INTROii ■'i ■ RICAN 1..1 PAI 'y^'p-:-^^: -:■-•-■-^ ••>:> ". ' ' ■* --V^- -' v^ - - --♦ r^--: •■ €':^^u:- - ■•*n' .... .. : , ■T''vt ■><^S?3t^-^."'-day happenings. John Cotton (1585-1652). Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. Mi- grated to Boston in 1633, and became pastor of the Eirst Church. A distinguished preacher. "Singing of Psalms a Gospel Ordinance." 9 lO AMERICAN LITERATURE Edward Johnson (1599-167 2). Came to New England in 1630. Was a representative in the General Court or legislature of Massachusetts for several terms. Author of ''Wonder-working Providence of Zion's Saviour in New England." John Eliot (1604-1690). Graduated at Cambridge in 1623, and came to Boston in 1631. "The Apostle to the Indians," into whose language he translated the Bible. In 1660 he published, in England, " The Christian Commonwealth; or, The Civil Policy of the Rising Kingdom of Jesus Christ." Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672). Wife of Governor Bradstreet. The earliest writer of verse in America. Her first volume was published in England under the title, "The Tenth Muse lately Sprung up in America." (See text.) Increase Mather (1638-1723). Graduated at Harvard in 1656; took his M.A. degree at Trinity College, Dublin. Pastor of Second Church in Boston; for sixteen years (1685-1701) president of Harvard College. His publications number one hundred and sixty. Contemporary Writers in England Shakespeare (1564-1616); Bacon (1561-1626); Milton (1608-1674); Dryden (1631-1700); Raleigh (1552-1618); Ben Jonson (1573-1637); Jeremy Taylor ( 16 13-166 7) ; Edmund Waller (1605- 168 7) ; Abraham Cowley (1618-1667); Francis Quarles (1592-1644); John Bunyan (1628-1688); Samuel Butler (1612-1680). FIRST COLONIAL PERIOD (1607-1689) 17. Colonization of the New World. — The English were slow in establishing colonies in the New World. While Spain was subduing Mexico and a large part of South America, they remained comparatively inactive. The French were ahead of them in Canada. But when at last the English undertook the work of colonization, the Anglo-Saxon \igor asserted its superiority, and took possession of the fairest part of the Ameri- can continent. From insignificant and unpromising begin- nings, the English colonies rapidly developed into a great nation, rivalling the mother country not only in commercial interests, but also in science and literature. 18. First English Settlements. — The English occupation of this country began early in the seventeenth century with the establishment of two colonies, which were as different in char- acter as they were widely removed from each other in space. The first of these colonies was founded in 1607 at Jamestown in Virginia ; the other in 1620 at Plymouth in New England. CONTE]MPOR.\RY EVENTS IN ENGLAND James I, 1603-1625. The Restoration, 1660. Charles I, 1625-1649. Charles II, 1660-1685. Civil War, 1642-1646. James II, 1685-1688. The Commonwealth, 1649- 1660. The Revolution, 1688. Accession of William and Mary, 1689. II 12 AMERICAN LITERATURE Both settlements, in their subsequent development, were destined to play an important part in the political and literary history of our country. In a measure they represented two different tendencies in politics and religion : the Virginia c!,AMESTOr,'N \i\\C,2 ■ Jamestown, Virginia, in 1622 colonists upholding the Church of England and standing by the king ; the New England colonists favoring a change in the English Church, and adhering to the Parliament. The one was thus conservative ; the other, progressive, — character- istics that are perceptible at the present day. I . Virginia 19. Early Hardships. — It is beyond the scope of the present work to follow in detail the various trials and vicissitudes of the young settlement at Jamestown. The story is well known. FIRST COLONIAL PERIOD 13 Nearly the whole century was consumed in getting the colony firmly on its feet. For a time disease carried off a large number of the colonists and discouraged the rest. The Indians fre- quently became unfriendly, and made repeated attempts to massacre the colonists. Many of the governors were incom- petent and selfish ; and the energies of the people were at times wasted by dissension and strife. One man alone, during this early period, was able to plan and execute wisely ; and that was Captain John Smith. 20. Cavalier Tone. — At various times during the century the colony received new accessions of immigrants. After the Civil War in England, and the establishment of the Protec- torate under Cromwell, many of the Royalists, adherents of Charles I, sought a home in the New World, and gave a distinct Cavalier tone to Virginia society. The manners of the mother country were in a measure reproduced. '' The Virginian planter was essentially a transplanted Englishman in tastes and convictions, and emulated the social amenities and the culture of the mother country. Thus in time was formed a society distinguished for its refinement, executive ability, and generous hospitality, for which the Ancient Dominion is pro- verbial." 1 21. Unfavorable Conditions. — It will be readily under- stood that the conditions in Virginia during this period were not favorable to the production of literature. For the greater part of the first century, after the planting of the colony, the energies of the people were almost entirely absorbed in the difficult work of establishing for themselves a permanent home. This task included not only the building of houses and the clearing of farms, but also the subduing of hostile and treacherous tribes of Indians. Under the stress of this toil- 1 Winsor, Narrative and Critical History of America, Vol. Ill, p. 153. 14 AMERICAN LITERATURE some and dangerous life, there could be but little leisure for the cultivation of literature as an art. The writings of the time were, for the most part, of a practical nature, designed either to preserve the history of the planting of the young nation, or to acquaint the people of the mother country with the wonders of the New World. 22. Population Agricultural. — In addition to these unfa- vorable surroundings, it can hardly be claimed that the social conditions in Virginia, during the period under consideration, were likely to foster literary taste and literary production. The colonists, devoted to tobacco-planting and agriculture, settled on large plantations. There were no towns ; and even Jamestown, the capital, had at the close of the century only a state-house, one church, and eighteen private dwellings. But little attention was paid to education. There is scarcely any mention of schools before 1688 ; and learning fell into such general neglect that Governor Spottswood in 171 5 reproached the colonial assembly for having furnished two of its standing committees with chairmen who could not '' spell EngHsh or write common sense." There was no printing-press in Vir- ginia before 1681 ; and the printer was required to give bond not to print anything '' until his Majesty's pleasure shall be known." 23. Sir William Berkeley. — For nearly forty years of this period, from 1641 to 1677, Sir William Berkeley exerted his influence and power " in favor of the fine old conservative poKcy of keeping subjects ignorant in order to keep them sub- missive." ^ When questioned in 1670 about the condition of Virginia, he said : '' I thank God there are no free schools nor printing ; and I hope we shall not have, these hundred years ; for learning has brought disobedience, and heresy, and sects ^ Tyler, History of American Literature, p. 89. FIRST COLONIAL PERIOD 15 into the world, and printing has divulged them, and libels against the best government. God keep us from both." ^ Surely under these circumstances there was but little en- couragement to literature. 24. College of William and Mary. — Toward the close of the period before us, a growing interest in higher education resulted, in 1692, in the founding of the College of William and Mary, the oldest institution of learning in the South, and, after Harvard, the oldest in the United States. It received a cordial support not only in Virginia, but also in England. The lieutenant- governor headed the subscription list with a gener- ous gift, and his example was fol- lowed by other prominent mem- bers of the colony. After the sum of twenty-five hundred pounds had thus been raised, the Rev. James Blair was sent to England to solicit a charter for the institution. This was readily granted; and as a further evidence of the royal favor, the quit rents yet due in the colony, amounting to nearly two thousand pounds, were turned over to the college. For its further support, twenty thousand acres of land were set apart for its use, and a tax of a penny a pound was laid on all tobacco exported from Virginia and Maryland to other American colonies. 25. Location and Purpose. — The college was located at 1 Campbell, History of Virginia, p. 273. College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia l6 AMERICAN LITERATURE Williamsburg ; and the Rev. James Blair, who had been active in securing its establishment, was chosen as its first president. In the language of the charter, the college was founded '' to the end that the Church of Virginia may be furnished with a seminary of ministers of the Gospel, and that the youth may be piously educated in good letters and manners, and that Christian faith may be propagated among the western Indians to the glory of God." The founding of this college, though without influence upon literature during the First Colonial period, supplied in the next century a number of men who became illustrious in the political and literary history of their country. 2. New England 26. Landing of the Puritans. — Thirteen years after the founding of Jamestown, the Mayflower, with one hundred and two colonists, landed at Plymouth. They were Puritans, who for the sake of conscience first exiled themselves in Hol- land ; and there considering that their nationality would finally be lost among the hospitable Dutch, they heroically resolved to migrate to the New World. They recognized the difficulties of the undertaking ; but, as one of their number tells us, it was replied that " all great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and must be both enter- prised and overcome with answerable courages." 27. The Religious Factor. — ReUgion was a dominant factor in the character of the Puritans. In coming to America, they sought a refuge where, to use their own language, they " might glorify God, do more good to their country, better pro- vide for their posterity, and live to be more refreshed by their labors." They were thorough-going Protestants ; but in their adherence to Scripture they fell into Hebrew rigor. They FIRST COLONIAL PERIOD 17 not only abstained from all forms of immorality, but they dis- countenanced innocent pleasures. 28. Growth of Colony. — Notwithstanding the difficulties which attended their settlement, — the rigor of the climate, the hostility of the Indians, and the interference of foes abroad, — the Puritan colony rapidly grew in numbers and influence. The despotism of Charles I and the persecution instigated by Archbishop Laud drove some of the best people of England to seek religious and political freedom in the colony of Massa- chusetts. By the year 1640 the colony numbered more than twenty thousand persons, distributed in about fifty towns and villages. Tyranny had made them friends of constitutional government. 29. Popular Intelligence. — In spite of superstition and religious intolerance — evils belonging to the age — New England was from the start the friend of popular intelligence and social progress. The printing-press was introduced in 1639; and though it was kept under close supervision, it was not allowed to remain entirely inactive. The Puritans deserve the credit of being the hrst community in Christendom to make ample provision for the instruction of the people. " In the laws establishing public schools, lies the secret of the success and character of New England. Every child, as it was born in- to the world, was lifted from the earth by the genius of the country, and, in the statutes of the land, received, as its birth- right, a pledge of the public care of its morals and its mind." ^ 30. Establishment of Schools. — In order that the Scrip- tures might be properly understood, and that learning might not be buried in the grave of their fathers, as the Act of the General Court stated, it was ordered in 1647 in all the Puritan colonies, '' that every township, after the Lord hath increased 1 Bancroft, History of the United States, Vol. I, p. 459. i8 AMERICAN LITERATURE them to fifty householders, shall appoint one to teach all children to write and read ; and when any town shall increase to the number of one hundred families, they shall set up a grammar-school; the masters thereof being able to instruct youth so far as they may be fitted for the university." 31. Harvard College. — Harvard College, the oldest insti- tution of learning in the United States, was founded in 1636. In that year the Massachusetts assembly " agreed to give four hundred pounds towards a school or college. ' ' This appropria- tion was equivalent to the colony tax for one year, and from Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts this point of view would equal at the present time several millions of dollars. Newtown, which was afterwards changed to Cambridge in memory of the English university town, was chosen as the site of the new college. When John Harvard, who died shortly after the founding of the college, bequeathed FIRST COLONIAL PERIOD 19 to it his library and one-half of his estate, his name was asso- ciated with the institution which was destined to exert an untold influence upon the literary history of our country. 32. Literary Pre-eminence. — We can now understand the literary pre-eminence of New England. From the first it was colo- nized by an earnest body of men of unusual intelligence. They lived together in towns, where perpetual contact sharpened their wits, and kept them in s}Tnpathy with subjects of common interest. Their attitude to religion led them to theological discussion. With some conception at least of the magnitude and far-reaching results of their undertaking, they minutety noted the facts of their „^^ experience, and sought to build a solid political structure. The tasks im- posed upon them, as well as their novel and pic- turesque surroundings, stimulated their minds to the highest activity. From their surroundings and character we should not expect artistic form. They hardly thought of literature as a fine art. But in their literature we find a manly strength and an intense earnestness of purpose. 33. The " Bay Psalm Book." — The seven- teenth century produced ^ WHOLE 0Cj bookeofpsalmbs SV. ^^jf>f^y XltAKSlATEO m>, SNGMSH ^ Whcmnto it prefixed idifcourfcde 1.7 Churcfaeiof Co4. Ctlt, n\. ^ . . ..' ... ' i f K\ mij hi mtrrj Itt bimft^ff^mn, (Qr^ Wi kd- 1^40 Fac-simile of the Bay Psalm Book 20 AMERICAN LITERATURE a large number of writers in New England. Most of their works, however, are of interest now only to the antiquarian or specialist. No masterpiece of literature, such as the Puritan Milton produced in England, appeared to adorn American letters. The first book printed was the " Bay Psalm Book," a rude rendering of the Hebrew. As the preface informs us, " It hath been one part of our religious care and faithful endeavor to keep close to the original text. If, there- fore, the verses are not always so smooth and elegant as some may desire or expect, ... we have respected rather a plain translation than to smooth our verses with the sweetness of any paraphrase ; and so have attended conscience rather than elegance, fidelity rather than poetry." After this introduction we are not much surprised to read the following version of Psalm XIX : — "The heavens doe declare the majesty of God : also the firmament shews forth his handy work abroad. Day speaks to day, knowledge night hath to night declar'd. There neither speach nor language is, where their voyce is not heard. Through all the earth their line is gone forth, & unto the utmost end of all the world, their speaches reach also : A Tabernacle hee in them pitcht for the Sun, Who Bridegroom like from's chamber goes glad Giants-race to run. From heavens utmost end, his course and compassing To ends of it, & from the heat thereof is hid nothing." FIRST COLONIAL PERIOD 21 34. Narrow Range of Literature. — Both in Virginia and New England the range of subjects is limited. The life of the times, as in every age, is reflected in its literary works. Not aesthetic enjoyment but practical utility is the end aimed at. A glance at the titles of the principal works of this period, as given in the preceding list of writers, will show that narration and description, history, religion and theology, and civil administration were the principal themes. And in their treatment we find abundance and force rather than self- restraint and perfection of form. 35. George Sandys. — To these remarks, however, there are at least two important exceptions — one in each colony. Amid the suffer- ings, hardships, and dangers of establishinga home on this wild continent, two souls still sought opportunity to cultivate the muse of poetry. The first was George Sandys, who, coming to Virginia in 1622, there completed his translation of the fifteen books of Ovid's '' Met- amorphoses." '' This book," to use the words of Tyler, " may well have for us a sort of sacredness, as being the first monu- George Sandys 22 AMERICAN LITERATURE merit of English poetry, of classical scholarship, and a de- liberate literary art, reared on these shores. And when we open the book, and examine it with reference to its merits, first, as a faithful rendering of the Latin text, and, second, as a specimen of fluent, idiomatic, and musical English poetry, we find that in both particulars it is a work that we may be proud to claim as in some sense our own, and to honor as the morning-star at once of poetry and of scholarship in the new world ! " A few lines must suffice for illustration : — "The Golden Age was first ; which uncompeld And without rule, in faith and truth exceld, As then there was no punishment nor fear ; Nor threat 'ning laws in brass prescribed were ; Nor suppliant crouching prisoners shook to see Their angrie judge." 36. Anne Bradstreet. — The other exception to the prev- alent utilitarian authorship was Mrs. Anne Bradstreet of Massachusetts, who was known as '' the tenth muse lately sprung up in America." She found time, even among the cares of rearing eight children, to acquire considerable stores of learning. She was well versed in ancient history. In her poetry, learning, it must be confessed, frequently sup- planted inspiration. Sometimes we meet with rather a startling piece of realism, as when, in speaking of winter, she says : — "Beef, brawn, and pork are now in great'st request, And solid'st meats our stomachs can digest." But she loved nature ; and in her descriptions of flowers, and birds, and streams, she often reaches the plane of genuine poetry, JJei moralizing is naturally in the sombre Puritan FIRST COLONIAL PERIOD 23 vein. In her '' Contemplations," a moral and descriptive poem of no slight excellence, she sings : — "Under the cooling shade of a stately elm Close sate I by a goodly river's side, Where gliding streams the rocks did overwhelm ; A lonely place, with pleasures dignified. I once that lov'd the shady woods so well, Now thought the rivers did the trees excel, And if the sun would ever shine, there would I dwell." CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH 37. Interesting Career. — During the early colonial period, the first writer in time, as, perhaps, in prominence, is Cap- tain John Smith of Virginia. His personal history, which he has himself related in full, reads like a romance. Indeed, so in- teresting and remarkable are the incidents of his life, as given in his several volumes, that it is impossible to escape the suspi- cion that he has freely supple- mented and embellished the facts from the resources of his ample imagination. Yet, after all due abatement is made, the fact remains incontestable, that his career presented striking vicissitudes of fortune, and that in the midst of trials and dangers he showed himself fertile in resources, and dauntless in courage. In more than one emergency, the colony at Jamestown owed its preser\'ation to his sagacity and courage; and though from the beginning his superior abiUties made him an object of envy, he had the magnanimity to extinguish resentment, and the unselfishness to labor for the good of his enemies. 38. His Youth. — John Smith was born in Lincolnshire, Eng- land, in 1580, the son of a well-to-do farmer. He received a moder- ate education in the schools of Alford and Louth. His parents died when he was a lad of fifteen ; and though they left him a comfort- able fortune, he was not content quietly to enjoy it. His youth- 24 Captain John Smith CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH 25 ful heart was set on adventures abroad ; and only his father's death prevented his running away from home and going to sea. He was afterwards bound as an apprentice to Thomas Sendall, a prominent merchant of Lynn ; but his restless disposition could not be satisfied with the unromantic duties of a counting-house, and hence he made his escape to give himself to a life of travel and adventure. 39. Travel and Adventure. — The next few years witnessed an astonishing amount of roving adventure. We find him in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and everywhere encountering dangers and mak- ing marvellous escapes. He read military science, and disciplined himself to the use of arms. He serv^ed under Henry IV of France, and then assisted the Dutch in their struggle against Philip II of Spain. Afterw^ards, to use his own words, " He was desirous to see more of the world, and try his fortune against the Turks, both lamenting and repenting to have seen so many Christians slaughter one another." 40. Cast Into the Sea. — Taking ship at Marseilles with a com- pany of pilgrims going to Rome, he was angrily reproached for his Protestant heresy ; and when a storm was encountered, his violent and superstitious fellow-travellers cast him, like another Jonah, into the sea. His good fortune did not desert him in this emer- gency. He succeeded in reaching a small, uninhabited island, from which he was shortly rescued and taken to Eg}^pt. After other vicissitudes, including the capture of a rich Venetian argosy, he finally reached Vienna, and enlisted under the Emperor Rudolph II against the Turks. 41. Success and Misfortune. — In the campaigns that followed, he won the confidence of his commanders. At Regal, in Tran- sylvania, he distinguished himself in the presence of two armies by slaying in succession, in single combat, three Turkish cham- pions. For this deed of prowess he received a patent of nobility, and a pension of three hundred ducats a year. Afterwards he had the misfortune to be wounded in battle, and was captured by the Turks. Having been sold as a slave, he was taken to Con- stantinople, where he touched the heart of his mistress by relating \ 26 AMERICAN LITERATURE to her, like another Othello, the whole story of his adventures. Subsequently, after spending some time in Tartary, he made his escape through Russia, and at length returned to England in 1604. But his spirit of adventure was not yet satiated, and he at once threw himself into the schemes of colonization that were then engaging attention. He was one of the founders of the London Company. 42. A Colonist at Jamestown. — The landing of the colony at Jamestown and their early difficulties and trials have already been spoken of. In the language of Smith, " There were never Englishmen left in a foreign country in such misery as we were in this new discovered Virginia. We watched every three nights, lying on the bare cold ground, what weather soever came, and warded all the next day, which brought our men to be most feeble wretches. Our food was but a small can of barley sodden in water to five men a day. Our drink, cold water taken out of the river, which was, at a flood, very salt, at a low tide, full of slime and filth, which was the destruction of many of our men." In less than six months, more than one-half of the colony had perished. 43. Toil and Exploration. — Smith encouraged the disheart- ened colonists, and wisely direc- ted their labors, always bear- ing the heaviest part himself. Houses were built, and the land was tilled ; and as often as sup- plies of food were needed, he succeeded in begging or bullying the Indians into furnishing what was needed. As opportunity presented itself, he diligently ex- plored the country. It was on an expedition of discovery up the Chickahominy that he fell Pocahontas into the hands of Powhatan ; and CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH 27 in spite of his fertility in resources, he escaped death only through the well-known intercession and protection of the noble-minded Pocahontas. In recent years the truth of this story has been questioned; but an examination of the evidence hardly warrants us in pro- nouncing '' the Pocahontas myth demolished." Until a stronger array of facts can be adduced, it must still stand as the most beautiful and most romantic incident connected with the found- ing of the American colonies. 44. Dissension and Misfortune. — While Smith had the direc- tion of the colony as president, it prospered. The Indians were kept in subjection, and the colonists were wisely directed in their labors. But in 1609 a change took place. Five hundred new colonists arrived, and refused to acknowledge his authority. They robbed the Indians, and plotted the murder of Smith. While dangers were thus gathering, an accident changed the course of events. As Smith lay sleeping in his boat, the powder bag at his side exploded, and frightfully burned his body. In his agony he leaped overboard, and narrowly escaped drowning. In his disabled condition and need of medical aid, he returned to England in October, 1609, and never visited Virginia again. His absence was sorely felt. The colonists soon fell into great disorder and distress. '^ The starving time " came on ; and in five months death reduced the number of colonists from four hundred and ninety to sixty. 45. Contemporary Estimate. — Two of the survivors of " the starving time " have left a noble estimate of the character of Smith: " What shall I say? but thus we lost him that in all his proceedings made justice his first guide and experience his second; ever hating baseness, sloth, pride, and indignity more than any dangers; that never allowed more for himself than his soldiers with him ; that upon no danger would send them where he would not lead them himself; that would never see us want what he either had, or could by any means get us ; that would rather want than borrow, or starve and not pay; that loved actions more 28 AMERICAN UTERArVRE than words, and liatcd cozenage and falsehood more than death; whose adventures were our Hves, and whose loss our death." 46. Explorations in New England. —The next few years of his life, from \()io to 1617, Smith spent in voyages to Ihal section of our country which he named New England. While fishing for cod and bartering for furs, his principal object was to explore the coast, with a view to establish a settlement. He explored and mapped the country from the Penobscot to Cape Cod. His explorations in this region earned for him the title of " Admiral of New England." On his last expedition lie was captured by a Erench pirate, and carried prisoner to Rochelle. Hut soon effecting his escape, he made his way back to England, which he seems never to have left again. The last years of his life were devoted to authorship. Among his numerous works may be mentioned the following: ''A True Relati(m " (1608); ''A J)e- scrij)tion of New lOngland " (r6i6); " 'I'he General History of Virginia" (1624); and "The True Travels" (1630). He died June 21, 1631, <'ind wms buried in St. Sepulchre's Church, London. 47. Summary of his Career. — He has left us an admirable sum- mary of his remarkable life: '* Having been a slave to the Turks; prisoner among the most barbarous savages ; after my deliver- ance commonly discovering and ranging those large rivers and unknown nations with such a handful of ignorant companions that the wiser sort often gave me up for lost; always in mutinies, wants, and miseries; blown up with gunpowder; a long time a prisoner among the Erench pirates, from whom escaping in a little boat by myself. . . . And many a score of the worst winter months have I lived in liie fields; yet to liave lived lliiily-seven years in the midst of wars, pestilence, and famine, by which many a hundred thousand have died about me, and scarce five living of them that went first with me to Virginia, and yet to see the fruits of my labors thus well begin to prosper (though 1 have but my lal)or for my pains), have I not much reason, both privately and publicly, to acknowledge it and give God thanks? " CAPTAiy JOH.\ S\tlTH 2Q 48. An Extraordinary Man. — Atler all necessary alvi\teniont is made in the accouni he lias given of his life, it is apjx\reni that he was no ordinary man. He was great in word and dei\l. His voluminous writings are characterizeii by clearness, force, and dramatic energy. His intellect was cast in the lar^e mould of the era to which he In^longeil. He was a man of bnwd views. As a leader he displaytnl courage and extvutive ability; and few American explorers have sliown the s;ime indomitable energy. Though restless, ambitious, and vain, he was noble in aim and generous in disposition. During the lirst quarter of the seven- teenth century '" he did more than any other Englishman to make an American nation and an American literature possible." COTTOIV MATHER 49. A Literary Wonder. — AnioHL;; tlio luinuMous writers o\ \\w lust lolonial cvi\ in \o\v iMigland, Cotton Matlior stands as a kind of literary hehenioth. In litiMary pro- duet i\tMiess, thougli not in \viMi;lit\' eliaraeter, he aj^pears in the htiMature ol" the time witli sonielliini; ol" the huge- ness that afterwards distin- uuislied Samuel jolnison in !"-ngland. His ])ublished writ- ini^s reaeh tlie astonishinjij numi)eri)f [hvcc hundred and iMg]Uy-thi\H> ; and while many of them, it is true, are t)nly l>amphlets. there are also amonu: (hem hulk\ \olumes. 50. Ancestry and Education. He was the third of a line of distinguished ancestors, the ri>lati\i' standing of whom is given in an old epitaph : — "lliuliM- this stiHio lies Rirhanl Mather, Who had a son greater than his father, .And eUi' a j^randst^n ^ri\iter than either." Tliis grandson was oi course Cotton Mather, who was l)orn Feb. 12, i()(\^, in lU)ston. On the siiK^ i)f his motluM", wiio was a daughter t>f tlu^ ci^K^hrated j^ulpit-oratoi- John (\>ttt>n, lu^ like- wise inherited talents of no usual ordca. .\fter reeei\ing his 30 t'oiioN Maihik COTTOX \fATHER U preparatory training in the free schcK^l of Boston, he entered Har\*ard College, at the age of twelve years, with superior at- tainments. During his collegiate course he was distinguished for his ability and scholarship; and at the time of his graduation. the president of the college, with a reference to his double line of illustrious ancestors, s;iid in a Latin oration: ** I trust that in this youth Cotton and Mather will be united and flourish again." 51. A Type of F*uritan Culture. — He may be regardeil as a typical product of the Puritan culture of his time; and with this fact in mind, his life becomes doubly interesting. He possessed a deeply religious nature, which asserteii itself strongly even in his youth, and drove him to continual introspection. Troubled with doubts and fears alK>ut his s;Uvation, he became serious in manner, and s^x^nt much time in prayer and fasting. At the s;imo time he was active in doing good, instructing his brothers and sisters at home, and fearlessly repro\ing his companions for profanity or immorality. 52. A Minister of the Gospel. — After leaving college. Cotton Mather spent sexeral years in teaching. But inheriting two great ecclesiastical names, it was but natural for him to think of the ministry. Unfortunately, he was embarrassed by a strongly marked impediment of speech; but upon the advice of a friend, accustoming himself to *' dilated deliberation " in public speaking, he succeeded in overcoming this dithculty. He preached his tirst sermon at the age of seventeen, and a few months afterwards was calleii to North Church, the leading congregation in Boston, as associate of his father. His preaching was well received — a fact about which, perhaps, lie was undul\- concerneii. With his habit of dwelling u^x>n his inward states of mind, he noted in his Diary (to which we are much indebted for an insight into his subjective life) a tendency to sinful pride, which he endeavored to suppress by the doubtful expedient of calling himself oppro- brious names. 53. Method of Sermonizing. — His method of sermonizing and preaching is well worth noting. It was the age of heroic sermons, 32 AMERICAN LITERATURE the length of which was counted, not by minutes, but by hours. When he was at a loss for a text, " he would make a prayer to the Holy Spirit of Christ, as well to find a text for him as to handle it." But he was far from a lazy rehance upon divine aid. He carefully examined his text in the original language, and con- sulted the commentaries upon it. He very properly chose his The North Church in Boston subjects, not with a view to display his abiUties, but to edify his hearers. Unlike his father, who laboriously committed his ser- mons to memory, he made use of extended notes, and thus gained both the finish of studied discourse, and the fervor of extempo- raneous speaking. 54. Married Life. — The question of marriage was suggested, rfot by the drawing of a tender, irresistible passion, but by calm, rational considerations of utility. Accordingly, there was nothing COTTON MATHER 33 rashly precipitate in his courtship ; ^' he first looked up to heaven for direction, and then asked counsel of his friends." The person fixed upon at last as his future companion was the daughter of Colonel Philips of Charlestown, to whom he was shortly after- wards married. '^ She was a comely, ingenious woman, and an agreeable consort." This union, as also his second marriage, was a happy one ; but it is a suggestive fact that his third wife is referred to in his Diary only in Latin. She made his life wretched ; and it is still uncertain whether she was the victim of insanity or of a demoniac ill-temper. 55. Laborious Ambition. — From childhood, as is the case with most persons of extraordinary gifts, he was conscious of his superior ability, and expected and labored to be a great man. He assiduously employed every moment of time, keeping up a perpetual tension of exertion. Over the door of his Hbrary he wrote in capital letters the suggestive legend, '' BE SHORT." His daily life was governed by a mechanical routine ; yet, after the Puritanic fashion, he upbraided himself with slothfulness. 56. Literary Labors. — He mastered not only Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, which was expected of every scholar of the time, but also Spanish, French, and one of the Indian tongues, in most of which he published books. He had the marvellous power, possessed by Spurgeon, Gladstone, and Macaulay, of mastering the contents of a book with almost incredible rapidity. Accord- ing to the testimony of his son, " He would ride post through an author." He had the largest library in New England; and its contents were so at command, that " he seemed to have an inex- pressible source of divine flame and vigor." His literary activity was extraordinary. In a single year, besides keeping twenty fasts and discharging all the duties of a laborious pastorate, he pubHshed fourteen books. It is not strange that one of his contemporaries, in the presence of this extraordinary activity, should exclaim : — "Is the blest Mather necromancer turned?" 34 AMERICAN LITERATURE 57. '' Magnalia Christi." — Among his numerous works, there is one that stands with monumental pre-eminence; it is the *' Magnaha Christi Americana ; or, The Ecclesiastical History of New England," from its first planting in the year 1620 to the year of our Lord 1698. It may justly be regarded as the most important book produced in America during the seventeenth century. Its scope will appear from the topics treated of in its seven books. The first book gives an account of the settlement of New England ; the second contains '^ the lives of the governors and the names of magistrates that have been shields unto the churches of New England ; " the third recounts " the lives of sixty famous divines, by whose ministry the churches of New Eng- land have been planted and continued ; " the fourth is devoted to the history of Harvard College, and of " some eminent persons therein educated; " the fifth describes " the faith and order of the churches ; " the sixth speaks of " many illustrious discoveries and demonstrations of the divine providence in remarkable mercies and judgments " — the book in which, it is said, his soul most delighted ; and the seventh narrates '^ the afflictive disturbance which the churches of New England have suffered from their various adversaries," namely, impostors, Quakers, Separatists, Indians, and the Devil. 58. Critique of the " Magnalia." — The work is a treasure- house of information. No historian was ever better equipped for his work. Besides having access to a multitude of original docu- ments that have since perished, he was acquainted with many of the leading men of New England, and had himself been identi- fied with various important political and ecclesiastical interests. Yet the manner in which he discharged the functions of historian is not altogether satisfactory. Perhaps he was too near the events to be strictly impartial. His personal feelings — his friendships or his animosities — were allowed, perhaps unconsciously, to color his statements ; and in regard to his facts, he is open to the very serious charge of being careless and inaccurate. While his work is indispensable for a thorough understanding of New England COTTON MATHER 35 history, it is always safe to have his statement of important facts corroborated by collateral testimony. 59. Philanthropic Labors. — Notwithstanding his laborious ap- plication to reading and study, Cotton Mather w^as interested in a surprising number of philanthropic undertakings. He wrote a book entitled '' Bonifacius, an Essay upon the Good that is to be Devised and Designed, with Proposals of Unexceptionable Methods to do Good in the World," — a work that places phi- lanthropy upon a business basis, and anticipates many of the benev- olent associations of the present day. Of this book Benjamin Franklin says that it '^ perhaps gave me a turn of thinking, that had an influence on some of the principal future events of my life. ' ' ^ Cot- ton Mather sought to check the vice of drunkenness, and was perhaps our first temperance reformer. Though he purchased a slave (for slavery then existed in New England), he interested himself in the education of negroes, and at his own expense established a school for their instruction. He wrote a work on the Christianizing of the negroes, and noted in his Diary : '' My design is, not only to lodge a copy in every family in New England that has a negro in it, but also to send numbers of them into the Indies." He took an interest in foreign missions, and proposed to send Bibles and Psalters among the nations. 60. Work on Witchcraft. — The darkest feature in the life of Cotton Mather — a feature which avenging critics have by no means lost sight of — is his connection with the witchcraft tragedy. In common with people of every class in his day, he believed in the reality of witchcraft. In 1685, the year he was ordained, he pub- lished a work entitled "Memorable Providences relating to Witch- craft," which had the misfortune of being quoted as an authority in connection with the Salem horrors. Looking upon himself as specially set for the defence of Zion, he gave himself with Old Testament zeal to the extermination of what he believed a work of the Devil. 61. Attitude toward Vaccination. — Over against this dreadful delusion should be placed his heroic conduct in advocating vacci- ^ Autobiography, Chap. L 36 AMERICAN LITERATURE nation at a time when it was considered a dangerous and impious innovation. When the smallpox made its appearance in Boston, the physicians, with one honorable exception, were opposed to the newly advocated system of vaccination on the general prin- ciple, strange to say, that '' it was presumptuous in man to inflict disease on man, that being the prerogative of the Most High." The matter was discussed with great bitterness of feeling; and the mass of people, as well as the civil authorities, were against the new treatment. But Cotton Mather had been convinced of the efficacy of vaccination; and accordingly, though he knew it would cost him his popularity, and perhaps expose him to personal violence, he resolutely faced the popular clamor, and boldly vindi- cated the truth. It was only after the lapse of considerable time that he had the satisfaction of seeing the popular prejudice give way. 62. Disappointed Ambition. — It was a great disappointment to Cotton Mather that he was never chosen president of Harvard College, a position to which he ardently, though as he thought unselfishly, aspired. On two occasions, when he confidently expected election, he was humiliated by seeing less learned men chosen for the place. He attributed his defeat to the influence of his enemies, and never for a moment suspected the real cause, which was a distrust, perhaps too well founded, of his prudence and judgment. 63. Estimate of his Character. — He died Feb. 13, 1728. Though not a man of great original genius, his mind was mas- sive and strong. He had the quality which some have held to be the essential thing in genius, — the power of indomitable and systematic industry. His spiritual life, while influenced by Puritanic ideals, was profound ; and unbelief has sometimes mocked at experiences which it lacked the capacity to under- stand. He was followed to the grave by an immense procession, including all the high officers of the Province; and the general feeling was that a great man had fallen, the weight of whose life, in spite of imperfections, had been on the side of righteousness. COTTON MATHER 37 FOR FURTHER READING AND STUDY For general bibliography see page 609. Illustrative anno- tated selections from Capt. John Smith and Cotton Mather will be found on pages 387-402 of this volume. Extracts from the minor writers are given in Stedman and Hutchinson's ''Library of American Literature" (15 volumes). Less extended but interesting extracts will be found in Cairns's " Early American Writers," Trent and Wells's '' Colonial Prose and Poetry," and Trent's " Southern Writers." Charles Dudley Warner's '' Life of John Smith " (Holt) ; Cap- tain John Smith, Harper 21: 721 (B. J. Lossing), Atlantic 76: 350 (John Fiske), The Pocahontas Myth Exploded, North Am. Review 104:11 (Herbert Adams). For a defence of the Poca- hontas story, see Fiske's " Old Virginia and Her Neighbors." Barrett Wendell's " Cotton Mather " (Dodd) ; Cotton Mather, North Am. Review 51:1 (S. F. Haven), and 108: 337 (W. F. Poole). For the historic background of this period consult the major works on American History given in the bibliography. For a brief survey any of the standard school histories may be used. Fiske's " Old Virginia and Her Neighbors " and " Beginnings of New England," and Lodge's '' Short History of the English Colo- nies in America " will be found of special interest. For contem- porary sources, consult Albert B. Hart's " American History Told by Contemporaries " (Macmillan) or MacDonald's '' Documentary Source Book of American History " (Macmillan). In Hawthorne's " Grandfather's Chair " will be found many delightful narratives of New England life during this period, among which may be men- tioned ''The Pine-Tree Shilling," "The Indian Bible," "The Sunken Treasure," " Cotton Mather," " The Provincial Muster," and " The Old-Fashioned School." Many incidents, scenes, and characters from the First Colonial Period have appealed to our own and to British poets. The following poems are noteworthy : Whittier's " The Norsemen," ^S AMERICAN LITERATURE Longfellow's " The Skeleton in Armor," Margaret J. Preston's " The Mystery of Cro-a-tan," James Barron Hope's " John Smith's Approach to Jamestown," Thackeray's " Pocahontas," Geo. P. Morris's " Pocahontas," Longfellow's " The Phantom Ship," Whittier's " The Garrison of Cape Ann," Fehcia Hemans's " Landing of the Pilgrims," Wordsworth's " The Pilgrim Fathers," Clinton Scollard's " The First Thanksgiving," Lucy Larcom's " Mistress Hale of Beverley," Whittier's '' John Underhill," Stedman's " Salem," Whittier's " St. John," James K. Pauld- ing's " Ode to Jamestown," and Longfellow's " The Courtship of Miles Standish." Many other poems dealing with this period will be found in Stevenson's '' Poems of American History " (Houghton). The following historical novels illustrate this period : Mary Johnston's "To Have and to Hold " (1621), Mrs. J. G. Austin's " Standish of Standish " (about 1620), J. G. Holland's " The Bay Path " (1638), Nathaniel Hawthorne's " Scarlet Letter " (1650), Mary E. Wilkins's " The Heart's Highway " (1682), and Amelia E. Barr's " The Black Shilling " (1691), introducing witchcraft trials at Salem and Boston. SECOND COLONIAL PERIOD REPRESENTATIVE WRITERS BENJAMIN FRANKLIN JONATHAN EDWARDS OTHER WRITERS NEW ENGLAND David Brainerd (17 18-1747). Missionary to the Indians. A man of strong mental powers, fervent zeal, and extensive knowledge. "Mirabilia Dei inter Indicos" and "Divine Grace Displayed" are made up of his missionary jountals. Mather Byles (i 706-1 788). Congregational preacher, poet, and wit, of Boston. He published a volume of poems in 1 736. Thomas Hutchinson (1711-1780). A native and the last royal governor of Massachusetts. The best American historian before the nineteenth century, his greatest work being "The History of the Province of Massachusetts Bay." Samuel Sewall (165 2-1 730). A graduate of Harvard, and chief-justice of Massachusetts in 1718. Among his works are "Answer to Queries respect- ing America," and especially his "Diary," which presents an interesting and graphic account of Puritan life in the seventeenth century. Michael Wigglesworth (1631-1705). Congregational clergyman at Maiden, Mass. His "Day of Doom," an epic of the Last Judgment, was for more than a century the most popular poem in New England. "God's Contro- versy with New England," written in a time of great drought, is also in verse. MIDDLE COLONIES William Livingston (17 23-1 790). A statesman, governor of New Jersey 1 776-1 790. Author of "Philosophic Solitude" in verse, "Military Opera- tions in North America," and a "Digest of the Laws of New York." (See text.) 39 40 AMERICAN LITERATURE Samuel Davies (1724-1761). Presbyterian clergyman, and fourth president of Princeton College. He wrote a number of hymns still in use, and published five volumes of sermons popular in their day. Thomas Godfrey (i 736-1763). First dramatic author in America. Served as a lieutenant in the colonial militia. Author of "Juvenile Poems on Various Subjects with the Prince of Parthia, a Tragedy," (See text.) VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA William Byrd (1674-1744). Founder of the cities of Richmond and Peters- burg. Author of the "History of the Dividing Line" between Virginia and North Carolina — "one of the most delightful of the literary legacies of the colonial age." James Blair (1656-1743). Founder of William and Mary College. Author of "The Present State of Virginia and the College," and "Our Saviour's Divine Sermon on the Mount." William Stith (1689-1755). President of William and Mary College, and author of the "History of the First Discovery and Settlement of Virginia" — "in accuracy of detail not exceeded by any American historical work." John Lawson (16 171 2). Surveyor-general of North Carolina, burned at the stake by the Indians. The story of his adventures and observa- tions was published under the title "History of North Carolina." Contemporary Writers in England John Locke (1632-1704); Joseph Butler (1692-1752); Daniel Defoe (1663-1731); Samuel Richardson (1689-1761); Henry Fielding (1707-1754); Jonathan Swift (1667-1745); James Thompson (1700- 1748); Edward Young (1681-1765). II SECOND COLONIAL PERIOD (1689-1763) 64. Growth of a Nation. — The early history of America has a peculiar interest for those who perceive the relation of its events to the subsequent development of the country. The growth of a great nation can be clearly traced step by step. Great interests were involved in the success or failure of ap- parently small enterprises. The life of a nation — principles, upon which the welfare of future millions depended — was often at stake in some obscure and apparently insignificant struggle. 65. A Guiding Hand. — The history of this period, with its small exploring parties, savage massacres, and petty military campaigns, seems at first sight to be a confused mass of disconnected events. But in the life of nations, as of indi- viduals, "there is a divinity that shapes our ends;" and throughout all the maze of injustice, tyranny, and bloodshed, it is now possible to discern the divine purpose. God was keeping watch by the cradle of a great people. CONTEMPORARY EVENTS IN ENGLAND William and Mary, 1689-1702. George I, 17 14-1727. Anne, 1702-1714. George II, 1727-1760. King William's War, 1689-1697. King George's War, 1 741-1748. War of the Spanish Succession, 1701- Seven Years' War, 1 756-1 763. 1714. Accession of George III, 1760. 41 42 AMERICAN LITERATURE 66. New Stage of Progress. — With the beginning of the ' eighteenth century, America entered upon a new stage of progress. All the thirteen colonies, except Georgia, had been established. The toil and dangers of early settlement had been overcome. The colonies had largely increased in population ; and agriculture, manufacture, and commerce had made a substantial beginning. By the close of the period the popula- tion of the colonies had reached more than a million and a half. In 1738 forty-one topsail vessels, averaging a hundred and fifty tons, were built in Boston. 67. Schools and Newspapers. — The educational interests of the colonies kept pace with their material advancement. In New England there was not an adult, born in this country, who could not read and write. During this period seven col- leges — Yale, Princeton, King's (now Columbia), Brown, Queen's (afterwards Rutgers), Dartmouth, and Hampden- Sidney — were founded. In 1704 the News-Letter, the first periodical of the New World, was published in Boston ; and before the close of the French and Indian War in 1763, ten other newspapers had made their appearance in various colo- nies. The press at last became free. Official censorship re- ceived its death-blow in New York in 1734, when Andrew Hamilton, an aged lawyer of Philadelphia, addressed the jury in behalf of an imprisoned printer : " The question before you is not the" cause of a poor printer, nor of New York alone ; it is the best cause — the cause of liberty. Every man who pre- fers freedom to a life of slavery will bless and honor you as men who, by an impartial verdict, lay a noble foundation for secur- ing to ourselves, our posterity, and our neighbors, that to which nature and the honor of our country have given us a right — the liberty of opposing arbitrary power by speaking and writing truth." SECOXD COLONIAL PERIOD 43 The Boil onNe ws-Letitcr. Fronj S^onDat April 17. to ^OnlUF ApnU4. ,704. Lr.T.'.-n f.jin^.Pef: from Dmrnh zJ. l» 4th. 170;. LKirers from SrrrUnJ bring lu the Copy of a Sheer lately Piintrd there, Intiiulid, A J. rftHMiif Aumfc, SQOlljtTid. In a Letter Jut} t CeutimcK in tie City, ic k'l FiiejiJ in tut rtuiuijt amtntiu^ lit frefen: Oen^tr if I f r^lr.fjiiu er:J if ihr i'l cie.icj.t J^eiiricn. Ih'i Letter tuiccj Notice, Thit Papifts fwum in liiii Naticii, that they trjffick more ivowcdlv than .^ l-jmicrly, & thit of lltr many Scores of Pncih and " jefijitei ire come iliicLcr froni Frcnce, ind gone to fh'. Nortb, to the Hi^libnds .fc other pliiccs of the Country. That the Muii.lirrs of the HighUndi aod North iavc io large Lifts of them to the Cotiunit- «« of the General AUimblv, to be bid before the t.-ivy-Cuundl. It likewifrobCrycs, that a great Number ofo- thtr !l'iffe£ked pcrfons ve come over from Frevt, vmder prcunceof accepcing hei Majcfty'j Gracious Indei;..-rty ; bjt, in rcaliry, to increafc Di7i£o{U in theKati„n. and tj entertain a CorrcfpondetK)e with /r/rnct; I'^Ht their ill Imetiticns are evident froai their taJltin.:; big, th<.ir owomg the Intertft of the ' pre'cndcd King Jajiui VIII. their tircrel Cabals, arid their buying up of Ami and Araaumtioii, . v/Herevcr :bey can nnd thctn. ' To tiiJi h? adds rt>c late VVritinii »ai AJLngs I of fcmed:Iaftcttcii perilns, uur.y v^fwhoir. iic fori '.h»t Prefcndrr, rhi' f-.—ni of thrm h^tif decJtrM I • hSy hjd rather embrace Poprry than conform to | •ne orcfrnt Govcmmenii tint ihcy lefufe to pray ^or tne Qjccn, but ulc the ambiguous word Sijvc- j taign, ajTd Ionic of them pray in cxpiefs Words for (he King ana Royal Family ; ana the charitable 1 and ccncrous Prince who has mew'd them fo much iviniir.ij".. He likcwifc takes notice of Ix-ttcii not lon.g ago found in Cypher, and dirrd?d to a Peiianlaicl/ tome thither trom Sc '.•tnudir.i. He. fij't tlut the greatcft Jacobites, who will not cjuiiin* uiemlclvcs by taking the Oaths to Her Ma- je't ,-j do row with the PapSls and tljcir Compani- on* trom 6t.Cnn':'', 'H' '*'"S ^«<1 "P '" the Reii- Eton and Pohticks of f.awf, he is bv Educaiirn a . ''^L,"""'' '° "^^ Libcrrv and R'eligion. Tnat ttic Obligations which he and his Family owe to the f/f/^t King, muft neceflirilv make him to be u *^ /l" r '^^■°'''-°. "^^ 'o wllow his Example , th-r .fhc Gtupo.nih'- Thjoae, the three N..tipn», muU be oblig'J lof ay the Debt which he owe* the f*.•< Tb- Prcrtnder being a good Proficient in ihc t'reyuu ydP^.mifUSch.'y^U, L^ ...ll „.,.. U.infc, h:mreif futticientiy .ivened, but by the utter Ruipt cf h-, Proteftaiit SubJcTts, b,ith as 1 Icrcticks and Trai toi . The late Queen, his pretended Moti.er/ wTir in cold biood when (he was Qiucn of B'!)iitt^i,a\ii'.i to turn t,he Well of S.Mr/i,-.i into a liunHni Field wiJlbethc.nfurd.Inefo by the gr.^atell pal^ oT«v= Niiion ; and, i:-> doubt, is at Paias to (jave Uitpk- fended Son educated to her own MirvJ: Tna««i.c "•jf^y^it wm: a great Madaefs in the Nattonso uko a Prince bred up ia the horridSthc^^l <« Wrs« t.ude, Pcrfecution and Cruelty, 'and tiikd^ftth Kjjjcand Envy. Tlie y«iii;«, hj iiTS,.boUi in Seii.und and ac St. Ctinuint, ar< tfip.JiJeattchdlCT' their prrfc-nt Saalti, and knv»«»^^- jhc!tC%umy ftanccs cannot ix- much worfc than the V'^ajtej^l rrrfent, arr_the more ind nable t;/ the UtJdcitaJun^ H,; adds, 1 h.t the f/m»fc K'ng If..n7a ;acre - Fac-simile of The Boston News-Letter 68. Sense of Future Greatness. — It is not strange that the future greatness of America began to dawn upon the minds of men. The world had never before witnessed such a rapid increase of prosperity and power. In contemplating the rising glory of America an Italian poet sang that the spirit of ancient 44 AMERICAN LITERATURE Rome, immortal and undecayed, was spreading towards the New World. Bishop Berkeley, in prophetic vision, foretold a " golden age," when the arts would flourish, and when the race of '' wisest heads and noblest hearts " would be born : — "Not such as Europe breeds in her decay, Such as she bred when fresh and young, When heavenly flame did animate her clay, By future poets shall be sung. Westward the course of empire takes its way ; The first four acts already past, A fifth shall close the drama with the day; Time's noblest offspring is the last." 69. Growing National Feeling. — In England it was be- lieved that the colonial leaders were secretly meditating and planning independence. Though this was undoubtedly a mis- take, yet a growing national feeling is clearly discernible in the utterances and relations of the colonies. It could not well be otherwise in the presence of their increasing prosperity and promising future, and of the strengthening ties that bound them together. The colonists were chiefly of Teutonic origin. They came to this country as voluntary exiles in order to escape religious or political oppression, and were thus united by the sympathy of suffering and sacrifice. For the most part they used the English language ; and though there were Puritans, Episcopalians, Quakers, Huguenots, and Presby- terians, they were nearly all warm adherents of Protestantism. Yet, in spite of these strong affinities, the colonies were for a long time jealous and distrustful of one another. Their inter- ests were not regarded as common ; and without the pressure of external circumstances they would probably have remained a long time separated. SECOND COLONIAL PERIOD 45 70. Mistaken Policy of England. — This external pressure, which was necessary to bring the colonies into closer relation- ship, was not lacking. It came from two opposite sources. In the first place the policy of England was admirably adapted to develop a spirit of freedom, and to unite the colonies in a common resistance of oppression. At that time it was the pre- vailing view abroad that the colonies existed solely for the bene- fit of the mother country. Consequently, the measures of government were adopted, not for the welfare of the colonies, but for the profit of England. This unjust policy naturally provoked opposition in a people who had abandoned home and country for the sake of freedom. 71. Purpose of France. — The other influence impelling the colonies to confederation came from the ambitious schemes of France. As will have been noticed, the English colonies extended along the Atlantic seaboard from Maine to Florida. Though their territory theoretically extended across the conti- nent, their settlements did not reach inland more than a hun- dred miles. To prevent the further extension of the English colonies, the French formed the magnificent plan of occupying the interior of the continent, and thus of confining their enemies to a narrow belt on the Atlantic coast. They already had possession of Canada ; and ascending the St. Lawrence, they established forts and trading-posts along the southern shores of the Great Lakes, and thence down the Mississippi to New Orleans. Having discovered the Mississippi, they laid claim to all the territory drained by its waters ; that is to say, to the magnificent empire lying between the Allegheny and the Rocky Mountains. " If the French," wrote the governor of New York in 1687, '' have all that they pretend to have dis- covered in these parts, the king of England will not have a hundred miles from the sea anywhere." A conflict between 46 AMERICAN LITERATURE the English and the French thus became inevitable ; and the stake involved was nothing less than the Hfe of the English colonies, and the possession of the American continent. In the presence of this conflict, the instinct of self-preservation drew the colonies into closer sympathy and union. 72. A Long Struggle. — The struggle between England and France for the possession of America — a struggle that lasted with intermissions for more than seventy years — began in 1689, the dividing-point between the two colonial periods. First came King William's War, when Louis XIV espoused the cause of James II, and Count Frontenac was sent to be gov- ernor of Canada, with orders to conquer New York. Then followed in quick succession Queen Anne's War, or the War of the Spanish Succession ; King George's War, or the War of the Austrian Succession ; and lastly, the Seven Years' War, or the French and Indian War. These various wars, as their names generally indicate, grew out of conflicting European interests ; but since England and France, as hostile nations, were invariably opposed to each other, their colonies in America were always drawn into the conflict. The course of these successive wars, with their vary- ing fortunes and sickening massacres, cannot here be fol- lowed in detail. With the Treaty of Paris in 1763 the conflict in America finally came to an end by the cession of Canada and the Mississippi Valley to England. At one blow the French possessions in America and French schemes for a great western empire were forever swept away. 73. Results of French Success. — Had the issue of this protracted struggle been in favor of France, the course of American history and of American literature would have been very different. French colonization in America represented three distinct tendencies, from all of which the English colonists SECOND COLONIAL PERIOD 47 had broken away. First of all, in direct antagonism against popular government, Louis XIV stood for despotism. His attitude toward France is indicated in his famous saying, " UEtat cest moi.'^ In the second place, the colonization undertaken by the French carried with it the feudal system. Instead of the political and social equality recognized and en- couraged in the English colonies, it meant the class system of nobles and inferiors. In the third place, the success of the French meant the establishment of a wholly different form of belief and worship. The most enterprising and devoted of the French explorers were Jesuits, whose self-sacrificing work among the Indians sometimes reached the highest point of heroism. In short, if the French schemes had been successful, the result would have been, as was contemplated, a new medi- aeval France, which in its development, having possession of the largest and fairest part of the continent, would have driven the English colonies into the Atlantic Ocean. 74. First Steps towards Union. — The first step towards a general union of the American colonies was taken in 1684. New York about 1700 The French had encroached upon the territory of the Five Nations in New York ; and in preparation for the inevitable 48 AMERICAN LITERATURE conflict, the Indians desired to form a treaty of peace with the English. Accordingly, a convention composed of delegates from Virginia, Maryland, New York, and Massachusetts, met at Albany. For the first time, the northern and the southern colonies came together to consider the common welfare. The conference resulted in a treaty ; and the Mohawk chief at its conclusion spoke better than he knew when he said : " We now plant a tree whose top will reach the sun, and its branches spread far abroad, so that it shall be seen afar off, and we shall shelter ourselves under it, and live in peace without molesta- tion." 75. Attempts at Federation. — The necessity of a closer general union gradually became more apparent. In 1698 William Penn proposed a plan of federation. In 1754 the Con- vention of Albany, composed of representatives from six of the colonies, resolved that a union ought to be formed, and ac- cordingly recommended the adoption of a constitution, the outHnes of which had been drawn up by FrankUn. But this constitution was disapproved in England, because it allowed too much freedom to the colonies ; and it was rejected by the colonies, because it gave too much authority to England. Thus, though the sentiment of union was steadily growing, it did not reach full practical realization. That consummation, which was to mark the birth of the American nation, was reserved for the following period. 76. Conditions Favorable to Literature. — The changed conditions of American life during this period exerted a salutary influence upon literature. While the conditions were far from being ideal, they marked a considerable advance upon those of the earlier period, and thus gave a broader scope and better form to literary productions. The hard and unceasing struggle for existence characteristic of the greater part of the first SECOND COLONIAL PERIOD 49 colonial period had given place to comparative ease and com- fort. While there was but little accumulation of wealth, there were, especially in the older colonies, many comfortable homes, in which books and leisure supplied the opportunity for culture. Several considerable cities — Boston, New York, and Phila- delphia — served in some degree as literary centres. The growing number of schools added to the popular intelligence. The newspapers furnished topics for general thought and dis- cussion, while the closer relations and larger interests of the colonies gave a wider horizon to the intellectual life of the people. 77. Literary Expansion. — As will be seen on examining the list of writers prefixed to this period, the development of American literature followed the growth of the colonies. The middle colonies. New York, New Jersey, and Pennsyl- vania, now come into prominence. Though Franklin and Edwards, who have been chosen for special study as represen- tative writers, were born in New England, they both ended their lives in the middle colonies. Franklin's great life was spent chiefly in Philadelphia. The tide of authorship extended southward from Virginia ; and in the Carolinas and Georgia there were men who could wield the pen as well as the axe and the sword. 78. Influence of Queen Anne Writers. — As might be naturally expected, there is a gradual extension of the range of subjects, and a perceptible advancement in the matter of style. Though historical and theological subjects are still predominant, philosophy, science, and Kterary miscellany receive increasing attention. Authors become more numerous, and the number of writers in verse is surprising. The influence of the Queen Anne writers — Dryden, Pope, Addison — is discernible in an improved Hterary form. Franklin formed his so AM ERIC AX LITERATURE style after the Spectator, and we catch an echo of Pope in Liv- ingston's " Philosophic SoHtude " : — ''Let ardent heroes seek renown in arms, Pant after fame, and rush to war's alarms; To shining palaces let fools resort, And dunces cringe to be esteemed at court ; IMine be the pleasure of a rural hfe, From noise remote, and ignorant of strife ; Far from the painted belle, and white-gloved beau, The lawless masquerade, and midnight show ; From ladies, lap-dogs, courtiers, garters, stars. Fops, fiddlers, tyrants, emperors, and czars." 79. First American Drama. — This period saw the birth of the lirst American drama, — a tragedy entitled " The Prince of Parthia," written by Thomas Godfrey. It is an oriental story of love, lust, jealousy, murder, ruin, cast in the large mould of the Elizabethan dramatists, and its style shows that the author had studied Shakespeare to good purpose. Take the following passage in illustration of its poetic vigor : — " Vardanes. Heaven! what a night is this ! Lysias. 'Tis filled with terror ; Some dread event beneath this horror lurks, Ordained by fate's irrevocable doom ; — Perhaps Arsaces' faU ; and angry heaven Speaks it in thunder to the trembling world. Vardanes. Terror indeed ! It seems as sickening Nature Had given her order up to general ruin : The heavens appear as one continued flame ; Earth with her terror shakes ; dim night retires, And the red lightning gives a dreadful day, While in the thunder's voice each sound is lost. Fear sinks the panting heart in every bosom ; E'en the pale dead, affrighted at the horror. As though unsafe, start from their marble jails. And howling through the streets are seeking shelter." BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 80. General Popularity. — No other American, excepting only the Father of his Coun- try, is more interesting to people of every class than Benjamin Frankhn. His pop- ularity has been extraordi- nary. Since his death, a little more than a hundred years ago, no decade has passed without the publication of a biography or a new edition of his works. His "Autobiog- raphy," the most popular historical work of America, possesses a perennial interest. It is replete notJDnly with in- teresting incident, but also with genial humor and profound prac- tical wisdom. 81. Youth and Education. — The facts of his life are so well known that it is not necessary to dwell upon them. He was born in Boston, Jan. 17, 1706 — the youngest of an old-fashioned family of ten children. From his father, who was a candle-maker and soap-boiler, he inherited not only a strong physical constitu- tion, but his " soHd judgment in prudential matters." He attended the free grammar schools of Boston about a year, and gave prom- ise of becoming a good scholar; but owing to the straitened cir- cumstances of his father, he was taken away in order to cut wicks, mould candles, and run errands — all which he heartily disliked. 51 Benjamin Franklin 52 AMERICAN LITERATURE 82. Fondness for Reading. — From childhood he was passion- ately fond of reading, and he used the little money that came into his hands to buy books. His first purchase was Bunyan's '' Pilgrim's Progress," which after being read and re-read was sold to buy Burton's '' Historical Collections " — a class of writ- ings of which he was specially fond. Among the books of this early reading were Plutarch's '' Lives " and Mather's '' Essay to do Good," which he specially mentions as exerting a salutary influence upon his mind and character. He did not escape the common temptation of bookish youths to attempt poetry, and wrote two ballads which, in spite of a flattering success at the time, he afterwards characterized, and no doubt justly, as '^ wretched stuff." From the danger of becoming a sorry poet he was timely rescued by his father, who with Philistine coldness called his atten- tion to the fact that " verse-makers were generally beggars." 83. Fluency and Style. — But his literary instincts were not to be quenched ; and though he gave up poetry, he cultivated prose with great ardor. To increase his fluency, he was accustomed to engage in discussion with another literary lad by the name of Collins; but he had the good sense to escape the disputatious habit which this practice is in danger of developing, and which wise people, he tells us, seldom fall into. He modelled his style after Addison's Spectator, which was then a novelty in the colonies. But he had too much force of mind and character to become a mere imitator; and through a laborious apprenticeship he de- veloped a style that is admirable for its simplicity, clearness, and force. 84. First Literary Effort. — He was early encouraged in his literary efforts. At the age of twelve he had been apprenticed to his brother James to learn the printing business. Here he worked on the New England Courant, the second newspaper that appeared in America. Some of the contributors occasionally met in the office to discuss the little essays that had appeared in the paper. Having caught the mania for appearing in print, and fearing to have his productions rejected if the authorship BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 53 were known, he disguised his hand, wrote an anonymous paper, and sUpped it at night under the door of the printing-house. It was found next morning, and discussed by the Uttle company that called in as usual. '' They read it," he says, '' commented on it in my hearing, and I had the exquisite pleasure of finding it met with their approbation, and that, in their different guesses at the author, none were named but men of some character among us for learning and ingenuity." It is not strange that he continued his anonymous communications for some time. 85. In Philadelphia. — The apprenticeship, though not till he had mastered the printer's trade, came to an abrupt termina- tion. Long dissatisfied with the ill-treatment received from his brother, who was a high-tempered, overbearing man, he at last ran away at the age of seventeen. He landed first at New York ; and failing to find employment there, he continued his journey to Philadelphia. The figure he cut that first Sunday morning as he walked the streets with a roll under each arm, and excited the laughter of the young lady he afterwards married, is familiar to every one. He found employment, and attracted the notice of Governor Keith, who after a time persuaded him to go to England for a printer's outfit. 86. In England. — On reaching England, he found that he had been duped by Keith, who belonged to that class of men lavish in promises but miserly in help. The letter of credit which the governor had promised was wanting. In his embarrassment, Franklin was advised by a prudent business man whom he had met on the vessel, to seek employment at his trade. '^ Among the printers here," his friend argued, " you will improve yourself, and when you return to America, you will set up to greater advan- tage." This advice he wisely followed, and successively worked in two large printing-houses, where he used his eyes to good ad- vantage. He practised his usual industry and temperance, and commanded the respect of his associates. 87. Return to Philadelphia. — After spending eighteen months in London, where his Hfe morally was far from being a model, 54 AMERICAN LITERATURE he received an advantageous offer to return to Philadelphia and enter a store as clerk. After a promising beginning, this arrange- ment was in a few months brought to an end by the merchant's death. Franklin then returned to printing, and engaged with Keimer, for whom he had worked before going to England. The deficiencies of the printing-office were supplied by FrankHn's fnv' i^^¥tp Franklin's Printing Press ingenuity; for he cast type, prepared engravings, made ink, was '' warehouse man, and, in short, quite 3i factotum.^' But as he taught the other workmen of the office, among whom were " a wild Irish- man " and " an Oxford scholar," his services became less neces- sary ; and on the first opportunity his employer provoked a quarrel, and brought the engagement to an end. This led to Franklin's setting up for himself ; and he now entered upon a career of unin- terrupted prosperity, which was to continue for more than sixty years. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 55 88. The Junto. — But in the midst of his business projects, he did not neglect his literary culture. He formed a club, which was called the Junto, and to which most of his friends of literary taste belonged. Its object was mutual improvement by means of essays and discussions. For greater convenience of reference, a library was formed, each member of the club loaning such books as he could spare. Afterwards Franklin started a subscription library, the first of its kind in America. The club continued for nearly forty years, and was the best school of philosophy, morality, and politics in the province. 89. Self-Control and Humility. — Beyond most men, Franklin had the power of self-control. He was thus able from early manhood to bring his conduct under the direction of principles which he had deliberately adopted in the light of reason. When he w^as told by a Quaker friend that he was generally thought to be proud, and when he was satisfied of the fact by the evidence adduced (it would have been hard to convince most men), he at once added humility to the list of virtues in which he was to exer- cise himself; and he succeeded in acquiring at least its outward expression. He gave up his dogmatic manner in conversation and argument ; and in place of positive assertion, he formed the habit of introducing his opinions with modest diffidence. He recognized the truth of Pope's lines : — "Men must be taught, as if you taught them not, And things unknown proposed as things forgot." 90. Habit of Modest Statement. — He accustomed himself to introduce his statements with " I conceive," '' I apprehend," " It appears to me at present," and other similar expressions. '' And this mode," he says, '' which I at first put on with some violence to natural inclination, became at length easy, and so habitual to me, that perhaps for the last fifty years no one has ever heard a dogmatical expression escape me. And to this habit (after my character of integrity) I think it principally owing that I had early so much weight with my fellow citizens, when I 56 AMERICAN LITERATURE proposed new institutions, or alterations in the old ; and so much influence in public councils, when I became a member ; for I was but a bad speaker, never eloquent, subject to much hesitation in my choice of words, hardly correct in language, and yet I generally carried my point." All which is delightfully frank, and takes us, as it were, behind the scenes. 91. Shrewdness and Industry. — To return to his printing busi- ness, he pushed it with great shrewdness and energy, and with his usual frankness he lets us into what he considers the secret of his success. '' In order to secure my credit and character as a tradesman, I took care not only to be in reality industrious and frugal, but to avoid the appearances to the contrary. I dressed plain, and was seen at no places of idle diversion. I never went out a fishing or shooting ; a book, indeed, sometimes debauched me from my work, but that was seldom, was private, and gave no scandal ; and to show that I was not above my busi- ness, I sometimes brought home the paper I purchased at the stores, through the streets on a wheelbarrow. Thus being es- teemed an industrious, thriving young man, and paying duly for what I bought, the merchants who imported stationery solicited my custom ; others proposed supplying me with books, and I went on prosperously." 92. Newspaper Publisher. — As opportunity afforded, he judi- ciously increased his business, publishing a newspaper which became the most influential in the colonies, and opening a sta- tioner's shop. He regarded his newspaper as a means of benefiting the public ; and besides reprinting extracts from the Spectator, he frequently contributed little essays of his own. Among these he mentions " a Socratic dialogue, tending to prove that, what- ever might be his parts and abilities, a vicious man could not prop- erly be called a man of sense." 93. " Poor Richard's Almanac." — In 1732 he began the publi- cation of an Almanac under the name of Richard Saunders; it was continued about twenty-five years, and was commonly called '' Poor Richard's Almanac." It had an annual sale of about ten BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 57 thousand copies, and proved quite a profitable undertaking. Considering it a useful means of conveying instruction to the com- mon people, he filled every av^ailable corner '' with proverbial sentences, chiefly such as in- culcated industry and frugal- ity as the means of procuring wealth, and thereby securing virtue ; it being more difficult for a man in want to act Poor Richard, 1733. A N Almanack For the Year ofChrift 7 35 Being the Firft ifrer LEAP YEAR; 7241 5742 5 OS: 3y the Account ot the EaiUfii Grrtks By the Latin Cuucch, whrn O cm. y by the Coinpiit..tuui of U'.IV Qv (he Rom^n Chronology By the Jcav/*- Rabhics IVherein u coutaimd The Lunations, Edipfes. jujgmcnr o( tlic Wc.uhcr, '^pfinp Tides, PlamfU Motions & fi'.umji AfpecJs, San ji.J Nloon*-> Rifin^ and Sct- tinj;. Length of Days. Ti'"i- of Hi{^h Water, Faiii, Coarrs, and obr.Tvjhlc Days Fitted ro the Latitude oi f'orry Dcgrres, ar.,i a Mcridun of Fi v Hours VVcfl from Lmtdon, bur m.iv without Icnhhlc ILrror. (cive all the ad- jacint Places, even from Seu-jouniilanJ to South' always honestly, as, to use here one of those proverbs, it is hard for an empty sack to stand upright. ^^ These proverbs, very few of which were original, repre- sent the practical wisdom of many nations and ages. In 1758 he brought the principal ones together in the form of a connected discourse, which is supposed to be delivered by a wise old man to the crowd attending an auction. "The piece," to give Frank- lin's account of it, "being universally approved, was copied in all the newspapers of the American continent, reprinted in Britain on a large sheet of paper, to be stuck up in houses; two translations were made of it in France, and great numbers bought by the clergy and gentry, to distribute gratis among their poor parishioners and tenants. In Pennsylvania, as it discouraged useless expense in foreign superfluities, some thought it had its share of influence in producing that growing B y /i ICHJK D SJUSDE R S, Phi lom. P H I L A D R L P H r A : Piinicd end fo'd by H. FK.'.'KK'./K at the New Primintj C)i?icc near tlic Marker Tlx Tlii:d Imrrcii'ion. . — Fac-simile of Page of Poor Richard's Almaxac 58 AMERICAN LITERATURE plenty of money, which was observable for several years after its publication." 94. Interested in Public Affairs. — By this time Franklin had become a prominent person in the community ; and his business success having put him in easier circumstances, he was able to turn his attention more fully to public affairs. In 1736 he was chosen clerk of the General Assembly, and the following year he was appointed postmaster at Philadelphia. As a public- spirited citizen he sought to improve the condition of the city, and to this end he organized a regular police force, supported by taxation, and a voluntary fire company. When the Quaker Assembly refused to pass a militia law during the war of the Span- ish Succession, he strongly set forth the defenceless condition of the province, and proposed the organization of a voluntary body of troops. The success of the enterprise was astonishing. At a public meeting in Philadelphia, the enrolment numbered more than five hundred in a single evening; and including the enlist- ment in the country, the number of volunteers at length reached ten thousand men, who formed themselves into companies and regiments, chose officers, and provided themselves with arms. 95. Honors and Educational Activity. — Labors and honors were now heaped upon him. He was appointed postmaster- general for America. Both Harvard and Yale honored him with the master's degree. He was the chief promoter in establishing an academy which afterwards became the University of Pennsyl- vania. In his educational views he was progressive beyond his time. He deserves a place among educational reformers. While building up his business, he had also gained a reading knowledge of French, Italian, and Spanish. From these he passed to Latin, for which he found the " preceding languages had greatly smoothed the way." Thus he was led by experience to recognize the truth of the maxim of Comenius, that " the nearer should precede the more remote." Hence he argued, as the philosopher Locke had done before him, that the ancient languages should be approached through the study of the modern languages. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 59 96. Plan for Colonial Union. — In 1754 he was appointed a delegate to the Albany convention to consult with the Six Nations in regard to the common defence of the country against the French. It was then that he proposed '' a plan for the union of all the colonies under one government, so far as might be necessary for defence and other important general purposes." It always re- mained his opinion that the adoption of this plan of union would have averted or certainly delayed the conflict with the mother country. " The colonies so united," he wrote in his old age, '' would have been sufficiently strong to have defended themselves ; there would then have been no need of troops from England ; of course the subsequent pretext for taxing America, and the bloody contest it occasioned, would have been avoided. But such mis- takes are not new ; history is full of the errors of states and princes. 'Look round the habitable world, how few Know their own good, or knowing it, pursue.'" 97. Defence of Western Pennsylvania. — In Braddock's disas- trous campaign, Franklin rendered the proud and over-confident general important aid ; and if his prudent counsel had been fol- lowed, victory would have taken the place of defeat. Later he was commissioned to take charge of the defence of the western frontier of Pennsylvania, and discharged his difficult task in an energetic and successful manner. He knew the art of managing men, and under his direction three forts or stockades were built and provisioned in a short time. 98. Scientific Experiments. — In 1746 Franklin began his electrical experiments, which in a few years gave him a reputa- tion abroad as a philosopher. Besides a number of new experi- ments invented by him, he was the first to point out clearly the existence of positive and negative electricity, and by his well- known experiment with the kite to prove the identity of light- ning and electricity. His experiments and conclusions were set forth in various papers with the lucidity characteristic of his thought and style. His essays were read before the Royal Society, 6o AMERICAN LITERATURE published in England, and afterwards, through the influence of the great naturalist Buff on, also in France. Though his views were attacked at various times, he abstained from all controversy on principle, and left his conclusions to take care of themselves. When urged, on one occasion, to defend his invention of the lightning-rod, he replied : ''I have never entered into any controversy in defence of my philosophical opinions ; I leave them to take their chance in the world. If they are right, truth and experience will support them; if wrong, they ought to be refuted and rejected. Disputes are apt to sour one's temper and disturb one's quiet." In recognition of his important contri- butions to electrical science, he was elected a member of the Royal Society and awarded the Copley medal for the year 1753. Among the scientists of the eighteenth century Franklin occupies a high rank. 99. Honors Abroad. — It would extend this sketch too far to trace in detail Franklin's labors abroad, first as the represen- tative of Pennsylvania, and afterwards of the United States. In England he was cordially received as a philosopher and states- man. The universities of St. Andrews and Oxford conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws. Learned societies enrolled his name in their membership. The municipality of Edinburgh gave him the freedom of the city. In France he received a greater ovation than had been accorded Voltaire. The people were enthu- siastic ; the nobility feted him, medals and medallions were struck off in great numbers. A Frenchman gave brilliant expression to Franklin's achievements in the famous line : — "Eripuit coelo fulmen, sceptrumque tyrannis." ^ It was chiefly through his influence that the independence of the United States was recognized by France, and that French aid was extended for its achievement. He was one of the five commissioners appointed by Congress to negotiate the peace that put an end to the War of the Revolution in 1782. ^ He has seized the Hghtning from heaven, and the sceptre from tyrants. BENJAMIN FRANKLIN 6l 100. Governor of Pennsylvania. — In 1785, at his own request, he was relieved of his duties as minister to France, and returned to his native country. He received an enthusiastic welcome. After his fifty years of public service, it was his desire to spend his few remaining days in quiet. " I am again surrounded by my friends," he writes, '' with a fine family of grandchildren about my knees, and an. affectionate, good daughter and son-in- law to take care of me." His hopes, however, were disappointed. He was called to the gubernatorial chair of Pennsylvania for three successive years — the limit fixed by law. In 1787 he was a member of the convention to frame the Constitution of the United States. It was owing, perhaps, to his influence that the Constitu- tion was unanimously adopted. 101. Closing Years. — The two or three last years of his Hfe were a fitting close to his extraordinary career. Though suffer- ing at times much physical pain, he lived in comfortable retire- ment, in the midst of his grandchildren and the company of friends. He retained his faculties to the last ; and that genial humor which characterized his hfe never deserted him. His manners were easy and obliging; and his large benevolence diffused about him an atmosphere of unrestrained freedom and satisfaction. He looked forward to his approaching end with philosophic composure. " Death I shall submit to," he said, '' with the less regret as, having seen during a long life a good deal of this world, I feel a growing curiosity to be acquainted with some other; and can cheerfully, with filial confidence, resign my spirit to the conduct of that great and good Parent of mankind who has so graciously protected and prospered me from my birth to the present hour." The end came the 17th of April, 1790, at the age of eighty-four years; and his body, followed by an immense throng of people, was laid to rest by that of his wife in the yard of Christ Church. JONATHAN EDWARDS Jonathan Edwards 102. Standard of Judg- ment. — In considering a man's life, we should take into consideration its his- toric environment. We should judge it, not by the standards of our day, but by the standards then pre- vailing. Only for moral ob- liquity must there be small allowance ; for whatever may be the laxity of the times, every man has in his breast a monitor against vice. 103. A Great, Austere Life. — If we study Jonathan Edwards with proper sympathy, we must pronounce his life a great life. Though his character was colored by Puritan austerity, and his religious experience involved what many believe to have been morbid emotions, there is no questioning the fact of his masterful intellect and his stainless integrity. He certainly was not, what a ferocious critic has styled him, a theological '' monomaniac." There is much less reason to dissent from the judgment of another reviewer who says of him : " Remarkable for the beauty of his face and person, lordly in the easy sweep and grasp of his intellect, wonderful in his purity of soul and in his simple devotion to the truth, the world has seldom seen in finer combination all the great qualities of a godlike manhood." ^ 1 Bibliotheca Sacra, xxvi. 255. 62 JONATHAN EDWARDS 63 104. Parentage and Early Training. — Jonathan Edwards, who was born at East Windsor, Conn., Oct. 5, 1703, was of excellent Puritan stock. His father, the Rev. Timothy Edwards, was for sixty-four years the honored pastor of the Congregational church of East Windsor; and his mother was the daughter of the Rev. Solomon Stoddard, who was pastor at Northampton, Mass., for more than fifty years, and one of the most eminent ministers of his day. From his mother, who was a woman of superior ability and excellent education, he inherited not only his delicate features and gentle disposition, but also a large measure of his intellectual force. His father, who was distinguished as a Latin, Greek, and Hebrew scholar, was accustomed for many years, in addition to his regular ministerial duties, to prepare young men for college. With no mediaeval prejudice against the higher education of woman, he instructed his daughters (there were no fewer than ten of them) in the same studies pursued by the young men. It was in this cultivated and studious home, under the refining influence and instruction of his older sisters, that young Edwards received his preparatory training. 105. Observation of Nature. — In his childhood he exhibited extraordinary precocity. He was not, as sometimes happens, so absorbed in his books as to lose taste for the observation of nature. For an English correspondent of his father, he wrote at the age of twelve years an elaborate paper upon spiders, which shows re- markable powers of observation. It is said actually to have enlarged the boundaries of scientific knowledge. Had the young author given himself to natural science, there can be no doubt that he would have stood in the foremost rank. 106. At Yale. — In 1716, when in his thirteenth year, young Edwards entered Yale College. It was the day of small things with the institution ; and, the president residing at a distance of forty miles, the government and discipline were chiefly in the hands of tutors. The result was, as might be expected, a good deal of idleness and disorder among the students. But such was young Edwards's thirst for knowledge that he not only re- 64 AMERICAN LITERATURE frained from the insubordination of his fellow-students, but by his scholarship and integrity retained their respect and confidence. 107. Reading and Study. — At the age of fourteen he read Locke's " Essay on the Human Understanding " ; and though it can hardly be classed as juvenile literature, he declared that in the perusal of it he enjoyed a far higher pleasure " than the most greedy miser finds, when gathering up handfuls of silver and gold from some newly discovered treasure." While pro- ficient in every department of study, he excelled especially in mental science. He had been trained by his father to make much use of the pen in studying ; and while still an undergraduate he began to put into clear shape his ideas about the leading terms of mental philosophy, such as cause, existence, space, time, sub- stance, matter, and so on. His notebook of this period shows surprising depth of thought and lucidity of expression. At gradua- tion he stood head and shoulders above his class. 108. Religious Experience. — Religion, which became the dominant interest of his subsequent life, engaged his attention toward the end of his college course. He passed through the deep spiritual conflicts that so often, especially under the Puri- tan type of faith, are associated with profoundly earnest natures. But at last his spiritual struggles issued in a sweet " sense of the glorious majesty and grace of God " — a feeling that added a strange charm to external nature. " The appearance of every thing," he says, " was altered. There seemed to be, as it were, a calm, sweet cast, or appearance of divine glory, in almost every thing." 109. Preacher and Tutor. — After graduating, he spent nearly two years at the college in theological study. At the age of nine- teen he was licensed to preach the gospel, and sent to New York to minister to a small congregation of Presbyterians. Though he filled the pulpit with great acceptance, the relation did not become permanent, and in 1723 he was elected tutor in Yale College. At this time the office of tutor was a trying position, and it is a significant fact that a year later he wrote : "I have now JONATHAN EDWARDS 65 abundant reason to be convinced of the troublesomeness and vexa- tion of the world, and that it never will be another kind of a world." But such was his skill in discipline and success in instruction, that President Stiles spoke of him and his associates as " the pillar tutors, and the glory of the college at this critical period." 110. Seventy R»esolutions. — In his twentieth year, and just before entering upon his tutorship, he drew up seventy resolutions for the government of his heart and life. Though they are tinged with a Puritan austerity, and unduly accentuate, perhaps, the re- ligious element of life, they reveal an extraordinary depth and earnestness of character. He was accustomed to read them over once a week. They are included in the " illustrative selections," as revealing the secret of his earnest, laborious life. 111. Domestic Life,. — In 1726 Jonathan Edwards was called as pastor to Northampton, where the next twenty-four years of his life were passed. The following year he was married to Miss Pierrepont of New Haven, a lady who added to unusual intellec- tual gifts and attainments an executive ability and considerate sympathy that fitted her in an eminent degree to be the helpmate of her husband. She relieved him entirely of domestic cares. There is a tradition that he did not know his own cows. Though his constant inattention to the concerns of his household hardly rendered him a model husband, he gave himself with all the more devotion to his sermons and theological studies. He regularly spent thirteen hours a day in his study ; and when out for recrea- tion, which was usually on horseback, he carried pen and paper with him to note down such valuable thoughts as might occur to him. In order to keep up the necessary physical strength for his great intellectual labors, he was careful to take regular exercise, and observed the strictest temperance in eating and drinking. He was exceedingly thorough in his methods of study. He could never be satisfied with hasty or superficial work ; and as we read his sermons and numerous volumes, his clearness of view, his power of analysis, and his irresistible cogency of reasoning, afford con- tinual astonishment and pleasure. 66 AMERICAN LITERATURE 112. Pulpit Power. — Among the many able preachers of America, he stands as one of the greatest. He dwelt habitually on the weightiest doctrines of the Christian faith; and in his treatment of them there is a Miltonic grasp of thought and vigor of language. He was not eloquent in manner or expression; his voice was weak, and he kept his eyes closely fixed on his manu- script; but such was his overpowering spiritual earnestness that his sermons were sometimes startling in their effect. When he preached his famous sermon, '' Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," the feelings of his audience deepened into an insupportable agony; and at last the cry burst forth, " What must we do to be saved? " In those days people did not go to church to be enter- tained; and with an endurance that seems almost incredible now, they listened, with unflagging attention, to closely reasoned sermons two hours long. It was for audiences of this kind that the sermons of Edwards were prepared ; and to such persons as take them up with sufficient determination, and are able to appreciate their powerful reasoning, they appear veritable master- pieces. 113. ''Great Awakening." — Under his preaching in 1735 there began at Northampton a new interest in religion, which afterwards extending throughout the American colonies has been known as the " Great Aw^akening." The celebrated White- field contributed much to this revival. Though attended at times with great excitement and extravagance, this movement upon the whole seems to have been helpful to morality and piety. It was in this connection that Edwards wrote " Some Thoughts concerning the Present Revival of Religion in New England " — a work of such spiritual discernment, practical wdsdom, and con- servative judgment, that it has since been regarded as an authority on the subject. He was not friendly to the fanatical tendencies sometimes exhibited during the " Great Awakening " ; and in order to distinguish between the true and the false evidences of a Christian life, he wrote his " Treatise concerning the Religious Affections." Though defective in style, as indeed are all his JONATHAN EDWARDS 67 works, it occupies a very high rank as a treatise on practical reli- gion. 114. Controversy and Resignation. — For nearly twenty years Jonathan Edwards had a firm hold upon the affections of his people. Then there came a reaction, which finally resulted in his being ejected from his pastoral charge. Contrary to the prevaihng custom at Northampton and in other parts of New England, he maintained that only consistent Christians should be admitted to the Lord's Supper. A bitter controversy followed. Though contending with heroic courage for what he believed to be right, he constantly exhibited the beauty of a meek and for- giving spirit. He was finally forced to resign in 1750. 115. Missionary Work. — In 1751 he was called to Stock- bridge, forty miles west of Northampton, to serve as pastor to a congregation there, and at the same time to act as missionary to a tribe of Indians in the vicinity. The congregation was small, and the work among the Indians unpromising. It was a field that especially required persistent personal work. Confirmed, as he was, in retiring and studious habits, it is not strange that, in spite of his faithful preaching, he was unsuccessful as a missionary. But among the unfavorable surroundings of a frontier settlement, he continued his literary labors, and composed his ablest works. 116. ''Freedom of the Will." — In 1754 appeared his famous treatise entitled " Inquiry into the Freedom of the Will." It is his greatest work, the argument of which he had been slowly elaborating for years. It placed him at once, not only at the head of American writers, but among the world's profoundest thinkers. *' On the arena of metaphysics," says the great Dr. Chalmers, '' he stood the highest of all his contemporaries, and that, too, at a time when Hume was aiming his deadliest thrusts at the foundations of morality, and had thrown over the infidel cause the whole eclat of his reputation." According to the judg- ment of Sir James Mackintosh, '' in the power of subtile argument, he was, perhaps, unmatched, certainly unsurpassed among men." Among his other works published while he was at Stockbridge are 68 AMERICAN LITERATURE " A Dissertation on the Nature of True Virtue," and a treatise on ** Original Sin." 117. President of Princeton. — In 1758 he was called to the presidency of the College of New Jersey, a position which he accepted with hesitancy and misgivings. He questioned his natural aptitude for the office, and hesitated to assume duties that would interfere with the studious habits of his life. In a letter to the trustees, in which he speaks with great frankness, he furnishes some interesting facts about his manner of life. " My College of New Jersey in 1758 (Now Princeton University) method of study," he says, " from my first beginning the work of the ministry, has been very much by writing ; applying myself, in this way, to improve every important hint ; pursuing the clue to my utmost, when any thing in reading, meditation, or conver- sation, has been suggested to my mind, that seemed to promise light in any weighty point ; thus penning what appeared to me my best thoughts, on innumerable subjects, for my own benefit." In the same letter he speaks of a great work that he had on his '' mind and heart " ; namely, his " History of the Work of Re- demption." JONATHAN EDWARDS 69 118. "History of Redemption." — The plan, as he outlines it, reminds us of Milton and Dante. '' This history," he says '' will be carried on with regard to all three worlds, heaven, earth, and hell ; considering the connected, successive events and alter- ations in each so far as the Scriptures give any light ; introducing all parts of divinity in that order which is most Scriptural and most natural, a method which appears to me the most beautiful and entertaining, wherein every divine doctrine will appear to the greatest advantage, in the brightest light, and in the most striking manner, showing the admirable contexture and harmony of the world." This work, so grandly outlined, was left unfinished at his death ; but the manuscript sermons, which formed the basis of it, were reduced to the form of a treatise by his friend Dr. Erskine of Edinburgh, and the work, which has had a wide cir- culation, first appeared in that city in 1777. 119. Last Days. — He was inaugurated as president of the Col- lege of New Jersey in 1758, but performed the duties of his office less than five weeks. The smallpox having made its appearance in Princeton, he deemed it advisable to be inoculated. At that time inoculation was regarded as a more serious thing than at present. The trustees were consulted, and gave their consent. A skilful physician was engaged to come from Philadelphia to perform the operation ; but in spite of all precautions, the inocula- tion terminated fatally. He died March 22, 1758, in the fifty-fifth year of his age. In his last hours he retained the beautiful faith and resignation that had characterized his active life. Shortly before he expired, some friends, not thinking that he heard them, were lamenting the loss that his death would bring to the college and the church. Interrupting them he said, " Trust in God, and ye need not fear." These were his last w^ords. 120. A Biographer's Estimate. — '' Other men have, no doubt, excelled him in particular qualities or accomplishments. There have been far more learned men ; far more eloquent men ; far more enterprising and active men, in the out-door work of the sacred office. But, in the assemblage and happy union of those yo AMERICAN LITERATURE high qualities, intellectual and moral, which constitute finished excellence, as a man, a Christian, a divine, and a philosopher, he was, undoubtedly, one of the greatest and best men that have adorned this, or any other country, since the ApostoHc age." FOR FURTHER READING AND STUDY Consult the general bibliography, page 609. Illustrative annotated selections from Benjamin Franklin and Jonathan Edwards are given on pages 403-422 of this volume. Extracts from the minor writers will be found in Stedman and Hutchinson's '' Library of American Literature," Cairns's '' Early American Writers," Trent and Wells's '' Colonial Prose and Poetry," Trent's '' Southern Writers," MacDonald's '' Documentary Source Book of American History " (1606-1898), and Albert B. Hart's ''American History Told by Contemporaries," Vol. 11. Frankhn's " Autobiography," J. B. McMaster's " Benjamin Franklin " (American Men of Letters Series), J. T. Morse's '' Ben- jamin Franklin " (American Statesmen Series), P. L. Ford's " The Many Sided Franklin," Miller's ''Life of Jonathan Edwards" and A. V. G. Allen's " Life of Jonathan Edwards." In Holmes's " Pages from an Old Volume of Life " will be found an interesting essay on Edwards. Refer to Poole's " Index to Periodical Litera- ture " for numerous magazine and review articles. For the historical background consult the standard American histories. In addition to the works of Fiske and Lodge previously mentioned (p. 37), Fiske's " The Colonial Era " (Scribners), Thwaites's " The Colonies " (Longmans), and Doyle's " EngHsh Colonies in America " (Holt) are recommended. The following poems deal with incidents of this period : Thos. Dunn English's " The Sack of Deerfield," Longfellow's " Ballad of the French Fleet," and Whittier's " Prophecy of Samuel Se- wall." Historical fiction illustrating the Second Colonial Period: Mary Johnston's "Audrey" (1727), William Gilmore Simms's JONATHAN EDWARDS 71 , "The Yemassee" (1715), Amelia E. Barr's ''The Bow of Orange Ribbon " (1706), James Fenimore Cooper's '' The Leather- Stocking Tales" (1750-60), Wm. M. Thackeray's "The Vir- ginians" (1756-83), John Esten Cooke's "The Virginia Come- dians " (1763-65), and R. W. Chambers's " Cardigan " (1744-73). REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD REPRESENTATIVE WRITERS THOMAS JEFFERSON ALEXANDER HAMILTON OTHER WRITERS NEW ENGLAND John Trumbull (1750-1831). Bom in Connecticut, and graduated at Yale. Wrote essays in the style of the Spectator, and in 1782 completed "Mc- Fingal," a satire upon the Tories in the manner of Butler's "Hudibras." (See text.) Joel Barlow (i 754-181 2). Poet and ix)litician, born in Connecticut. In 1787 he published an epic poem entitled " The Vision of Columbus," which appeared anew in revised form in 1805 under the title of "The Columbiad." It is a dull epic, but his "Hasty Pudding" is still readable. Ambassador to France in 181 1. (See text.) Timothy Dwight (i 752-181 7). President of Yale College from 1795 to the time of his death. A theologian whose works are still instructiv^e. He wrote the hymn, "I love Thy Kingdom, Lord," and the patriotic song "Columbia, Columbia, to Glory Arise." John Adams (i 735-1826). Born in Massachusetts. A statesman of great ability; ambassador to England in 1785, and second President of the United States in 1797. He published an elaborate "Defense of the Con- stitution of the United States" (3 vols.) in London in 1787. Mrs. Susanna Rowson (1762-1824). A novelist of English birth, residing in Boston. Her "Charlotte Temple" was the most popular story of its day. Besides a half dozen novels, she wrote several dramatic pieces. Phillis Wheatley (i 753-1 794). A verse writer of African birth. Brought to this country as a slave, she was purchased by Mrs. WTieatley of Boston, by whom she was well educated. Her "Poems on Various Subjects" were published in London in 1773, and gained a temporary popularity. 73 74 AMERICAN LITERATURE MIDDLE STATES Charles Brockden Brown (1771-1810). The first American novelist. Born in Philadelphia. He studied law, but abandoned it for literature. He wrote, " Wieland," "Ormond," and ''Arthur Mervjoi," all of which are characterized by imaginative and sometimes weird ingenuity. (See text.) Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791). A lawyer and politician, bom in Phila- delphia. One of the first graduates of the College of Philadelphia, after- wards the University of Pennsylvania. One of the signers of the Declara- tion of Independence. He wrote many satires, the best known of which is "The Battle of the Kegs." Joseph Hopkinson (1770-1842). A distinguished lawyer. He graduated at the University of Pennsylvania, and was a member of Congress in 1815-1819. He is best known as the author of ''Hail Columbia," which was written for the benefit of a player at a Philadelphia theatre. Philip Freneau (1752-1832). A poet, editor, and poHtical writer, bom in New York and educated at the College of New Jersey. Edited several papers, among which were the N. Y. Daily Advertiser and the National Gazette of Philadelphia. He published several volumes of poems, of which "Lines to a Wild Honeysuckle" and "The Indian Burying Ground" are regarded the best. (See text.) Thomas Paine (173 7-1 809). A native of England, who came to Philadelphia in 1774. His pamphlet entitled "Common Sense," an able defence of the American Colonies, won him the friendship of Washington, Franklin, and other distinguished American leaders. His "Rights of Man" (1791) is an eloquent defence of the French Revolution. "The Age of Reason," written while in a French prison, favors Deism. Hugh Henry Brackenridge (1748-1816). A lawyer and humorist of Phila- delphia, whose works were quite popular in their day. "Modern Chivalry " was his principal work, though he wrote a dramatic poem, "Bunker's Hill," and a few lyrics. Alexander Wilson (i 766-1 813). A Scottish poet and ornithologist, who came to this country in 1794. His narrative poem, "Watty and Meg," had in its day an immense vogue — 100,000 copies sold in a few weeks. But his principal work is "American Ornithology." VIRGINIA James Madison (1751-1836). A great statesman and political writer.- He was Secretary of. State under Jefferson, and in 1809 became President. One of the authors of "The FederaHst." REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 75 John Marshall (i 755-1835). A statesman, and Chief Justice of the United States. He was a captain in the American Revolution, and Secretary of State under John .\dams. As Chief Justice, to which office he was appointed in 1801, he was said to be "conscience made flesh, reason incarnate." His "Life of Washington" is an elaborate and judicious biography. William Wirt (17 7 2-1 834). A native of Maryland, he long resided in Vir- ginia, where he practised law and served in the legislature. He was attorney general of the United States, 181 7-1829. He afterwards settled in Baltimore. He wrote "Letters of a British Spy," containing sketches of popular orators, and a "Life of Patrick Henry," an excellent biography. George Washington (173 2-1 799). Commander-in-Chief during the Revolu- tion and first President of the United States. His writings, including his diary and correspondence, fill fourteen volumes. His "Farewell Address" would be sufficient to give him a place in the literature of his country. Contemporary Writers in England Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816) ; Edmund Burke (1730-1797); Edward Gibbon (i 737-1 794); Samuel Johnson (1709-1784); William CowPER ( 1 731-1800); Oliver Goldsmith (1728- 1 784); Robert Burns (1759-1796); Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823); Jane Austen (i 775-181 7) ; Robert Southey (i 774-1843). Ill THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD (1763-1815) 121. Two Important Events. — The Revolutionary Period embraces about fifty years, and includes two events of great importance. The first of these is the War of Independence ; the other, the adoption of the Constitution. Around these two events gathers nearly all the Hterature of the time. This literature can be understood only as we comprehend the spirit and principles of the founders of our republic. No other period better illustrates the relation of literature to prevailing social conditions. For half a century the struggle against British injustice and oppression, and the establishment of a great national government, absorbed a large part of the intellectual energies of the people. Great practical questions were pressing for solution. It was the age of political pamphlets and popular oratory. The literature of the time arose, not to enrich the treasures of artistic expression, but to mould and move popular thought and action. CONTEMPORARY EVENTS IN ENGLAND George III, 1 760-1 820. Colonization of Australia, 1802. Stamp Act, 1765. Abolition of Slave Trade, 1807. American War, 1775-1783. The Peninsular War, 1808-18 14. War with France, 1793. Second War with America, 181 2. Union of Great Britain and Ireland, 1800. South Africa Acquired, 1815. 76 THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 77 122. Patriotic Heroism. — The leaders of the revolutionary movement were heroes. We cannot peruse their determined and often eloquent words without being moved with admira- tion. There is an ardor in them that kindles anew the spirit of freedom. The deliberate and resolute courage of the Revolutionary patriots has never been surpassed. True to the spirit of their forefathers, who had sought refuge from op- pression in the wilds of a new continent, they were bravely jealous of their liberties. With Anglo-Saxon fidelity they were loyal to England until repeated and inexcusable acts of tyr- anny drove them into resistance. It was only when the hope of receiving justice from the mother country had com- pletely died out, that the desire and purpose of independence arose. 123. British Tyranny. — The general cause of the Revolu- tion was the stupid and tyrannical claim of the British govern- ment " to bind the colonies in all things whatsoever." The fatal course of George III and of his ministers may be best explained as a madness sent from heaven, like the hardening of Pharaoh's heart, to prepare the way for the coming of a great nation. For many years the British king, supported by Parliament, had pursued a policy of usurpation and tyranny. The Hst of grievances in the Declaration of Independence, where each statement points to a particular fact, makes up a terrific indictment. Jefferson was only faithful to facts when he declared, " The history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of unremitting injuries and usurpations, among which appears no solitary fact to contradict the uniform tenor of the rest, but all have in direct object the estabHshment of an absolute tyranny over these states." The petitions and re- monstrances of the colonists remained unnoticed. The king demanded absolute and abject submission. 78 AMERICAN LITERATURE 124. Spirit of Liberty. — But it was impossible that the people of America should become a race of slaves. Liberty was a part of their inheritance as EngHshmen. They cherished the memory of Magna Charta and the Bill of Rights of 1689. The tragic fate of Charles I, brought to the block for his tyr- anny, was not forgotten. The hardships and dangers con- nected with the subjugation of an untamed continent had served to develop their native strength, courage, and inde- pendence. They were the last people in the world tamely to submit to oppression and wrong. They maintained that, by nature as well as by common law, the right of taxation rests with the people. To take their property by taxation without their consent was justly held to be tyranny. When, in viola- tion of this fundamental principle of civil liberty, the British government persisted in the claim to tax the colonies at pleas- ure, the inevitable result was united and resolute resistance. 125. A Group of Statesmen. — The necessities of the times produced a generation of poHtical thinkers and writers. The Continental Congress of 1774, which included among its mem- bers Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams, was one of extraordinary abihty. No abler legislative body ever came together. The leaders of popular thought were forced to reflect upon the fundamental principles of government. The result was a clearness of vision in relation to human rights that is almost without parallel. The discussions and state papers of the time have extorted praise from the ablest European statesmen. Many of the speeches of the time possess an eloquence that compares favorably with the highest oratory of either ancient or modern times. While the belles-lettres literature of the Revolutionary Period is insignificant in both quantity and quality, no more interesting or important body of political literature was ever brought together in the same THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 79 space of time. It is necessary to mention only the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and " The Federalist." 126. Independence. — In the beginning of the revolu- tionary movement, the people of America did not aim at inde- pendence. They were loyal to England. At first their object was simply to correct the injustice done them by the British government. Their petitions were accompanied with sincere professions of loyalty to the British crown. But the spirit of independence imperceptibly gained in strength. At last, as the conflict deepened, separation from Great Britain became inevitable. Submission and reconciliation were no longer possible. On the 4th of July, 1776, the representatives of the colonies, in Congress assembled, issued their sublime Declara- tion of Independence, and America entered upon its career of grandeur and freedom. 127. Unjust Taxation. — The Americans based the justice of their cause on two grounds : first, their rights as English- men ; and second, their natural rights as men. Since the days of the Great Charter, the king had been denied the right of imposing taxes at pleasure. The attempt to do so was an act of tyranny that had already cost one king his head. The colonies maintained that they were not under the jurisdiction of ParHament. They were not represented in that body. The right of taxation rested only with their own popular assemblies. The effort of ParHament to impose taxes upon them was, therefore, an evident usurpation of authority. 128. Natural Rights. — But the American colonists went farther than a defence of their rights under the constitution and common law of England. They appealed to their natural rights as men. '' Among the natural rights of the colonists," wrote Samuel Adams in 1772, *' are these: first, a right to life ; secondly, to hberty ; thirdly, to property — together 8o AMERICAN LITERATURE with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can." In the Declaration of Independence the same appeal is made to fundamental natural principles. 129. Defect of the Confederation. — The happy issue of the Revolution in 1783 settled forever the questions which related to British oppression, and which for twenty years had so largely occupied the thought of Americans. Then followed an era of discussion in relation to the form and powers of the national government. During the Revolution there had been no central power. Under the Articles of Confederation adopted in 1778, the colonies were organized into a loose con- federacy. Congress was narrowly restricted in its powers, and the ratification of nine States was necessary to complete an act of legislation. " The fundamental defect of the Con- federation," says Jefferson, "was that Congress was not author- ized to act immediately on the people, and by its own officers. Their power was only requisitory ; and these requisitions were addressed to the several legislatures, to be by them carried into execution, without other coercion than the moral principle of duty. This allowed, in fact, a negative to every legislature, on every measure proposed by Congress ; a negative so fre- quently exercised in practice, as to benumb the action of the Federal government, and to render it inefficient in its general objects, and more especially in pecuniary and foreign concerns." During the continuance of the Revolution, the sense of common danger naturally held the colonies together. The requisitions of Congress were generally compHed with. But after the war, the country fell into great disorder and distress, and the inade- quacy of the Confederation became generally apparent. 130. Framing the Constitution. — Accordingly, in 1787, a general convention was held in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. Washington was chosen president. THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 8l A committee of revision submitted as its report the first draft of the present Constitution of the United States. The dis- cussions, which were secret, lasted for several months ; and in view of conflicting opinions and interests, the convention was several times on the point of giving up in despair. The nation trembled on the brink of dissolution and ruin. But in each instance further deliberation resulted in compromise and agreement. When completed, the Constitution did not wholly satisfy any one; it was unanimously accepted, how- ever, •as the best result attainable under the circumstances. It remedied the obvious defects of the Articles of Confedera- tion. It estabHshed a national government with legislative, executive, and judicial departments ; and the results thus far have justified the judgment of Gladstone, that it is " the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man." 131. Federalist and Anti-Federalist. — After the comple- tion of the work of the convention, the Constitution came before the people of the several States for ratification or rejec- tion. For the first time the American people were divided into two great parties. All local differences were swallowed up in the larger issue relating to the national government. Those who favored the adoption of the Constitution were known as Federalists ; those who opposed it were called Anti- Federah$ts. Pohtical feehng ran high. The question of ratification was discussed in the newspaper and debated in the public assembly. Party opinion was sometimes emphasized by mob violence. In New York the leader of the Anti-Fed- eralists was Governor Clinton. The leader on the opposite side was Hamilton, who, in cooperation with Madison and Jay, largely influenced popular sentiment by the series of powerful essays known collectively as '' The Federalist." In Virginia, 82 AMERICAN LITERATURE Patrick Henry used all his influence and eloquence to prevent the adoption of the Constitution ; but he was successfully opposed by Edmund Randolph, governor of the State. 132. Grounds of Opposition and Support. — The general ground of opposition lay, first, in dislike of a strong national government ; and secondly, in the absence of sufficient guar- antees (since supplied by amendments) to secure the liberties of the people. The reasons in favor of adoption are succinctly stated in the preamble of the Constitution itself : namely, " to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity." 133. The New Government. — In spite of the strong feeling against the Constitution, it was ratified by eleven States before the end of 1788. The following year the new government was inaugurated, with Washington as the unanimous choice of the people for president. There remained, however, many perplexing questions to be settled. The financial policy of the government; the relations of the United States with foreign powers ; the acquisition of new territory — these were some of the questions that engaged the attention of thoughtful minds. In 181 2 it again became necessary to meet British insolence and aggression by force. The ground of hostilities was compressed into the rallying cry of '' Free trade and sailors' rights." In a conflict lasting more than two years, England was again defeated. With the happy solution of all these prob- lems, and the rapid development in population and wealth, the United States at last assumed an honorable place among the great family of nations. 134. Theology and Poetry. — Such were the prevailing influences controlling literature during the Revolutionary THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 83 Period. It would be a mistake, however, to suppose that the entire literary activity of the country was confined to popular oratory, political pamphlets, and official documents. The- ology was not entirely neglected ; and Timothy Dwight's ^'Theology Ex- plained and De- fended," in a series of sermons, was a standard in its day, and may still be studied with profit. The mighty influences at work naturally sought an auxil- iary in poetry. Accordingly, we find a large num- ber of satires, more or less ex- tended, many popular ballads, mostly crude in composition, and at least one pre- tentious epic, so stately and tedious that it is never read. Here and there we find a poem or other literary production independent of the pclitical controversies of the time. Such is Philip Freneau's " The Wild Honeysuckle " : — "Fair flower, that dost so comely grow, Hid in this silent, dull retreat, Untouched thy honey'd blossoms blow, Philip Freneau ^4 AMERICAN LITERATURE Unseen thy little branches greet: No roving foot shall find thee here, No busy hand provoke a tear." 135. Charles Brockden Brown. — Here should be men- tioned the work of Charles Brockden Brown, who among our Charles Brockden Brown native authors has the credit of first adopting literature as a profession. His early years were marked by an extraordinary fondness for study and by a rare precocity of genius. Virgil and Homer stirred his poetic impulses, and scarcely out of THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 85 school, he planned three epic poems connected with American history. Columbus, Cortez, and Pizarro appealed to him as epic heroes. He first gave himself to the practice of law ; but like not a few others in the history of American literature, he soon abandoned the bar for the pen. He became a contributor to the periodical literature of New York and Philadelphia, and in 1803, in the latter city, he founded the Literary Magazine and American Register, which had a career of five years. He was not indif- ferent to the political questions of his day ; and in his "Cession of Louisiana to France," he advocated, with decided energy of style, the purchase of that region and the progressive terri- torial expansion of the United States. 136. His Various Novels. — But Brown's principal claim to a place in the history of our literature depends upon his fiction. In spite of his feeble health, which necessitated the utmost care in diet and exercise, he wrote no fewer than six novels, among which " Wieland," " Ormond," " Arthur Mervyn " and " Edgar Huntley " deserve special mention. He was influenced in his matter and style by the EngHsh novel- ist William Godwin, in whose " Caleb Williams " he finds " transcendent merits as compared to the mass of novels." He deals with the mysterious ; but in spite of their improb- ability, his novels still possess an unmistakable power. Though lacking in the delineation of character, he has something of Poe's power in describing weird scenes and morbid psychologic conditions. 137. A Political Satire. — The principal satire of the period is John Trumbull's '' McFingal," which was undertaken, as he tells us, ''with a political view, at the instigation of some leading members of the first Congress," and was published in part in Philadelphia in 1775. It is written in imitation of 86 AMERICAN LITERATURE Butler's " Hudibras," and does not suffer in comparison with that famous'satire upon the Puritans of England. Some of its lines are easily mis- taken for Butler's, and have been so quoted; for example : — ''A thief ne'er felt the halter draw With good opinion of the law." Or this, — "For any man with half an eye What stands before him may espy But optics sharp it needs, I ween, To see what is not to be seen." Trumbull does not always spare his coun- trymen. In the following lines there is a very good hit at slavery. After describing the erection of a liberty-pole, he con- tinues : — "And on its top, the flag unfurled Waved triumph o'er the gazing world, Inscribed with inconsistent types Of liberty and thirteen stripes." The hero McFingal is a Tory squire, who in resisting the Whigs comes to grief, and suffers the peculiar revolutionary punishment of tar and feathers. 138. '' Yankee Doodle." — '' Yankee Doodle " belongs to this period. The tune is an old one ; and the hero himself. John Trumbull THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 87 who had previously figured in Holland and England may be regarded as American only by adoption. The song was first used in derision of the motley troops of the colonies ; but like many another term of reproach, Yankee Doodle was taken up by the American soldiery, and made a designation of honor. The first complete set of words appears to date from 1775, and is entitled *' The Yankee's Return from Camp." "Father and I went down to camp Along with Captain Gooding And there we see the men and boys As thick as hasty- pudding." 139. Our First Epic. — In 1807 '' The Co- lumbiad," an epic poem in ten books, by Joel Barlow, made its appearance in a sumptuous edition. It is our first epic poem, and this fact constitutes its principal claim upon our attention. The plan of the work is very simple. While Columbus is lying in prison, the victim of his country's in- gratitude, Hesper appears, and conducts him to the " hill of vision " commanding the western continent. Here the celestial visitant unfolds to the great discoverer the history of America, including the conquest of Mexico by Cortez, the Joel Barlow 88 AMERICAN LITERATURE establishment of the English colonies, the French and Indian War, and the Revolution. Last of all, " the progress and influences of modern art and science are pointed out, the advantages of the federal government, and of a larger con- federation of nations, with an assimilation and unity of languages; and abandonment of war, and a final blaze of rockets over the emancipation of the world from prejudice, and general millennium of philosophic joy and freedom." THOMAS JEFFERSON 140. Men and Epochs. — Do great epochs make great men, or do great men make great epochs ? This question has often been discussed ; and the consideration of every important era is Hkely to start it afresh. Neither question is true to the exclusion of the other. Great epochs and great men go together, each exerting an influence upon the other. In a nation, as in an individual, there is usually a large amount of ability unutilized. Under or- dinary conditions it lies latent. When there comes that conflict of ideas, and often of physical force, which marks a new stage in human progress, the latent energies of the people are roused to action : great men rise to meet the responsibilities and to seize the opportunities presented to them. They often succeed in directing or controlling the new movement, and out of chaos they bring forth order and beauty. 141. Jefferson's Rank. — Among the great men developed and brought into prominence by the conflict with Great Britain, a very high place must be assigned to Thomas Jefferson. After Washington, whom a grateful country has invested with an al- most ideal beauty, he must be ranked with Adams, Franklin, and Hamilton, as one of the founders of our republic. Among 89 Thomas Jefferson 90 AMERICAN LITERATURE the many distinguished sons whom Virginia has given to America, Jefferson stands very close after " the father of his country." His labors in the Legislature of Virginia, in the Continental Con- gress, and afterwards in the president's chair, displayed the wis- dom and the patriotism of a great statesman. 142. Ancestry. — Thomas Jefferson was born in Albemarle County, April 2, 1743. His father, who was of Welsh descent, was a man of no great learning, but of excellent judgment and great phys- ical strength. His mother, who was a Randolph, belonged to one of the most distinguished Virginia families. The Randolphs traced their pedigree to noble families in England and Scotland — a fact " to which," says Jefferson in his " Autobiography," *' let every one ascribe the faith and merit he chooses." Considering the mental and physical traits of his father and mother, we see that Jefferson was fortunate in his parentage. 143. At College. — After an excellent preparatory training, including English, French, Latin, and Greek, Jefferson entered WilHam and Mary College, which was generally patronized at that time by the aristocratic families of Virginia. He was a diligent student, often working, as he tells us, fifteen hours a day. He united a decided taste for both mathematics and the classics. He had little taste for fiction, and it is said that " Don Quixote " is the only novel he ever keenly relished or read a second time. He delighted in poetry, and read Homer, Horace, Tasso, Moliere, Shakespeare, Milton, and Pope. For a time he was extravagantly fond of Ossian, and " was not ashamed to own that he thought this rude bard of the North the greatest poet that had ever existed." But many years before his death he formed a juster estimate of Macpherson's forgeries. He took no interest in meta- physical studies, and frequently expressed '' unmitigated contempt for Plato and his writings." 144. A Student of Law. — While in WilHamsburg, at that time the capital of the State, Jefferson became a law student under George Wythe, one of the ablest and purest lawyers Virginia has produced. He won the favor of Governor Fauquier, at whose THOMAS JEFFERSON 9 1 table he was a frequent guest. '' With him," Jefferson writes, " Dr. Small and Mr. Wythe, his amici omnium horarum, and myself formed a partie guarree, and to the habitual conversations on these occasions I owed much instruction. ' ' This intimate fellow- ship with learned and distinguished men while he was yet scarcely out of his teens, indicates the presence of no ordinary intellectual and social gifts. 145. Legal Career. — In 1767, at the age of twenty-four, Jefferson entered upon the practice of law. His preparation had been thorough, and he was eminently successful from the start. Though he was not, like his friend Patrick Henry, an eloquent speaker, he was a man of excellent judgment and untir- ing industry. While capable of seizing at once upon the strong points of a case, he had a genius for details. Nothing can surpass the minuteness of his observations, and the patience of his methodi- cal classification. He was rapidly advancing to a prominent place among the ablest lawyers of Virginia, when the struggle with Great Britain called him to a wider and more important field of action. 146. In the House of Burgesses. — In 1769 Jefferson was elected a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses for his native county. The aristocratic class, to which he belonged by birth and association, was generally conservative. They were loyal to the English crown and to the English church. It speaks forcibly for Jefferson's patriotism and for his noble independence of char- acter, that he threw off his inherited prejudices and sided with the colonies. At this meeting of the House of Burgesses resolu- tions were passed boldly declaring that the right of levying taxes in Virginia belonged to themselves ; that they possessed the privi- lege of petitioning the king for a redress of grievances ; and that the transportation to England of persons accused of treason in the colonies, in order to be tried there, was unconstitutional and unjust. In advocating these resolutions, Jefferson took a decided and promi- nent part. 147. Marriage. — In 1772 Jefferson married Mrs. Martha Skelton, a young widow of great attractions in person, mind, 92 AMERICAN LITERATURE and estate. She was of frank, warm-hearted disposition; and '' last, not least, she had already proved a true daughter of the Old Dominion in the department of house- wifery." She added to her husband's estate, which was already very large, about forty thousand acres of land and one hundred and thirty-five slaves. Thus they were unembarrassed by those disagreeable domestic economies that sometimes interfere with wedded bliss; and jiuxiiciiLLo, Iluiii:: ur Thomas Jepeerson Monticello became as noted for bounteous hospitality as for domes- tic felicity. 148. Committee of Correspondence. — In 1773 Jefferson was again in the House of Burgesses. The gathering storm became more threatening. A resolution, ordering the appointment of a committee of correspondence with the other colonies, was passed. Jefferson was a leading member of this committee, and its duties were promptly and ably discharged. The result was of the high- est importance. Similar committees were appointed in the other colonies; and thus a means of communication was opened THOMAS JEFFERSON 93 among them, the feeling of common interest was strengthened, and a general congress met the following year to consider the great questions that were agitating the continent. 149. A Day of Fasting and Prayer. — In 1774 the British Par- liament, in retaliation for the famous " Tea Party," passed the Boston Port Bill, which aimed to deprive that town of its foreign trade. When the news of this bill reached Williamsburg, the patriot leaders, Jefferson, Henry, the Lees, and others, met as usual for consultation, and resolved to take steps to rouse the '' people from the lethargy into which they had fallen." A day of fasting and prayer was agreed on as the best expedient to accom- plish their object. Accordingly, a resolution was " cooked up," to use Jefferson's rather irreverent phrase, " appointing the first day of June, on which the Port Bill was to commence, for a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, to implore Heaven to avert from us the evils of civil war, to inspire us with firmness in the support of our rights, and to turn the hearts of the king and parliament to moderation and justice." The scheme was successfully carried through. The day was fittingly observed ; and the effect through- out the colony was like an electric shock, arousing every man to a sense of the situation. 150. ''Rights of British America." — Jefferson was prevented by illness from attending the convention which met several months later to elect delegates to the first general congress. But he for- warded a paper which he proposed as instructions for their guid- ance. The paper was regarded as too strong for formal adoption by the convention ; but it was ordered to be printed in pamphlet form, under the title of " A Summary View of the Rights of British America." It is a production remarkable for its strong statement of the natural and constitutional rights of the colonies, and for a particular enumeration of the various acts of injustice and tyranny on the part of the British government. It supplied principles, facts, and phrases for the Declaration of Independence two years later. 151. A Member of Congress. — In June, 1775, Jefferson took his seat in the Continental Congress. He was then thirty- two 94 AMERICAN LITERATURE years old — the youngest member but one in that illustrious body. His reputation as a writer and patriot had preceded him, and he accordingly met with a flattering reception. He now entered upon that larger sphere of action that closely identified him for many years with his country's history. On the floor of Congress he spoke but little, for he was neither an orator nor a debater. But he was so clear in his convictions, and so active in committee and in his personal relations with his fellow- members, that he exerted a strong influence. " Prompt, frank, explicit, and decisive" are the terms in which John Adams described him at this period. He had been in Congress but five days when he was appointed on a committee to prepare a report on "the causes of taking up arms against England." Here, as in the Virginia legislature, he showed himself bold, resolute, and defiant. 152. Declaration of Independence. — Events of great impor- tance now followed one another in rapid succession. The blood shed at Lexington and Bunker Hill had thoroughly roused the American people. Reconciliation was recognized, even by the most conservative, as no longer possible. The colonies, throw- ing off British rule, were organizing independent governments. On the 7th of June, Richard Henry Lee, acting under instruc- tions from the Virginia convention, offered in Congress a reso- lution declaring that the " United States are, and of a right ought to be, free and independent states." As it seemed impossible to secure unanimity of action at that time, a final vote was post- poned till the first of July. Meanwhile, a committee, consisting of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston, was appointed to prepare a suitable Declaration of Independence. The preparation of this important document devolved upon Jefferson. Adams and Frank- lin made a few verbal changes. When taken up in Congress, it was discussed for two days, and numerous changes and omissions were made. Finally, on July 4, 1776, it was almost unanimously adopted, and the foundation of a great repubhc was laid. THOMAS JEFFERSON 95 153. Law of Religious Freedom. — A new government had been established in Virginia, and Jefferson elected a member of the legislature. BeHeving that he could render important service to his native State, where there were " many very vicious points which urgently required reformation," he resigned his seat in Congress. He became once more a leading spirit in the legislature of Virginia, and carried through several bills which changed in large measure the subsequent social condition of the State. Among these was a bill abolishing the system of entails, and another es- tablishing religious freedom, — one of the three great acts of his life for which he wished to be remembered. 154. Educational System. — It was also in connection with a bill requiring a general revision of the laws that Jefferson proposed his educational system, providing for the establishment of schools of every grade. Had it been carried out, it would have contrib- uted immeasurably to the intelligence of the people and the pros- perity of the State. His plan contemplated, to use his own words, *' I St. Elementary schools, for all children generally, rich and poor. 2d. Colleges for a middle degree of instruction, calculated for the common purposes of life, and such as would be desirable for all who wxre in easy circumstances. And 3d. An ultimate grade for teaching the sciences generally, and in their highest degree." The support of these schools was to be provided by general taxation. But inasmuch as the system thus threw on the rich and aristocratic classes, who had the law-making power in their hands, a large part of the burden of educating the poor, it was never carried into effect. 155. Varied Public Services. — It is beyond the limits of this sketch to trace at any length the subsequent public career of Jefferson. In 1779 he was elected governor of Virginia, and discharged the duties of that office, at a difficult period, with fidelity and ability. In 1783 he was again elected a delegate to Congress. The currency of the country coming under discus- sion, Jefferson proposed the dollar as our unit of account and payment, and its subdivision into dimes, cents, and mills in the g6 AMERICAN LITERATURE decimal ratio — the system, it is needless to say, that was adopted. In 1784 he was appointed to go to France, for the purpose of nego- tiating, in connection with Franklin and Adams, treaties of com- merce. After a time he was appointed minister at the Court of Versailles, where his talents, culture, and character reflected credit upon his country. 156. Secretary of State. — In 1789 Jefferson received permis- sion to return to this country. During his absence the Consti- tution had been adopted, and the new government inaugurated, with Washington as President. Jefferson accepted a place in the cabinet as Secretary of State. He reached New York, the seat of government at that time, in March, 1790. Having left France the first year of its Revolution, he was filled with ardor for the natural rights of man. He was therefore surprised and grieved to find, as he thought, a sentiment prevailing in favor of a consolidated or even monarchical form of government. 157. An Advocate of State Rights. — This introduces us to a new phase in Jefferson's life. With immovable convictions in favor of democratic principles, he opposed with all his might the tendency to consolidate or centraHze the federal government. He became the recognized leader of the party in favor of State rights and a general government of restricted and carefully defined powers. His opponent in the cabinet was Alexander Hamilton, a man of extraordinary ability and energy, who for a time exerted great influence upon the policy of the government. In spite of Washington's effort to preserve harmony, the irreconcilable conflict of principles between the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury degenerated into bitter personal hostility. At length, in December, 1793, Jefferson carried out his long-cherished purpose of resigning. 158. In the White House. — During the next several years, Jefferson lived upon his estate at Monticello, engaged in the agricultural pursuits for which he had longed for many years. But he was not to spend the rest of his life in retirement. In the elec- tion of 1 801, which was attended with extraordinary excitement THOMAS JEFFERSON 97 and danger to the republic, the Federalists, who had controlled the government for twelve years, were defeated. Their party was divided, and the Alien and Sedition Laws were not sustained by public sentiment. Jefferson, the candidate of the Republican or Democratic party, was chosen President. In his inaugural ad- dress he laid down an admirable summary of principles, among which were " equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none; absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority; and economy in the public expense, that labor may be hghtly burdened." 159. His Administration. — His administration, in conformity with the principles he had announced, was a brilliant one. He introduced republican simpUcity in place of the stately formali- ties of previous administrations. He greatly reduced the public debt ; the territorial area of the United States was doubled ; taxes were decreased ; a war with France and Spain was honorably averted ; the Barbary pirates were subdued ; and the internal prosperity of the country vastly increased. His popularity became second only to that of Washington himself. He was accordingly re-elected for a second term, throughout which he continued, likewise, to administer the affairs of the government with great wisdom and broad statesmanship. 160. The University of Virginia. — In 1809, after witnessing the inauguration of his successor, Madison, Jefferson left Wash- ington for Monticello. After forty years of poHtical turmoil and strife, he retired finally to the seclusion of private Hfe. Dur- ing this closing period, which was burdened by financial embarrass- ment, he gave much time and labor to the founding of the Uni- versity of Virginia. He planned the buildings, designated the departments of instruction, and framed the laws for its govern- ment. As president of the Board, he exerted a controUing influ- ence for a number of years. The scheme of government at first proposed, which included a co-operative feature, did not come 98 AMERICAN LITERATURE up to his expectations. It erred on the side of laxity ; and very soon a spirit of riot and insubordination among the students brought the university to the verge of dissolution. Stricter regu- lations were afterwards adopted, and the university entered upon its career of usefulness and honor. 161. His Death. — With advancing years naturally came in- creased infirmity. As the end drew near in the summer of 1826, he earnestly desired to see one more return of the day that com- memorated the Declaration of Independence. His prayer was heard. He passed away on the morning of July 4, fifty years after the adoption of his immortal Declaration. A nation mourned his death. The voice of partisan prejudice was lost for a time in the general homage paid to his life and character. He was buried at Monticello, where a modest granite shaft marks his resting-place. It bears the inscription composed by himself and found among his papers : — HERE LIES BURIED THOMAS JEFFERSON, AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, OF THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA. 162. Estimate of His Character. — The general features of his character have been brought out in the course of this sketch. He was a frank and honest man; and as he expressed himself freely in his writings, we have ample facilities for knowing him well. His intellect was capacious, penetrating, and strong. To the refinement of a superior literary culture he added rich stores of general information. He was singularly independent in thought and action — a natural leader among men. He was a prince among statesmen. The services he rendered his country are second, only to those of Washington. His fundamental poHtical faith was that all legitimate government is based on the consent of the governed. He had faith in humanity, and was opposed to THOMAS JEFFERSON 99 aristocratic institutions of every kind. He was the friend of popular liberty. His integrity was above reproach. He loved a life of simplicity and retirement; and nowhere else does he appear more admirable than in the patriarchal dignity with which he presided over his large estate and numerous dependents at Monticello. ALEXANDER HAMILTON 163. Influence of Hered- ity. — It is not without reason that we inquire after the ancestry of our great men. The transmission of personal and national traits from parents to children is a well-established fact. While heredity does not explain every peculiarity in off- spring, it often furnishes us a key to leading traits. In order to understand any character thoroughly, it is necessary to know his ante- cedents. All this is illus- trated in Alexander Hamil- who was born on the island of Nevis, Jan. ii, 1757. '' From his father, a cool, deliberate, calculating Scotchman, he inherited the shrewdness, the logical habits of thought, which constitute the peculiar glory of the Scottish mind. From his mother, a lady of French extraction, and the daughter of a Hugue- not exile, he inherited the easy manners, the liveliness and vivacity, the keen sense of humor, the desire and the ability to please, which so eminently distinguish the children of the Celtic race." ^ 164. Youthful Ambition. — When yet a mere boy, he was placed in a clerkship, and entrusted with the management of im- portant interests. He met the responsibilities thrown upon him 1 McMaster, History of the People of the United States. 100 Alexander Hamilton ton, ALEXANDER HAMILTON lOI with extraordinary ability. But he was not at peace in the drudg- ery of his position. He felt in himself, as many other great men have felt in youth, the promise of higher things. In a letter pre- served to us from this period, he says : ''I contemn the grovelling condition of a clerk, or the like, to which my fortune condemns me, and would willingly risk my life, though not my character, to exalt my station. I am confident, Ned, that my youth excludes me from any hopes of immediate preferment, nor do I desire it ; but I mean to prepare the way for futurity." This ambitious purpose in a boy of thirteen contains the promise of future dis- tinction. 165. Education. — He had a decided bent for Hterature. Pope and Plutarch were at that time his favorite authors. His unusual King's College about 1760 (Now Columbia University) abiUties began to attract attention, and finally funds were pro- vided to send him to America, where a wider field of opportunity was open to him. He reached Boston in October, 1772, and thence went to New York. By the advice of judicious friends, he entered a grammar school at Elizabethtown, where he pursued his studies with restless energy. His literary instinct found vent in both prose and poetry, which possessed noteworthy merit. I02 AMERICAN LITERATURE At the end of a year he entered King's (afterwards Columbia) College, where he continued his studies with characteristic vigor. " In the debating club," it has been said, " he was the most effec- tive speaker; in the recitation-room, the most thorough scholar; on the green, the most charming friend; in the trial of wit, the keenest satirist." Those who knew " the young West Indian," as he was called, recognized something extraordinary in him, and vaguely speculated about his promising future. 166. A Colonial Patriot. — The colonies were now deeply stirred over their relations with England. The Revolutionary storm was gathering fast. Which side of the conflict was the prom- ising young collegian to espouse? His inclinations were at first on the side of Great Britain ; but it was not long " until he became convinced," to use his own words, '^ by the superior force of the arguments in favor of the colonial claims." Perhaps he instinc- tively felt, or with keen penetration discerned, that the eminence to which he aspired lay on the colonial side. An occasion was soon offered to embark in the patriot cause. A mass meeting was held in July, 1774, to urge New York, which was in possession of the Tories, to take its place along with the other colonies in resisting British aggression. Hamilton was present; and not satisfied with the presentation of the colonial cause in the speeches already delivered, he made his way to the stand, and after a few moments of embarrassment and hesitation, he astonished and captivated the crowd by an extraordinary outburst of youthful oratory. 167. A Pamphleteer. — During the Revolutionary Period pubHc opinion was largely influenced by political pamphlets and elab- orate discussions in the newspapers. Hamilton was soon intro- duced into this species of controversy, for which his natural abilities fitted him in an eminent degree. In the discussion of political and constitutional questions he had no superior. In 1774 there appeared two ably written tracts that attacked the Continental Congress, and did the patriot cause considerable harm. To counteract their influence, Hamilton wrote two pamphlets in ALEXANDER HAMILTON . 103 reply; and so ably did he vindicate the claims of the colonies, that in spite of his youth he at once took rank as a leader among the patriots. 168. Resistance to Mob Violence. — Once fairly enlisted in the cause of American liberty, Hamilton's fiery nature made him active and aggressive. By pen and voice he continued to mould pubhc opinion. But his ardor never betrayed him into rashness. His love of order and justice restrained him from inconsiderate violence. He even risked his life and (what was perhaps more to him) his reputation with the people, in resisting the madness of a mob. When the British ship of war Asia opened fire on New York, a mob thronged the streets, threatening destruction to every Tory. Dr. Cooper, the president of the college, was one of the most prominent adherents of the crown; and thither the crowd rushed, bent upon mischief. But Hamilton already stood on the steps of the building, and arrested the tumultuous throng with his vigorous expostulations. 169. A Military Officer. — But Hamilton's efforts in behalf of the colonies were not confined to words. After the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, it became increasingly evident that a peaceful solution of the controversy with Great Britain was no longer possible. In preparation for the inevitable appeal to arms, Hamilton studied military science, and to gain practical experience joined a company of volunteers. In several trying situations he displayed unflinching courage. In 1776 the New York convention ordered the organization of an artillery com- pany. Hamilton made application for the command, and estab- lished his fitness by a successful examination. He rapidly re- cruited his company, and expended of his own means to equip it. By constant drill he brought it to a high degree of efficiency. At the battle of .Long Island and of White Plains his battery rendered effective service. At the end of six months Hamilton had won the reputation of a brave and brilliant officer. 170. On Washington's Staff .— The ability of Hamilton did not escape the attention of the commander-in-chief. Accord- 104 AMERICAN LITERATURE ingly, in March, 1777, he was appointed a member of Wash- ington's staff, with the rank of Ueutenant-colonel. During the next four years he was intimately associated with the command- ing general, and in various capacities rendered him valuable aid. His chief duty, however, was the conduct of Washington's large correspondence. For this work his great natural gifts, as well as his previous training, peculiarly fitted him. A large part of the letters and proclamations issuing from headquarters at this time were the work of Hamilton. No doubt the great commander indicated their substance; but their admirable form was due, in part at least, to the skill of his able secretary. 171. A Display of Anger. — But Hamilton's connection with Washington's staff came to an abrupt and unexpected end in February, 1781. Having been sent for by the commander-in- chief, he failed to respond promptly to the summons. When he made his appearance, after a brief delay, he was sharply reproved by Washington, who charged him with disrespect. The rebuke touched Hamilton's high-strung nature, and he replied : ''I am not conscious of it. Sir; but since you have thought it, we part." Under all the circumstances it seems difficult to justify this out- burst of the youthful aide. But he never liked the office of an aide-de-camp ; and there is reason to believe that he was irritated because he had not been preferred to more important posts to which he aspired. Though he rejected Washington's overtures looking to a restoration of their former relations, he continued to serve in the army with the rank of colonel, and at Yorktown he led an assault upon a British redoubt with resistless impetuosity. 172. An Unpopular Leader. — Hamilton was never popular with the masses. His positive and aggressive character raised him above the low arts of the demagogue. He preferred to guide rather than to flatter the people. But he was never without loyal friends. His extraordinary force of character made him a centre of attraction for less positive natures. While his natural gifts made him a recognized leader, his generous nature inspired a loyal devotion. He was popular with his associates in the army ; and ALEXANDER HAMILTON 105 the French officers especially, whose language he spoke with native fluency, regarded him with enthusiastic affection. 173. A Statesman. — Whether under favorable circumstances Hamilton would have made a great general must remain a matter of speculation. But war was not the sphere for which his talents were best adapted. He was eminently gifted to be a statesman ; and while in active service in the army, he could not refrain from considering the political and financial needs of the country, and from suggesting a remedy for existing evils. In 1780 he addressed to Robert Morris, the financier of the Revolution, an anonymous letter, which is noted for the penetration with which it treats of the financial difficulties of the colonies. 174. Marriage and Independence. — But Hamilton's thirst for military and civic glory did not prevent him from falling in love. There is no security against the shafts of Cupid but flight. On Dec. 14, 1780, he married Miss Elizabeth Schuyler, daughter of General Schuyler, and a charming and intelligent woman. Apart from the domestic happiness it brought him, the marriage allied him to an old, wealthy, and influential family. The only fortune Hamilton brought his bride was his brilliant talents and growing reputation ; but when his father-in-law generously offered him financial aid, he proudly declined to receive it. Conscious of his abilities, he felt able to make his way in the world alone. After leaving the army he entered upon the study of law, and after a brief course he was admitted to the bar in 1782. His strong logical mind and his great force of character fitted him to achieve distinc- tion in the legal profession. But his country had need of his services in a different and higher sphere. 175. Patriotic Labors in Congress. — In November, 1782, he took his seat in Congress. That body had sadly declined in ability and" prestige. It was incapable of grappling with the serious problems that presented themselves, and the country seemed to be rapidly drifting to destruction. No longer held together by a sense of common danger, the Confederation was on the point of disintegrating. There was no adequate revenue; lo6 AMERICAN LITERATURE the debts of the government were unprovided for; and the army was about to be disbanded without receiving its long arrears of pay. Hamilton made strenuous efforts to correct these evils. He advocated the levying of a duty on imports; set forth the necessity of maintaining the public credit and public honor; and urged a just and generous treatment of the army that had achieved American independence. But his efforts were in vain. The pusillanimous body could not rise equal to the situation. Local interests and jealousies prevailed over broad and patriotic senti- ments. Hamilton's career in Congress was not, however, without important results. It increased his reputation as a patriotic statesman, and also excited that distrust in democratic institu- tions that ever afterwards made him an advocate of a strongly centralized and, as some claimed, a monarchical form of govern- ment. 176. " The Federalist." — Hamilton's greatest service followed the adoption of the Constitution by the convention. Though he was not thoroughly satisfied with it, he gave it his hearty support as the best thing attainable under existing conditions, and as a great improvement on the Articles of Confederation. In New York, as in the other States, there was a strong senti- ment against the Constitution. The opposition was thoroughly organized and ably led. As a part of the plan to prevent the ratification of the Constitution, it was attacked in a series of elaborate and well-planned essays. This was a field in which Hamilton was well-nigh matchless. He accepted the challenge, and with the assistance of Madison and Jay he prepared that powerful series of eighty-five essays forming the '^ Federalist." The effect was immediate and far-reaching. The " Federalist " did more than any other writing to secure the adoption and sup- port of the Constitution through the country. It is a profound disquisition on, the principles of our government, and has since been quoted as of the highest authority on constitutional ques- tions. ALEXANDER HAMILTON 107 177. Its Literary Qualities. — But it is more than a political and controversial treatise. Its masterly style raises it to the rank of real literature. Most of the controversial writings of the Revolutionary Period have been forgotten. Having served their temporary purpose, they have been swept into oblivion. But the '' Federalist " endures as one of the masterpieces of the human reason. Its sustained power is wonderful. The argument, clothed in elevated, strong, and sometimes eloquent language, moves forward with a mighty momentum that sweeps away everything before it. It is hardly surpassed in the litera- ture of the world as a model of masterful popular reasoning. By this production Hamilton won for himself a foremost place in the literature of his time. 178. A Forensic Victory. — But the " Federalist " was not the only service he rendered the Constitution. It was chiefly through his able leadership that the New York convention adopted the Constitution. The result was one of the most noted triumphs ever achieved in a deliberative body. When the convention assem- bled, the Clintonian or Anti-Federalist party had forty-six out of sixty-five votes. " Two-thirds of the convention," wrote Hamil- ton, '' and four-sevenths of the people, are against us." In spite of the great odds against him, he entered into the contest with resolute purpose. The Anti-Federalists employed every artifice known to parliamentary tactics to delay and defeat ratification. Day after day the battle raged. Hamilton was constantly on his feet, defending, explaining, and advocating the Constitution. His mastery of the subject was complete; and gradually his co- gent and eloquent reasoning overcame partisan prejudice. '' At length Hamilton arose in the convention, and stating that Virginia had ratified the Constitution, and that the Union was thereby an accomplished fact, moved that they cease their contentions, and add New York to the new empire of Republican States." The vote was taken, and the Constitution adopted. 179. Secretary of the Treasury. — The new government was organized early in 1789 ; and upon the establishment of the Treas- lo8 AMERICAN LITERATURE ury Department in September, Hamilton was called by Wash- ington to take charge of it. His practical wisdom never shone to better advantage. As Secretary of the Treasury, he left his impress upon the institutions of his country. He gave to the Treasury Department the organization it has since substantially retained. He was, perhaps, the master-spirit in putting the new government into practical operation. 180. A Cabinet Feud. — The opposition to Hamilton's poUcy, which constantly aimed at strengthening the national govern- ment, at length took form as the Republican or Democratic party. Jefferson naturally became its head. Intensely republican at heart, he had come to entertain exaggerated, and even morbid, views concerning what he believed to be the monarchical aims of the FederaKsts. As a patriot and leader, he felt it his duty to arrest as far as possible this centralizing tendency. His rela- tions with Hamilton in the cabinet, to use his own phrase, sug- gested the attitude of " two cocks in a pit." The feud at length grew beyond Washington's power of conciliation, and Jefferson finally withdrew from the cabinet. 181. Rank as a Publicist. — It is impossible, within the narrow limits of this sketch, to follow Hamilton through all the labors and controversies of his political career. He sometimes made mistakes, as in supporting the odious Alien and Sedition Laws; but beyond all question he stood among the foremost statesmen of his time. By some he is assigned the highest place. " There is not in the Constitution of the United States," says Guizot, " an element of order, of force, of duration, which he did not powerfully contribute to introduce into it, and to cause to pre- dominate." Talleyrand, who saw Hamilton in New York, said, '' I consider Napoleon, Fox, and Hamilton the three greatest men of our epoch, and without hesitation I award the first place to Hamilton." His official integrity, though, alas! not his moral character, was unsullied. The investigation of his conduct as Secretary of the Treasury, set on foot by his enemies in Congress, recoiled upon their own heads. ALEXANDER HAMILTON lOQ 182. A Brilliant Lawyer. — After serving nearly six years in Washington's cabinet, he retired in 1795 to private life, to gain an adequate support for his family. He resumed the practice of his profession in New York. His brilliant abilities and dis- tinguished public services immediately brought him an extensive practice. He speedily rose to the head of the bar. His legal acumen was profound, while his clear thought, copious and forcible language, and passionate energy of will gave him great power as an advocate. 183. Duel and Death. — But the end was drawing near. His brilliant career was cut short by the requirements of a false and barbarous " code of honor." Hamilton did not allow his pro- fessional labors to destroy his interest in pubUc affairs. He con- tinued the leader of the Federalist party, not only in his adopted State, but in the country at large. In the poHtical contests of New York, his principal opponent was Aaron Burr, a brilliant but unprincipled man. Hamilton had twice thwarted Burr's political ambition. When at last he brought about the latter's defeat for the governorship of New York, Burr resolved upon a deadly re- venge. He sought a quarrel with Hamilton, and then challenged him. The duel was fought at Weehawken, July 11, 1804. At the first fire Hamilton fell mortally wounded, discharging his pistol in the air. His death caused an outburst of sorrow and indigna- tion that has scarcely been surpassed in the history of our country. 184. Estimates of his Character. — In person Hamilton was considerably under size. But there was a force in his personality, a fire in his impassioned eye, that made him impressive. He was one of the most effective speakers of his time. In his social rela- tions he was genial, high-spirited, and generous. He was idolized by his family. Though he was never popular with the masses, whom he distrusted, he had the power of surrounding himself with a band of able and loyal followers. He was a great constructive thinker — a leader of leaders. In the judgment of his rival, Jefferson, he was " of acute understanding, disinterested, honest, and honor- able in all private transactions, amiable in society, and duly valuing no AMERICAN LITERATURE virtue in private life." Chancellor Kent pays a tribute to " his profound penetration, his power of analysis, the comprehensive grasp and strength of his understanding, and the firmness, frank- ness, and integrity of his character." Like all great men, perhaps, Hamilton was conscious of his power ; and at times it made him self-assertive and dictatorial. He relied for success, not upon treacherous diplomacy, but upon open methods, and, if need be, upon hard fighting. He possessed extraordinary versatihty of genius; and he was at once a brilliant officer, a powerful writer, an able lawyer, a great financier, a strong party leader, and a wise statesman. FOR FURTHER READING AND STUDY Consult the general bibhography. Annotated selections from Jefferson and Hamilton will be found on pages 423-438 of this volume. In addition read Jefferson's First Inaugural Address and Hamilton's Speech in the New York Convention on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution (The World's Famous Orations), J. T. Morse's " Thomas Jefferson " (American Statesmen Series), and Thos. E. Watson's '' Thomas Jefferson," Henry Cabot Lodge's " Alexander Hamilton " (American Statesmen Series), and James Schouler's " Alexander Hamilton " (Makers of America Series). For the historical background, in addition to the standard histories of the United States, Fiske's " The American Revolu- tion " (2 vols.) and " The War of Independence," and Lossing's '' Field Book of the Revolution," are recommended. Interesting extracts from original sources may be found in Hart's " American History Told by Contemporaries " and MacDonald's '' Docu- mentary Source Book of American History." Numerous extracts from the minor writers of this period may be found in the " Library of American Literature," Duyckinck's ** Cyclopaedia of American Literature," Cairns's " Early American Writers," and Trent's " Southern Writers." Read Washington's " First Inaugural Address " and his " Farewell Address." Papers by members of the class on John Trumbull's " McFingal," Charles ALEXANDER HAMILTON III Brockden Brown's '' Wieland," Philip Freneau's Poems, and the ''Songs and Ballads of the American Revolution" would prove interesting. The following poems celebrate incidents falling within the Revolutionary Period : Holmes's '' Ballad of the Boston Tea Party," Harriet Prescott Spofford's '' How We Became a Nation," Franklin's '' The Mother Country," Longfellow's '' Paul Revere's Ride," Holmes's '' Lexington," Whittier's " Lexington," Holmes's '' Grandmother's Story of Bunker Hill," Lowell's " The New Come Chief," Joseph Rodman Drake's ''The American Flag," Will Carleton's "The Little Black-eyed Rebel," Philip Freneau's " The Bonhomme Richard and Serapis," N. P. Willis's " Andre's Request to Washington," Longfellow's " Hymn of the Moravian Nuns of Bethlehem," Bryant's " Song of Marion's Men," Tenny- son's " England and America in 1782," Bryant's " O Mother of a Mighty Race," Whittier's " The Vow of Washington," Hopkin- son's " Hail Columbia," and Francis Scott Key's " The Star- Spangled Banner." Noteworthy fiction illustrating this period : John Esten Cooke's " Henry St. John " (1774-75), J. P. Kennedy's " Horse-Shoe Robinson " (1757-80), Harold Frederick's " In the Valley " (1757-80), James Fenimore Cooper's " The Pilot " (1778-79) and "The Spy" (1780), Maurice Thompson's "Alice of Old Vin- cennes " (1780), Paul Leicester Ford's "Janice Meredith," Win- ston Churchill's " Richard Carvel," S. Weir Mitchell's " Hugh Wynne," and Geo. Gary Eggleston's " A CaroHna CavaUer " (1779-80). FIRST NATIONAL PERIOD REPRESENTATIVE WRITERS WASHINGTON IRVING JAMES FENIMORE COOPER WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT EDGAR ALLAN POE RALPH W.\LDO EMERSON NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES OTHER PROMINENT WRITERS Jacob Abbott (1803-1879). A native of Maine, and a voluminous author of books for the young. Among his works are the ** Rollo Books" (28 vols.), "The Lucy Books" (6 vols.), and Harper's " Story-Books" (36 vols.). John S. C. Abbott (1805-1877). Brother of Jacob Abbott, and, like him, a minister. Author of numerous moral and historical works, the latter being characterized by a partisan tone. Noteworthy are "History of Napoleon Bonaparte," "Napoleon at Saint Helena," " The French Revo- lution of 1789," etc. Amos Bronson Alcott (1799- 1888). Born in Connecticut. An educator and philosopher of interesting personaHty. Author of "Essays," "Table Talk," "Concord Days," and other works in prose and verse. Washington Allston (17 79-1843). A famous painter, poet, and prose writer, who, though bom in South Carolina, belongs by residence to Massachusetts. Author of the poem "The Sylphs of the Seasons," and the art novel "Monaldi." His "Lectures on Art" appeared after his death. "3 114 AMERICAN LITERATURE George Bancroft ( 1800-189 i). A statesman and historian of Massachusetts. Minister to England 1846- 1849, and to Prussia and Germany 186 7- 18 74. Author of a standard "History of the United States," written in rhetorical style. (See text.) William Ellery Channing (1780-1842). Preacher, lecturer, and Unitarian leader of Massachusetts. Author of various works in prose and verse. Among his best prose writings are "Life and Character of Napoleon Bonaparte," "Milton," and "Self-Culture." Lydia Maria Child (1802-1880). A well-known editor and prose writer of Massachusetts. Among her numerous writings may be mentioned "Ho- bomok, an Indian Story," "The Rebels," a tale of the American Revolu- tion, "History of the Condition of Women in All Ages and Nations," "Looking toward Sunset," and "The Romance of the Republic." John Esten Cooke (1830-1886). A noted novelist and historian of Virginia. Among his novels, founded on the early history of Virginia and on the events of the Civil War, are "Henry St. John," "Surrey of Eagle's Nest," and "The Virginia Comedians." He wrote also a "Life of General Lee," and "Virginia, a History of the People." (See text.) Philip Pendleton Cooke (1816-1850). A lawyer and poet of Virginia. In 1857 he pubUshed his "Froissart Ballads, and Other Poems," which con- tains his well-known lyric "Florence Vane." George William Curtis (1824-1892). Editor, essayist, and novelist of New York. A member of the famous Brook Farm Association. For thirty-five years he filled the Easy Chair department of Harper's Monthly, and was political editor of Harper's Weekly for nearly the same length of time. His principal works are" Prue and I," "Trumps," and "Potiphar Papers," a satire upon society. Richard Henry Dana (i 787-1879). A poet, editor, and prose writer of Massachusetts. One of the founders of the North American Review; author of "The Buccaneer, and Other Poems," and the novels "Tom Thornton," and "Paul Felton." Joseph Rodman Drake (1795-1820). A physician of New York City, author of "The Culprit Fay," a poem of considerable merit, and the well-known lyric, "The American Flag." A friend of Fitz-Greene Halleck, with whom he worked for a time in literary partnership. (See text.) Alexander H. Everett (1792-1847). Diplomatist and prose writer of Massachusetts. Ambassador at The Hague in 181 8, and at Madrid in 1825. For several years editor and proprietor of the North American Review. His principal works are "Europe," "America," and "Critical and Miscellaneous Essays." Edward Everett (i 794-1865). A distinguished orator and statesman of Massachusetts. Editor of the North American Review, member of Con- FIRST NATIONAL PERIOD II^ gress, Governor of Massachusetts, Minister to the Court of Saint James, President of Harvard College, and Secretary of State. Principal works "Defence of Christianity," "Orations and Speeches," and "Importance of Practical Education." James T. Fields (1817-1881). A well-known publisher, editor, and author of Boston. Bom in New Hampshire. Edited the Atlantic Monthly from 1861-1871. Besides a volume or two of verse, he wrote "Yesterdays with Authors," and "Underbrush," a collection of essays. Stephen Collins Foster (1826-1864). A famous song writer and composer of Pittsburgh and New York City. He set to music 1 25 or more songs, the words in nearly every case being his own. All English-speaking lands know his "Swanee River," "My Old Kentucky Home," "Nelly Bly," and "Old Black Joe." Samuel G. Goodrich (i 793-1860). A publisher and author of Boston and New York, best known as "Peter Parley." He wrote a series of books for children which extended through more than a hundred volumes. Among his other works are "The Outcast, and Other Poems," "Fireside Educa- tion," "History of All Nations," and "Illustrated Natural History." Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879). A poet, prose writer, and editor, who was bom in New Hampshire. Edited the Ladies' Magazine in Boston from 1828 to 1837, the first periodical in this country devoted exclusively to woman, and afterwards combined with Godey's Lady's Book of Phila- delphia, of which she was editor for forty years. Principal works, "The Genius of Oblivion, and Other Poems," "Northwood, a Tale," "Sketches of American Character," and "Woman's Record." Fitz-Greene Halleck (i 790-1867). A native of Connecticut, but for many years clerk in a New York banking-house, and later confidential adviser to John Jacob Astor. Author of a long poem called "Fanny," and of the stirring lyric, "Marco Bozzaris." (See text.) Paul Hamilton Hayne (i 830-1 886). A nativ^e of South CaroUna, and, considering the quantity and quality of his verse, one of the very best poets the South has produced. A complete edition of his "Poems" ap- peared in 1882. (See text.) Richard Hildreth (1807-1865). A lawyer and journalist of Boston, who wrote a "History of the United States" down to 1820. Among other things he wrote an antislavery novel, "Archy Moore," and "Japan as it Was and Is." JosiAH Gilbert Holland (1819-1881). Poet, novelist, and editor of Mas- sachusetts. Edited the Springfield Republican 1 849-1 866, and Scribner's Magazine from 1870 till his death. His longest poems are "Katrina," and "Bitter-Sweet"; his best novels are "Miss Gilbert's Career," "Arthur Bonnicastle," and "The Story of Sevenoaks." Il6 AMERICAN LITERATURE John Pendleton Kennedy (i 795-1870). A novelist and politician of Mary- land, and Secretary of the Navy under Fillmore. He wrote old-time society novels, among which are " Swallow Barn," "Horse-Shoe Robinson," and "Rob "of the Bowl." Francis Scott Key (i 779-1843). A lawyer and poet of Maryland. His "Poems" were published after his death in 1857, with a sketch by his brother-in-law, Chief Justice Taney. His literary fame is due chiefly to "The Star-Spangled Banner," written during the bombardment of Fort McHenry. Benson J. Lossing (18 13-189 i). A biographer and historian of New York, Among his numerous works are a "Life of Washington," "Field-Book of the Revolution," and "Pictorial History of the United States." George P. Morris (i 802-1 864). A journalist and poet of New York City. In 1823, with Samuel Woodworth, he established The New York Mirror. Among his works are "The Deserted Bride, and Other Poems," "The Whip-poor-will, a Poem," "American Melodies," and, in conjunction with Willis, "The Prose and Poetry of Europe and America." His most popular piece is "Woodman, Spare that Tree." John Lothrop Motley (1814-1877). A distinguished author of Massachu- setts, who wrote an admirable series of historical works relating to Hol- land : "The Rise of the Dutch Republic," "The History of the United Netherlands," and "Life of John of Barneveld." He wrote, also, two novels, "Morton's Hope " and "Merry Mount." (See text.) Theodore O'Hara (1820-1867). A native of Kentucky. Soldier in the Mexican and Civil Wars, remembered for his poem "The Bivouac of the Dead." Frances Sargent Osgood (181 2-1850). A poet and magazine writer of Massa- chusetts. A volume of poems, "A Wreath of Wild Flowers from New Eng- land," was much admired in its day. "Mrs. Osgood," wrote Poe, "has a rich fancy, — even a rich imagination, — a scrupulous taste, a faultless style, and an ear finely attuned to the delicacies of melody." Margaret Fuller Ossoli (1810-1850). A gifted woman of Massachusetts. Editor of t*he Dial and author of "Woman in the Nineteenth Century," "Art, Literature, and the Drama," "At Home and Abroad," etc. James Gorham Palfrey (1796-1881). A Unitarian clergyman of Cam- bridge, Mass., and Professor in Harvard University. He wrote a pains- taking "History of New England." Francis Parkman (1823-1893). An eminent historian of Massachusetts, who wrote a number of volumes under the general title, "France and England in North America." Of special interest are the " Conspiracy of Pontiac," "A Half Century of Conflict," and "The Jesuits in North America." FIRST NATIONAL PERIOD II7 James K. Paulding (i 779-1860). A versatile author of New York City, though born in Maryland. Secretary of the Navy under Van Buren. Among his numerous writings are "The Diverting History of John Bull and Brother Jonathan," "The Dutchman's Fireside," "Life of George Washington," and a spirited defence of slavery in America. (See text.) John Howard Payne (1792-1852). A dramatist and actor of New York City, in whose drama of "Clari, the ]Maid of Milan," occurs the famous song "Home, Sweet Home." Other plays are "Brutus" "Virginius," and "Charles H." James Gates Percival (i 795-1 856). A native of Connecticut, Professor of Chemistry at West Point, and State Geologist of Wisconsin. Assisted Noah Webster in revising his large dictionary. He published several vol- umes of poetr>', the last and best known ef which is entitled "The Dream of Day, and Other Poems." Edward Coate Pinkney (1802-1828). A lawyer and poet of Baltimore. He displayed an excellent lyric gift in the volume of "Poems" published in 1825. George D. Prentice (180 2- 18 70). An editor and poet, who, through the Journal, made Louisville one of the literary centres of the South. He wrote a "Life of Henry Clay," and a collection of his witty and pungent paragraphs has been published under the title "Prenticeana." His best poems are "The Closing Year" and "The Flight of Years." William Hickling Prescott (i 796-1850). A celebrated historian of Boston. Author of a series of standard histories on Spanish themes: "History of Ferdinand and Isabella," "Conquest of Mexico," "Conquest of Peru," and "Philip the Second." (See text.) Thomas Buchanan Read (1822-1872). A painter and poet of Philadelphia. His first volume of poems appeared in 1837. Among his other works are "The Female Poets of America," "The New Pastoral," "The Wagoner of the Alleghanies." His most popular poem is "Sheridan's Ride," though poetically inferior to " Drifting." John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887). A journalist and poet of New York, though bom in Vermont. In humorous poetry he ranks next to Holmes. The titles of his successive works are "The Money King, and Other Poems," "Clever Stories of Many Nations," "The Masquerade," "Fables and Legends of Many Countries," etc. Catharine Maria Sedgwick (i 780-1867). A famous educator and novelist of Massachusetts. She conducted a school for girls at Stockbridge for fifty years. Among her novels are "Hope Leslie," "Clarence," "A New England Tale," and "Redwood," which had the distinction of being reprinted in England and translated into several Continental languages. Lydia Huntly Sigourney (i 791-1865). A Connecticut writer of both prose Il8 AMERICAN LITERATURE and poetry; well described as "The American Hemans." Among her fifty-three volumes are "Traits of the Aborigines of America," "Past Meridian," "Letters to Young Ladies," "Poems," etc. William Gilmore Simms (1806-1870). A native of South Carolina, and voluminous writer of fiction and poetry. He wrote a dozen volumes of verse, among which are "Atalantis" and "Areytos, or Songs and Ballads of the South," and some thirty romances, among which are "The Yemas- see," "The Partisan," and "Beauchampe." (See text.) Jared Sparks (1789-1866). A native of Connecticut. Unitarian minister, president of Harvard, and historian. Edited "American Biography," which includes sixty lives; also editor of the "Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution," "The Writings of George Washington," etc. Harriet Beecher Stowe (181 2-1896). A native of Connecticut, and author of numerous novels of unequal merit. Her "Uncle Tom's Cabin" has been, perhaps, the most widely read of American books. Other novels are "The Minister's Wooing," "The Pearl of Orr's Island," "Oldtown Folks," etc. Bayard Taylor (1825-1878). A well-known traveller, poet, and novelist of Pennsylvania. Among his best works are "Views Afoot," "Byways of Europe," "Lars, a Pastoral of Norway," "Masque of the Gods," "Prince Deukahon," "Story of Kennett," and a translation of Goethe's "Faust," by which he will be longest known. John R. Thompson (1823-1873). A lawyer and litt6rateur of Virginia. Editor of The Southern Literary Messenger from 1847 to 1859. Once popular as a lyric poet. Henry David Thoreau (181 7-1862). An eccentric recluse and student of nature. Born in Massachusetts. Author of "Walden; or. Life in the Woods," "Cape Cod," "The Maine Woods," etc. Henry Timrod (1829-1867). A poet and editor of South Carolina. He possessed a genuine lyrical gift. His "Poems" were published in 1873 with a generous tribute by Hayne. (See text.) William Ware (179 7-1 85 2). Unitarian minister, lecturer, editor of the Christian Examiner, and historical novelist of New York City. Prin- cipal works, "Zenobia," originally published in the Knickerbocker Maga- zine, "Aurelian," describing Rome in the third century, and "Julian, or Scenes in Judea," in which the most striking incidents in the life of Jesus are described. Richard Henry Wilde (i 789-1 847)." A lawyer and member of Congress, from Georgia, author of a "Life of Tasso," and the beautiful lyric, "My Life is Like the Summer Rose." Nathaniel P. Willis (1806- 186 7). A popular litterateur of New York City, editor of The Mirror. Once overrated and now, perhaps, unduly FIRST NATIONAL PERIOD 119 neglected. His "Sacred Poems" are excellent, as are also some of his miscellaneous pieces. Among his other works are "People I have Met," "Pencillings by the Way," and "Letters from under a Bridge." Samuel Woodworth (i 786-1842). A publisher, prose writer, and poet of New York City, though born in Massachusetts. One of the founders of The New York Mirror, long the most popular journal in this country. Author of an "Account of the War with Great Britain," and a volume of " Poems, Odes, and Songs," the most popular of which is "The Old Oaken Bucket." Contemporary Writers in England Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832); Lord Byron (1788-1824); William Wordsworth (1770-1850); Thomas De Quincey (1785-1859); Thomas Campbell (1777-1844); John Keats (1795-1821); Robert Southey (1774-1843); Thomas Moore (1779-1852); Thomas Hood (1798-1845); Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822); Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834); Thomas Babixgtox Macaulay (1800-1859) ; Willl\m Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1862); Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861). IV FIRST NATIONAL PERIOD (1815-1861) , 185. National Expansion. — The First National Period extends from the close of the War of 181 2 to the beginning of the Civil War. It covers nearly half a century, and exhibits great national expansion. The arduous tasks imposed upon the people during the Colonial and Revolutionary Periods were successfully achieved. The dreams of our forefathers began to be realized. " America," says Hegel, '^ is the land of the future, where in the ages that lie before us the burden of the world's history shall reveal itself." During the period under consideration it made a long stride toward its coming greatness. 186. Growth of Population. — With the establishment of peace in 181 5, the United States entered upon an unparalleled era of prosperity. The development of the country went for- ward with great rapidity. Ah increasing tide of immigration, chiefly from Great Britain, Ireland, and Germany, swept to our CONTEMPORARY EVENTS IN ENGLAND George IV, 1820-1830. China compelled to Open Ports, 1842. William IV, 1830-1837. Famine in Ireland, 1846. Victoria, 1837-1901. Repeal of Corn Laws, 1846. Passage of Reform Bill, 1832. First World's Fair, 185 1. Emancipation of Slaves, 1833. The Crimean War, 1854. The Opium War with China, 1839. The Indian Mutiny, 1857. First Atlantic Cable, 1858. 120 FIRST NATIONAL PERIOD 121 shores. Of kindred blood, the great body of immigrants readily adjusted themselves to their new surroundings, and vigorously joined with our native-born people in developing the agricultural, mineral, and industrial resources of our country. The population increased from 8,438,000 in 181 5 to 32,000,000 in 1 86 1, thus equalKng the leading nations of Europe. 187. The Mississippi Valley. — The great valley of the Mississippi was occupied. Its fertility made it one of the most favored agricultural regions in the world. The invention of agricultural machinery made it possible to harvest immense crops of wheat and corn, for which a market was found in Europe. Trade and manufactures naturally attended upon agriculture ; and, as a result, flourishing towns and cities sprang up with unexampled rapidity. Cincinnati grew from a town of 5000 in 181 5 to a city of 161,000 in i860, while the growth of St. Louis and Chicago was still more phenomenal. 188. Manufactures and Commerce. — The Atlantic States showed a development no less remarkable. The frontier, carried beyond the Mississippi, made the toils and dangers of border life a tradition. The invention of the steam-engine gave a new impulse to commerce and manufacture. In addi- tion to excellent highways, railroads traversed the country in all directions. The New England States developed large manufacturing interests. The seaboard cities grew in size, wealth, and culture. Baltimore increased from 49,000 in 181 5 to 212,000 in i860. Within the same period Boston increased from 38,000 to 177,000; Philadelphia from 100,000 to 508,000 ; and New York from 100,000 to 813,000. 189. Educational Progress. — The intellectual culture of the people kept pace with their material expansion. The pubHc-school system was extended from New England through- 122 AMERICAN LITERATURE out the free States. In the West liberal appropriations of land were made for their support. Gradually the courses of study aiid the methods of instruction were improved through the efforts of intelHgent educators Hke Horace Mann and Henry Barnard. Schools of secondary education were founded in all parts of the country. No fewer than one hundred and forty- nine colleges were established between 1815 and 1861. These institutions, liberally supported by denominational zeal or by private munificence, became centres of Hterary culture. Harvard College exerted an astonishing influence. Between 1821 and 183 1 it graduated Emerson, Holmes, Lowell, Sumner, Phillips, Motley, and Thoreau. Bancroft and Prescott were graduated at an earlier date. Longfellow, though a graduate of Bowdoin, for some years filled the chair of Modern Lan- guages. This list, as will be seen, contains a number of the most honored names in American literature. 190. Periodical Literature. — The periodical press became a powerful agency in the diffusion of knowledge. In no other country, perhaps, has greater enterprise been shown in periodi- cal hterature than in America. Our newspapers, as a rule, show more energy, and our magazines more taste, than those of Europe. In i860 there were 4051 papers and periodicals, cir- culating annually 927,951,000 copies, an average of thirty- four copies for each man, woman, and child in the country. They gradually rose in excellence, and stimulated literary pro- duction. A few of our ablest writers, Bryant, Poe, Whittier, and Lowell, served as editors. The North American Review, which was founded in 181 5, numbered among its contributors nearly every writer of prominence in the First National Period. 191. Favorable Conditions. — As the foregoing considera- tions show, our country now, for the first time, presented con- ditions favorable to the production of general literature. The FIRST NATIONAL PERIOD 123 stress of the Colonial and Revolutionary Periods was removed, and the intellectual energies of the people were freer to engage in the arts of peace. The growing wealth of the country brought the leisure and culture that create, to a greater or less degree, a demand for the higher forms of Hterature. The large cities became literary centres. Large pubhshing-houses A Modern Printing Press were established. Under these circumstances it is not strange that there appeared writers in poetry, fiction, and history who attained a high degree of excellence. Irving, Cooper, Bryant, Hawthorne, Longfellow, Bancroft, Prescott, and others are names that reflect credit upon their country. 192. The West and South. — It will be noticed that nearly all the great writers of this period were from New England. It was there that the conditions were most favorable. The West was still too new for much literary activity. Like the 124 AMERICAN LITERATURE early colonists, the people were engaged in the great task of subduing an untamed country. In the South the social condi- tions were hardly favorable to literature. Slavery retarded the intellectual as well as the material development of the Southern States. It checked manufacture, and turned immi- gration westward. While the slaveholding class were generally intelligent, and often highly cultured, the rest of the white population were comparatively ilHterate. The public-school system, regarded as unfavorable to the existing social relations, was not adopted. The energies of the dominant class were devoted to politics rather than to literature. Thus, while the South had great debaters and orators, like Calhoun and Clay and Robert Y. Hayne, it did not, during this period, produce many writers of eminence. 193. Special Influence. — So far our inquiry has sought an explanation of the literary activity of this period. The general causes, as in every period of literary bloom, are sufficiently patent. We may now examine the influences that gave literature its distinctive character as contrasted with that of the preceding periods. The results will not be without interest. 194. Invention and Science. — The period under considera- tion witnessed a wonderful stride in the march of human progress. There was a renaissance, based not on a restoration of ancient literature, but upon invention and science. It was not confined to any one country, but extended throughout the Christian world. It is not necessary to enumerate the various inventions which in a few decades revolutionized the entire system of agriculture, manufacture, and commerce. The drudgery of life was greatly relieved, the products of human industry were vastly increased, and the comforts of life largely multiplied. The nations of the earth were drawn closer FIRST NATIONAL PERIOD 12$ together, and the intellectual horizon was extended until it embraced, not a single province, but the civilized world. 195. Spirit of Scientific Inquiry. — But the period was distinguished scarcely less by its spirit of scientific inquiry. Emancipating themselves largely from the authority of tradi- tion, men learned to look upon the world for themselves. Patient toilers carefully accumulated facts upon which to base their conclusions. All the natural sciences were wonderfully expanded. The origin of man, the history of the past, the laws of society, were all brought under new and searching investigation. As a result of all this scientific inquiry, a flood of light was shed upon the principal problems of nature and life. Christendom was lifted to a higher plane of intelligence than it had ever reached before. 196. Literature Enriched. — This general renaissance pro- duced a corresponding change in literature. It enriched litera- ture with new treasures of truth. It taught men to look upon the universe in a different way. Literary activity was stimu- lated, and both poetry and prose were cultivated to an extraor- dinary degree. New forms of literature were devised to hold the rich fruitage everywhere at hand. The frigid classicism of the age of Pope was abandoned as artificial and inadequate. The creative impulse of genius demanded untrammelled free- dom. The essay acquired a new importance. History was suffused with a philosophic spirit that gave it greater depth. Fiction entered a broader field, and, while ministering to pleas- ure, became the handmaid of history, science, and social philosophy. 197. Influence of Great Britain. — The effect of this renais- sance was felt in America largely by reflection. The literary expansion we have been considering went forward more rapidly in the British Isles than in the United States. It had already 126 AMERICAN LITERATURE begun there, while the people of this country were still strug- gling with -the great problems of political independence and national government. Before the close of the Revolutionary period here, Cowper and Burns had given a new direction to poetry in Great Britain. During the period under consideration, there arose in Eng- land and Scotland a group of able writers who were pervaded by the modern spirit, and who, to a greater or less degree, in- fluenced contemporary literature in America. Scott wrote his masterful historical novels. Wordsworth interpreted the in- audible voices of mountain, field, and sky. Byron poured forth his eloquent descriptions, irreverent satire, and sombre misanthropy. Carlyle and Macaulay infused new life into his- tory and essay. Dickens and Thackeray held up the mirror to various phases of social life. Coleridge interpreted to England the profound thoughts of German philosophy. The Edinburgh Review, founded by Jeffrey, Sydney Smith, and Henry Brougham, exercised its lordly dominion in the realm of letters. 198. Question of State Rights. — During the First National Period, there were two political questions that exerted a con- siderable influence upon the literature of this country. These were State rights and slavery. At frequent intervals these questions came up to disturb the public peace. For half a century they were dealt with in a spirit of compromise. But the views held and the interests involved were too conflicting to be permanently settled without an appeal to force. The statesmen of the South generally maintained the doctrine of State rights. It was boldly proclaimed in the United States Senate that a State had the right, under certain circumstances, to nullify an act of Congress. In 1830 Webster attained the height of his forensic fame by his eloquent reply to Hayne on the doctrine of nullification. FIRST NATIONAL PERIOD 127 199. Slavery. — The question of slavery was still more serious. It was closely interwoven with the social organiza- tion of the South. The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 increased the demand for slave labor. The yield of cotton was rapidly increased from year to year, till in i860 it reached the enormous figure of 2,054,698,800 pounds. Thus cotton became a source of great national wealth ; and, as a result, slavery was intrenched be- hind the commercial and selfish interests of a large and influential class in all parts of the country. 200. Agitation for Aboli- tion. — Nevertheless, there was a growing moral senti- ment against slavery. It was felt to be a contradic- tion of the Declaration of Independence, and a viola- tion of the natural rights of man. In 1830 William Lloyd Garrison began the publication of an antislav- ery paper called The Liberator, and with passionate zeal de- nounced a constitution that protected slavery, as '' a league with death and a covenant with hell." The agitation for abolition was begun. In 1833 an antislavery society was formed. Whittier, Longfellow, Lowell, Phillips, and others lent the weight of their influence and the skill of their pens to the antislavery movement. Harriet Beecher Stowe exerted no small influence upon public sentiment in the North by " Uncle Tom's Cabin," a work in which the cruelties of slavery Harriet Beecher Stowe 128 AMERICAN LITERATURE were graphically depicted. In a few years the abolition party became strong enough to enter national politics. The feel- ing between the North and the South became more pro- nounced and irreconcilable. Finally attempted secession pre- cipitated a civil war, which resulted in the abolition of slavery, and the cementing of our country into a homogeneous and in- dissoluble union. 201. Distinctive American Literature. — With the First National Period our literature assumed, to some extent at least, a distinctively American character. New themes, requiring original treatment, were presented to the literary worker. In the East, Indian life had become sufficiently re- mote to admit of idealistic treatment. In Cooper's works the Indian is ideahzed as much as the mediaeval knight in the novels of Scott. The picturesque elements in pioneer life were more clearly discerned. The wild life of the frontiersman began to appear in fiction, which, possessing the charm of novelty, was cordially received abroad. In the older parts of the country, tradition lent a legendary charm to various localities and different events. The legends of the Indians were found to possess poetical elements. From these sources Irving, Longfellow, Hawthorne, and Simms drew the materials for some of their most original and popular works. 202. Unitarian Controversy. — In the first half of the cen- tury there were in New England two closely related movements that deserve mention for their important effect upon literature. The first was the Unitarian controversy. Though the Unitarian doctrine is old, and was held by a few New England churches in the eighteenth century, the controversy began in 1805, when Henry Ware, a learned Unitarian, was elected professor of di- vinity in Harvard College. The capture of this leading institu- tion by the Unitarians naturally provoked a theological conflict. FIRST NATIONAL PERIOD 1 29 The champions on the Unitarian side were Henry Ware, William Ellery Channing, and Andrews Norton; on the Trinitarian side, Leonard Woods, Moses Stuart, and Lyman Beecher. From 18 15 to 1830 the discussion was the leading question of the time. Though conducted with great earnest- ness on both sides, the controversy was without that venom- ous character distinguished as odium theologicum. A large num- ber of Congregational churches adopted the Unitarian belief. Emphasizing the moral duties rather than the doctrinal be- liefs of Christianity, the Unitarians became very active in education, philanthropy, and reform. It is not too much to say that all the leading writers of New England felt the stimu- lating and liberalizing influence of the Unitarian movement. 203. Transcendental Movement. — The other movement referred to belongs to the sphere of philosophy, though it also affected religious belief. It has been characterized as trans- cendentalism. In spite of the levity with which the movement has sometimes been treated, it was an earnest protest against a materialistic philosophy, which teaches that the senses are our only source of knowledge. It was a reaction against what is dull, prosaic, and hard in everyday life. The central thing in transcendentalism is the belief that the human mind has the power to attain truth independently of the senses and the understanding. Emerson, himself a leading transcendentalist, defines it as follows : " What is popularly called Transcen- dentalism among us is Idealism : Idealism as it appears in 1842. As thinkers, mankind have ever divided into two sects. Materialists and Idealists ; the first class founding on expe- rience, the second on consciousness ; the first class beginning to think from the data of the senses, the second class perceive that the senses are not final, and say, the senses give us repre- sentations of things, but what are the things themselves, they I30 AMERICAN LITERATURE cannot tell. The materialist insists on facts, on history, on the force of circumstances and the animal wants of man ; the idealist on the power of Thought and of Will, on inspiration, on miracle, on individual culture." 204. Origin and Effects. — This idealistic or transcendental philosophy did not originate in New England, though it re- ceived a special coloring and application there. It began in Germany with the writings of Kant, Fichte, and SchelKng ; it was transported to England by Coleridge and Carlyle, through whose works it first made its way to America. It abounded in profound and fertile thought. It was taken up by a remarkable group of men and women in Boston and Con- cord, among whom were Emerson, Alcott, Thoreau, Parker, and Margaret Fuller. Their organ (for every movement at that time had to have its periodical) was The Dial. Trans- cendentalism exerted an elevating influence upon New England thought, and gave to our literature one of its greatest writers in the person of Ralph Waldo Emerson. 205. Various Disturbing Problems. — Contemporary with the transcendental movement, all sorts of novelties and proj- ects of reform kept New England in a state of ferment. Spiritualism, phrenology, and mesmerism attracted much attention. Temperance, woman's rights, and socialism were all discussed in public gatherings and in the press. Many of these schemes, which aimed at the regeneration of society, had the sympathy and encouragement of the transcendentalists. Some of their leading spirits participated in the Brook Farm experiment, which was based on the communistic teachings of Fourier. Though the experiment ended in failure, it gave the world -Hawthorne's " Blithedale Romance," in which the author utilized the observations made during his residence in the famous phalanstery. FIRST NATIONAL PERIOD 131 206. Group of Historians — Bancroft. — During this period New England produced a group of historians who have reflected credit upon American letters. To exhaustive research and judicial calmness, they have added the charm of literary grace. Bancroft's " History of the United States " in twelve volumes begins with Columbus and ends in 1789. The first volume appeared in 1834 ; and to the completion of the work he devoted a large part of his laborious life. The last volume did not appear till 1882. His style is elaborate and rhetorical, and the work abounds in eloquent passages. 207. Prescott. — Prescott is a historian of wide range. Though heavily handicapped by partial blindness, he was able, through ample means and indefatigable industry, to achieve great eminence. His chosen field was Spanish history ; and he spared neither pains nor expense in accumulating large stores of material. His '^ History of Ferdi- nand and Isabella," which occupied him for eleven years, appeared in 1827. It was at once translated into five European lan- guages, and established his reputation as the fore- most historian of America. His " Conquest of Mexico " (1843), ''Conquest of Peru" (1847), and ''Philip the Second " (1858) were received with equal favor. Apart from its thorough sifting of material and its judicial fair- WlLLIAM HiCKLING PrESCOTT 132 AMERICAN LITERATURE ness, his work is characterized by grace and eloquence of style. 208. Motley. — Motley deserves a place beside his illus- trious contemporary historians. If less ornate in style, he is scarcely less interesting. Like Bancroft and Prescott, he was educated at Harvard. In 1849 ^^ published a novel en- titled " Merry Mount, a Romance of Massachusetts Colony." But the principal literary labors of his life were devoted to history. In 1855 he published his " Rise of the Dutch Re- public," which had cost him ten years of toil. Its superior merit was at once recognized ; and shortly afterwards it was translated into French under the supervision of Guizot, who wrote an introduction. Motley continued to cultivate the same field almost to the close of his life. His " History of the United Netherlands," the first part of which appeared in i860, was completed eight years later. " The Life and Death of John of Barneveld," his last great historical work, was issued in 1874; and, like its predecessors, was received with great favor. 209. Literature and Public Service. — It is deserving of notice that many of our American authors have been more than mere men of letters. They have been distinguished citizens as well, and have served their country in important positions at home and abroad. Bancroft was appointed Secretary of the Navy in 1845, ^-nd established the Naval Academy at Annapolis. Afterwards he served as United States minister to Great Britain, 1846-1849, to Russia in 1867, and to the German Empire, 1 871-1874. Motley was ap- pointed United States minister to Austria in 1861, where he remained for the next six years. He was made minister to .England in 1869, from which mission, however, he was recalled the year following without apparent good reason. The distin- FIRST NATIONAL PERIOD 1 33 guished labors of Irving and Lowell abroad will appear in the more extended sketches to follow. 210. ''Knickerbocker School." — A group of writers in New York, without sufficient reason sometimes called '' the Knickerbocker school," deserve more than passing notice. Washington Irving, the principal writer of this group, is reserved for special study. The other prominent members were James Kirke Paul- ding, Joseph Rodman Drake, and Fitz-Greenc Halleck. 211. Paulding.— Paul- ding, whose educational advantages never ex- tended beyond those of a village school, deserves to be regarded as a self- made man. In early manhood he became the intimate friend of William and Washington Irving, with whom he co-operated in the publication of . ,. , . James K. Paulding the Salmagundi papers. " The Diverting History of John Bull and Brother Jona- than " is a good-natured satire on the attitude of England before the breaking out of hostilities in 181 2. His pamphlet, " The United States and England " (1814), attracted the atten- tion of President Madison, and thus opened the way to his political career, in which he became Secretary of the Navy under a subsequent administration. His principal poetical work is the " Backwoodsman," a narrative poem of six books, 134 AMERICAN LITERATURE devoted to American scenery, incident, and sentiment. It never became popular. 212. His Versatility. — Paulding's prolific pen continued active for many years, and the long list of his writings contains poetry, novels, tales, biography, and satire. '' The Dutch- man's Fireside," a story based on the manners of the old Dutch settlers, was his most popular work. It passed through six editions within a year ; and besides its republication in London, it was translated into French and Dutch. Paulding's writings were tinged with a humorous and satirical spirit ; but the most noteworthy element in his writings was, perhaps, their dis- tinctive national character. He was an ardent patriot; and it is American scenery and American character to which his genius is chiefly devoted. 213. Drake. — Drake exhibited in childhood a remarkable poetic precocity. It was as true of him as of Pope that " he lisped in numbers, for the numbers came." His juvenile poem, ^' The Mocking Bird," shows unusual maturity of thought and expression. His early years were disciplined by poverty. After taking his degree in medicine, he married the daughter of a wealthy shipbuilder in i8i6, and two years later went abroad. Travel added to his stores of culture. On his return he spent a winter in New Orleans in the vain endeavor to restore his health. He died of consumption in 1820. His monument bears the simple tribute written by his friend Halleck : — "None knew him but to love him, Nor named him but to praise." 214. " The American Flag." — On his return from Europe in 18 1 9, he wrote the first of the Croaker series of poems for the Evening Post. It was entitled " Ennui," and character- ized by the editor as '' the production of genius and taste." FIRST NATIONAL PERIOD 135 In this series of forty poems, mostly humorous and satirical, he was aided by Halleck under the pen-name of Croaker, Jr. It was in this series that he published ^' The American Flag," the often quoted poem by which, perhaps, he is chiefly remem- bered. "When Freedom from her mountain height Unfurled her standard to the air, She tore the azure robe of night, And set the stars of glory there." 215. " The Culprit Fay." — '' The Culprit Fay," his longest and best poem, grew out of a conversation with Cooper, Hal- leck, and DeKay, in which these gentlemen maintained that American streams, unlike those of Scotland with their romantic associations, were not adapted to the uses of poetry. Drake took the opposite side ; and in vindication of his position, he wrote this poem of exquisite fancy and description. 216. Halleck. — Halleck was a native of Connecticut, but at the age of twenty-one he went to New York to seek his fortune. He first entered a banking-house as clerk, and afterwards became a bookkeeper in the private office of John Jacob Astor. His literary bent found expression in a few juvenile poems ; but it was his work in connection wath the Croaker poems in the Evening Post that first gave him celebrity. The following stanza from " Cutting " will give an idea of the tone and spirit of the Croaker series : — FiTz- Greene Halleck 136 AMERICAN LITERATURE "The world is not a perfect one, All women are not wise or pretty, All that are willing are not won, — More's the pity — more's the pity ! 'Playing wall-flower's rather flat,' L 'Allegro or Penseroso — Not that women care for that — But oh ! they hate the slighting beau so ! " 217. " Marco Bozzaris." — '' Fanny " is a satirical poem, which made a hit. The first edition was soon exhausted. But his principal claim upon our remembrance rests on the stirring ballad " Marco Bozzaris," which appeared in 1825 in the United States Review, edited by William Cullen Bryant. His poem on Burns, though burdened with not a few weak stanzas, contains some just and melodious characterization. Through care, and pain, and woe, — *'He kept his honesty and truth. His independent tongue and pen. And moved, in manhood as in youth. Pride of his fellow-men." 218. Richmond a Literary Centre. — It has been com- mon to undervalue the literary work of the South during the period under consideration. Though literature was not generally encouraged, there were nevertheless two liter- ary centres which exerted a notable influence upon Southern letters. The first was Richmond, the home of Poe during his earlier years, and of the Southern Literary Messenger, in its day the most influential magazine south of the Poto- mac. It was founded, as set forth in its first issue, to encour- age literature in Virginia and the other States of the South ; and during its career of twenty-eight years it stimulated literary production in a remarkable degree. Among its FIRST NATIONAL PERIOD 137 contributors we find Simms, Hayne, Timrod, Cooke, John R. Thompson, and others — a galaxy of the best-known names in Southern literature before the Civil War. 219. John Esten Cooke. — The principal novelist of Vir- ginia is undoubtedly John Esten Cooke. He has been called an inveterate bookmaker ; and the list of his writings, including biography, history, and fiction, exceeds a score of volumes. His first novel, ''Leather Stocking and Silk," a story of the valley of Virginia, was issued by the Harpers in 1854. Not long after- wards appeared '' The Virginia Comedians," regarded by many as his best work. It is a ^''^'' ^^''^"^ ^^^^^ historic novel, introducing us to the life and manners of Virginia just before the Revolution. 220. Utilizing War Experiences. — During four vears of service in the Confederate army he distinguished him- self for fidelity and courage. After the surrender of Lee, he returned to literature, and turned to good account the treasures of his own experience. " I amuse myself," he said in one of his prologues, '' by recalling the old times when the Grays and Blues were opposed to each other." '' Surrey of Eagle's Nest," giving the memories of a staff 138 AMERICAN LITERATURE officer serving in Virginia, is regarded as autobiographical. He wrote also a '' Life of General Robert E. Lee," and a " History of Virginia," in the American Commonwealth series. 221. '^ Boston of the South." — The other principal lit- erary centre of the South was Charleston. It has often been called the Boston of the South. '' Legare's wit and scholarship," to use the words of Mrs. Margaret J. Pres- ton, '' brightened its social circle ; Calhoun's deep shadow loomed over it from his plantation at Fort Hill; Gilmore Simms's genial culture broadened its sympathies. The latter was the Maecenas to a band of brilliant youths who used to meet for literary suppers at his beautiful home." Among these brilliant youths were Paul Hamilton Hayne and Henry Tim- rod, two of the best poets the South has produced. 222. Simms. — William Gilmore Simms was a man of rare versatility of genius. He made up for his lack of collegiate training by private study and wide experience. He early gave up law for literature, and during his long and tire- less literary career was editor, poet, dramatist, historian, William Gilmore Simms FIRST XATIOXAL PERIOD 139 and novelist. He has been styled " the Cooper of the South " ; but it is hardly too much to say that in versa- tihty, culture, and literary productiveness he surpassed his great Northern contemporary. 223. A Poet. — Simms was a poet before he became a novelist. Before he was twenty-five he had published three v.V