured by the explosion of gunjjowder tliat he had to return to England for ti-eatment. Thei"e he died in 1631. His invaluable services in this country have led historians to regard him as the saviour of the Virginia colony. The most Avoeful blow that was struck the American colonies was in August, 1619, when a Dutch ship sailed up the James and sold twenty negroes, kidnapped F'^sg THE MARRIAGE OF POCHAHONTAS. BACON'S REBELLION. 51 in Africa, to the colonists as slaves. It was thus that African slavery was intro- duced into this country, bringing in its train more sorrow, suffering, desolation, and death than pen can describe or imagination conceive. The institution be- came legal in all the colonies, and the ships of New England, as well as those of old England, were actively engaged for many years in the slave trade. WARS WITH THE INDIANS. The marriage of Pocahontas to one of the settlers made her father a firm friend of the whites as long as he lived. At his death, his brother Opechau- kano succeeded him. He hated intensely the invaders of the hunting grounds, and began plotting to exterminate them. On the 2'2d of March, 1622, he made such a sudden and furious assault upon the plantations, as the farms were called, along the James that 400 people were killed in one day. The settlers rallied, slew many of the Indians and drove the remainder far back in the woods, but by the time this was accomplished half of the 4,000 settlers were dead and the eighty plantations were reduced to eight. Opechankano was not crushed, and for more than twenty years he busied himself in perfecting his plans for a greater and more frightful massacre. It was in April, 1644, that he struck his second blow, killing between three and four hundred of the settlers. Once more the Virginians renewed the war of extermi- nation, and pressed it mercilessly until the Indians sued for peace, gave a large tract of land to their conquerors, and retired still further into the wilderness. It is worth noting that at the time of this last massacre Opechankano was nearly a hundred years old. bacon's rebellion. Sir William Berkeley was the most bigoted ruler Virginia ever had. In one of his messages, he thanked God that there were no free schools or printing in his province. He was very tyrannous, and, having friends in the assembly, they prevented the election of any new members from 1666 to 1676. The taxes became intolerable, and trade fell into the hands of a few individuals. Not only that, but the governor disbanded the troops which had gathered for protection against the Indians, who renewed their attacks on the exposed plantations. This was more than the peo^ile could stand, and they rose in rebellion under the leadership of Nathaniel Bacon, a popular young planter, who had lost several members of his fiimily through the attacks of the Indians. Berkeley was cowed for a time, but the arrival of some ships from England enabled him to take the field against Bacon. During the civil war, Jamestown was burned to the ground and never rebuilt. Bacon pressed his resistance so vigorously that his success seemed certain, wdien unfortunately he fell ill and died. Left without a leader, the rebellion crumbled to pieces. The exultant Berkeley pun- 52 SETTLEMENT OF THE THIRTEEN ORIGINAL STATES. ished the leading rebels without mercy. He hauged twenty-two, and was so ferocious that the king lost patience and ordered him to return to England. " The old fool ! " he exclaimed ; " he has taken away more lives in that naked country than I did for the murder of my father." PROSPERITY OF THE COLONY. Colonial Virginia underwent several changes in its form of government. A "Great Charter" was granted to it in 1(313 by the London Company. This permitted the settlers to make their own laws. The House of Burgesses, which was called together at James- town by Governor Yeardley, July 30, 1619, was the first legislative body that ever met in this country. King James was dissatisfied with the tendency of things, and in 1624 he took away the charter and granted a new one, which allowed the col- ony to elect the members of the House of Burgesses, while the king appointed the council and their gov- ernor. This made Virginia a royal province, which she remained until the Revolu- tion. Virginia became very prosperous. Immense quan- tities of tobacco were raised and sent to England and Holland, where it became widely popular. Its cultivation was so profitable in the colony that for a time little else was cultivated. It was planted even along the streets of Jamestown and became the money of the province. Everything was paid for in so many pounds of tobacco. The population steadily increased, and in 1715 was 95,000, which was the same as that of Massachusetts. A half- ARMOK WOBN BY THE PILGRIMS IN 1620 THE PILGRIMS AT PLYMOUTH. 53 century later, Virginia was the richest and most important of the thirteen colo- nies. The people lived mostly on large plantations, for land was plentiful and the Indians gave no further trouble. Most of the inhabitants were members of the Church of England, and their assemblies passed severe laws against the entrance of peojile of other religious beliefs into the colony. It required the furnace blasts of the Revolution to jiurify Virginia and some other provinces of this spirit of intolerance. Education was neglected or confined to the rich who could send their chil- dren to England to be educated. Some of the early schools were destroyed by Indians, but William and Mary College, founded in 1692, was the second col- lege in the United States. It was never a very strong institution. THE " OLD DOMINION." It is worth recording how Virginia received the name of the " Old Do- minion." She remained loyal to Charles I. throughout the civil war in England which ended in the beheading of the king. She was true also to Charles II. when he was a fugitive and declared an outlaw. While in exile, he sent Governor Berkeley his commission as Governor of Virginia, and that ruler was immensely pleased. The king, to show his appreciation of the loyalty of his colony, made public declaration that Virginia added a fifth country to his king- dom, making it consist of England, Scotland, France, Ireland, and Virginia, and he devised as an addition to the motto of the English coat of arms, "En dat Virginia quintam" ("Lo! Virginia gives the fifth"). While Cromwell was turning things topsy-turvy in England, a great many of the best families among the Royalists emigrated to Virginia, where they were received with open arms by Governor Berkeley and the owners of the plantations. From this arose the name " Old Dominion," which is often apjilied to Virginia. THE PILGRIMS AT PLYMOUTH. During the early days of Virginia there was bitter j)ersecution in England of those whose religious views differed from the Church of England. This cruelty 'drove many people to other countries, and because of their wanderings they were called " Pilgrims." Those who remained members of the English church and used their efforts to purify it of what they believed to be loose and pernicious doctrines were nicknamed " Puritans." Those who withdrew from the membership of the church were termed " Separatists " or " Independents." This distinction is often confounded by writers and readers. One hundred and two Pilgrims, all Separatists, who had fled to Holland, did not like the country, and decided to make their homes in the New World, where they could worship God as their consciences dictated. They sailed in 54 SETTLEMENT OF THE THIRTEEN ORIGINAL STATES. the Mayfiower, and, after a long and stormy jiassage, landed at Plymouth^ Massachusetts, December 21, 1620, in the midst of a blinding snowstorm. The Pilgrims were hardy, industrious, and God-fearing, and were j^repared to lace every kind of danger and sufiering without mui'nuir. They wen; severely austere in their morals and conduct, and, when writhing in the paugb of starvation, maintained their faith unshaken in the wisdom and goodness of their Heavenly Father. All these admirable qualities were needed during the awful winter, which was one of the severest ever known in New England, They built log-houses, using oiled paper instead of glass for, the windows, and in